Three for three...

Three for three, that is the number of months that Alex has been on his mission and it is also the number of times that he has been transferred. Yes, Alex got transferred again last week. He is now in Lawrence, Kansas not far from the University of Kansas. We aren't really sure why he has been moved around so much in his first few months, but with each move he seems to be getting more and more into the work. This wasn't just a normal transfer, by the way. The reason why I say that is because in a normal transfer, usually a missionary is paired up with a companion that has been in that area for at least the previous six weeks. This time, as Alex called it, this was a double transfer. In other words, both of the missionaries that were there before were transferred out and Alex and his new companion were sent in to take their place.

Alex said that he really had a hard time leaving Platte City just like he did when he left Wamego. He and his companion had done so much work and things had really started to reach the tipping point with the people that they were teaching. Alex said it best in his letter so I will quote it here rather than try to paraphrase it. In his letter he is talking about why he thinks that he has been moved around so much already:

"I work hard so I will get moved a lot and I won’t be able to see the fruits of my labor. ... I know that the people I have been teaching are getting baptized, but it doesn’t matter whether I am the one getting “credit” for it or not. As long as people are getting baptized, and I am able to get the work cranking everywhere I go. Honestly I really don’t care if I get the “credit” for baptizing a single person on my mission. As long as I can help the work go forward and lay a ground work for people, I am completely content with that. I know that our purpose is to baptize people, but people will get baptized because of my efforts.

It is weird to see because as soon as I left Wamego people starting getting baptized there and the same thing is happening in Platte City. It is so cool to see! I feel kind of like Jonny Appleseed ha ha. I just plant the seeds and move on, never looking back. I love it!! Sorry I hope that it all made sense; because it makes sense in my head. It is just weird trying to write it all down. Man I am so excited about this transfer! "

That is the way it should be. The Lord knows where he needs his missionaries and he will make sure that they get to where they are needed. Even if that missionary never gets to see the fruits that come from the seeds that were planted. The most important thing is that there are fruits.

So another interesting story to tell here and it goes back to something I mentioned in a previous entry. Remember how I said that for some reason, no matter where Alex is, he seems to find some tie back to Utah. Well, Alex has only been in Lawrence for less than a week and he has already run across a tie back to Utah yet again. As it turns out, Alex and his companion happen to run into an ex-NBA basketball player who now lives there. Things didn't really go very well with the meeting but when Alex told us the story, it just so happens that I used to work with the brother of this same basketball player at a previous job. I wrote Alex back and told him how he probably didn't know it at the time but he had actually also met this basketball player's brother back when Alex was a young scout and we were at a nearby scout camp. Yet again, funny how small the world gets sometimes.

Well this entry is a little shorter than some of the others, but then it has only been a week since the last time I wrote on this blog. Since so much had happened to Alex this week, I felt that we just needed to write it all written down and share it with all of those who are actually reading this blog. Things are going great for Alex even though he and his companions have had to almost start from scratch with each transfer. We just can't wait every week to hear more about the things that are going on in the Independence Missouri mission.