From Robert Sheffield: While on my mission in Barcelona, Spain about February or March, 1979, we encountered a young woman about 19 years old named Ramona, from the Dominican Republic. She had stopped by our Chapel in Barcelona and sat down during the Sacrament meeting. After the meeting ended, my companion and I (zone leaders) asked the sister missionaries to find out who she was. Ramona then told both the sisters and us that she was vacationing in Barcelona at that time. As she walked down the street, she felt prompted to stop by the chapel.

Ramona said that as a child growing up in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, she would read the Bible often and wrestled with the question of which church to join. As she read, she also prayed frequently and one night had a dream. In the dream, she saw the feet of a glorious being. She was told that she should one day encounter the true Church. She was told that she would know because the feelings she would feel would be the same she was feeling then. Ramona shared with us that she had never felt these feelings until that moment during our sacrament meeting. She then asked if we would baptize her.

As missionaries in Spain, let alone Barcelona, we were not accustomed to this kind of conversion. The baptisms came at a rate of two or three per missionary for the entire two years. We told her we would like to teach her the gospel first and then we would perform the baptism. About two or three days later, my companion baptized her and I confirmed her a member of the Church of Jesus Christ. After the confirmation, she bore one of the most spiritual testimonies I had ever heard.

As we were teaching her the lessons, our mission president, President David Doxey then called the Mission home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The mission president [Richard Millett] told President Doxey that they were sending missionaries to her village that same week for the first time and that they would like to meet with her upon her return from Barcelona.

Needless to say, this was an incredible experience to all of us, particularly with the kind of mission we had. It was a tremendous blessing to have experienced what was to be the baptism of one of the first members of the Church in Santo Domingo.

I have not heard anything about Ramona since the experience. I am not sure if she can be found, but it would be interesting to locate her and find out how she is doing. Without question, Ramona was an exceptional person.