Two happy young men on their way to the Manila Missionary Training Center. Elder Tran (signalling "V") is from Hanoi and will return to the Cambodia mission. Elder Sin is going on to Australia for two years. Since their languages are different, they both communicated in English. It was delightful watching them meet for the first time. They made an instant connection and were so happy to be companions at the start of their great adventure.

October is annually the wettest month in Phnom Penh. Late this week it rained hard for about an hour and a half. One of our guards snapped a picture of an old guy wading to the van to pick up a few missionaries who were walking home from a career seminar. The missionaries had finished their two years and getting ready to go home.

Dear Family and Friends,

We just posted four photos--one of a youngster riding to school, and three of our local traffic police. Don't be too alarmed that Elder Snyder has already been pulled over three times. It's a common occurrence in Phnom Penh, plus a certain young missionary twice advised him to go down one-way streets. The young missionary has promised to repay the fines whenever he has money--not likely in the immediate future anyway. ;-)

We should mention, too, that Sister Snyder remains steadfast in her refusal to get behind the wheel. Smart woman!

We're missing the holiday season. Not much fall weather here, and turkeys, even if they'd fit in our little ovens, are $40+.

Hope everything is well with you and yours.

Much love,

The Snyders

A youngster riding his bicycle to school. He is probably carrying 500 Riel (equivalent to 12.5 cents) that he gives to his teacher to supplement her salary. Teachers are only paid 60-100 dollars a month, somewhat low even by Cambodian standards, and it is expected that the families of students subsidize teacher pay.

We are so impressed with the Phnom Penh traffic control system. Here are three of their finest enforcers. Since we've had personal experience with them (3 times), we feel relatively competent to discuss the system. Here's how it works. First, Phnom Penh cops generally buy their way into the job--somewhere between $2000 and $3000 which is a lot of money in Cambodia. Second, they work a specific block all the time. They stand at the corner and motion over any rulebreakers. Some people speed away from them, but some pull over. The cop then explains your infraction, checks your license, and asks for money. Although they have a keen eye for those with money--mainly foreigners--there is a range of expectation depending on the severity of the infraction. Phnom Penh has a lot of one-way streets that only run for a block or so. Finding yourself heading the wrong way will generally cost $5. Running a red light is $10 unless you have a Khmer passenger who is willing to fight for you. In that case, you can negotiate down to $2.50. We've known nascent (foreign) drivers who have mistakenly paid up to $50 for a fine. It should be known that the cops make their livings off of this money, though they pay a percentage to the area captain--an officer who "owns" the area and sells the jobs. Of course, the area owner reports to (pays?) the next guy up the chain. To the average Joe, this sounds like corruption, but it can be thought of a little more positively. The system is wonderfully efficient. It keeps people in line by providing great coverage (most busy city blocks), and judge, jury, and prosecuting attorney all wrapped up into one. No worries about going to court, no worries about making an appeal, no points taken from your license--just a simple negotiation and it's done. In fact, we have some Khmer drivers (of luxury vehicles) who have perfected the drive-through payment method. They drive down the one-way street and stick a $5 bill out the window as they go by the cops. Think, too, that there are no worries about putting the officers on the public payroll or even downsizing the police force during a recession. They are paid by us traffic scofflaws. What could be better?

A friendly guy, he's just trying to make a living like everybody else.

Note the radio which is used to inform other nearby officers of those motos or cars that need to be pulled over.