A Visit from a Loyal Reader

We love our friends Dave and Vicki! They christened us with our Chinese names before we moved to Beijing, which was a labor of love. They worked to find just the right characters that would not only match the sounds of our English names but would have strong meanings attached to them as well. They partner with us in so many encouraging and important ways, taking an active interest in what is going on here. Plus, Dave faithfully reads my blog and encourages me to keep it up.

So, when we heard that Dave was coming for a visit we were so excited, and also very sorry that his sweet wife could not join him THIS time! 

Here are just a few pictures and stories of some of the fun things we were able to share with Dave:

.Dave treated us to a Taiwanese meal at one of the world's top ten restaurants according to the New York Times, Din Tai Fung. He ordered so many delicious dishes for us to try, and topped it all of with some heavenly mango and taro shaved ice.

We watched them making their mouth watering specialty, dumplings called 小笼包. Xiao Long Bao. My favorites were the pickled vegetable variety.

Faith and Charity count the 18 delicate folds the workers make for each 小笼包。

Dave introduced us to some new kinds of dried and candied fruits. The green ones are candied olives, if you can believe that. My kids love them! 

Rodney and Dave had a beautiful day for their trip to the Great Wall. Blue skies and the leaves were starting to turn.

Dave also delivered things from the States, helped us at the phone company, donated some of his own medicines, and spent a lot of time at the translation office where he will continue to provide much needed help from afar. Then he was off to Taiwan to meet up with his wife for some time with family, and of course for some more good food! Thanks for visiting, Dave!