True Conversion = Setting Fire

9 June 2014

This quote has been running through my head all week long:

True Conversion

''Men captained by Christ will be consumed in Christ. They set fires in others because they are on fire. Their will is swallowed up in His will. They do always those things that please the Lord. Not only would they die for the Lord, but more important they want to live for Him. 

Enter their homes, and the pictures on their wall, the books on their shelves, the music in the air, their words and their acts reveal them as Christians. They stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things and in all places.''

-Ezra Taft Benson

This week was a truly amazing week. I want to thank all of you who are working hard at home to share this love and light with those around you and help the missionaries. I feel like a lot of what has happened this week was blessings from the Lord from you guys, niin Kiitos paljon(thank you).

We read through Presdient's email last week prayerfully, and really wanted to figure out this summer thing because we had no plans for summer. He had promised that if we worked hard to get our members out with us, and make plans to help them do missionary work then this summer the work would pick up. So we prayed about it and got to work making calendars and phone call and we arranged it so that almost everyday we had a about 30 min-1 hour plan out just for phone calling and making summer plans. In the beginning like usually we were getting rejected by our members a lot, but we switched our technique and focused on the ones we have been working with. For almost the whole month of June we have 2-3 members coming out with us every week, and people's summer plans down and one less active who will be in Turku already switched over the missionaries where her möki (summer cabin) is at, so that she can reach her goal to get to the temple by the end of July!

That doesn’t even start to say how incredible this week was. The Lord promised that the work in our area would pick up not slow down. Well it has already jumped up. Mainly through following council and inquiring of the Lord where we should go and what to say. Also studying about praying always has also helped my understanding of how prayer works a little bit better. I want to share some stories that have come from praying always.

This week I have really been contemplating how to get to the next level of contacting because lately I feel like a robot and am bored with conversations from the start, which means something is wrong. So I have been consulting with the Lord about this and studying in the scriptures. I was on the bus and tried talking to this lady who was polite but not open. I felt frustrated trying to come up with a lame question that would probably go about nowhere. So instead I said a little prayer of what I could ask to open this woman up. This thought came to ask her if her family lived in Tampere. Then I started doubting if that was a good question, but though, no miksei? I asked her and a huge smile came on her face and we had a great discussion about families, which lead to sukuhistoria (family history).

Second story, I was feeling frustrated again not knowing what question to ask the sunglasses wearing, earphones in, tattoo covered, staring out the window type girl. I contemplated it and then asked the Lord what question He wanted me to ask, that would get her to feel the spirit. This random thought of asking her if she played music came to my head. But then I started thinking this is going to be so weird if she doesn't and she will probably shut me down. Then I remembered I get shut down all the time and it hasn't stopped me yet. So I get her attention and ask her, and she seems so surprised and says.... (What for it), um no, why do you ask? But it got this really cool conversation going and the spirit was soo strong. We ended up not even getting to the gospel before she had to get off, but it was cool to see that in some situations while following the spirit, the gospel isn't the first thing that comes out. But because the spirit was so strong, I can't help but think that the next time she sees the missionaries she will be excited to talk to them.

Third story, we were on the bus and I saw something out the window that caught my eye. So we jump off the bus, but we weren't particularly feeling anything. So before I started to second-guess myself, we said a prayer and felt like we need to call our investigator that had been too busy to meet. She told us to come over and we had a powerful teach about receiving answers to prayer and at the end she broke down and opened her heart to us. Afterwards I was just thinking how miraculously the Lord works, that every small decision lead up to us being able to help one of His precious children.

This week a member came out with us for a teach, nothing out of the ordinary but I have been trying to keep my mind open to the prompting of the Lord, and for some reason I started thinking about this member a lot and I felt like I needed to prayer for her, while I was praying I had this strong prompting to tell her at church on Sunday that the her Father loves her so much and will take care of her family. For some reason I got so nervous to do this, and realized that it meant even more how important this was to do. We had a crazy day at church and we missed her and I was so bummed because I promised the Lord I would talk to her. So I called her up and testified about her Father's love and got super emotional about it, and She told me how much this meant to her that I went out of my way to call her. I'm not sure what is going on in her life but I realized these following promptings also can direct us in how to help our ward members more, and feel that Love that they too need. Sis. Thayne gave me a big hug after I got off the phone with her, with tears in my eyes and told me how proud she was of me for following the spirit. I was wondering in my head if I would ever not get emotional while testifying about our Fathers love. I realized that no, I wouldn't because when I am truly testifying about His love, I feel it so strongly for them and remember the love that I have felt from Him that I have never deserved, and yet it has always been there for me, picking me back up when I fall, healing my broke heart, and drying my tears when the world seemed so hard on the ones I love the most. This is the message we carry. If nothing else we can testify and help them understand it better

This Sunday was way crazy, our recent convert came to the early ward so we went too, this lady I guess I forgot I contacted her on the bus, came strolling into church 3 months later on her own. Loved church stayed for all of it, was fellowshipped beautifully, and we are meeting with her in a couple of hours. Then we went to go pick up our two investigators from the center to ride to church together. While waiting a less active from the other ward come up to us and starts chatting, he said he didn’t want to come to church when we invited him, but then his Jewish friend come up and asks where we are going, and he decided that he wants to come to church, so then the less active says that he might as well go to church. Then we pick up our 2 investigators, now with 2 new friends hop a bus over to church. They all loved church and want to come back next week. It was truly incredibly, 2 new investigators that were literally dropped in our laps and 4 investigators at church and 2 less actives there as well! The gospel is the good news (= It catching like wild fire).

Love you all!

Sisar Alayna Hubner

P.S. We got a surprise visit from my twin, Sisar Nielsen and her baby companion. I don’t know how the Lord swung that but it was exactly what I needed. We stayed up way too long talking about eternity and how amazing it is to be a little part of the Lord's army fighting for the souls of men. It was so great, to step back and remember how far we have come, and the path we are on for eternity the habits that we have created, that I want to further not just let go at the end of my mission. The next day I was talking to Sisar Thayne and she was saying, "I want to be on fire. You are on fire, Sisar Nielsen is on fire and I am determined to become like that." It was really humbling to hear that. I’m definitely not a convert being baptized into the gospel at an older age, but I feel like I’ve got that convert fire for this gospel, I just want to tell everyone about it. 

P.P.S. Sis. Thayne and I are not the best cooks in the world but we definitely try super duper hard and we are getting better. But when Sis Nielsen and her comp were here (after a quick run down to the lake, see picture below! so beautiful, cant believe I live in this dream land!) we decided to try and make gourmet breakfast burritos. Just to find out her comp is deathly allergic to eggs.... and sis Thayne found this massive egg shell that I accidently didn’t catch before I scrambled the eggs...super fail haha but onward, ever onward. One day I'll make my mom proud of my cooking skills...but sadly today is not that day, yet!