Sometimes, things happen for a reason

I felt great frustration when I lost my "cédula," or national identification card, as obtaining one is expensive and time-consuming, and they are required for many transactions.

I returned to the nearest DAS office and once again began the process.

At one point during the long wait, a young lady took the seat next to me and said, "Hello, Elder." We always wear our name badges, but this still took me by surprise. We talked, and it turned out that she was 19, here from Texas visiting relatives, and was a member of the Church. However, she'd been adrift for the last several years, and was here in Bogotá staying with folks whose standards were not good.

We had a good chat, and when my name was called to go get fingerprinted, I turned to her and said, "You know, Alex, there may well have been a reason why that seat was empty and we had a chance to talk.  You could be a lot happier in life.  You really should come back to church."

She promised she would, and I went to the back room and got ink all over everywhere.  If losing my cédula meant meeting and talking with Alex, it was worth every peso of the 144,300 it cost.
 Sometimes, things happen for a reason.
Dave