Friday, May 06, 2005

Coincidence?

Out of boredom I took a look at the webpage for my mission this week. I noticed an old guestbook entry by someone looking for the missionaries that taught them. One of the missionaires was Elder Thomas. There were two Elder Thomases there during the timeframe in question, one of which I know relatively well. I was going to respond to the inquiry, but the person who left it didn't leave a way of contacting them. So I looked up the Thomas that I know on Yahoo, given that I know what city he had moved to about two years ago. I found a number and tried to call. I got an answering machine that belonged to someone else. Maybe he had moved. I figured that it wasn't worth bothering his parents on the off chance that this person that I couldn't contact was trying to contact him.

The next day I get an email message that there is a new guestbook entry on the site, looking for Elder Thomas again. So I click it and this time the person has provided an email address. I write her back and explain that there were two and ask which one she wants. She responded the next day saying that she wants to contact the one that I know. I was able to pass along his parent's address, since I am no longer sure where he lives.

Now I wonder, is it mere coincidence that this person posted again with their email address within a day of my seeing their old post? I have no idea. Is it meaningful? I would guess that putting this woman back in contact with this person is more meaningful than the fact that she put up the second post just as a person that could help her was thinking about it.