Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:

Note to Trinity

I enjoyed reading your story In Focus (July 14, 2021).

You had me fooled at first thinking it was a real-life story of four wolves surrounding you.

Actually, I had a similar story, but a real one, of five huge dogs in India surrounding me.

It happened around a decade ago when I was in India checking a translation of the Bible in one of the 500 plus languages over there.

Early in the morning (around 6 a.m. while everyone was still sleeping), I went outside to take a bike ride into the countryside. I only went a few yards towards the bike when all of sudden five big dogs surrounded me.

I tried to calm them down like Dr. John Romstad does when I bike with him, saying calmly and nicely to dogs running after us, “Nice dogs. Go home now.” However, it did not seem to work with these five. They just kept barking at me.

Then the biggest rushed at me from behind and bit me hard on my butt. He was strong enough that I went down face first. Then they all seemed to pounce on me biting away. At that time I thought I was a goner. I yelled for help and called out to my God. Help from humans did not come (I guess everyone around there was still sound asleep) but after the dogs had a few bites in my flesh they all went away.

People ask me why they left? My answer: One of two reasons. Either they weren’t interested in the tough meat of a 60-year-old (I was around 60 at that time) or an angel from God told them to scram or maybe a combination of the two. An angel told them to scram and did not have to convince them too much due to the tough meat.

I will not deny that it was a traumatic experience, but as they were chewing me up, I was thinking, “you can chew me up, but my spirit will live on.”

Thanking our loving Lord for giving us peace in the midst of traumatic experiences. I did sleep that following night. I trust you did too, Trinity, after your equally traumatic dream. I’ve heard “Dreams come true.”

Well, Trinity, your dream did come true in my life.

Shalom,

Kermit Titrud

Clarissa Resident

P.S. Stranded on the Titrud farm, since about a month ago they would not let us go through the gate in Seattle for the Philippines. But that’s okay, “all things work together for good” which we’ve seen plenty of already. And besides, there is no better place to be stranded at than in central Minnesota. And the cherry on the banana split is that I get to play more softball.