eating sandia :) yum

February 20 2012 

I loved the Valentine packages. THANKS. Its been so fun! Thanks for the scriptures and the quotes and the suggestions. I don´t know about the progress on the Trujillo temple. It’s not close to my area. 


I’m so jealous of your St. George weekend. Good luck emmy and megan in your soccer games! I was telling my companion that a lot of my family was in st.george this weekend; swimming, playing games in the sun, shopping and paying soccer. And she said Hermana, I am your family and we are doing the same things here.... kinda. It was so funny; I was like oh yea. :)

It’s getting so hot here right now. We are dying. When we go in houses to teach it’s an oven. Picture those adobe houses in forgotten canyon at Lake Powell and that’s where I am. It’s about 85 degrees, some days closer to 90.  We go in these houses to teach and the sweat just runs. It’s so hot! But as soon as we go outside the air feels so good. Some days I just want to go jump in the water. Oh Powell. :)

So mom I´m so glad you are loving the mtc. Your description last time of those elders was exactly my same feelings. So much you want to share, but you just don´t know how to say it in spanish. 

This past week has been a week of MIRACLES!!! Literally. So at our last district meeting we were asked who in our area is progressing we all wrote down their names and throughout this past week we have been praying for every investigator in the zone in every prayer. It has been soo cool. To pray for the success of the other missionaries and their investigators by name. Well as we were doing this our three names that we gave have not really been progressing BUT we have encountered three different people and they have progressed immensely!! 

Emma and Isabel are doing great. Isabel is going to be baptized Saturday March 3rd. Yay, she is so fun. When we walk down the street Isabel and Alexandra run out to meet us. I love it. Emma is progressing but a lot slower. Her dad is a very stout catholic and doesn´t understand why another baptism is important. He has given permission for us to baptize Isabel, but Emma is easily persuaded so we need to be patient with her. But we love them so much!!

... And for the other miracle this week. Remember Nicole.... Well her older sister Angie listened to us when we would visit dayvi and nicole-- but Angie didn’t want to come to church or be baptized. Well one day we were going to visit nicole and she didn´t want to come out of her room and talk to us so we just started talking with angie. Well we started singing Soy un Hijo de Dios. (I am a child of God) and she loved that song. She has a 6th month old baby and she wants the very best for him. She wants him raised in the church. She said she wants to be baptized and come to church with us on Sunday. So guess what she came to church with us yesterday and is getting BAPTIZED!!! I´m so excited for her!! There are members of the ward that want to help her because she is so young and the baby’s dad isn´t around.  But she wants this for her baby. So cool.  Last night was her interview and Her baptism is saturday!!  I love her. 

I have really been trying to love the people her in my area. Last week mom said `give all the love you can` and I have been trying hard.  When I am really focusing on the needs of the investigator the love just comes. It’s awesome, I love the feeling. 

Please pray for Emma, Isabel, Angie, Jose and his wife Brenda this week. 

Thanks so much for all of your love and support!! I love you all! 

HNA SANDSTROM  

Christmas/Valentines pants - Thanks Aunt Sherry
I'm going to see if a lady in our ward can alter them
I'll need them if I go to Huraz :)
kaylee was really never this big - the xxl was all that was left :) 

Hermano Freddy, our ward mission leader and the one who
does our laundry, brought us pizza hut!! OH my gosh it was delicious!!
and yes that is real strips of bacon - oh the little joys in life 

Sandrita and Fabricio - we live with their family

Hermana Mendoza had an ear ache,
so this is an old wives tale that is supposed to relieve it
 - you light the whole thing on fire and air comes out in big puffs