Hermana Sandra Grindstaff, August 12 2009

> Date: Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:26:25 +0000
>
> Hola familia,
> Things are great here and don`t worry that I haven`t gotten my packages yet. I haven`t received any letters for a while either and it`s because our district hasn`t been bringing the box like they are supposed to every week. Ah well. I imagine I`ll get the package and letters at the next zone meeting in a week and a half.
> This past week has been so full of miracles and experiences it`s hard to know where to begin. So, to start off, I got bit by a dog. Yes, one of the millions of dogs here attacked my leg while we were contacting a house. I cried a little (mostly from the shock of having been bitten) and when the owner of the dog came out my companion contacted her and shared a little intro to the gospel with her (while I stood to the side crying a little while staring at my leg) The woman felt pretty bad and put antibacterial on my leg and then we went on our way. I don`t know if I`ve told you this, but I`ve decided I just don`t like dogs. There are so many dogs here you wouldn`t believe it and every single one of them barks at us. Ah, I could write this whole e-mail about dogs, but I think I`ll move on.
> We had a baptism yesterday! The man that was baptized is named Ernesto and he is an older man that me and hna. Wilson found in a little villa called Juanico. Ernesto really wanted to be baptized and told many times that he needed to be baptized, even though he is almost 74 and has bad health. His baptism went really well and after he was baptized he bore his testimony. He told everyone that for his whole life he has been Ernesto Aldolfo Días, but now he is Ernesto Aldolfo Días with a new perspective on life. It is really amazing to see how prepared he was to be baptized. He soaked up everything we taught him and even did the reading (even though his eyes are really bad and it`s hard for him). It was a great experience.
> We had many miracles on Sunday. We had investigators in church that have never come before and we found and taught an entire family in a house. This family that we found was great... we contacted two of the family members outside their house and then went on our way down the dirt road to another lesson that we had planned when two little boys started running down the road after us yelling "hermanas, hermana`s!" the family wanted us to come inside and sing them a song (because they heard us sing outside). It turned out that the mother of the family was a woman that I had talked to at a bus stop a while ago. I didn`t remember talking to her too well because I talk to a lot of people, but she remembered me telling her a little about my family and chatting with her. It was a neat experience.
> I have so many more great experiences this week finding new people to teach. The Lord is really guiding us to people... it is a lot of work to find them sometimes, but after a long struggle and a lot of work the Lord places us where we need to be to find his prepared children.
> I love this work and I love the gospel. I know the church is true and that the Savior is the head of this church. What a blessing it has been in my life.
> I have a new companion as of today. her name is hna. Rogers and it turns out that her and my comp. that is going home were companions. They loved eachother a lot and are so excited that we are companions now.
> Anyway, I love you all a lot and I`ll be sure to write more stories in a letter. (that will get sent as soon as they bring the box. It might be a while. :)
> I love you!
>
> hna. Grindstaff