When my husband and I were serving a Church mission for the LDS Church in 2000-2001 we inheirited the apartment that the previous missionary couple had lived in. It was on the 8th floor of a 16-story apartment building. We had a balcony overlooking a park with brilliant autumn leaves painting the landscape. That was the positive side of having the apartment. The negatives outweighed the positives; they being the construction of a subway below us with constant pile drivers going from 6 am to 10 pm every day except Sunday; pets in the hallways and elevators that carried fleas which jumped on my legs and bit me; weird cooking smells throughout he building and a man who had the apartment below us who smoked in his bathroom and the smoke came into our bathroom–not a good odor for a pair of missionaries to wear!
We prayed for help in finding a better apartment. That isn’t easy in a city where ALL Landlords work from 9 am to 4 pm five days a week. They never open their doors or answer their phones during off hours. We worked the same hours. Another problem was that they all wanted a year’s lease and we would only be there 11 more months.
But this is what we got: We didn’t have to sign a year lease. The rent fit our price range. We got a carpeted apartment (most apartments had cold, hard floors), located on the second floor, front corner (away from strange cooking odors), only had normal traffic noises we could live with. No pets were allowed except service animals (no fleas). We were low enough that my arthritic knees could climb a flight of stairs in event of a power failure. We had two bedrooms and underground indoor parking (good to have when snow was on the ground six months of the year). We had evergreen trees outside our balcony which reminded us of home, and some playful black squirrels in the yard to watch. We also met some lovely people at Church to socialize with.
My husband was able to play basketball every week, and went to sales where he could buy furnishings for missionary apartments, activities he enjoyed doing. I had a friend who would meet me at the mission office on my lunch hour and take me to a park or a mall. It was a great experience.
Other positives about our mission included saving money in our bank account, letters from our kids and grandchildren, and we had a great cultural experience meeting people from many countries and tasting their foods. We went to an authentic Chinese New Year and authentic Iranian New Year party. We planned a Dominion Day picnic for our ward.
We missed two weddings and two funerals of family members, and welcoming a new grandson but that was something we could deal with. It was a great experience!
