Not long after we got here we noticed an area near a town called Tchong where there are several flower shops of sorts. A couple of them have orchids growing all over. Since today is my birthday I got to make a decision, so I chose to stop and take some pictures. I have chosen just a few of those I took, but enough that you can see some of the beauty here. Actually there is beauty all around, but we sometimes fail to see it for a number of reasons. Mostly driving is tenuous enough that you can't take your eyes off the road long enough to see the flowers everywhere. Diane likes flowers, but doesn't share my enthusiasm for them. Perhaps it is just that they are so different here, or perhaps it is the stark contrasts we see every day that keeps me looking for the beauty. If we focused on the other we would drown in pity. What ever it is I really do enjoy the flowers and the kids. Between flowers and kids I have hundreds of photos.





















I have also included a picture I took this morning in a District Meeting of a missionary's shoe. We were setting behind him when I noticed how worn his shoes are. I think of him as being relatively new here, so it caught me by surprise. Perhaps you can begin to understand how hard these fine young missionaries work to wear a good pair of shoes out in less than a year. They are a badge of honor!