Why?

Last spring I was sitting in a meeting at church where one of the stake leaders explained that the missionaries were in need of an apartment to live in. No sooner had the words left his mouth than three hands pointed at me saying that I had a vacant basement apartment.  That's how it all started. 

Yes, I do have an apartment in my basement and I had been renting it out on occasion.  When I first moved in, a newlywed couple I know needed a place to live, and I allowed them to stay in my apartment.  It was close to his work, and the rent was not too expensive.  This lasted for about a year and a half when they bought a home and moved out.  The next renter lasted about a year, he was a divorced man and my mom (who lives with me) was always uncomfortable having a single man living in the house.  When he moved out, I decided not to rent again. 
That lasted about a month and a half.  So I guess the Lord directed this whole empty apartment thing for me, to give me the opportunity to host missionaries in my apartment. 

You might ask, why I am doing this?  The answer is not an easy one, but the decision was easy. 
Your first thought might be, "Why would you let irresponsible teen-age boys live in your apartment?"  I thought that too, at first.  But then I thought of the great blessing of dedicating a part of my home to the service of the Lord Jesus Christ.  How could I say no to that?  I couldn't. 
It has been a great blessing to have the missionaries live in my home, the increase in the spirit is palpable.  These young men in their early twenties will generally stay about 3 months before getting transferred to another area in the mission.  I love to see their different personalities and their desire to serve the Lord.  I did have a companionship living in my home who had a few health problems and they were not able to get out much.  It was very sad to see the work slow to nearly a stop while they lived here, but the two who live here today are fantastic and they are working very hard.  They are having difficulty getting to their appointments on time, because they are so busy.  They are being blessed for that effort, and have a few convert baptisms to show for their hard work.  (More on these two later).

I have had missionaries from Canada, Washington state, Arizona, North Carolina, Mexico, Japan, and South Carolina.