The Birdie is Leaving the Nest. Over and Out.

Yes Folks, you got that right. This birdie is leaving the nest. It is about time! So on Friday we got changes called from President Rawlings, and I will be moving to Oulu next Tuesday as the Sister Training Leader for the North Zone!!!!!! My new companion will be Sisar Lund as the other Sister Training Leader, she is literally one of the sweetest people I have met on my mission I am so excited. We will be shot-gunning the area which means that they are completely taking out the two sisters that are up there now and replacing them for two new sisters! Wow, so excited, and slightly nervous, feeling very inadequate to be a sister training leader, but I have faith that the Lord knows what He is doing. (side note, ever one of Sisar Thayne's companions have become Sister training leaders! Hahaha cool stuff)

10 months. I have been in my cute little hometown of Tampere for 10 months. I learned how to speak Finnish here, I have learned how to be a missionary here, I have learned how to love beyond my own capacity here, I have fallen in love with Finland here, I have learned how to trust in the Lord. I am so sad to say goodbye to the place that has taught me so much, to some of the best friends I have ever made, to the sweet members who supported us through thick and thin. This is my home. This is where a piece of my heart will always remain. So many priceless lessons have I learned in this blessed land of Tampere. But it is time to move on, to be tried and tested in new ways, to revive some more of the energy and excitement that comes from being in a new place with a new beginning.

By the way Oulu is the most northern City in Finland that Sister missionaries serve! Get ready for frozen eyelashes, and dark days! But for now at least we should have a little bit of summer left, even though someone told me that it might be snowing up north. Katsotaan! Also it is a biking city so it is looking like I am going to need to buy a bike! (P.S. This week while riding our bikes to a member my pedal and screw completely popped off. Uskomaton, never seen that happen!)

Also this week was Juhannus, which means Midsummer’s Night eve and Midsummer’s day, the longest day of the year where the sun never sets. We decided to arrange a nice dinner to make for an elderly couple in our ward. So we bought all this food and biked in the rain to get to their house in Nokia, it was super awkward because we were riding with all the food bags hanging on our handlebars. So finally we get to their house and Veli S. Informs us that he totally forgot and they already ate dinner......)= so much for that and the other elderly lady that was going to come over, called the Sisar S. Who has Alzheimer’s and said she had no idea that we were coming over, so the other lady canceled. It was a mess but super funny, so we sang hymns with them and shared a powerful message about the atonement. It is so cool to see how peoples' hearts can literally be changed and turn into new people from the past. Vel. S. When younger was a lot of problems with alcohol and for a while had a hard time accepting the message of this gospel from the missionaries, but then once his wife joined the church, he started really investigating. He was baptized and they were sealed in the Swiss temple for time and all eternity. Though they have difficulties in their old age, they have this glow and joy that comes out of them. This gospel changes lives.

 This week was a slower week, we had 2 members scheduled to come out with us but after all our plans, back up plans, and literally 2 more back up plans all fell through we talked to our member and she said she would like to wait until we have something planned before she came out. It was slightly frustrating because we were trying literally so hard, and making so many phone calls, and praying super hard. The other member though did come out with us, and we tried so hard to have stuff for her and it all fell through, and so we tried potentials and all that fell through and we did the ten doors and nothing happened. It was ganz very hard, but we did have a special moment in her car at the end when we said she understands now how hard this work is for us, especially in today's world and it would be so hard not to get depressed, but we are always so bright and happy she never realized how hard that must be. It was a special moment, making me realize how much of a different it makes to the ward to have happy, smiling missionaries that don't give up. 

We have three things that set us apart from this world. Our testimonies, our hope, and our smiles. These are the things that matter, if we lose that we have nothing.

We have starting a new project here in Tampere; we have realized the word game isn't really working here because the members aren't even talking to people! So we started a little something called ''Project Moi.'' The goal is to smile and say moi (hello), moro, morensta, hei, tai whatever else to every single person they come across to brighten their day. We have been practicing with them how to keep smiling and doing it even through rejection. They LOVE this plan. So next step with be to really keep following up and getting and sharing their success stories, and slowly onto the next step. The Members here are going to be known for their outward kindness here, and not just by not drinking alcohol or smoking. We need a good rep. for this great gospel that we are apart of! 

I love you all and hope you had a great Midsummer’s day. Jump on the Moi train and try for a week to just say hi to people that cross your path. A new light and happiness will come from it. That’s a promise!

Love your guts,

Sisar Hubner

P.S. So I am IN LOVE with these Finnish flowers, I collected a bouquet (harder than it seems) and gave it to a former investigator who ended up coming to church to here my talk! I related scuba diving to the gospel and shared how I received my own testimony of the Book of Mormon. Also our Chinese friends even came and gave Sisar Thayne and me these hand made clay figurines! Sooooooo cute!

P.S.S For Juhannus we set our alarm clocks to wake up at midnight to see the sky, we were so insanely tired that we both just looked out the window ''cool'' and went back to bed. But to celebrate the next morning we took out the sparklers and had a little fun!