Behind The Bamboo Screens

Our upstairs privacy screen

Six weeks ago we welcomed some new house guests to live in our basement. In telling my friends about it, I at first started the subject by saying that we have some "basement dwellers". But after one friend replied, "Oh no--carpenter ants?" and another--"Rats?", I finally just started saying that we had the missionaries living in our basement!

We were a bit hesitant, for a number of reasons, to have the missionaries live here. But upon hearing that they could get no one else to house them, we tentatively agreed to give it a try and see how it went. Apparently this mission saves $15,000/month by having members house the missionaries instead of renting apartments.

Our downstairs privacy screen

With the help of the above-pictured privacy screen we have basically divided off the basement and have given them a little over half of it. There is a very small kitchenette downstairs that they use, so the only thing we really share is the laundry room. It has actually turned out to be OK and not as terrible as I had pictured. They do have to enter the house through our back kitchen door, but otherwise we don't see them much with the help of the privacy screens. They are very nice elders, conscientious, and have been considerate of the fact that they are living in our home. We feel like they have been a blessing to our household.

I did laugh when I heard, about two weeks ago, that the stake president was concerned about them living here due to our relatively young age. Um, hello! What do you think I was saying the whole time that tentative plans were being made for them to live here: aren't we too young??? The bishop and the mission president didn't think so, so now they are trying to find somewhere else for them to live. We will miss them when they go--whenever that is. I'll bet it takes them awhile to find them a home.


The elder on the right is being transferred, so we'll see who our next "basement dweller" will be tomorrow.