I made it out here! 15 hours in the place and 2 buses, we have finally made it back to where my dad lives. He lives in his mother's old house, as she passed away a little over 2 years ago. It's 10PM Taiwan time and 9AM Monday in Georgia, so looks like I am 13 hours ahead in the future. I'll let yall know if anything goes down! The secret to the plane ride is cycles. Mine is Book until bored, movie until bored or til the end whichever comes first, music until tired, sleep as long as you possibly can. I did the cycle about three times and BOOM! we were landing!
My dad make our way on the bus and go straight to the house. The house is right in the city so when you go out the front door, everything is right there. We hit the ramen spot right next door and it was delicious! It was one of my favorite places to go last time too. We've been having good conversations. He told me about his siblings and what was going down after his mom died. It's definitely messy and confusing for them, but I was so glad to be in on it. One thing about my childhood was that I never knew about the messy stuff in our family. Things that were happening, things that happened in the past, I didn't know about til basically now. I still don't know a lot of things, but this week I'm finding out! I think they were trying to protect me maybe, but ultimately it left me feeling a very strange but tangible disconnect in my identity. I didn't where who or where I'd come from. We talked excitedly about the plans over the next few weeks. My dad has planned a couple really cool things for us to do, including some sightseeing, and we're going to go pay respects all all my grandparents, who have all died since the last time I was in Taiwan and able to see them.
I am SO tired, so I'm going to go to sleep hoping to beat the jet lag. If you are the praying type - pray for my time with my dad. I need prayers for more fruits of the spirit in our interactions. Things that used to annoy me still do, but I am seeking the LORD to help me walk in peace, understanding and love. Pray that the Lord would open my eyes to a bigger picture in the moments of frustration and that ultimately both my dad and myself would learn how to communicate better and honor each other's boundaries. Thank you guys!