Zack is in Taiwan

Love the palm tree behind him :)

We got an email from Zack Monday evening stating he was leaving for Taiwan the very next day. It was quite the shock for him. (and us!)

We were able to talk to him Tuesday morning while he was in the airport waiting to board his flight to Seattle. At that time, all he knew was he was alone headed to Seattle, then Japan, and from Japan to Taiwan. He did not know if others would join him.

He told us he read an email he received from the Taiwan mission stating he could possibly be leaving quickly. He assumed that meant he may be there for a few weeks instead of a few months. Literally 5 minutes later, the Riverside, California mission president called him asking if he could be packed and ready at the mission home by 8 pm because he was scheduled to go to Taiwan the next morning. He was stunned.

He was a little bummed because he was enjoying his time in CA. He said his companion was awesome. They were technically Mandarin speaking missionaries, but didn't use it a lot. They basically had 1 street that was their area and it was in a college town. They walked a lot and made a lot of contacts at the college by asking, "Where is the accounting building?" He said it was fun contacting people who were his age at a college.

However, he was excited to be heading to Taiwan and hoped that some of the other members of his district would be traveling with him at some point. From the pictures of their arrival, there were a bunch of missionaries from his MTC district.

He called me again from the Seattle airport. He wasn't too concerned about traveling and getting around since he has flown a lot. He said he didn't like doing it alone :). He knew the Japan airport had English on their signs.

At the airport with some of his MTC district buddies.

Breakfast of Champions!

Practice

When they go out for their first dinner, the missionaries are given the duck brain eating challenge. Then comes the fish eye challenge. This elder is about to eat the fish eyes. Zack has a priceless expression on his face. I wonder if the elder actually ate the eyes :)

President & Sister Blickenstaff with Elder Fleming

After a long day or 2 of travel, I am sure he and the other missionaries were so tired. I'm glad they get a couple days or rest and training at the mission home before leaving.

Zack was assigned to Elder Tyler Bak and they are serving in Yuen Lin. Can't wait to read about his new adventure and experiences!