Tsai Family of the Parklands

Dear family and friends,  "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair." Charles Dickens in "A Tale of Two Cities" was describing the disruptive state of affairs in 18th century England and France, but in a different way these sentences also seem to describe with vivid accuracy the pandemic year of 2020. In a very real but painful manner, COVID-19 disrupted our "normal" lives. Initially, many activities were canceled, including Chinese New Year parties (of which we were in the midst of intense preparations for two such parties), musical concerts, choir rehearsals, and travel. In a more intimate sense, even in-person school, work, and church were basically canceled and transformed into a virtual reality of Zoom and

At 3am on November 3, we all arose to accompany Sister Tsai to the BWI Airport.  It was a solemn occasion.  We will miss her as she dedicates her life totally to serving God for the next year and a half.  Have a great mission!

On a beautiful autumn day, otherwise known as Halloween, we took an excursion to patronize the Philadelphia Temple for Megan to participate in the temple before she departs for the mission field.  The peace and spirit of the temple permeated through us while we were there.  Afterwards, we enjoyed the famous Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches in our cars before going home.

On October 30, my mom treated everyone to Firebird's for dinner in honor of Megan's mission call.  We enjoyed the delicious food, of course, in the comfort and safety of our home.  We took occasion to take family photos and a photo of a future harpist (after she has grown a foot or two or three).

The official mission call for Megan came on the week of April 15.  On the evening where we surprised my Mom with a birthday call, Megan surprised all of us with her mission call, announcing that she was officially called to the Taiwan Taichung Mission.  Everyone, especially Megan, was super excited for her mission.  On August 30, she was set apart as a full-time missionary by President Nathan Sheets at the Potomac Chapel. On September 6, she entered the virtual MTC (Missionary  Training Center), engaging in all of her missionary training at home. The Branch organized a special farewell fireside for he and for Elder Richard Huang (called to the California Arcadia Chinese speaking Mission) on October 24.  During fireside, slideshows about each missionary in their youth and videos from two families were shown.  Several teachers and leaders spoke to and for the two missionaries.  In addition, their mothers and the Branch President spoke.  Finally, the two missionaries said a few words in C

Our family was able to participate in the first ever virtual Montgomery Branch's Moon Festival party.  The festivities included a video of previous Branch Moon Festival parties, a scripture Bingo game, 3 family video messages, an animation of Chang E, and a Chinese flower paper cutting demonstration.  The Tsai family presented one of the family video messages.  Despite the COVID crisis, it was to engage with family and friends on this Moon Festival.

On Labor Day, we decided to take advantage of the nice weather and walk around Seneca Creek State Park.  I was joined by Li-Fang's nephew, Lester, Melinda & Javi & Sofia, and Jonathan.  We arrived around10 AM and parked in the free parking lot at the front of the front entrance.  So we had to walk into the park.  We explored the Pines picnic area and walked around the lake and around a little bit. We came back home by noon to a generous lunch prepared by Li-Fang.  It was fun to relax and enjoy a little bit of nature.

On a very nice morning in June, we decided to get some physical exercise and hike up Sugarloaf Mountain.  We commenced our trek early in the morning, thinking that less people would be there.  Wow, were we mistaken.  Little did we know that everyone in Montgomery County thought the same way we did.  OK, not everyone thought that way, but by 9am, there were over 100 cars.  There was literally wall-to-wall hikers walking to and fro.  Despite the traffic, it was a very nice day to go outdoors.

 After 2 years, the long-awaited and long-promised Watkins Mill I270 Interchange was completed this year.  The 2-way, double lane, double exit, double entrance highway bridge connected the East and West sides of Watkins Mill Road, which have existed for ages.  On June 10, 2020, this new highway interchange, Exit 12, was officially opened. For us, this new interchange has impacted our lives in a major way and has for the most part improved our standard of living.  It now takes only a few minutes to cross the bridge to go to Kaiser or Costco.  In less than one minute, we can be on the I270 going north or south.  Fortunately for right now, the increase in traffic has been very minimal, in part due to the pandemic.  So, if you have not seen this new interchange, come on over and check it out.

A beautiful little girl of dear friends of ours was born on May 20, 2020.  They accepted our offer for them to stay in our home while my wife helped the mother and the baby acclimate to the real world.  Her name from her baby blessing to be given later on August 16 would be Isabella Wang.  What a beautiful name!  It was an honor to have them stay in our home for this short time.  Congratulations to the Wang family, and may the Lord prosper their family!

Little prepared were we for the COVID-19 pandemic when it hit this year.  It literally turned our lives up-side-down and inside-out.  Almost every public social event was canceled, including the Montgomery Branch's Chinese New Year celebration and the Parkland's neighborhood Chinese New Year celebration, which we were helping to organize.  But even more taxing an influence was the every day impact it would have on us for a while to come.  Starting March 15, all physical church meetings were canceled for a while.  Beginning March 16, at NIST we were ordered to start teleworking every day. In Maryland, the Stay at Home order was issued on March 30, prohibiting all gatherings of more than 10 people. On March 18, we spontaneously decided to drive to Utah during a snowstorm in order to take Li-Fang's parents to Utah (after staying with us for 6 months) and to take Megan home from BYU.  Of course, we took a longer circuitous route through Oklahoma and New Mexico to avoid the sn