Merry Christmas from Taiwan!

Merry Christmas—from the Liston’s in Taiwan   

Visiting the Taipei Temple

Yes, in case you just woke up from a “long winter’s nap,” we are serving as the office couple in the Taiwan-Taichung mission for our church. We will be here 18 months and then return to whatever “retirement” means to Ron. (We actually haven’t thought much about that yet). Being on a mission is as far away from retirement as Taiwan is from Springville, Utah. We are learning a lot, loving the people of Taiwan, and know we are in very deed, in the service of our Heavenly Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. We love serving our Elders and Sisters, and working under the leadership of President and Sister Bishop.

Here is the update on our children:

Julie, Adam, Jackson-9 and Dawson-5 continue to live in Pleasant Grove while Adam works as an investment advisor and hunts for an avocation. He and Julie went to Africa this year and had a great time. The boys are growing and enjoying their many friends. Jackson and Dawson play many sports. Jackson is also learning to play the piano and is a good cub scout.

Kris and Riley, DJ-13, Samantha-10, and Lydia-4, moved from Las Vegas to Riley’s hometown of Alamo, Nevada this past summer. They love the small town atmosphere, participating in sports, church, and community activities. Riley commutes to LV where he works in the Trust department of the Wells Fargo regional office. Having them closer to Utah has been nice, until we moved 7,000 miles to the west last April. Samantha is learning to play the piano and play Volleyball for her school. DJ is playing football and active in scouting and his Aaronic Priesthood work. Lydia enjoys her pre-school, which she insists must be called “school.”

Brea, Brenden, Conner-8, Jaron-6, and Logan-3 moved from El Paso to Pleasant Grove this past summer. Brenden had some health problems during this time of move, so they have had a roller-coaster ride. He is doing well now and has a very good job in Salt Lake City, which he loves. Brea continues to manage the finances for a cabinet making company in Springville. Jaron and Conner are active in sports, and Conner is a loyal cub scout. Logan is a happy little boy busy with his toys.

Eric, Alisa, Landon-7, Chayse-4, and Karson-1 continue to live in Springville, while Eric works for Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City. Landon is now in the first grade and Chayse attends pre-school and many “extra-curricular” activities like dance. Karson is growing up and has such a loving personality (unless you don’t like having all the cupboards emptied every hour of the day). Eric is arranging for our five children to join us in Taiwan for one week in March.


Andy, Missy, Kaitlyn-2, and the newest---William Andrew-.5 are living in Springville. Kaitlyn is a busy two year old, keeping her mother hopping all day. William is a most beautiful and pleasant baby. Lola has not been able to hold him yet, which she dearly longs for. We are so glad that Missy supplies us with plenty of photos of both of these Liston grandchildren. Andy finished his Echo Technology Bachelor’s degree this year and is now employed as the lead Echo Technologist with Mountain View Hospital in Payson. Missy is the architect and manager of our Blog.


We are very proud of each member of our family. They are raising their children to be responsible and contributing members of their communities. Each of our children and their spouses are actively serving our Father in Heaven in various capacities. We love and miss them. They each assure us that they are receiving many blessings as we serve fulltime in Taiwan. We can hardly wait to have them join us and experience a little of Taiwan next year.

Anyone who has served a full-time mission knows that Christmas away from home is very different. And, living in a country that is primarily non-Christian, makes capturing the usual spirit of Christmas even more difficult. A few stores have “xmas” greetings, music, and some Christmas trappings. But, overall, much of the traditional Christmas fare is missing. Although we miss this, what we are enjoying is a wonderful focus on Christ and our deep gratitude for him and his Church.

It is our hope that this Christmas letter finds you and your loved ones tied close together around the reality of Jesus Christ, his birth, his life, and his atonement. For these blessings in our life, we are eternally grateful.


Elder and Sister Liston (Ron and Lola)