MONS APARTMENT

When the mission learned that we were coming to Mons, they began looking for an apartment for us. Unfortunately, since we were only going to be here for eight months, it was impossible to rent an apartment for such a short time. There is a wonderful sister in the ward who was remodeling the upstairs of her home into an apartment that they thought of for us. It is, however, up three flights of stairs (the last ones being very steep and narrow), and it was thought that it might not be suitable for us oldsters. They then decided to move the Elders into the upstairs apartment, so we could take their studio apartment. Since then they also moved another companionship of Elders into that apartment with them. The apartment they have is beautiful, newly remodeled and perfect for four missionaries. We have this flight of stairs to climb before actually entering the building. There is an elevator after that which takes us to the top floor. That's our window on the left on the top floor.

We feel very fortunate to have the apartment that we do and will enjoy calling it home for the next few months. Following is a virtual tour of our apartment in Mons.
You enter the apartment by the front door, which is to the right of the photo. These are two closets and a cabinet with shelves.
We each have one of the closets. They are fairly small so we store our clothes that we are not currently using (winter things presently) in our suitcases.
Opposite the closets is the kitchen. It is in good condition and has a great deal of cupboard space, unlike our apartment in Bordeaux where we had to provide our own cupboards. Most of the kitchens we looked at in France had a sink and that was all - no cupboards, no appliances, nothing. So this is wonderful to have all this storage space.
The sink stops are unusual here. You put the tall metal tube into the drain and it stops the water from leaking out. If you overflow the sink, it runs out the middle of the tube so there is never a flood. The metal sticking out of the suds is the same as the one on the side of the sink.
Turn around from the sink and there are more cabinets, a microwave, toaster, refrigerator, and a nice fairly large counter. JoAnn is having a fun time trying to cook with such a small fridge. She is so used to cooking large meals and enjoying (?) them for the next couple of days. However, now we have to fix only what we can eat at one meal as there is very, very little food storage space.
This is the divider between the kitchen and the rest of the apartment. As you can see, we have a place of distinction for the umbrella as it rains nearly every day in Mons.
This is the pass-through counter into the rest of the apartment. Note we store some of the suitcases (the rest of our closet) and the vacuum cleaner under the counter. It has two small stools and can be used as a table for company.
This is the view from the other side of the pass-through counter. There are large windows that let in a lot of light. There is also a small balcony overlooking the street. This is the view.
On the other side from the "dining room" is our bed. This didn't come out too clearly. We will try to take another one with the blinds closed to see if it comes out brighter.
Our"King-size" bed! Actually, it is two twin-sized beds pushed together. We have king-sized sheets that keep the mattress together and make it feel like a really big bed. We also have two sets of mattresses on each side so that it is not so low and hard to get out of. It's amazing what a little ingenuity can do.
The bedside table with pictures that were given to us by the Toulouse Mission.

Next to the bed at the other end of the room we have our computer desks and a cute little window that looks out onto this:

This is the view to the left. The blue is where a man is doing a major remodeling job in his spare time. We hear electric saws and hammering most evenings and weekends.

Notice the horseshoes hanging on the building. These seems to be common in some of the older buildings here in Mons. Arnold says that they are hanging the wrong direction, allowing all the good luck to run out.
This building is right by where we park our car and is some type of government building. It usually has a Belgium, European Union and possibly a "state" flag flying during the day.

Our dresser and a bookcase are across from the computer desks. The door to the left goes into the bathroom.
When we first moved in the toilet was broken in a variety of ways. If you leaned to the side, the toilet tilted. It was not bolted to the floor! The porcelain on the back was cracked and broken. The flusher, which is located in the back was broken so you had to put your finger way down in a little hole to push a tiny plunger - your finger would come out with a dent from the plunger. We took no time in getting a plumber out and having a new toilet installed. So, consequently, we are proud of this shot of the new one. It's now a "throne" not a "rocking chair."

Across from the toilet is the washer and dryer (stacked). The dryer is brand new (the Elders used a drying rack) and the washer works well but has a screeching sound once in awhile that sounds like we are torturing a dog in our bathroom. The water from the washer runs out a hose into the bathroom sink. There is no vent for the dryer. Here their dryer s have a water collection system. After the dryer is finished, you just empty a tray that collects the water while the clothes are drying. It works pretty well, although the bathroom is very humid afterwards.

The tub is next to the toilet and across from the washer/dryer. They do not have regular showers here. They have this hand-held device. The curtain rod, which is rounded on the end as it goes around the side of the tub, was broken when we got here, but Arnold fixed it and will be putting in a device so that we can mount the shower head on the wall. He has done this for two other apartments we have lived in since being on our mission. It is difficult to try to stand in the tub, lather and rinse while holding the soap, wash cloth and shower head. If you put the shower head down it sprays all over the bathroom and if you turn it off, you can't turn it back on with soapy hands. The towel rack is at the end of the tub with the towels hanging into the tub area, so we need to remove the towels while we shower to keep from getting them prematurely wet.

The sink is at the far end of the bathroom, between the shower and the washer/dryer. It has a small shelf under the mirror which holds the things we use most often. We each have a basket of other things we use that we store on top of the dryer.

Mons is a more expensive city in which to live, so by staying in this small apartment we are able to afford the move - which is where we need to be. The Lord provides what we really need to make possible His plan for us. All in all, it is a very comfortable apartment. We have learned to work around any small inconveniences and are very happy here.