Transfers Again!

December 4, 2011

I'll be completely honest with you, I don't really like transfers. They make the time feel like it's flying by ever faster and it often takes away from me that which I love. I either lose an amazing companion, or I leave an amazing area. No matter what, something which I love is no longer with me. Friday was a transfer day and my companion and I were nearly certain that she was transferring. As the day approached, the words to a song ran through my head almost unceasingly- it's one of those songs that really applies to the life of a missionary.

Just because everything's changing
Doesn't mean it's never been this way before.
All you can do is try to know who your friends are
As you head off to the war.
Pick a star on the dark horizon and
Follow the light
You'll come back when it's over
No need to say goodbye.
You'll come back when it's over
No need to say goodbye.
(From "The Call" by Regina Spektor: Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian)

How does this apply to transfers and missions? In this last transfer, everything changed, Sister McBride and I are no longer companions, she is no longer here. It was like that before however, because before September we weren't companions, and before June she wasn't in Antique. Missions sometimes really feel like a war. We don't have guns or swords, but we fight against the forces of the devil as we try to help others to come unto Christ. The one thing that helps most is to know who your friends are, to know that there are people at home who love you and pray for you, to know that- though you'll be separated- you and your previous companion will still be friends, to know that there are people standing beside you and fighting with you. Finally, we are blessed with a light to follow, a star on the horizon, our Savior, Jesus Christ. He leads this work and he promises us that we will never be left alone in the dark. As my companion left, we did not say goodbye- we said see you later, because after this is all over, we'll come back.

Part of life is the changing, the moving on, the growth. We pass the test and we head on to the next grade, one step closer to graduation and going home to the Father in Heaven who loves us so very much. Along the way, we meet friends who stand beside us and with us. One of those has just left me, and God has blessed me with another in her place. My transfers race by faster than I can think and my heart breaks as I realize that I only have 4 left. I avoid thinking about it and pray that the time will slow down so I can breathe before I climb on that plane, everything changes, and so many things go back to being the way they were before.

Halong Kamo