Elder Den is a young man from Phnom Penh who is packing for his mission. He first goes to the Mission Training Center in Manila for three weeks, then returns to Cambodia to serve for two years. It is an exciting time for him and his family. The photo was taken the night before his departure in the mission home. His mother is helping him pack, and other family members were there, too. Note the portable scales. There is a 20-kilo limit to (airline) baggage weight to Manila. Missionaries are required to earn money in advance to help pay for their mission costs.

Elder Den's sisters, Nawi and Nari, enjoyed helping him pack, too.

These two little guys from Takhmao are all dressed up in their Sunday finery. At this time of year, the mornings are usually clear, and it rains hard (think monsoon) in the afternoon.

Sister Snyder with Relief Society members from the Takhmao Branch. Known for compassionate service, the Relief Society is the largest women's organization in the world.

This is the building where Branch 11 meets in the morning, and Branch 4 meets in the afternoon. We are assigned to visit those branches, in addition to the Takhmao Branch. Our mission van is in the foreground.

This is the side of our kitchen with the new two-door refrigerator we bought this week. Two doors means it has a separate frostfree freezer--a great luxury for us. Our old frig had only one door so the tiny freezer had to be defrosted every two weeks, and its inconsistent temperature made storing Janis' insulin a little more challenging. Next to the frig is our food/dish storage cabinet (keeps bugs out), our microwave and little stove. The tea kettle is for heating water for cooking and dishwashing. Although the kitchen has no hot water, it is very functional and Janis keeps it spotless. By the way, the frig cost us $330, the cheapest two-door we found. It's a Panasonic, and is 54 inches tall and 22 inches wide.

This is the other side of our kitchen that shows the sink, clothes washer, and water cooler. Note the bottle of bleach on the counter which we use in preparing rinse water for washing dishes. Tap water is not safe for drinking or washing eating ware. The water cooler is wonderful and we keep 10-12 containers of drinking water on hand at all times. There is no dryer to go with the washer--very few Cambodians have a dryer so you don't find them in stores. We use a clothes rack to dry our clothing.