Transfers again! Adios to Elder Evans, HELLO Elder LEE!!!

Well everybody, it is that time again!  Another 6 weeks has come and gone, and we had transfers again.  My new assignment is this:  I'm still serving in Milwaukee!  I just got a new companion - Elder Noah Lee from Lehi, UT, and he's been on his mission for like 15 months.  He's a cool guy - I still don't know him tons but we're having a fun time!  :)  But yeah, everything leading up to Wednesday (transfer day) was basically just saying goodbye to a whole bunch of people and that's never fun.  On Monay night we had dinner with the Santos family and that was interesting, because there I learned that they just call me 'pestanias,' which means 'eyelashes' in Spanish.  So, that leads me to a whole new topic.  My entire life, I've always been told I have really long eyelashes.  Does that mean much to me?  No, not really, because I'm not a girl and they aren't one of my qualities that I try to make stand out.  But, they stand out nonetheless.  After I was assigned to Elder Lee, we were at a dinner appontment and somebody commented on my eyelashes, and Elder Lee was all like: "To be honest Elder Hubert, when I first met you (he met me when he first came out a while ago), I thought that you wore eye makeup or something on your eyelashes!  But now I know you don't..."  Then, Elder Miller piped up (my ex-companion from GB) and said: "Yeah man, when I first met you in Green Bay I thought the same thing, but then I realized that you didn't have any makeup with you..."  Yeah, he realized that after we had been living together for a month or so...  :P  So, in case anybody is wondering, YES I still get tormented about my eyelashes...  :P  It's kind of funny, but also kind of annoying...  But yeah.  Just thought I'd say that.  :D

Wednesday I was basically at the church the whole day.  I paired up with Elder Lee pretty soon in the day and we shuttled some missionaries around, like the missionaries that don't have cars that needed to get back to their area somehow - stuff like that.  It wasn't super stressful there, but eventually we got out alive.  That's always the trick - seeing how quickly you can get out of Transfer Point.  We are usually the last to leave because that's kind of how it has to be, but this time we left at like 3 - 2nd to last!  Yahoo!  For the rest of the day, Elder Lee and I discussed a lot of the people we're working with and we also discussed the zone (the two zones in the Milwaukee South Stake were combined this week - so now we're in charge of one big Milwaukee South Zones - that'll be an adventure), and we went and visited some people as well!  We got to meet the Miralrio's because we visited them at their soccer store, and then later we tried to visit the Rivera's but instead just taught a lesson outside of their store.  Later that night, we went to the Rivera's house to discuss some of the needs of the branch and who they would be willing to help us work with, so now that we're on the same page we'll be able to do a lot more good!

Thursday we did a lot of stuff, including weekly planning which as we all know is my favorite thing to do.  But also, we got to go visit Orlando Santiago who had his birthday that day, and we sat him down for like 5 minutes and talked to him and his family about him continuing to progress in the church, including receiving the Priesthood (he just turned 13) and things like that, and Orlando was totally down to do that!  He came to church this week for the first time in a LONG time!  What a miracle!  But yeah, that was the big thing that we did today.

Friday we had a return appointment with the Munoz family which was effective.  We got to teach Orlando and Kelly about the Book of Mormon and how it relates with the Bible and why those things are important to us, and it was amazing to have Orlando open up to us a lot (by the end of the lesson, everybody was crying) and we even got an opportunity to come and help him out this next week, when we're going to come by and help him tear up his floor!  That'll be fun!  :D  Friday night there was a fund-raiser for the Branch Youth to pay for a trip they're going to take to Nauvoo for the summer, and it was super successful!  TONS of people showed up to get food and to donate money - it was awesome to see how members from all over the stake showed up to help out!

Saturday morning we played soccer again - and I had a pretty good shot that I'm pretty proud of (right to the top corner - I felt pretty good about that).  Throughout the day, we had a lesson with this guy named Florencio (who we met on Wednesday outside of the Rivera's house) and that went pretty well, but we're going to have to refer him to the other elders because he's not in our area, and also we had dinner with the Velasco's and got to talk to them about the temple and making that a goal!  They're going to go in April of 2016!!!  (Now, I just need to figure out how I'm going to be able to come back and go with them in the Chicago temple at that time...)

AND Sunday was Father's Day!  It was great, especially because right after church we stopped by the Angeles' and found them at home and got to set a date to help them get married, and then another date to help them move!  :D  It'll be great!  :)

But yeah, we had a TON of miracles this week, and right now we're really focusing on members and are finding out that most of them involve part-member people somehow, so that's why we're going to be reaching out to them for now, because that's how we're going to help our branch grow!

I love all of you tons!  Have a great week!

--Elder Nate Hubert

Zone Training, Exchanges, Polish Fest, and saying ADIOS

So don't worry everybody, I'm not saying Adios to anybody for now.  The sad part is that Elder Evans is going to be flying home this coming Thursday - the 18th - and the entire week (basically) was dedicated to him saying goodbye.  I'm not upset about that or anything, it was just strange to be in that mentality and to be the one who had to take all of the photos and stuff, you know?  So yeah, that's what I was dealing with this week.  But hey, it was still a good week, even though it was strange.

Met a new friend!

The highlights include the following:  Monday for P-day we went to the Sprecher Root Beer (heavenly stuff) factory here in Milwaukee, took a tour, and drank some soda (I've not been very healthy)

Last Tuesday we got to have an amazing Zone Training Meeting where Elder Evans and I gave a few trainings about 1) Teaching members and gaining trust to teach their friends, 2) Using "will you" invitations to give commitments, and 3) FAITH (the difference between the faith to act and the power of faith).  They went very well in my opinion, and we had a lot of input from the zone about the various things that we did.  We even had help from Karla Garcia who recently returned from her mission in LA come and help us out and role-playwith us - that was way good! :D  I really hope that the mebers of the zone took something from that.

That night, we got to go on exchanges with the West Allis Elders and I got to go with one of the funniest missionaries ever, Elder Mason Standifird!  He's so great and I really wish that he was staying on his mission, but he's going home on Thursday as well.  :)  We had a good time though, teaching lessons and cracking jokes and we actually had a really Spiritual companionship study where we talked about a whole bunch of awesome stuff. :)  I really enjoyed it.

Polish Fest!

Summerfest in Milwaukee

Helping others find their families

A cool thing that we got to do was on Friday we were recruiited to go and help out down at the Milwaukee Polish Fest at the church's Genealogy center and we got to help people trace their roots back to wherever they came from, using the first and last names that they had and whatever other information they had. I helped a guy find out that he had an aunt that died as a baby that none of his family knew about, and also found his father's draft papers that he turned in for WWI!  Also, when a native american woman confessed to me that she didn't know her family history,I grabbed a BofM and explained it to her and she took it being super excited that she had something to read about her family!  :D  Those were only 2 of the amazing experiences that I had - hopefully I'll catch up in my journal so I can remember the rest (I might be a week behind).

We also had an amazingly Spiritual lesson with Darleen - the menos activa that lives in Cudahy, Wisconsin.  We talked to her and her kids about Joseph Smith and his experience, and especially what that means for us living here today.  It was amazing to mention Baptism and seeing the 8-year-old girls's face as she asked her mom if she could get baptized.  We haven't set a date with them, but I really hope that this family can progress in the Gospel - they are just so amazing!

Food! Glorious food!

Saturday and Sunday were dedicated in large part to saying goodbye to the various families that we visited, which was sad for sure.  I'm just glad that I'm not leaving, too, because then I would be very disappointed.

But yeah, I love you tons everybody!  ;D  I'll catch you later!

--Elder Nate Hubert

Weird Week

Seminary appreciation gift

Yep.  Those two words define my week to the T - it was just weird!  I mean, it was still a good week, that is to say that we got to do some good stuff and visit with investigators and members and everything, but it was just weird.  Let me explain:

We had a bunch of meetings this week!  That's really the only reason.  That's not to say that meetings are bad or that I'm mad that we had them or anything, but as missionaries we want to do missionary things, including teaching and helping other people, right?  But when we're inside getting trained and learning, even if it's good material, it's just hard because we don't get the usual time that we have to help other people and to accomplish our purpose!  But yeah... 

Tuesday, we had District Meeting (from 1:00 to 2:30 - so only an hour and a half.  Not too long)

Wednesday we had Spanish Conference (which was SUPER AWESOME!  But it lasted from 10am to 5pm...  Too long...  Even though we got a whole bunch of great material!)

Friday we had MLC, from 10 to 4, just a medium sized meeting, but it just added to the lack of work...

Our friend the Raccoon

But enough of that - I'm going to tell you about the miracles that happened!  Wednesday night after Spanish Conference and everything, we got to go to talk to Blanca at her house.  Victor wasn't home, so we just talked outside about marriage and about what she thought.  She told us more about her concern and about what she was thinking, and asked us about what we thought she should do.  I mean, we could have said a list of things that she could have done to make the problem a bit better, but we didn't.  As we followed the Spirit, we felt distinctively that we simply needed to tell her to pray and ask Heavenly Father about what it is that she needed to do.  We prayed right there with her and committed her to pray that night.  The next day, on exchanges, I called her to ask her about how her prayer went.  She told me that she had prayed and felt really good about what had happened and how she felt, so she decided to go through with it!  She's going to be getting married!  :D  Hopefully it'll happen within the next 2 weeks, so I'll keep you guys posted.

Wednesday during the day was also super amazing.  All of us Spanish Missionaries - all 28 of us - all met up together in Milwaukee to be taught and trained by an area seventy named Elder Scott. He's from Chicago and he speaks Spanish and it was awesome to hear from him!  We also got trained by President Calderwood from Racine, WI, who was amazing.  We learned a lot about how to help the Spanish people and what it is that we can do to accept the culture and teach directly to their needs.  Elder Scott trained a lot on widening our vision for what can happen with the people, and Pres. Calderwood talked a lot about Celestial Marriage and helping the people realize how important those ordinances are.  It was great!

Wednesday to Thursday I had an amazing exchange with Elder Mullen in our zone.  I am so glad that he's in our zone because he's a huge example for all of us!  He has a major speech impediment, but he doesn't even let that get him down.  He didn't want to serve a service mission, so he applied to serve a full-time mission and now he's here.  I don't have a photo with him yet, so I'll get that to you when I take one.  However, we had a lot of success and were able to find 3 new investigators together and teach pretty powerfully together when we talked to English people.  :)

Elder Hubert and Elder Larsen

Saturday we were given the privilege to go and visit on of the young women in the branch who is in the hospital.  We're pretty close to the family and we went there with her parents and the 1st counselor in the branch presidency.  While there, we offered a blessing for her, and she chose me to give it to her, so that was an amazing experience.  :)  I'm so glad to be a holder of the Priesthood and to be able to bless the lives of others!  :)

And finally, a huge miracle in the zone, is that we had 2 baptisms this last week!  We haven't had a baptism in about a month, so it was good to see 2 of them happen in the same week!  :D

I know this work is true you guys, and that since it is the work of the Lord, it will continue in the midst of persecution and hardship.  It will go on until Christ himself says it's done, so for now we keep on working as hard as we can!  :D

I love you all so much!  Have a great week!

--Elder Nate Hubert

Another Miraculous Week in Milwaukee

Hello everybody!  This week has been a super good one!  I'm just afraid that I'm going to have to start talking about every single day again so I can include the full effect of all of the huge miracles that we have experienced this week, so here we go:

Tuesday evening (last P-day), we had some lessons scheduled.  The first one was very distracting because there was a family gathering going on at the Frias-Rodriguez house, but the mother of the family still wanted us to teach her, so we talked all about the Restoration and why it was necessary, and she understood!  It was awesome to be able to re-kindle the flame of the gospel that they had felt 7 years ago - hopefully everything will work out.  We have a lesson tonight so stay tuned next week!  But I'd say that even the bigger miracle than that was when we met with the Angeles family.  We found them sitting outside waiting for the police to show up because some guy's car was having troubles in the middle of the street right in front of their house and they couldn't help with it, so we waited outside with them (I got to play soccer with their little kids - such a win), and finally got to go inside.  What this lesson ended up turning into was this following example from Preach My Gospel:

The example is this picture of an iceberg, which represents the people's concerns.  Some of them are above the surface and are obvious, but the biggest ones are below the surface and they don't tell those ones to you unless they trust you.  We have been working with them SO much to get married and to improve their lives, and finally on Tuesday we got Blanca's entire iceberg.  I'm not going to tell you because it is touchy information, but we now have a plan on how to get past it, and they both want to get married, and so we're progressing with them!  We're moving onward with them, and Elder Evans and I were both just SO happy and SO overwhelmed by the many blessings that the Lord poured out upon us that night during that lesson - it was purely guided by the Spirit.

Wednesday's miracle was that during Zone Conference, our training had to be shortened to fit time for something else, so we were SO happy about that!  :P  THat really happened, but that's not the miracle.  The awesome part of Wednesday was when President and Sister Cutler gave us some kick butt trainings on the Sabbath Day and the Sacrament, using video clips of things that the Apostles said just prior to this past General Conference, when they give trainings to the Seventy and such.  SO awesome!  My viewpoint has entirely changed, and now I feel like I understand how to better follow Christ and give the Sabbath to Him.  I was even able to make goals on how it was going to affect me back home and how I would keep it holier.  :)

Friday's miracle was that we got to have an AWESOME lesson with the Relief Society President and her daughter in their home.  We taught about the Gospel of Jesus Christ (of course it is something they already know), going over it and sharing insights about it, each of us learning as we went along.  At the end of the lesson, we asked a crucial question.  It was: "Who in the branch are you worried about, or who in the branch do you feel could use a message like this?"  She gave us some names of some people she was concerned about, and the best part is that 2 of them were her less-active son and daughter who lived with their own families and who needed a reminder of the gospel, so we're going to be visiting them with her later on this week!  I feel like that last part is key - WITH her.  She is their mother, she is their friend, and SHE wants the missionaries in the lives of her kids, so she is doing something about it.  I love the initiative that is being taken.  :)

Friday night we started exchanges with the Assistants, and I got to be in the AP area with Elder Stephens, which is always a party.  In the early afternoon, we got to have an amazing lesson with a guy name Jesse, and a member named Danny came out to the lesson with us.  Jesse is dating a member and is curious about what she believes in and why she is the way she is, so during the lesson (which was a spiritual experience for me), we were able to set a baptismal date with Jesse, which was awesome because I guess it's the first baptismal date that area has seen in like 3 months.  #miracle!  

But this is the main experience I wanted to tell you about:  I GOT TO GO TO DOWNTOWN MILWAUKEE, RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE CITY THEATER, AND I GOT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SHARING OF BOOKS OF MORMON RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE BOOK OF MORMON MUSICAL.  It was SO cool.  People were SO curious!  It was a miracle, for sure!  It was right after the Matinee performance and it was incredible to see people either look at us and laugh because they couldn't believe that we were the real missionaries, or they would be super curious, but I had 8 copies of the BofM on me and gave away all of them in like 5 minutes.  Crazy!  It is such a miracle that so many copies of the book of mormon have been given to people over the last week.  Just during the showing of the play, the missionaries in the effort handed out almost 2000 copies of the book of Mormon, in almost 2 weeks!  Crazy!

And then after that, to re-exchange, we got to go to this super awesome Spy restaurant...  The main door is in like this alleyway and you have to know the password to get in to the door, and then you go in and you eat!  :)  But it's spy themed, which is cool.

But yeah!  I'm running out of time, but that was my awesome week!  :D  I hope all works out well for each of you this week!  :D