Happy Memorial Day, my dear family!
Or is that "Merry Christmas"? According to Mom, the snow fell in good ol' Utah today, so I don't know if you're all really in May or not--and practically June pretty soon here. Am I going to come home to one giant puddle in the basement? I worry about flooding. I really do. Well Merry Christmas, just the same :).
So you all know that I was sent back to my hometown of the mission and that it surprised me quite a bit, but I'm happy to say that I am loving it. I honestly feel like it's given me a preview of what going home for real will feel like because being back with my old ward members and families has made me feel very much at home. They're all fantastic and I don't think there's a better place for me to finish my mission. We also were able to set 3 different baptismal dates this last week, so we're working hard on "the harvest." I don't feel like I can take any credit at all for the good fortune we've had because it's really just the Lord's work and I'm in the middle of it. But I do love Arraijan! (that's my area, not a person.)
So a couple of days ago we were having a bit of a slow day and the morale wasn't up very high. We were going to go teach with a member in our ward and so that evening we waited for them in a park in front of the church. I felt tired, a little grumpy and not really in the mood to do anything, to be honest. It had been a long, unfruitful day. While we were sitting there, a little boy who was hanging around on the monkey bars caught our attention and started showing off for us. We applauded him for his acrobatic abilities and he came over to talk to us. He told us his name was "Jean" (as in Jean Valjean), he was 6-years-old and he lived right across the street (which explained why his mother wasn't around). We had a kick talking to him. I asked him how old he thought I was and he said, "like 25,000." I told him that was pretty close. For a 6-year-old he talked extremely well and he became our instant friend by making us laugh with his funny little kid witticisms. He saw our tags and asked what we did.
me: We teach people the gospel of Jesus Christ
Jean: huh?
Me: We go around talking to people about Jesus
Jean: Oh. Well, you can come talk to my mom about Jesus while she does her hair!
And then he proceeded to yank at our hands, insisting that we come over to his house immediately. His mom was a little embarrassed but she's a sweet young gal and could possibly be genuinely interested in the gospel...we have yet to see.
Anyway, I'm thankful that a 6'year'old reminded me how to be friendly, happy and fun with people I don't even know. I miss being a kid sometimes.
love you all! gotta go or the computer will kick me off...
Hna. Brewster
Monday, May 30, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
Making mission history
Hello everyone,
Well. Blow me down and tie me to a tree. You will never ever guess where I am right now. We had transfers last Wednesday and I was completely floored when I found out that I was returning to none other than my ¨home town¨ of the mission: Arraijan, la Dos Mil. That's right. I am finishing my mission in the exact same place where I started. I thought at first that there had been some mistake and they'd forgotten that I'd already been in this area, but the assistants told me it was something President´s had planned for a while and that he thought it was what I always wanted. Many people repeat zones but I have never heard of anyone ever repeating the same exact area. I was in a complete state of shock for the first 48 hours and felt like I was being asked to go back to high school and repeat some old classes. Basically, I didn't understand what I was doing here again and I didn't have the best attitude about it. Yes, I love the area and yes I love the people very much, but I always imagined that the next time I came back, I'd be with my husband or something. My companion, Hna. Ubeda, is from Guatemala and she's a sweetheart. Very soft spoken and easy to get along with. I'm grateful to have her. The members I think were more shocked than I was to see me back here ("Again??"). But they all gave me hugs and were happy to see me again, insisting that if the Lord sent me back here, it must be because there's something I left unfinished. I certainly hope they´re right. It feels as if all eyes are one me waiting to see the great miracle that comes out of the "prodigal gringa." I'm praying pretty hard these days and I'm determined to do everything I have to to ensure that I make the most of my time here. The good news is that we've already seen some great blessings in a short amount of time. A couple of days ago we tracted into a sweet lady named Maritza whom we taught and brought to church yesterday. Last night we actually set a baptismal date with her, so please pray that she continues to grow and progress in her knowledge of the gospel so that all will go well by June 11th!
It's taken some getting used to, but I really am happy to be here in my old ward. The people here are amazing and I can't imagine a better area to finish my mission. The only problem is that I'm sure it's going to be pretty hard to leave when the time comes. But I've still got a ways to go, luckily :).
Love you all and hope you're doing great. Happy late birthday to Ella!
love,
Hna. Brewster
Well. Blow me down and tie me to a tree. You will never ever guess where I am right now. We had transfers last Wednesday and I was completely floored when I found out that I was returning to none other than my ¨home town¨ of the mission: Arraijan, la Dos Mil. That's right. I am finishing my mission in the exact same place where I started. I thought at first that there had been some mistake and they'd forgotten that I'd already been in this area, but the assistants told me it was something President´s had planned for a while and that he thought it was what I always wanted. Many people repeat zones but I have never heard of anyone ever repeating the same exact area. I was in a complete state of shock for the first 48 hours and felt like I was being asked to go back to high school and repeat some old classes. Basically, I didn't understand what I was doing here again and I didn't have the best attitude about it. Yes, I love the area and yes I love the people very much, but I always imagined that the next time I came back, I'd be with my husband or something. My companion, Hna. Ubeda, is from Guatemala and she's a sweetheart. Very soft spoken and easy to get along with. I'm grateful to have her. The members I think were more shocked than I was to see me back here ("Again??"). But they all gave me hugs and were happy to see me again, insisting that if the Lord sent me back here, it must be because there's something I left unfinished. I certainly hope they´re right. It feels as if all eyes are one me waiting to see the great miracle that comes out of the "prodigal gringa." I'm praying pretty hard these days and I'm determined to do everything I have to to ensure that I make the most of my time here. The good news is that we've already seen some great blessings in a short amount of time. A couple of days ago we tracted into a sweet lady named Maritza whom we taught and brought to church yesterday. Last night we actually set a baptismal date with her, so please pray that she continues to grow and progress in her knowledge of the gospel so that all will go well by June 11th!
It's taken some getting used to, but I really am happy to be here in my old ward. The people here are amazing and I can't imagine a better area to finish my mission. The only problem is that I'm sure it's going to be pretty hard to leave when the time comes. But I've still got a ways to go, luckily :).
Love you all and hope you're doing great. Happy late birthday to Ella!
love,
Hna. Brewster
Monday, May 16, 2011
Ugly good-byes
Dear Family,
Well here we are at the end of another transfer and my time in Santiago is coming to a close. I'd like to think of Santiago as my ¨refining zone¨ of the mission because I think this is where I learned the hardest lessons. Still though, I really do love this place and now that it's coming down to the wire, I'm not sure if I really want to leave.
My last week here went out with a bang--and I mean that in a literal sense because since Thursday and onward the sky´s ripped open and the Panama rain is coming back with full force, thunder, lightning and all. I think I'd forgotten how hard it rains here but I was quickly reminded after we got absolutely drenched a couple days ago and had to come home midday to change and warm up a tad with some hot chocolate before facing the storm again (I know--being cold in Panama is weird). The bad news is that apparently getting wet DOES make you sick as they say, because this weekend I landed myself in bed with a sore throat, pounding head and nauseated stomach. Bleh. The worst part was that I wasn't able to get up to go to my last sacrament meeting in Santiago, which meant I wouldn't be seeing most of the members to tell them good-bye. I was sad about that, but in a way relieved--good byes are not my forte. Sometimes it's easier just to rip that band-aid off. However...the members gave me quite a shock when right after church on Sunday a whole crowd of them came over to see me and say good'bye. The unfortunate thing is that I had just woken up and they beheld me in all my puffy, sick-faced glory, which is probably the last image they´ll have of Hna. Brewster, but it was a sweet gesture. The tears came gushing out unexpectedly as I gave my final hugs to some of the good people I've come to know and love here these last 4 months. I think being sick just made me extra emotional. I also found out that one of the investigators we just started teaching came to church along with a few others, so it looks like Hna. Aguero might be here to witness a baptism after all. Whether I´m here to see it or not, it doesn't really matter. I´m just happy that we did our best to help the people here in whatever way we could. I´ll miss Santiago.
So...12 more weeks in a new area and I have a feeling it'll go by too fast. But there's plenty of time for a few more joys and heartaches
I'll let you all know next week where I'm at, unless they grant my wish and send me to the San Blas Islands where there is no internet...
Love you all,
Hna. Brewster
Well here we are at the end of another transfer and my time in Santiago is coming to a close. I'd like to think of Santiago as my ¨refining zone¨ of the mission because I think this is where I learned the hardest lessons. Still though, I really do love this place and now that it's coming down to the wire, I'm not sure if I really want to leave.
My last week here went out with a bang--and I mean that in a literal sense because since Thursday and onward the sky´s ripped open and the Panama rain is coming back with full force, thunder, lightning and all. I think I'd forgotten how hard it rains here but I was quickly reminded after we got absolutely drenched a couple days ago and had to come home midday to change and warm up a tad with some hot chocolate before facing the storm again (I know--being cold in Panama is weird). The bad news is that apparently getting wet DOES make you sick as they say, because this weekend I landed myself in bed with a sore throat, pounding head and nauseated stomach. Bleh. The worst part was that I wasn't able to get up to go to my last sacrament meeting in Santiago, which meant I wouldn't be seeing most of the members to tell them good-bye. I was sad about that, but in a way relieved--good byes are not my forte. Sometimes it's easier just to rip that band-aid off. However...the members gave me quite a shock when right after church on Sunday a whole crowd of them came over to see me and say good'bye. The unfortunate thing is that I had just woken up and they beheld me in all my puffy, sick-faced glory, which is probably the last image they´ll have of Hna. Brewster, but it was a sweet gesture. The tears came gushing out unexpectedly as I gave my final hugs to some of the good people I've come to know and love here these last 4 months. I think being sick just made me extra emotional. I also found out that one of the investigators we just started teaching came to church along with a few others, so it looks like Hna. Aguero might be here to witness a baptism after all. Whether I´m here to see it or not, it doesn't really matter. I´m just happy that we did our best to help the people here in whatever way we could. I´ll miss Santiago.
So...12 more weeks in a new area and I have a feeling it'll go by too fast. But there's plenty of time for a few more joys and heartaches
I'll let you all know next week where I'm at, unless they grant my wish and send me to the San Blas Islands where there is no internet...
Love you all,
Hna. Brewster
Monday, May 9, 2011
I know I just talked to you but...
Oh, my dear family,
It was so great to SEE you all and talk to you last night! Everyone looks great and seems happy, so I'm grateful for that. It's funny--when we got done talking, I was chatting with the Robisons and Hna. Aguero about how I expected calling home to make me trunky, but it actually made me realize that everything's still in place and there are great things to look forward to when we're back all together, but this is the only time I'll ever have as a missionary in Panama. So, far from making me trunky, it actually made me a tad nostalgic for the mission. 3 months really is nothing at all and I'm going to miss being here. Nothing has ever been so crazy, so difficult or so thoroughly entertaining as the mission. Most of all, I'm just very grateful for the opportunity I've had to grow in my testimony of the Savior. I know I told Mom, Dad, Angie and Caden about this last night, but for those of you who didn't hear, this is an experience we had this weekend (taken from my letter to the president this week):
Want some good news? Turns out we really are doing some good in Santiago after all. This weekend we went to go help out a couple in the ward that´s been having some marital problems. Everyone in the ward kept telling us, ¨"you need to go visit them! You need to visit them!" which we always do, of course, but everyone seems to have this idea that missionaries have the power to fix everything. I honestly didn't have a clue what we were going to tell this young couple (not being married myself and therefore not an authority on the subject) and when we got there they just started yelling and fighting right in front of us, going back and forth about all of the wrong things that the other had done. I finally had to stand up and tell them that we had to leave because there was nothing we could do to help them if they just wanted to sit there and fight. We were embarrassed to see them act like this since both of them knew better. I asked them to think about what Christ would think if he were here listening to them treat each other this way and that if they truly believed in the gospel, they would forgive each other and fix the things that they were doing wrong individually. There was a long moment of silence. At least the fighting stopped. The next day at church they were both quiet and left right after sacrament meeting. The miracle is that when we went to visit them at night time, they were both smiling and acting very pleasant with each other. They told us that we and many of the ward members had helped them to change their attitudes and they'd decided to forgive each other. Then the wife said something I won't forget very soon: "When Hna. Brewster stood up and reprimanded us, I felt like Jesus Christ himself was in the room and I felt so ashamed."
We always tell people we're "representatives of Jesus Christ" but sometimes I don't think we fully understand the magnitude of that statement. We actually DO have the authority to act in His name and say what He would say. It's a humbling thought and definitely makes me grateful to have this opportunity to be a missionary and be that much closer to the Savior.
It's hard but I love it.
Sometimes, if not a majority of the time, it's difficult to feel like we´re really making any difference here in the mission but it's experiences like this that reinforce my faith in what we're doing here. I may not be the best missionary, but I know I'm doing the best I can.
I love you all very much and am grateful for each one of you. Have a fantastic week!
love,
Hna. Brewster
It was so great to SEE you all and talk to you last night! Everyone looks great and seems happy, so I'm grateful for that. It's funny--when we got done talking, I was chatting with the Robisons and Hna. Aguero about how I expected calling home to make me trunky, but it actually made me realize that everything's still in place and there are great things to look forward to when we're back all together, but this is the only time I'll ever have as a missionary in Panama. So, far from making me trunky, it actually made me a tad nostalgic for the mission. 3 months really is nothing at all and I'm going to miss being here. Nothing has ever been so crazy, so difficult or so thoroughly entertaining as the mission. Most of all, I'm just very grateful for the opportunity I've had to grow in my testimony of the Savior. I know I told Mom, Dad, Angie and Caden about this last night, but for those of you who didn't hear, this is an experience we had this weekend (taken from my letter to the president this week):
Want some good news? Turns out we really are doing some good in Santiago after all. This weekend we went to go help out a couple in the ward that´s been having some marital problems. Everyone in the ward kept telling us, ¨"you need to go visit them! You need to visit them!" which we always do, of course, but everyone seems to have this idea that missionaries have the power to fix everything. I honestly didn't have a clue what we were going to tell this young couple (not being married myself and therefore not an authority on the subject) and when we got there they just started yelling and fighting right in front of us, going back and forth about all of the wrong things that the other had done. I finally had to stand up and tell them that we had to leave because there was nothing we could do to help them if they just wanted to sit there and fight. We were embarrassed to see them act like this since both of them knew better. I asked them to think about what Christ would think if he were here listening to them treat each other this way and that if they truly believed in the gospel, they would forgive each other and fix the things that they were doing wrong individually. There was a long moment of silence. At least the fighting stopped. The next day at church they were both quiet and left right after sacrament meeting. The miracle is that when we went to visit them at night time, they were both smiling and acting very pleasant with each other. They told us that we and many of the ward members had helped them to change their attitudes and they'd decided to forgive each other. Then the wife said something I won't forget very soon: "When Hna. Brewster stood up and reprimanded us, I felt like Jesus Christ himself was in the room and I felt so ashamed."
We always tell people we're "representatives of Jesus Christ" but sometimes I don't think we fully understand the magnitude of that statement. We actually DO have the authority to act in His name and say what He would say. It's a humbling thought and definitely makes me grateful to have this opportunity to be a missionary and be that much closer to the Savior.
It's hard but I love it.
Sometimes, if not a majority of the time, it's difficult to feel like we´re really making any difference here in the mission but it's experiences like this that reinforce my faith in what we're doing here. I may not be the best missionary, but I know I'm doing the best I can.
I love you all very much and am grateful for each one of you. Have a fantastic week!
love,
Hna. Brewster
Monday, May 2, 2011
I wouldn't want to be Osama bin Laden right about now
Dear Family,
Happy Birthday to Katie and happy death day of bin Laden! Many reasons to rejoice, eh? I haven-t yet seen the reaction of Panamanians to the news but I'm pretty sure there's worldwide happiness. It-s good to hear that Satan is one man down. May's starting out to be a pretty good month!
So I don't have much to report today...these week was busy. Another zone conference in Chorrera...I got to see Hna. Graham and a bunch of old friends. That was fun.
Yesterday I lost my voice and sounded like a Spanish donkey in all of our lessons. Funny thing is that in zone conference they stressed the need to talk less and listen more. Perhaps I was just forced to put that into practice. I'm confident, however, that my voice will be back in time for Sunday when I get to call home for Mother's Day! (Woo hoo!) And if it's not, I'll be able to sign to you because we get to use Skype again. I feel like I just talked to you all, but I guess that was 5 months ago....weird. Anywho, it'll be somewhere between 7 and 8 MDT, in case those of you who don't live at home want to call around that time.... If not, I'll be seeing you in about 3 months, so no biggie.
In the meantime, we are doing what we can to leave the Santiago branch stronger than we found it. I have a feeling that I've only got about 2 weeks left here, so I'm hoping I can do whatever little good I can before I go. We organized a leadership training day this weekend for all of the auxiliaries and talked to them about organization, delegation and cooperation. I think the Lord sent me to Panama to teach me just how important visiting teaching really is. So many problems could be fixed if we all just took care of each other...
Well, I'm looking forward to talking to you this Sunday! Happy Mother's Day to all.
love,
Hna. Brewster
Happy Birthday to Katie and happy death day of bin Laden! Many reasons to rejoice, eh? I haven-t yet seen the reaction of Panamanians to the news but I'm pretty sure there's worldwide happiness. It-s good to hear that Satan is one man down. May's starting out to be a pretty good month!
So I don't have much to report today...these week was busy. Another zone conference in Chorrera...I got to see Hna. Graham and a bunch of old friends. That was fun.
Yesterday I lost my voice and sounded like a Spanish donkey in all of our lessons. Funny thing is that in zone conference they stressed the need to talk less and listen more. Perhaps I was just forced to put that into practice. I'm confident, however, that my voice will be back in time for Sunday when I get to call home for Mother's Day! (Woo hoo!) And if it's not, I'll be able to sign to you because we get to use Skype again. I feel like I just talked to you all, but I guess that was 5 months ago....weird. Anywho, it'll be somewhere between 7 and 8 MDT, in case those of you who don't live at home want to call around that time.... If not, I'll be seeing you in about 3 months, so no biggie.
In the meantime, we are doing what we can to leave the Santiago branch stronger than we found it. I have a feeling that I've only got about 2 weeks left here, so I'm hoping I can do whatever little good I can before I go. We organized a leadership training day this weekend for all of the auxiliaries and talked to them about organization, delegation and cooperation. I think the Lord sent me to Panama to teach me just how important visiting teaching really is. So many problems could be fixed if we all just took care of each other...
Well, I'm looking forward to talking to you this Sunday! Happy Mother's Day to all.
love,
Hna. Brewster
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Marriage Counseling
Happy Easter plus one!
This was the week when all the Catholics come out, so we had many fun experiences trying to teach about the Restoration. People are very nice (for the most part) but not too receptive to the idea of a living prophet. Or maybe they just don't want to wake up on Sundays at 9 am. That could be the reason.
Anywho, I've decided that my attitude about Santiago needs to change a bit. This past week I realized that what I want (which is to find and baptize a family or at least one person here before I leave) is secondary to the plans of the Lord, and I have a strong feeling that the greatest need right now is helping to strengthen and fortify the branch. President Ward's hinted that that's what he'd like us to do, but I've been stubborn and shoving that thought off to the side, thinking, "We'll show him! We can have baptisms here in Santiago even if it is the Catholic capital of Panama!" I think I finally realized that even though we still work hard to preach the gospel to everyone here, I need to focus on the needs of the area as well.
One of those needs is to strengthen the young families that are here. We have a branch with a bunch of young, recent convert couples and many (if not all) of them have a few marital issues that they're trying to work out before they can prepare themselves to go to the temple. Yesterday we decided to take Elder Robison (the senior missionary) with us to one of these couples' houses to give them some help after they had a big fight before church. Basically, we sat in the middle and translated while Elder Robison gave them some pointers on how they could strengthen their marriage and overcome some of their problems. Whenever the husband or wife would mention something that the other did that bothered them, Elder Robison would just chuckle and say, "Yep. Been there." I think in the end it was nice for them to realize that everyone's got problems and sometimes you just need to laugh about the differences. Hna. Aguero and I, not being married ourselves, didn't have too much knowledge to impart, but we did suggest that they settle arguments with paper-rock-scissors...and a little gospel on the side. I didn't think marriage counseling would be part of my job description as a missionary, but you never know exactly what people are going to need you for. Why do I get the feeling that someday all of these things are going to be echoing in my head?
Oh yeah, just one more thing: last night we tracted into a Hindu family. That was probably my favorite thing to happen this past week. The dad and son were the only ones who spoke Spanish, so we taught a very, very simplified version of the first lesson, using pictures and many hand gestures. I felt odd teaching about God while I was looking at pictures of Shiva and Vishnu on the wall, but it was fun. They were nice. I wonder how Scott did that for 2 years...
I love missionary work. It's a crazy little box of chocolates.
Love you all and have a great week!
Hna. Brewster
This was the week when all the Catholics come out, so we had many fun experiences trying to teach about the Restoration. People are very nice (for the most part) but not too receptive to the idea of a living prophet. Or maybe they just don't want to wake up on Sundays at 9 am. That could be the reason.
Anywho, I've decided that my attitude about Santiago needs to change a bit. This past week I realized that what I want (which is to find and baptize a family or at least one person here before I leave) is secondary to the plans of the Lord, and I have a strong feeling that the greatest need right now is helping to strengthen and fortify the branch. President Ward's hinted that that's what he'd like us to do, but I've been stubborn and shoving that thought off to the side, thinking, "We'll show him! We can have baptisms here in Santiago even if it is the Catholic capital of Panama!" I think I finally realized that even though we still work hard to preach the gospel to everyone here, I need to focus on the needs of the area as well.
One of those needs is to strengthen the young families that are here. We have a branch with a bunch of young, recent convert couples and many (if not all) of them have a few marital issues that they're trying to work out before they can prepare themselves to go to the temple. Yesterday we decided to take Elder Robison (the senior missionary) with us to one of these couples' houses to give them some help after they had a big fight before church. Basically, we sat in the middle and translated while Elder Robison gave them some pointers on how they could strengthen their marriage and overcome some of their problems. Whenever the husband or wife would mention something that the other did that bothered them, Elder Robison would just chuckle and say, "Yep. Been there." I think in the end it was nice for them to realize that everyone's got problems and sometimes you just need to laugh about the differences. Hna. Aguero and I, not being married ourselves, didn't have too much knowledge to impart, but we did suggest that they settle arguments with paper-rock-scissors...and a little gospel on the side. I didn't think marriage counseling would be part of my job description as a missionary, but you never know exactly what people are going to need you for. Why do I get the feeling that someday all of these things are going to be echoing in my head?
Oh yeah, just one more thing: last night we tracted into a Hindu family. That was probably my favorite thing to happen this past week. The dad and son were the only ones who spoke Spanish, so we taught a very, very simplified version of the first lesson, using pictures and many hand gestures. I felt odd teaching about God while I was looking at pictures of Shiva and Vishnu on the wall, but it was fun. They were nice. I wonder how Scott did that for 2 years...
I love missionary work. It's a crazy little box of chocolates.
Love you all and have a great week!
Hna. Brewster
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