Dear Family,
Welp, today makes 17 months for me in the mission. WOW. The other day someone asked me how much time I had left. Without thinking about it, I responded, "7 weeks." Then my jaw dropped open. 7 WEEKS??? I was in a moment of brief shock after that. Actually, I think I'm still there. I didn't sleep too well last night. There´s just way too much to think about these days.
Don't worry, though. I am staying focused and working my tail off. We have some great investigators (most of which are references from ward members, which is amazing) whom we´re working with that I feel confident will be baptized in July. It's going to be quite a wild ride to the finish line. We're already in the last week of the transfer which means that next week I´ll be receiving my final companion of the mission. The ZL´s called me last night to ask if I wanted to train again...I told them that if the Lord wants that, I'll do it. But I'm not going to ask for it. It would definitely keep me on my toes, though, so it might be good. We'll see what happens! I'll miss Hna. Ubeda, though. She's super chill and unfailingly positive. If I'm walking around in a brooding mood because of a bad day with fallen appointments and lots of rain, she's right next to me whistling and saying, "I just feel so happy today and I don't know why!" She's a funny kid.
We went with the Elders to teach two young gals who're getting baptized this week in their area. Their names are Yashaika (14) and Carolina (17). Carolina is a single mom. The Elders wanted us to talk to them about modesty because we're sisters and they felt weird about doing it. Well I felt pretty weird too when we were trying to teach her while she breastfed her baby in front of us and the elders. I know it's a part of the culture here but it still is on my "not okay" list. Don't think that's something from Panama I'll adopt. An awkward situation to say the least.
So...that's all I've got for now. Hope you all have a fantastic week and that Hilary and the kids are feeling better!
love you all,
Hna. Brewster
Monday, June 20, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
Stick it, Satan
Hello my dear family,
I am currently sitting in a freezing internet cafe absolutely drenched in sweat. Why? This morning my district decided to climb the local mountain, "Cerro Cabra" (or "Goat Hill"). It was a steep climb but I'm happy to say that we did it successfully and I didn't fall down once. An amazing feat considering all of the mud in the way, I might say. We have fun on P-days. I'll miss this.
So this was a pretty good week that almost ended tragically, but in the end we triumphed. Maritza, whom I told you all was going to be baptized this weekend, very nearly missed her opportunity. First of all, she almost missed her interview with our district leader due to a doctor's appointment that kept her 6 HOURS overtime in the city and then yesterday the baptism itself almost fell through when we got to the church and realized the ward mission leader hadn't filled up the font. It was one of those "this can't be happening" missionary moments. We got to the chapel at 7:30 and the baptism was supposed to start at 8. Supposedly the font takes 2 hours to fill up, so you can all do that math. Not really caring about the odds, I cranked up the water and prayed it would miraculously be full in 30 minutes. The members were starting to arrive and when they saw that the font wasn't full, they looked at us like, "Oh, you're in trouble..." One nice sister said, "Don't worry, hermana. It'll be full." I just nodded and continued to stare at the font, willing the water to flow faster as if by mind powers I could accomplish such a task. We had to go pick up Maritza and the whole time we were gone, my constant inner prayer was, "Please let it be full, please let it be full." I guess the Lord heard my frantic pleas because we got back to the chapel and the water was near the top. Maritza never even knew how close she came to losing her baptism that day. The sister who'd given me the encouraging words before smiled and said, "See, hermana? I told you it would fill up--and it did it in 30 minutes!" I'm happy to say that Maritza is now baptized and confirmed and couldn't be more happy. So take THAT, Satan.
The funny thing about all of this is that as I was sitting in the baptismal service for her, I felt strangely removed from the situation. We'd found her and taught her, yes, but now the ward was taking over and our job was done. And I didn't really feel like we did much at all, to be honest. It was obvious that the Lord had been preparing her for a long time and we just had the luck of finding her. She's such a sweetheart, too. I told her that I'm going home soon and she said, "Well you tell your parents when you write to them that here you have a mom who loves you very much!" So mom and dad, don't worry about me. But don't worry about me replacing you either, because that's not possible.
I love you all very much and hope you have a great week!
love,
Hna. Brewster
I am currently sitting in a freezing internet cafe absolutely drenched in sweat. Why? This morning my district decided to climb the local mountain, "Cerro Cabra" (or "Goat Hill"). It was a steep climb but I'm happy to say that we did it successfully and I didn't fall down once. An amazing feat considering all of the mud in the way, I might say. We have fun on P-days. I'll miss this.
So this was a pretty good week that almost ended tragically, but in the end we triumphed. Maritza, whom I told you all was going to be baptized this weekend, very nearly missed her opportunity. First of all, she almost missed her interview with our district leader due to a doctor's appointment that kept her 6 HOURS overtime in the city and then yesterday the baptism itself almost fell through when we got to the church and realized the ward mission leader hadn't filled up the font. It was one of those "this can't be happening" missionary moments. We got to the chapel at 7:30 and the baptism was supposed to start at 8. Supposedly the font takes 2 hours to fill up, so you can all do that math. Not really caring about the odds, I cranked up the water and prayed it would miraculously be full in 30 minutes. The members were starting to arrive and when they saw that the font wasn't full, they looked at us like, "Oh, you're in trouble..." One nice sister said, "Don't worry, hermana. It'll be full." I just nodded and continued to stare at the font, willing the water to flow faster as if by mind powers I could accomplish such a task. We had to go pick up Maritza and the whole time we were gone, my constant inner prayer was, "Please let it be full, please let it be full." I guess the Lord heard my frantic pleas because we got back to the chapel and the water was near the top. Maritza never even knew how close she came to losing her baptism that day. The sister who'd given me the encouraging words before smiled and said, "See, hermana? I told you it would fill up--and it did it in 30 minutes!" I'm happy to say that Maritza is now baptized and confirmed and couldn't be more happy. So take THAT, Satan.
The funny thing about all of this is that as I was sitting in the baptismal service for her, I felt strangely removed from the situation. We'd found her and taught her, yes, but now the ward was taking over and our job was done. And I didn't really feel like we did much at all, to be honest. It was obvious that the Lord had been preparing her for a long time and we just had the luck of finding her. She's such a sweetheart, too. I told her that I'm going home soon and she said, "Well you tell your parents when you write to them that here you have a mom who loves you very much!" So mom and dad, don't worry about me. But don't worry about me replacing you either, because that's not possible.
I love you all very much and hope you have a great week!
love,
Hna. Brewster
Monday, June 6, 2011
Happy Monday
Dear Family,
Happy June! I trust the snow has melted and the kids are all enjoying a nice break for the summer...what a crazy thought. As you all know, I live in a perpetual summer, so it's hard for me to grasp the concept of summer back home. Actually, this week has been rather nice. We had a good breeze most of the week, making the days very pleasant. Oh dear, I'm talking about the weather...sorry, I guess I don't have anything big to report.
This week we're hoping to have the baptism of Hna. Maritza, a sweet old sister we found my second day here, so that's some good news for you. Other good news: Kashma, Jean the 6-year-old's mom, came to church yesterday with her two little boys and stayed the WHOLE time. That's pretty big. I think when she realized that other women would be taking care of her kids for 2 hours, that was incentive. Anywho, we were excited that they came.
We've got a multizone p'day today in the city and president is paying for us to go biking and eat sandwiches, so I'm excited for that. I'll let you know how it goes.
Hope everyone's doing great and having fun. Thanks for the prayers and thoughts.
love,
Hna. Brewster
Happy June! I trust the snow has melted and the kids are all enjoying a nice break for the summer...what a crazy thought. As you all know, I live in a perpetual summer, so it's hard for me to grasp the concept of summer back home. Actually, this week has been rather nice. We had a good breeze most of the week, making the days very pleasant. Oh dear, I'm talking about the weather...sorry, I guess I don't have anything big to report.
This week we're hoping to have the baptism of Hna. Maritza, a sweet old sister we found my second day here, so that's some good news for you. Other good news: Kashma, Jean the 6-year-old's mom, came to church yesterday with her two little boys and stayed the WHOLE time. That's pretty big. I think when she realized that other women would be taking care of her kids for 2 hours, that was incentive. Anywho, we were excited that they came.
We've got a multizone p'day today in the city and president is paying for us to go biking and eat sandwiches, so I'm excited for that. I'll let you know how it goes.
Hope everyone's doing great and having fun. Thanks for the prayers and thoughts.
love,
Hna. Brewster
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