A day in the Life of AnnMarie July 06 2005

The following is an excerpt from a letter that AnnMarie sent her mom, telling about her day.  At the time I was on a mission trip with a group of Americans and Ukrainians somewhere between Kyiv and Odessa.  Our apartment was built in the soviet era and the furnishings were 1950's soviet style.  I am sure if any of you were adults in the 1950's some of our stuff might have seemed normal to you.  Part of the furniture's uniqueness was that all chairs and couches could fold out to make a bed.  So in theory we could bed down maybe 10 people.  At this time we were house-sitting for the Linds, so we had their TV and washing-machine available to us.  We had no vehicle of our own so shopping meant walking to the store or taking public transportation.  I think we all lost weight the first year we were there.  Here's the excerpt -

Today I did laundry. In takes 90 minutes for the front loading machine to do one load. But I am so thankful to have the machine. Then I have to hang the clothes on the clothes lines that are on the balcony.  A breeze blows to dry them. I miss how the towels feels coming out of the dryer. They are so soft and fluffy.  I don’t know how long it will take the clothes to dry when winter comes. I doubt that I will be hanging them outside. I have a couple lines over the tub in the bathroom and a folding rack for some as well.

I also defrosted the refrigerator. I think it is over 30 years old. Now that it defrosted I plan on going shopping tomorrow to buy lunch meat, bread and something for dinner. I am not sure what I will get. And I will go to the office to work when Paul calls. I wait for his calls because he is in and out of the office often and I am never sure what tasks are needed to be done until he calls. We haven’t yet established a routine and plan for things that need to be done. I think this will come to pass over time. He is used to doing the work by himself and it takes time to know what things can be released for someone else to do.

V I found a Christian channel in English and there are some programs that I find interesting to watch. Today we are studying Psalm 120-131. They are pilgrim songs that were sung as a reminder and teaching tool of what God has done for them. I didn’t go to church on Sunday because I knew there wouldn’t be someone there to interpret the sermon for me. I missed going.

Daily I get text messages on the cell phone updating me on what is happening on the outreach that Emily and Alan are on. Last night Emily sang Amazing Grace.  Alan said he was so proud of her and I think it blessed those in attendance as well. She does have a beautiful voice. Alan also had opportunity to preach.

Click here to see some pictures of our appartment