The missionary transfer process is like a recurrent logistical puzzle that needs to be assembled the Lord's way. Every six weeks, the MTC sends out a batch of new missionaries needing to be assigned to a proselyting area and a trainer, while other missionaries are finishing their missions and need to be replaced, and between those extremes is a plethora of companionships needing to be updated and rotated. All that the mission president has to do is to get every single missionary assigned to the specific area and the specific companion where the Lord wants them to be. With 45 companionships (6 with sisters and 39 for elders - no mixing allowed) at present in Liberia, the number of possible combinations is probably a really big number with a bunch of commas.
The Mission President’s Handbook provides some basic guidelines for transfers, an admonition to always seek for and follow the spirit and a reminder that this is a responsibility that cannot be delegated. It is generally good to avoid having missionaries repeat serving in an area, or with the same companion. There are numerous variables to consider with relative experience and skill levels, temperament, leadership responsibilities, language and cultural backgrounds among different missionaries. You don’t want to park someone in an area or zone for too long, nor hopscotch people around every transfer or two. It is good to avoid “whitewashing” an area (sending in two new missionaries to start fresh), especially in Liberia where there is no such thing as a physical address or street maps and the “roads” are often just byzantine trails meandering through various yards and compounds. It’s really hard to start from scratch.
With all that, the missionary transfer process requires a blend of preparation, analytics, foresight (you have to position people where you will need potential trainers and leaders one or two transfers down the road), all guided and confirmed throughout a healthy dose of inspiration, rather than intuition. That is consistent with the Lord’s admonition to “study it out in your mind” before seeking His confirmation. The other inevitable input comes from missionaries who are more than willing to share their views as to where or with whom they should serve. I tell them that is fine, since it isn’t me, but the Lord who ultimately makes the choice. I am just trying to get where He needs me to be. I go through the process with good input from the Assistants, but (for me) it takes several iterations over several days interspersed with a lot of prayer and pondering before I can honestly say that it is what the Lord intended.
It doesn’t happen very often, but occasionally I get missionaries who inform me that the assignment they just received is flat wrong. That was hard at first, because although I was trying my best to do what the Lord wants, I know I am fallible and it was easy to second-guess and sympathize with their logic. But I have learned to lean not to my own understanding, put my faith in the Lord and invite them to do the same. And to date, I have not had a single instance where the missionary hasn’t told me within a week or two that they can see the hand of the Lord and they know they are where they should be. Sometimes they can see that they are there to benefit an investigator, a member, another missionary. Other times it is to help them them learn something critical about themselves they otherwise would have missed. That confirmation comes as they are willing to humbly look for the hand of the Lord. And the Lord always comes through. We have really good missionaries, I should add.
A fascinating experience I had a while back came with two missionaries with completely different personalities and backgrounds who had been together less than two weeks when they concluded they had irreconcilable differences and to avoid the confrontations, had simply stopped talking to each other. They were doing the work but they were just going through the motions. And it showed as they grew more despondent. They are both great missionaries, but they seemed trapped and the spirit had become a casualty somewhere along the way.
When I discovered the situation, I immediately called and told them I would come to their apartment at nine the next morning to do companion study and talk with them then go out proselyting. I spent a sleepless night, pleading with the Lord and conjuring up several scenarios where I could make one or two immediate transfers that would put them each in an environment where they could recapture their zeal and love for the work.
As I sat down with them that morning, we prayed and started discussing the seemingly intractable situation. I took a deep breath... and my mind went completely blank. I honestly couldn’t remember any of my rationales or my quick-fix scenarios from the night before. What did come into my mind, completely unbidden, was Matthew 19:6 - “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” The Lord was gently telling me to stop trying to “fix” His plan. That simply wasn’t my place, or my prerogative.
I swallowed hard, and shared my impressions with them. We had a wonderful discussion and the spirit came flooding into the room. They each committed to trust the Lord, put aside their differences and make their companionship work. They finished out that transfer and one more and it worked. They both told me it wasn’t easy, but it was a wonderful learning experience for them. They immediately saw a huge difference in how every aspect of the work started going, with their investigators, their ward, in their apartment and in their personal lives.
They will probably never become fast friends, but they did something together and they both recognized they were doing the Lord’s will in the Lord’s way. It’s more than just going where He wants you to go. It's becoming what He wants you to be.
