An Interview With Mom Continues--Part 3

Back in March, I started a "documentary" (ha!), answering some questions my mom sent me via email. All moms should be reporters, because we know how to ask questions of our children, right? Even grown up moms and grown up children (such as my mom and me!). So, here goes another chapter of "Interview with Mom":

Is there an apartment house keeper?

Well, yes, and no! Part of our apartment is kept clean by Micah. We decided early on that he needed a way to earn some money, so we gave him a list to complete weekly to earn some tugricks (the form of cash here) so he could pay for a movie, soda, etc., and also save some money to use in the U.S. this summer. Apart from that, we could actually have one of our friends' housekeeper come in for $7 for 3 hours of work! I've thought of having her come in to do a scrub down of the place since dust is so prevalent here, but so far I've done it myself. I guess it's part of my workout to get the apartment clean!

Have you gotten any mail... like magazines, advertisements, letters or cards?

We get absolutely NO junk mail! Isn't that amazing?! There is not a personal, door-to-door mail service in Mongolia. Instead, you must have a PO box. And, we don't have a personal PO box...our mail is delivered to the office's box. As far as we have understood, none of our students or Mongolian friends have a personal PO box. If you want to invite someone to something, it is by word of mouth. Almost everyone has a cell phone.

Do you check your mail daily or is it too far away?

The office woman checks the mail 3-4 times a week. We have actually received three care packages and three or four envelopes from friends and family back home. It has been wonderful to get the mail. Care packages are pretty expensive to send, and we can get so much here in UB, that we are encouraging our friends to not send packages, but we love to get letters or little things in envelopes!

How are you getting along with laundry... do you iron clothing since it doesn't fluff dry?

I have gotten the iron out a couple times when something is really wrinkled, but I usually just shake it out from the washing machine and hang it very neatly on the drying rack so it dries as smooth as possible. You may remember from an earlier post that we have a front loading washing machine that is a small capacity machine. A regular-sized load for it is: 1 pair of jeans, 3 boxers, 3 t shirts. That's it. No more will fit. I feel like I'm always thinking about laundry, even though we don't generate that much dirty stuff! I try to do 2-3 loads every other day. We have a king sized bed, and one king sheet almost throws the machine into a tizzy! During the spin cycle, it bounces forward, as if it's protesting! I have one friend that says that sometimes we just have to lay a "reassuring hand" on our washing machine.

These "different" things aren't wrong or worse (in fact, it's nice to not get so much junk mail, right?)...but they are adjustments. When I'm frustrated with adjusting to something different, I try to keep in mind principles Paul wrote about: "Whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Him." And, "Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me!" He has given us these good thoughts to dwell upon!