It's still raining almost every day and some of the provinces north of Phnom Penh (notably the Siem Reap, Kampong Thom and Battambang areas) are experiencing intermittent flooding. Traffic is getting crazier in the city. Even in the 14 months we've been here, it seems that more autos and motos are on the roads. The government is trying to deal with the increasing traffic by building an overpass to accommodate the major intersection on the way to the airport, by putting more medians in the main thoroughfares, and by keeping fuel prices high. As people have complained about the high prices, government officials have been very quick to say that lower fuel prices mean more traffic. In case you're interested, it costs around 5800 Riel for a liter of regular unleaded. At a 4000 riel/dollar exchange rate that's $1.45 x 3.78 liters/gal = $5.48/gallon. Along those lines, we paid $1.85 for a liter of boxed (not refrigerated) milk this last week. That's $6.99/gallon.

If you have time to look at the below five photos, be sure to look at the last one of some cute little boys enjoying life. They're not worried about traffic, or the price of fuel and milk.

Hope all is well with you and yours.

Sister Snyder invited the 18 missionaries from the (Viet) Central Zone to our apartment for a meal featuring tacos, burritos, homemade sopapillas and ice cream. What energy and enthusiasm these extraordinary young people bring with them!

These missionaries enjoyed pleasant conversation from the comfort of the living room chairs. The one with the bright smile, Sister Huong, is from Ho Chi Minh City. Viewers will note that our new furnished apartment (as of July) is spacious and comfortable.

The limited seating space didn't bother these missionaries. Besides, Sister Snyder's floor is always clean enough to eat from.

Vo Thi Kim Loan is an 18-year-old Viet girl who is undergoing chemo therapy for a rare form of cancer. She is shown here with well-wishers from her branch. Her mother is second from left. Loan is being treated at Sen Sok University Hospital by a Russian oncologist.

Elder Spencer, a senior missionary assigned to the Sen Sok area in the North District of Phnom Penh, took this photo and labeled it "Monsoon Puddle Delight".

This week, we escorted a young missionary to Bangkok for a medical test he could not receive in Phnom Penh. (Happily, the medical specialist gave him a clean bill of health!) By some estimates, Bangkok has close to 25 million people and the congestion to match. We spent quite a bit of time at the hospital and in taxis--three-hour round trips from the mission office to the hospital in peak traffic. We stayed in the high-rise apartment of the Bangkok office couple and enjoyed honest-to-goodness pancakes and eggs for breakfast. One of the trip highlights was enjoying a Big Mac, Whopper and the large fountain diet sodas that Sister Snyder likes so well. That noted, we were glad to get back to our mission. It is the best one for us!

Of course, it is the people that make our time here so memorable. The first photo shows a delightful family we visited this week, along with a group photo of our favorite missionaries. Then you'll see a few pics of our view of Bangkok, followed by an extra photo that may be of interest.

A Viet family from Branch 6 we visited last Friday night. They run a little convenience store and do relatively well as noted by the two-door refrigerator behind us. The two girls are 21 and 19 and are attending a special school to study Chinese.

A great group of missionaries--all working with the three Viet branches we are assigned to. This makes them our missionaries, of course! ;-)

The information desk in the lobby of the 5-star Bangkok hospital where we took a missionary for medical tests. We don't think you can find any finer facility in the USA. In their cardio unit they advertise heart-bypass operations for $10,000.

A three-headed dragon as part of a large display depicting a good vs. evil theme in the ultra-modern Bangkok airport terminal. Note the Gucci shop in the background. There was plenty of high-end shopping available in the terminal but, more important to us, there was a Burger King where we purchased Whopper value meals for a paltry $10 each.

These are newly-made "beds" used by Khmer people for sleeping and eating.  Many of their homes are not much bigger than the beds, so this is their only piece of furniture.  Note that its 18" height allows storage underneath, or provides dry space if water comes in the home.  Straw mats can be used for sleeping, and we've also seen hammocks strung from wall to wall over the bed.