Terve Minun Perhe!
Mina rakkastan teidät!
So I don't have much time to type, but I want to say I miss you all and a little recap of my week! First of Dear Elder (www.dearelder.com) is amazing!! I get to read your letters every day they come in, which is really nice to hear from you after a really long day of Finnish and gospel.
So me and my companion were having a rough patch 'til last Friday and she like wasn't comunicating what-so-ever with me. I was so frustrated and tried to talk to her about it, and that didn't work, and I tried to ignore it, that didn't work. So finally I was like this has to change, so I said, "after I drop my lunch in the trash we need to talk." The Sister Training Leaders of our zone came out and brought us into a room to talk it out, (which was the best thing they could have done). They started with a prayer and it was private, we talked it out, and she was finally communicating and I was finally able to communicate like normal and we ended with all of us bearing our testimony and we all felt the spirit so strongly and there was such a peace. Seriously things have gotten x100 better, and we are working better together, communicating, she is letting me push her in learning the language, we pray together, and sing children hymns in Finnish at night, and our lessons to our tutkijoitas (investigators) have gotten more spiritual and focused! Its seriously the best thing that could have happened. I am glad it has happened earlier rather then later!
So this week/2 weeks have been soooooo hot (100+ degrees) we have AC in our rooms but we are constantly moving from place to place, we normally have to work out in the heat of the day, which is killer, and we eat outside, so we are getting the full effect of the Utah summer. I literally take a shower at least 2 times a day, and everyone in my apartment uses my shower clock!! Haahaha 5 minutes showers for everyone which is awesome! So to all future missionaries, invest in a shower clock/timer, it will save your butt!
I saw Sister Hubner (Christina my cousin) on Tuesday before devotional at the Marriot Center and I was soooooooooo excited!! Bad news is both of us forgot our cameras, good news is we plan to meet up with eachother next tuesday with cameras in hand. She is adorable as always and her companion seems way cool!
Also to Uncle Pat and Aunt Karly, I loved reading you DearElder letters, seriously seeing Dallin (Elder Poyfair) was divine intervention from God, because I don't live at the campus, I'm at the west campus so that was the first time (my P-Day) on Thursday that I had ever been to main campus and what do you know, out of all people I just so happen to run into my cousin who had just been dropped off the day before! The Lord is seriously there even in the tiny details. He seems to be doing great and just to let you know, I'm not sure if you have talked to him yet, but we don't get a P-day the first week so thats why it takes extra long to here back and we are sooooo busy everyday. Uncle Pat I also loved your story about talking to my mom for the first time when you were on your mission! What an awesome story, I'm glad you two are such close friends and that we are close to all your kids!
This week we started to teach our new investigator, Antti, in Finnish and its so stressful figuring out what the spirit wants you to tell him when you don't even understand what Antti is saying, and coming up with something just for him in Finninsh so we have been stressing out about it all week. I just got to the point that I was so nervous that I honestly couldn't focus on anything else except for our lesson, and I just got this feeling that I should ask the Hungarian Elders (our zone leaders) to give me a blessing. I was really nervous because I have never gotten a blessing from anyone but my Dad like that and especially from guys that are so young and close to my age! But Depallens Elder gave me a blessing and it was honestly so amazing, his hands were even shaking afterwards and he was like "wow I did not expect to say all of that" and it said that the Lord is proud of how hard I am working (which I started crying at, because I'm always wondering if I'm doing enough, if Im focused enough) so that was such a relief and it talked about me being able to speak the language well and blessed me with the gift of tongues (also another relief) language study is so stressful esp. when you have to turn around and teach it the next hour! I was blessed with patience that I will be able to work in the Lord's time and not get frustrated that I can't learn all things at once, and it was just such an amazing experience and gave me the strength to keep pushing forward. I am so grateful for worthy priesthood holder that can give blessings and say the words from God that are directed straight towards me. At the end I think all of us were teary-eyed the spirit was so strong.
Then in our lesson yesterday I literally felt the spirit tell me what to say in personal study the day before but in English and I had to translate all these finnish words and memorize it, and the lesson we gave was WHY, ( miksi) why does any of this matter (Miksi mitaan tästä on tärkeä), why should he care (miksi sinun petaisi välittät), why did we give 18 months of our life to go to a freezing country to learn one of the hardest languages in the world, and that is to teach the truths of this amazing gospel. That I literally don't think I would be around today if I did not have the gospel, I would be so alone, bored, and frustrated at everyone and everything. Without the gospel my familiy would not be strong, and my dad would not have been protected when he was deployed to Afganistan, and that I would not have the happiness that I have looked for so long and hard in all the wrong places, the feeling of peace I get from this gospel, to know that I can repent from my mistakes and not feel weighed down by the guilt, and mostly the fact that I know that I don't rot in the ground when I die but I will be able to return to our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and be able to be with my family for eternity because of the blessings of the temple sealing us together.
I translated that as much as I could in Finnish and told our investigator this along with the story of the restoration and why should anyone care about a 14 year old boy who saw God the Father and Jesus Christ and who restored Christ's gospel back on earth. Miksi? Koska (because) it is proof that God still talks to us today and that if we ask anyone who sincerely wants to know, can recieve personal revelations and answers from God. The Spirit was so strong in the room, and afterwards my toverini (companion) who never cries started crying because she felt the spirit so strong and it was such a tender moment, she said, "Sisar Hubner you brought that spirit into the room so strong and I hope our tutkija felt that too, I am going to be so sad when we no longer are wearing the name of Christ on our name tag everyday. How are people going to know that we love this gospel from the first time they see us? How are people going to know that we want to share the gospel with them? I love this name tag and I wished we never had to take it off." I said, "well lets make the most of it for the next 18 months that people know right from the get- go that we are missionaries of Jesus Christ, and sharing the gospel, and we want them to be able to feel this joy and peace that we feel daily from it."
Another thing, I was reading the first page of PMG (Preach My Gospel) yesterday for personal study and it says "we are authorized representatives of Chirst" And I just started crying because our Father and Brother, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, trusts me, Sisar Alayna Hubner who is 19 years old and barely knows anything, to represent him, I don't know everything in this world but I do know that this IS the true gospel, and that is enough for him. So I won't let him down.
I love you all so much, I miss you but just know I really am doing the lords work along with 70,000 soon to be 100,000 missionaries world wide please pray for us to find those who are searching for this.
I have to quick funny stories to tell you then I have to go do a service project!
So the easy translation of "piece of cake" in Finnish is "Helpo naki" which means "easy sausage!" Hahaha I died laughing when I found that out. My companion was studying her note cards and the words sausage "naki" and vision "naku" are very similar and we were like dont mess it up, and tell the people about the restoration, "and this historical event with Joseph Smith is called the first sausage" hahaha that would be sooo funny, and confusing for them at the same time!
Last quick story, I had a dream that I was in Finland and my companion was drowning so I yelled to her in Finnish to grab my hand and I would help pull her up (FYI. I sleep on the top bunk) anyways I guess I was really into this dream and thought she was about to die, and I woke myself up by screaming in Finnish at her, and I woke up half way out of my bed reaching out to her on the bottom bunk holding her hand, and she was very confused (she was awake) and thought I was falling off my best and she was catching me. Hahahaa once I realized what was going on, I was like " Ohh sorry, ummm that's embarrassing" I turned around and went back to bed. Hahah the next morning she thought it was so funny and had to tell everyone and their dog about it, so people sometimes still tease me about that one! hahaaaa, we have some good times at the MTC! Well I love you all and hopefully mom will attach some of the pictures I sent her earlier!
Minä Rakkastan Teidät!
~ Sisar Hubner
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