'The best job in the world'

Anna Long and her husband moved from Quebec to Wayne County three years ago because they wanted to live near an Orthodox Christian community.

They found it in the Hermitage of the Holy Cross, a monastery of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad.

The couple moved to a home just a few minutes down the road, and Anna's husband, a registered nurse, found work at Huntington's St. Mary's Hospital. Anna, a soap maker, never dreamed she would find work right at the monastery.

"I was a soap maker at home, so when I found out they made soap there, I offered to help," Long said. "The monks are so busy. All of them are working from morning to night."

Five days a week, she drives to the contemplative hermitage where, working mostly in silence, she makes soaps, lotions and lip balm using goat's milk from the monks' herd and beeswax from their hives.

The monks try to be self-sufficient, so sales of the products - they also make incense and have an icon painter there - are important.

"I've got the best job in the world," Long said. "It is so peaceful and welcoming working there."

The monks live quite simply and without many modern amenities. But they have learned to use technology to their advantage, developing an attractive website on which to sell their products.

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