Glittering Lakes and Boots stored away

Sometimes when I wake up in the morning I remind myself that I am in FINLAND on a mission for the Lord, and it gets me all sorts of excited....still! This place is breathtaking. This week has been so warm almost 17 degrees Celsius everyday, I’m not exactly sure what that is in Fehrenheit, but man, sooo great. The boots are stored away, green is budding out of the little branches everywhere, the birds and valitetavasti, the bugs are coming out, and the lakes are glimmering and glittering, its a great time to be alive and sharing this awesome message to these Scandinavian People.

Me in front of Tohloppin Järvi, this beautiful lake outside my apartment that I drive past on the bus, every single day! I love this amazing land!

I went to the train station with my little baby, Sisar Pack and sent her on the train up to Jyväskylä. Can't believe my only daughter left the nest and is saving China,,,,,,errrrr Finland. Then I got my new companion Sisar Thayne. I don't know whose idea it was to put us two together, but man, this week/transfer seems too fun to be missionary work in Finland. It seriously has been a blast; she is from Provo, Utah. Ran track for University of Utah, lived in Ohio (it all keeps going back there.......weird stuff) and California, and she is just the cutest! Also has great clothes that we have been sharing (= hahahaaa true story).

We started it off right and went to our investigator's house M, this is on Monday our P-day and our member who has been fellowshipping M. was there with her whole family and their kids became best friends instantly! So great, we had some yummy Indian food that her ''cousin'' A. from Tunisia (not really sure how that works) made. And we ate cake, took pictures, and sang. It was so fun, and A. made it a point that we pray all together over the cake before we all ate it! Hahah funny guy he also dressed up in a dress and did a crazy dance for us......hahah tervetuloa(welcome) SIsar Thayne to Tampere 2. Needless to say we were off to a great start!

We have made goals to continue to destroy fear so that we can totally run off the spirit with nothing holding us back. We do crazy awesome workouts by the lake, and we speak complete Finnish every other day! This is the life. 

As some of you know our investigator P. has a baptismal date for May 3rd, and we have been praying soo hard that he will get a firm answer of it. He has been going to church every Sunday down in Helsinki with his friends for about a month or more, and is keeping every commitment, reading the Book of Mormon everyday when He has extra time in the car, or at night, and has been praying so hard to receive a firm answer. We had just finished our lesson with him, the member and bishop present and I felt like I should let him know that he can receive a priesthood blessing of comfort and guidance, when I told him this he said, ''Kyllä on jo saanut'' Yes, I know I have already received one this last weekend. I’m not sure exactly what happened but I was just hit in the heart with this brick or something, that I can't even explain, his Heavenly Father's love for him just rushed in, completely filled me, tears started to swell in my eyes. I felt like I needed to say the closing prayer. So I ask everyone if we could kneel together. I go to say the prayer and I cant, tears are just streaming down my face, as I humbly started to pray and plea to the Lord to give P. the strength to stand the hard temptations he has been facing, and the bless him with a sure answer, to bless him with understanding of his Father's love. It was the most powerful prayer that I have every spoken, and for a couple minutes after the spirit was so strong and it was as if the veil or unknowing, of doubt, or confusion was lifted and we were blessed with a clear few, if only for a few moments, I know that P. felt it. 

This is the true and living gospel, and P. knows it, now it is just a matter of timing and love, and katsotaan what the Lord has in store for P. But I know that P. is God's precious son, and I am so grateful that I was able to help him understand that a little better. 

This weekend we had Vaarna Konferensi, Stake conference, and it was great! President Keran, from the 70 came and spoke he is from England, and just such a delightful and inspired man. The man lesson learned this weekend was this, Chose one thing that is holding you back, pick it carefully and through the atonement let go of it, let go of the fear, the bad habit, the lack of faith, and change. It is possible through the Savior's atonement. Another realization to me this week was, that just like in 3 Nefi 11, we have General Conference, then right after stake conference, and after that we talk about it in Church. Why so much? Why did the Father have to try and introduce his Beloved Son 3 times? Sometimes we go and listen, but don't apply, that is why we need to hear it at least 3 times. But just imagine if the people in 3 Nephi 11 had listened, and understood The Father the first time, how many more miracles would have happened, how much more time would they have had with their Savior? The message in this modern day that is becoming more and more confusing and full of heartbreak, is that the Lord loves us, He has restored precious truths back on the earth again today. 

The gospels, the good news, so share it with a smile! 

I love you all, keep up the great work my friends (=

Lovella,

Sisar Hubner

P.S. Pic 1 Sisar Thayne and I in Pynikki, so beautiful

Sisar Thayne and I on our walked to our investigators house!. Pic 2 is a picture of us at our investigators birthday party with our member's family!

 

Doing Service

Transfers!

So as you all know, due to the title of this email its we got our change calls early this week. I have been here for 8months now in Tampere so I was getting the feeling that maybe I would be leaving. We got the call a couple days early which was a surprise to say the least and guess who is staying in TAMPERE?!? This sisar! Woot woot. I am actually really excited because this is miracle time, and the Lord has blessed me enough to be here to see it happen. Also there must be work that I still haven't done yet. Prayers! That we will find the ones who are ready for this gospel. Our mission president said that while he was praying, he felt very strongly the Lord say to Him, and with His help every area in this mission can have a baptism this month and next month. So exciting, we are holding to the Lord's promise and putting our faith in Him. 

We have been working with P. for a while, we found him from the ancient referral site and he has been so interested in finding truth. Well we reset the baptismal date for the 3rd of May, and it is looking like the conversion is taking place, He literally seems like a new man, then from the beginning. He is living the word of wisdom and though he says it has been way hard to go without coffee, he can feel the difference. He has been going to church down in Helsinki with his girl friend who is a member down there, and they have just accepted him into the ward with open arms, and he loves going to church, and always has so many questions for us. It’s so great to teach people that have questions, and want to learn! It seemed that for a while we were just trying so hard to get people to want this, but that is not our purpose, our purpose is to find those who are searching for the truth but know not where to find it. Thanks to the counsel from Neco and Felipe, we were able to teach this time at a member's house through the commitment of living the law of chastity, through the importance of Baptism, and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. We asked why it would be important for him to live it he went on with this whole testimony of it, and smiled and said that of course he would live it!!!!!! It was magic, and then this member just sincerely testified about the blessing of baptism and how it is a new start and right now he doesn’t understand it all, but he soon will and will be ready for his baptism by reading the Book of Mormon and praying fervently to his Father. It was so powerful and P. was really moved by this lesson. Prays for him that he will continue to feel the answers that he has been looking for. 

Also this week, I don't know if you know this about me but I just love Asians. In any way shape or form, and I saw this adorable Chinese woman on the street pushing her stroller and I immediately ran over there and started talking to her. Of course she was too cute, and so kind and said that we could come over on Saturday but she wasn’t that religious, but we will see.

So we went over on Saturday and we had a timing mess up but we went with her and her son so that he could play at the park and just talked to HER about her and learned more about her and her needs. Its so interesting how that changes things, instead of thinking about what can we say, or we do. But rather just listening and care about her, the gospel naturally comes out, because it has the answers to everything. She told us how it was really hard to be in Finland, and that he husband was always at work and how she wants to be a good Mom but she is so tired, and feels that she isn't doing good enough, and I just started talking about my amazing mom, how she had to deal with me as a kid and though I must have made her so tired and warn out, that the one thing that helped her so much was prayer, and that her Father in Heaven would give her more energy, and more love to love me beyond herself. We continued to teach her about prayer and she was so interested and wanted to try and had such sincere questions of how she could actually get answers, at the end she said the sweetest prayer I have ever heard, thanking her Father in heaven for her son and the sun shine, and an opportunity to meet new with us. It was so sweet and she is so ready to learn more and wants a relationship with God. 

It was so humbling to be able to teach her simply about the love that God has for her specifically. I know understand better how important it is to teach this first, so that no matter what happens after the lesson they leave feeling the conviction from the spirit that they have a father who loves them unconditionally.

I love you all, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve along my Savior, trying to align my will with his, I haven't gotten it down yet but I want to, and I love that everyday is a new start, that is the message of this gospel, you can never fall too hard, so fast, so far that you are out of reach from the love and cleansing power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ to lift and heal the scars. I hope you all reflect a little more on how you have seen the hand of the Savior in your life. 

Rakkaudella, 

Sisar Hubner

P.s. pic 1, is traditional wooden weaved shoes and basket from Finland, pic 2 is my Finnish grandparents, I love them so much, such hard lives, and yet they love beyond their selves and look to lift those whose hands hang low. 

Easter! Pääsiäinen        14 April 2014

Hey Family and Friends, so basically we had a pretty awesome week, I ran out of email time so sorry this is going to be so short. But I just want to give a huge shout out to my Hubner family. I love them more than words can describe they have molded me into the person I am today and keep learning so much from them. 

This week our huge push is to get the doctrine of action under our belts. In the letter our President sent to us he talked about being determined to act on whatever the answer we get from the Lord before we even get the answer, it really also helped me understand how to teach our members and investigators how to really get answers to there prayers. Sisar Pack and I have a system that we have come up with which is called, ''Overcoming Fear'' how to really recognize our fear address it and then face it. There was an article in the Liahona that said that when we are Disciples of Christ, we do whatever to Spirit tells us. I feel like we are soooo close but sometime the fear kicks in and then we only give small commitments or miss the one that we were sent to find. This last week of the transfer, we are trying to just blow it out of the water and get members out with us, and find find find, and set one more baptismal date. It has been so hard to retain our new investigators; we get them with a member present. We are really trying to invite the spirit in, so that they feel something different and want to learn more. 

Cool Story, so we wanted to figure out the referral site a couple weeks ago, because we were convinced if we put the work in then the Lord would give us a miracle. From that site, we found one man, that now has a baptismal date, and just last Saturday we got a call back from the other referral from a couple years ago from the referral site that wanted to meet. We met her with a member present, and it was crazy, all her family just came out of no where and we were able to pick up a few new investigators, received a couple service opportunities, and then that Sunday, her Son and our investigator picked us up and we went to church together. IT was Amazing!

I love my Savior, I have been reading more about His life, and how I can better use His atonement daily so that His suffering wasn't in vain. During this Easter time think about what type of relationship you have with your Savior. How can we become better disciples?

I love you all, 

Sisar Hubner

P:S. The second picture is in Pyyniki, the prettiest part of Tampere, the picture depicts how much I love Finland

Other pictures was during out 'every bodies favorite time, we found a small forest to walk through to get to our appointment, man this place is amazing!! 

P.P.S. Awkward story of the week I accidently told someone I loved the weapon they were wearing, instead of saying the outfit they were wearing......too good, still making noob mistakes with this language sometimes! kuitenkin KIRKKO on Totta!

If we do our part, the Lord will make it happen

So for most of you that have been keeping updated with my letters know that from the beginning of the year we have been doing this huge mission wide fast to start the second harvest in Finland. For every week, there has been one area that we have been praying for and in return they have been fasting specifically that the Lord will open up the windows of heaven and pour down his blessings! So this week was the end of the fast, and our mission president promised us that if we do our part, finding always-talking with everyone, always a member present (member with us every night), setting baptismal dates early, and getting them to church, and doing church tours, and of course praying always then every area in this mission will have a baptism this month, or next month. 

WOW, not to much to ask for in return for their eternal happiness, we are trying so hard to do what he has asked because we have TRUST in the servant of the Lord. The image of our friends in white for baptism, and then white again for the temple has been our constant reminder, our driving force. 

This weekend we were lucky to be able to hear the messages of love and warning from the prophets of the Lord. And on Sunday, Sisar Pack and I, along with all the other missionaries in our mission fasted for this blessing to be poured down upon the people of Finland, and that one baptism at least will happen in April, or May and focusing on of weapons of rebeliion that still need to be given up so that we can fully trust in the Lord and his servants and jump with a leap of faith, knowing that as scary as it seems sometimes, we have to fully make the jump in order for the Lord to give us His wings to fly. 

Can I just say how amazing General Conference is? That the Lord loves us enough that he gave us more than an ancient bible to guide us in the hard days of today's world. We have living prophets, apostles, and mentors that remind us of our worth, and our potential. I was talking with this lady from our ward. She is amazing and she came out with us one night, and though everything fell through, we were able to knock on some doors, and she bore such a powerful witness and testimony of this gospel. She said that John Bytheway once said, ''Its like us seeing Michael Jordan and being so excited to meet him and asking him to show us a dunk or something amazing that we know he has done or can do, and him being so confused about what we are talking about and saying that he has no idea what we are talking about, that he can't do that stuff and walking away.'' This is us, we don't remember the people we were before this life, or our potential, but just like what was said in general conference, we can only reach our potential, if we don't separate our personal life and religious life, through the Holy Ghost and follow the promptings we can reach that potential the Lord knows we can reach. 

This week we worked so hard to get members out with us every night, and guess what? They came, but unfortunately every single one of our investigators forgot, and we were left knocking doors and talking to people on the streets. Although not the most ideal, I have faith that when we do our part, we can't control the outcome, but the Lord in His own way will make it happen! 

So those who are reading this, please give it a try and go out with the missionaries, and when things fall through get creative and continue to spread the gospel! 

One cool story of the week, we went to our appointment with our new investigator, and what do you know? She’s not at home, so instead of turning into a robot, we had been praying really hard that day with intent to find a mother in this area Haukiluoma, that was at home during the day. So instead of just knocking the closest 10 doors. we prayed really hard to be lead to that family. We felt like we needed to go across the apartment complex and go to this specific kerrostalo. We went in and knocked on 3 doors but nothing happened. Then we heard some really loud noises, and got excited and knocked on the door. We started talking about family, and when we finally asked one more question, she told us to come in. In their living room there were 2 kids, a Mom, and a grandmother. We followed counsel, got to know them, and used the opportunity, to start with prayer and teach them the right way. We taught almost the whole first lesson, they agreed to us coming back the next day, and the grandmother said the closing prayer. It was amazing, I am learning more and more how to use the opportunities the Lord has handed us and follow the counsel given no matter what. Miracles follow when we remember whose name we are representing

I love you all.

Sisar Hubner

Pic 1- everyday we try and do, ''errbodies favorite time'' where we do something exciting to make sure we still have the fun in us, to do this work! We found a small plastic spring horse, which I fell off of......a day in the life of a Finnish missionary

Having fun

I think she needs more practice ;)

Pic 2- one of my most favorite member, who came out with us to contact a former investigator, she’s such a sport!