Transferred... to GREEN BAY!!!

So on last Monday, I received word that I would be transferred to Green Bay!!!  And because it is a transfer week, this week's email is probably going to be pretty short - and for that I apologize.  But the rest of my Monday went like this:  we were playing sports for P-day, and someone decided they wanted to play outside, so we did!  Then someone decided they wanted to wear cleats, so they did!  So then as we were playing, of course I got clipped from behind by that guy wearing cleats, and then immediately my ankle turned blue and purple and swelled up nice and big, and then I wasn't able to walk on it for the next couple days!  Hoorah!  That makes for an exciting life!

Service at the Phillips

Tuesday morning we had breakfast with Rosa as a goodbye for us and a birthday meal for Elder Larsen, and since he was turning 21, Rosa's sister in law got him a bottle of Champaigne!  But don't worry, we didn't drink it...  Then we went over near Brother and Sister Phillips house in Pewaukee to provide some service by digging a trench, but since my ankle was injured, of course I was useless...  Too bad...  So, after all of that, we had a lesson with Leo and Isabelle, where we got to teach the Word of Wisdom and commit them to live it, and that went pretty well. After which, we had a farewell dinner at the Tateoka's home, and I got a photo with them, with Spring, and with the district, too.  :)  Then that night I finished packing and went and visited and said goodbye to the Senelis, Hansens, and to Deanna and her daughters.

The Waukesha District

With the Tateoka's

With the Seneli's

Wednesday was transfers!  That morning, we said goodbye to the district and I got to say goodbye to all of my other friends, and then I boarded the car up to Oshkosh, and then at Oshkosh, we call it the transfer point, we got to board other cars going to our various zones.  But before we left, I got to see Elder Crisanto, Penate, Peterson, Sister Nichols, Smith, and tons of other people that I'd not seen in a long time!  :D  Then we got in the car going to Green Bay and after an hour long ride, finally arrived at the church and I met my new companion, Elder Jared Miller, from Alpine, UT!  He is a pretty cool guy, and has just barely finished being trained, so I'm his second companion.  Should be fun!

Elder's Hubert and Miller

Thursday morning I got to do the first service that I did in Green Bay.  Our weekly service project is so cool!  What it is is that we go to the YMCA gym in Green Bay and we help out this blind man named Dale by helping him work out - changing his weights and leading him to the various machines that he wants to use.  It is actually pretty cool!  Later in the day, we got to go and visit the Varela family, some of our main investigators, and visit some members too, ending up with 2 lessons by the time we went to play weekly Basketball with members and investigators alike.  

Looking for new mission bikes!

Friday was an amazing day!  Spoiler alert - we ended the day by teaching 10 lessons, which is super good for one day.  We taught 3 as we were tracting in the morning, and then we had the Varelas, and then we had Maria, and Sangra, and Victoria, and some other people whose names currently escape me...   But it was amazing to be able to actually get into the city and talk to people!  I loved it!  :D  (Sorry this is vague - I'm still that 'deer in the headlights' guy right now...)

Clark Hinkle

Paul Hornung

New missionary?

Saturday was kind of strange.  We had planned to go around and invite people to the baptism of one of the English investigators, but instead we got carried away into helping and English member with some service.  He was moving into a rest home, so we helped him pack things away and take them over there, and then he got us lunch, and we got lost a few times, and by the end of it, we only were able to have brief visits with everybody before we went to the baptism itself.  Nobody of ours actually ended up coming to it, but it was a great spiritual experience on its own.  And then after the service, we helped the member some more!

And then on Sunday, we had church!  I loved it so much and am SO excited that I've finally been assigned to labor in a Spanish Branch - it is only going to help me grow and progress even more that I already have.  And then after church, we went and ended up contacting some people, but only got to talk to 1 of them, but that's okay.  :)  We then made up the studies that we had lost that morning because we have church starting at 9am  :)

Love you all!  Sorry the email was rushed today!  I hope that each of you is staying well and that you have a great week!

Things are amazing here in Wisconsin!  Love you so much!

--Elder Nate Hubert

My final week in Waukesha!!! :( But hey - the time here has been great!

So, as you can tell from the title of this week's update, I received word on Saturday that I will be getting transferred from Waukesha, my home for the last 6 months of my life.  But I had a pretty cool experience recently too.  We had no idea where I was going to go, because we find out on Monday where we are going!  But yesterday night as I started packing, I was looking at the Transfer Board (a piece of paper that shows the entire mission and who is serving where) and I was looking at it, and my eyes rested on one place - Green Bay Spanish.  There was a missionary who had been there for a while, and who had just finished training another missionary there, and I just knew at that moment that I would be going there to be that missionary's second companion - and I found out today that I was right!  It was pretty cool!  :D

But yeah, I am going to be going to serve in a Spanish Branch up in Green Bay and I am super excited to do that - it will certainly help my Spanish out a lot!  :D

But other than that great news - not much happened this week!  I will give you a brief run-through:

Tuesday we had Zone Training Meeting, which was pretty fun!  There was this one awkward moment when Elder Wise made a comment that completely was against what the Zone Leaders were saying, and then they completely ignored him, which I thought was pretty funny...  :P  But right after ZTM, we got to go to Leo's house and have a lesson with him!  We talked about the Book of Mormon, and found out that he has actually been reading!  We read more with him  - chapters 3 and 4 in 1st Nephi, and got to explain a bit of what it is talking about.  Then, we got to commit them to come to church.  They didn't end up being able to come, but they definitely can next week!  Work just got in the way this week.  After that, we had a powerful lesson on the Restoration with Homero and Maira, which I am very glad we got to teach because right as we knocked on their door, Germany had just beat Brazil in a 7-1 game for the World Cup, and Homero was pretty upset about it.  Later, we had dinner with Candy, and then got to go and help the Schuenke's move their animals out of the house and to his mother's house because they discovered that their apartment had bed bugs!!!  :(

Wednesday basically began with service at the Food Pantry, which was my last time there.  After that, we got to contact some distant referrals that didn't end up turning into anything.  The first lady said that she didn't want to talk to us because she believed in Jesus Christ.  I was pretty confused by that statement, but before I could say anything about it, the door was already closed.  :(  Then the next one told us that he didn't care about family history, because he only wanted to live for eternity with the relatives that he already knew!  That he didn't care about the rest of his family...  I think he misunderstood us, but that's okay too..?  We were able to share the Ward Vision that we have as the missionaries serving here with some other families that night, and the Spirit was felt a lot as we discussed the best ways to bridge the gap in between the Member Missionary Work and the Full-time Missionary Work.

Thursday was an interesting day...  We started out with an amazing breakfast with Rosa and then we got to watch Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration - luckily a member of the ward had the good version of the movie - and then we went over to the Hope Center to do service.  As we were walking home for lunch after the Hope Center, I started feeling not too good...  So, for the next couple of hours, I was trying to throw up and trying to sleep - both of which didn't work very well..  But finally, it came time to go to a dinner appointment, where I was basically anti-social because I didn't want to get anybody else sick...  But that was that day!  We also started exchanges that night - I went up to Pewaukee with Elder Kimzey.

Exchanges were fun on Friday.  We were able to have Correlation that morning and discuss the best ways to improve the missionary work in the areas, and after that we got to visit a bunch of Less Active members and share Spiritual thoughts with them to try and uplift and edify them - I really hope that it worked because these men desperately need it.  Later, we went up to Pewaukee to return a pan that was given to us, and then got to schedule some service with an English investigator to do on Tuesday - the day right before Transfers!  :D  And then that night, we had dinner with the Schuenkes and got to help them move their animals back into their home.

Saturday morning we spent a couple of hours helping the Whipple family move to a different house in the same ward, which was a great opportunity to meet their non-member friends and I thought that was great!  Later, we got the transfer text that told me that I was leaving, along with Elder Kimzey and Sister Weaver - all of us who got here in mid-January.  Our first teaching opporunity of the day was with Zach Schuenke who came out with us to teach Jesus, where I basically said goodbye to him, and he was pretty upset that I was leaving.  Later, we went to another investigator's house to get some lunch, and then we went to dinner at the Tovias's after meeting with the Wood family.

And Sunday, we visited Leo before church and he told us that he wouldn't be able to go to church, which was too bad.  Then at church, it was difficult telling members that I was leaving.  Many of them were very sad to see me go.  I mean, life goes on, but I have loved being able to be around such great people like this.  I've included a few photos and will be trying to get more photos with people that mean a lot to me.  :D

I love you all!  I'll give you an update on how Green Bay is next week!

I hope that you all are doing great though - and thanks for all of the emails and prayers that come out to us missionaries - they are felt every single day!  Love you!

--Elder Nate Hubert

Feliz Dia de Independencia!

Well everyone, I cannot believe that it is already Monday again!  This week flew by, and I'm pretty sure I say that every week, but it is so true.  The days feel like weeks, and the weeks feel like days!  And this next week, we find out who is leaving for the next Transfers, which is on July 16th, and I can't believe that is coming already.  I've been in Waukesha for almost 6 months now, and every single day has been such an adventure!  It would be awesome if I was able to stay and continue to serve here for another transfer, but I'm not sure what the Lord has in store for me.  Whatever it is, it is the right thing!  :D

But just to briefly summarize this week:

Monday, we had our P-day, which was basically like normal, except for that evening we got to go to the YSA FHE activity with our investigator Lavon.  We played 'Minute to Win It' games and it was super fun, and he actually participated!  A strange fact is that one of the missionaries off of the Preach My Gospel The District videos, season 1, named Elder Hallam, just moved into the YSA ward up here!

There was also a crazy storm Monday night that left most of the city out of power until Wednesday, but we still had power!  Hurrah!

On Tuesday, we basically started the day with the final District Meeting of the transfer.  We gave trainings on how to use our Area Book more effectively, and I really enjoyed being able to prepare our training because we keep our Area Book up very well!  :)  We talked about how important it is to keep it neat, clean, and organized, and how as we do that, we'll be able to further the missionary work in our area both as we are serving there, and give future missionaries a good foundation to build on.  We also had a great day in regards to teaching and everything else!  We got to meet with Rosa and Hermana Tovias at the library to begin Rosa's new member discussions, which was really good.  We taught the Restoration and were able to clear up any questions that Rosa had.  We also contacted a referral that we had gotten from the Sisters, and talked to a former investigator named Tomas and met his son, too, who we referred to the English Elders.  By the end of the day, we were able to teach 6 lessons and place 5 copies of the Book of Mormon, which is good for one day!

Wednesday we had the service at the Food Pantry which is always an adventure, and then we went over to the Tovias's home to do some service in their backyard by helping them trim their weeds and stuff, but it turned out to be a service project much bigger than we had anticipated, and we were barely able to make a dent in the project before we had to leave.  Then, we went to Lavon's softball game, and it was really entertaining to watch.  And then after that, we had a short dinner and played some soccer with our friends!

On Thursday we got stood up by most of our appointments, which was kinda rough.  Even the member of the ward that was supposed to come out with us texted us last minute and cancelled on us...  But such is the life of missionaries!  :D  We were still able to teach a lesson though, contact a referral, and get a new investigator.  But it is days like this where we do all that we can, and the other people don't do their part, that we can still rejoice because we are doing all in our power to continue to push the work forward!  :D

Friday was the 4th of July!  In the morning we got to go to the parade that was all throughout downtown Waukesha, and we talked to lots of people that we didn't know, and got to talk to members, too!  It was great because then we got invited over for lunch with a member family, and we love that.  Holidays like the 4th are real great days to strengthen relationships between member and the missionaries, because most other people are just going to get mad at you if you try to disturb them during their family time...  But Elder Wise and I, while preparing a message to share with families throughout the day, found 1 Nephi 13:16-19, where it talks about the Revolutionary War in the Book of Mormon, and how it was through the strength of God that this incredible nation was able to be established, and how it was because of that that the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ was able to come forth in such a land that experienced freedoms such as the Freedom of Religion that we all enjoy.  We owe even the 4th of July to God!  Then that night, we had dinner at the Stake President's house, and got to share that message with him, and then his wife made me sing for them...  :P  She wanted me to sing Bring Him Home from Les Miserables, so I did...  It wasn't great because my voice wasn't warm and it took me off guard and I had no time to practice, but she enjoyed it nonetheless.

Concert in the park celebrating independence day 

Saturday, we were able to teach a powerful lesson about the Plan of Salvation to our investigator named Heidi.  She really liked it and said that she really wants to come to church and wants to do everything possible, but she also wants to take everything step-by-step...  So, in time, I'm sure that she'll get baptized!  We were also able to teach a woman named Charlene, and got to see out investigator Jesus and talk to him and see how he was doing.  Then, we had a quick Correlation meeting between all of the missionaries in the ward because our Ward Mission Leader was out of town.  Then, we went to a member's home because their son just got home from his mission and we were invited to go there for dinner and to meet their son!  :)

Sunday, we weren't able to teach our lesson in the morning because our investigator had a family emergency, and church was really good and we got to teach Gospel Principles about Sacrifice!  :D  And that night we had dinner with the Gardner's!

What a week!

I hope you each had a great week too!  Love you all!  Keep the faith!  The church is true!  :D

--Elder Nate Hubert

I got to go to the Temple this week!

Hey Everybuddy!  This week was awesome!  Some great things were able to be done, including using Soccer and the World Cup to find new people!  And of course, I loved that part a lot.  But also this week, we got to teach some fantastic people and some fantastic lessons.  Being a missionary is such a blessing, because we are able to have experiences with the Spirit that other people might not be able to have.  I'll be honest, I never had experiences that even compared to these before I came on a mission. 

Elder Wise's graffiti

Beginning on Monday,  it was kind of a strange day.  It was a half P-day, so we still got to email and got to go shopping, we just went and proselyted after that because Friday was going to be the other half P-day because I got to go to the temple!  So on Monday we got to visit Eric and Angel at their house and confirm for a lesson that we were going to have tomorrow, and then we got to go and attempt to contact a referral, even though they weren't home...  So instead, what we did is we went to Candy's house and to the Schuenke's house and shared the 'Ward Vision' that we have as the missionaries serving in Waukesha!  It was great!  :D  It was well received and we got to get more ideas from them as well.

On Tuesday, I won't spoil the surprise.  So, on DropBox I put a video log of Tuesday!  :D  I know that the video is a bit blurry, which is something I tried to avoid, but it is just me talking about the day and some of my thoughts about different things that happened...  I'm not sure if you'll like it, but definitely watch it!  :)  (NOTE: We tried to upload the video, but it keeps giving an error.  If you want to see it please contact Elder Hubert's family)

Wednesday, however, was a great day!  We first went to the Food Pantry and did our service there for 2 hours, and then we changed into some sports clothes after we were done, which was quite a hit for the other volunteers at the Food Pantry because they'd never seen an Elder out of his shirt and tie before.  Then, we went over to some soccer fields nearby and met Eric and Angel and Johnathan and the English Elders there, and we got to play soccer with them!  We also met up with some of Eric's friends from school, kids from Russia and Turkey, and got to play with them, too.  It was a very successful game and we had tons of fun!  By the end of it, the nationalities represented were Russian, Turkish, Bosnian, Afghani, Mexican, and American. 

On Thursday, after the service at the Hope Center, we had a visit with Lavon, where we were able to teach him the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which went very well with him.  We are really hoping that he'll be prepared for his upcoming baptismal date of July 19! That would be great!  And then we headed over to Brother Tateoka's house for a correlation meeting that we had, being able to discuss the changes that need to be made to the ward and the area, to be able to help the missionary work progress farther.  After that and a quick dinner, we headed back over to the soccer fields for a return appt. with destiny!  We met with the Bosnians and everybody again, but this time we played against a team made up of all mexicans!  So that's when Spanish Missionary Mode kicked in, and I was able to speak to several of them, talk about what a missionary is, answer their questions, and get invited back!  So, starting from playing soccer with them, we're eventually going to be able to meet with them and teach them, too!  :D

Friday, was TEMPLE DAY!  We had studies in the morning, and then we got picked up at 12:30ish to leave, but didn't actually hit the road until 1:30ish, which got us to the temple at about 2:45, just in time for the 3:00 session. As soon as I entered the temple, there was just such a peaceful and calming sensation that came over me - the Spirit was so strong, which was just such a testimony to me of the divinity of those buildings and that they are truly the House of God.  It was such a great day, and afterwords we got to have a little bit of dinner and then got to come home!  It was amazing!  Such a blessing!

Saturday, we had Farmer's Market contacting in the morning, where I was able to teach 2 lessons.  I felt pretty bad for Elder Wise because he kept on getting rejected by the various people there, but he's a good sport about it.  Then, we went and had a lesson with a new lady, Jennifer, in her backyard.  It was super sunny when we started the lesson, but as soon as we started talking about the first vision, dark clouds set in overhead, and it started pouring so hard!  By that time we were inside, luckily, and when we finished the lesson, she gave us an umbrella to have until a different day when we could return it.  Later, we went and taught Leo and his cousins, which went pretty well.  They wanted to know the difference of the Bible and the Book of Mormon, so we were able to explain that to them.  :)  Then, we taught Heidi about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and invited her to baptism, to which she said that she would be willing, but she wants to take things one step at a time.  I felt bad in that lesson because Elder Wise couldn't really participate because it was in all Spanish, but he was okay with it.  We're still working on him and his Spanish.  We then went and had a brief lesson with Spring and her daughters outside, (it had stopped raining by this time) and then we had a dinner appointment with the Tovias family, which went very well because we were able to discuss how she wants to share the gospel with her friends, and just how to do that.

Then on Sunday, we had church and dinner with the Hansens, followed by a very bold, loving, powerful lesson with Joe and his wife Jamie.  He is checking himself into the Hospital because of Alcohol problems, and we were able to offer and give him a Priesthood Blessing, which left both of them crying.

This gospel is true everybody!  Love you tons!  :D

Have a great week!

Elder Nathan Hubert