Going Home

Hello my dear family,

first off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO DAD! May the day be full of phone calls from your children who (cough) aren't many miles away and not allowed to use a phone. Enjoy the Backer's cake!
Secondly, I hope Ben's doing all right. I'll definitely be praying for that poor soul who ripped 100 bucks off of him...he'll get what's coming. No worries. I hope you all stay safe and healthy while I'm away. Hold out for 5 more months at least. Please!

Right now I'm experiencing a bit of deja vous because i'm writing to you all from my first area of the mission: Arraijan. As I mentioned in the last letter, they had to take us out of our zone because of the carnival celebrations that are going on in the middle of the country, so that means I've been blessed with an opportunity few missionaries ever get to experience--a chance to go back to where it all began. It's been quite the nostalgic weekend for me and it all started on Thursday night when we got here and dropped our stuff off at my old house. I saw this flashback to a younger, more naive and much whiter Hermana Brewster walking through that door completely stunned at her new life for the next 17 months. I'm so grateful for the things I've learned since then. And I still can't believe it's been a year since I've been here. In these past few days I've been able to reconnect with a lot of the first people I met here in Panama, including many dear friends. it's been unreal.

Our first stop was the chino (a little store) that's on the corner by our house. I had made friends with Luis, the Chinese boy who works their with his family, back when I was here but I didn't know if he'd recognize me. When we walked in the store I smiled at him and said, ¨Do you remember me?'' His face lit up, he smiled and said, ''Hi, Hermana Brewster.'' I talked to him for a few minutes, asking how the past year had gone for him, all the while thinking to myself how funny it was that an American girl and a Chinese boy where standing here having this conversation in Spanish... it was funny to me. I was so happy Luis remembered who I was.

Probably the neatest thing though was when we went to go visit some old investigators I had here, la familia Barria. Ever since they took me out of Arraijain, I've wondered about this little family. They came to church with us once but the missionaries after me stopped teaching them because they didn't progress. We walked by the street where I knew they lived but I didn't see the bright orange house I was familiar with. Instead, there was a pink one in its place. It's customary in Panama to paint houses during the year, so I figured it was the same one but I wasn't entirely sure...until I heard a voice call out from inside, ''It's Hermana Brewster!'' and out came Elias, the little boy I met a year ago, only now he's not so little. His family came out to and they all gave me a hug. I was so touched that they remembered who I was despite the fact that I had only really known them a short time and that was way back when my Spanish was extremely limited. We made an appointment to go back and visit them this week before we leave.

Yesterday being fast sunday, I was able to get up in my old ward and bear my testimony to all of the old ward members and friends I have here. I told them that for me, this was like a preview of the Celestial Kingdom when we'll all be able to meet up again. I felt like I was back at home and on more than one occasion the tears threatened to come gushing out. But I controlled it well, I'm proud to say. I'm just so grateful for this rare opportunity to come back for a bit to my ''home'' in Panama. Just knowing that people remember me here made me feel like my entire time's been worth it.

But Im excited to get back to work in Santiago. Miss them too.

Time's up. love you all! Talk to you next week.

love,
HnaBrewster