DAY 45 - STRANGERS ARE JUST FRIENDS I HAVEN'T MET YET

Tonight the Sister Missionaries came over for dinner. It was great!  And don’t worry, I didn’t poison them – that’s what the Emergency Lasagna is there to prevent.

   And more than just the Sisters, I also invited Isabel Dorton to join us. Isabel is a great 13-year-old young woman in my neighborhood, and she was just the right addition to this “Dinner Party”.

   As we started dinner, the Sisters shared a bit about themselves: how long they’ve been out, where they are from, what they originally thought about being sent to Provo Utah. Isabel shared a bit about her family, a few funny stories, a few lessons learned.

   In the short one-hour we had together, we got to know each other a bit better – and I think we each learned something valuable from the stories we shared.

   Oh, I don’t know if I’ll ever see them again – that's just the nature of missionaries and transfers. But I do know if I run into them at church, another hug will be in order. And if they stop by when they are in the area, that the door will always be open to them. And if I don’t ever see these two cute young ladies again, that I got the chance to meet them and be part of their mission experience.

   And it reminded me that friends aren’t just people that I have known forever – but that my dad’s philosophy of “strangers are just friends we haven’t met yet” is so very true.  By the end of dessert there were hugs as we parted ways. And somewhere out there, wandering the rugged streets of Provo Utah, are two people who were strangers this morning – and are new friends tonight.