1 Year

A lot can happen in one year in Finland. August 19, 2013 our crazy awesome MTC group stepped off the plane and jumped head first into this missionary stuff. I feel like such a different person, but at the same time still the exact same. I’m not sure if that makes any sense mutta totta, that’s how it feels. Too celebrate it, we went up to ROVANIEMI!! The most northern area in Finland that missionaries go. Well technically it was for our district meeting, but still it was so awesome. Such a beautiful place up there and the people are so insanely nice! There is just a different, erityinen feeling up north. After our meeting we went up to Joulu Pukin Maahan (we went to Santa Clause's Land) and officially made it into the North Pole! It was a lot of fun.

Then on Wednesday we had splits with the Oulu 2 Sisaret and man!, what a blast of a day. I was with Sisar Nyman (she is from Norway) and we just hit the streets laughing and trying to brighten people's days! We went by the spirit and it felt so good to be able to let out our stress and just trust in the Lord and make them smile while sharing what is most important to us. The light of Christ the rock of our eternity. MAN! It just feels so good, to let the fire of our testimonies out. Its funny because also Sis. Nyman reminds me of Christina Hübner(!),my cousin, so it felt like a day on splits with my bud, that is actually in Japan right now! Shout out to Sis. Hubner (=

The next day we planned for a while, and then took the night train down to Helsinki for MLC (mission leadership council) and then the next night we took a night train back up. A lot of fun very adventurous, but it kind of takes a toll of the sleep. Anyways while we were waiting at the train station with the Zone Leaders we started talking to this couple that were actually AMERICAN!! It was so weird, just such a different vibe just different type of people. Then while we were getting onto the train we see this middle eastern family struggling with boxes, so we ask if we can help and we all grab bags and boxes and help them load it into the train, turns out one of the family was moving down to Helsinki with his 2 kids by train, and it just so happened that they didn’t speak too much English or Finnish, but one of the Zone Leaders, turns out speaks Arabic FLUENTLY! What?? Haha it was so helpful and they were so grateful, and we helped them unload when we got to Helsinki! 

I love this gospel, we just look for ways to help and serve and we love to do it because we care and love these people so much! Our mission statement, ''We can stand in the place and stead of the Lord Jesus Christ in administering salvation to the children of men...We are HIS agents, we represent HIM, we are expected to do and say what HE would do and say, if He were administering among men at this time.''

I felt like that day, I fulfilled my calling. It felt so great to just help in a little way. It helps us feel the extreme love our Father in Heaven has for them. It's just so amazing to feel that.

MLC was amazing! The temple was so perfect and peaceful as always. While sitting in the celestial room with my sisters, Sisar Lund and Nielsen, I couldn’t even express in words the love and peace I was feeling. I felt like I would burst with this light that I felt fill me up. I hope all of these people we have been working with in Finland, will one day be able to find rest in this beautiful house of the Lord. 

The Gospel is the good news (=

Take care

Sister Hübner

Building A Ship

Remember in Nephi (1 naïf 17), the Lord woke him up in the middle of the night and told him to get up into the Mountain. Nephi didn’t complain, he just left. Then the Lord told him that he needed to build a ship. Nephi didn’t doubt, he just asks with humility Lord where do I go to make the tools. Then the Lord tells him the details, how to make the tools, where to go, how to do it, how to make the fire for it, and on top of it makes there food sweet so they don’t have to waste time cooking it. Nephi just goes and does. What a boss. I love Nephi; he just trusts in the Lord and follows. 

That is the type of Person the Lord is looking for, and needs. Especially from his members and Missionaries. In the beginning of this transfer Sisar Lund and I got down on our knees and prayed for a specific vision of whom we needed to find. 1 future eternal family, 1 future priesthood holder, and 1 future Sisar Hubner. Then we went out praying the whole time to have the faith to let the Lord work through us. 

The Lord has told Oulu that He wants at least 2 wards in the near future. He told it through President Rawlings. Just like the Lord told Nephi he wanted a ship, which at that time must have seemed pretty crazy...... No questions, the Lord knows what He is doing. The Lord will show the way, He already has. 

I just feel so humble being here, and seeing the Lords work in basically EVERYTHING.

Words can describe the joy that’s inside Sisar Hubner at this time!! Ahh you all have to come to Finland one day, but better yet, the joy that I’m feeling now come from being a friend, comes from listening to the Spirit no matter how crazy the idea seems. It comes from offering our friends eternal life with their family. And guess what, this can happen anywhere! You don’t have to be in Finland to feel this happy!

I keep waking up every morning asking myself is this real life? It’s too good to be true! It seems. Wow. I love Oulu with all my heart! I love these Finnish people, their rehellisyys, their Sisu, and this gospel. 

It has been such a pleasure being here. This week especially I have been thinking and pondering koko ajan what we can do to find the family, and my future replacement missionary. We, Sisar Lund and I have been talking it over and make plans that we can present to the Lord. I don’t remember if I told you this last time but we have come up with a couple ideas. Doing a church open house, finding by the spirit old potentials in the area book of Families. Specifically working with our members who are halukaita to do missionary work, setting dates with them, when is the next time we can come over and teach them with a friend they have brought. Already we found 1 new investigator family, that turns out to be a former investigator that has just been going through a hard time, a loss of a child, and she already has a member friend! The last thing we are doing to show the Lord how serious we are about doing anything to find this family is making more sacrifices tavalaan, tightening the screws. 

Making sure we are starting our studies on time, role-plays, really praying for these names with faith, looking and pondering for answers specifically about them, eating more healthily, going out of our way to help each other and other people. Examining the handbook and finding more ways to be obedient that we haven’t done so well in the past. Faster lessons, baptismal dates set with the spirit. Praying for love more strongly on street contacts. 

We want to show the Lord we will do whatever He wants to get His plan in action (= I love this life!

Little miracles: I saw this guy walking past us, we pass him. I get the feeling to change direction and go back. We go back, we talk to him, he is from Dubai, and totally shuts us down )= lame sauce, next person is a Vietnamese that we just say hi to and keep going. Then again the thought come, maybe the Dubai guy was a distraction, the Vietnamese girl was the one. Once again we turn back and tract her down. Turns out she has been her for 2 days and her first friend she met it L. a recent convert from Vietnam!!! So awesome, we spent half an hour helping her figure out the grocery story in Finnish and then set up a return appointment. Yesterday we taught her how to pray! 

 Miracle #2: Our member that gave us her friend as a referral to sing to, picked up a new investigator, but she had guests over so we decided to come back later. We get the feeling to knock a few doors, pretty good discussions, nothing too promising, and so while we are on the street trying to figure out where we are going, a car pulls up and I ask the girl what street we are on....... turn out it E. this bomb awesome potential that has been ignoring us! Man cant run from the sisaret, the Lord has the best GPS! it was so crazy, what are the odds we would be there on that street and the exact time that she randomly pulls up in Talvi Kangas? No odds, that’s purely the Lord's hand.

Miracle #3: Found the stolen bike, hanging out near where it was stolen. Turns out Mama Hubner had been praying really hard that I would find the bike! BOOM! No when else will ever win when we have the Lord on our side! Stole that stolen bike back (= Old Yeller is the name, I will always lock that one up from now on!

 Miracle #4: M. our new convert gave a 5-minute talk in church. It was amazing! He started crying (I have never seen him cry before) when he bore his testimony on the feeling he got when he was baptized. Such a precious moment. 

Miracle #5: We actually found this week, almost the first time in my mission that we found people other than by street contacting. We had a spring roll night with member that invited their friends. Boom new investigators now!

I love this life. Out of time but have a great week!

Sis. Hubner

Waters of Baptism and random Miracles in Vaasa

This week was amazing. M. our awesome investigator that has grown his faith in Christ, which now just beams from his eyes, got baptized this Saturday! It was loistava, He seriously has given so much hope and excitement to this ward, they have accepted him with open arms its so incredible. He just brings this light and happiness where ever he goes and now even more so after his baptism. On Saturday we went to the church 2 hours early to fill up the font, and little did we know that there are 3 faucets that the water has to come out of for it to be ready on time! So about 30 minutes before it starts Vanhin Spiers goes to check how high it is and it only is up to his knee! So we frantically run to the kitchen grab all the buckets and pots we can find, and start filling it up from the kitchen and bathrooms! It was quite the adventure and was filled up in less then 20 minutes before everyone came! Good thing most Mormons don’t come too on time! 

Picture of our friend before he was baptized! M. is the best!

Mikko was as excited as anyone could be. On Sunday he was wearing suit pants and a tie and white button up, and nice shoes which he never wears and the priesthood holders gave him the gift of the holy ghost and it was so amazing the ward is already welcoming him in with open arms, and he was even participating a ton in Sunday school and said the closing prayer! It was so amazing he already feels like a life long member! Then a member invited us all over after church, and it was the perfect atmosphere for him to see how the spirit and this gospel works in daily life! Amazing!  We had splits with the Vaasa Sisaret and it was sooo much fun. I was with Sisar P. and she was super stressed out, and we were able to work it through and just hand it completely over to the Lord for the Day! It was amazing so many tiny miracles, and then this golden woman just basically found us and told us that she had heard what we were talking about to this one man on the street about our religion and she was so interested! It was great I had been praying that while we were there we could find someone to build the kingdom in Vaasa and the Lord did all the work, we just had fun loving people.

Beautiful Oulu!

Wish I had more time to explain how amazing this place really is, how exciting it is to be here. But alas I only have about 1 hour or less to explain. Take care and remember the Light you have. Hold it up, its not meant to be hidden because of why? It supposed to shine to help our friends along! 

Also if you haven’t seen the new music video from Alex Boye of the song: "Have I Done Any Good in the World Today." Check it out! Tooo good, I love this gospel!!

Sisar Hübner!

P.S.     Poor Sisar Lund got her skirt stuck in her bike wheel and I had to spend 30 minutes sawing it off with my key haha too funny, skirt= completely destroyed!