Week 50 – București, România
Another week and more work. Well kind of. It was a really slow week, and I wish I could tell you why, but it frankly pans out to we didn’t work that hard. I was kind of bummed by that, but there are some other matters to be dealing with that are really important too, so all was not lost! I am actually doing really well, emotionally that is, and physically I guess. I feel older and wiser too…not really. Although the weirdness of today being my half way mark has kind of hit me. I have given a lot of reflection about the past year and I have learned so much about everything. I can hardly believe that it has been that long, and that now I am starting to be one of the older guys in the mission. I am freaking out a little bit. I am also starting the whole recommitting process. I have a few new visions of this next year, and where I want to be at the end of them, and now I am in the phase of setting goals. (We have learned all about the formula for success Vision+Goals+Plans+Accountability=Success) I think that I will be able to work my heart out and feel good by the time everything wraps itself up.
Okay some stories…Well this week we had another baptism! That was super nice! One of the sister’s investigators stepped up to the plate, and it brought with it a very nice spirit. But twenty minutes before it was supposed to begin the sisters had completely forgotten about baptismal clothing! So we ran around a little bit stressed out. Everything worked out in the end. It was still really spiritual and she will be a great member. Actually when I first got to Bucharest I thought she was one! Turns out that she wasn’t…but now she is!
We are not teaching anyone right now, and that is actually a frustration of mine. I want to have some really good investigators, but finding people can be hard as the temperature drops. However, we are starting English tomorrow and we have been getting tons and tons of phone calls about that and maybe we will get some new investigators through those. We also have a ton of activities planned that we are going to advertise for and that could bring potentials. I guess I am just ready to teach!
We went to Casa Poporului today, and took a tour. It is SO BIG. I mean SO BIG. Crazy big. We only saw 10% of the building, and we were on an hour and a half tour. And we walked for a lot of that time! Then we played laser tag in a super cool place! I mean it was really cool and we had a lot of fun. Today was a good day and i am glad because it is time to start working hard again!
It’s cool that you (Dad) went hunting. Did you shoot anything? Is it good? Were you cold? 😉 I want to hear all about it! Hopefully your laughter with Brother Tanner didn’t scare away all the deer.
Regular days are actually kind of boring right now, and it’s because of our attitude. We just need to be more positive and things will start happening. That and we are spending a lot of time prepping for the activities that we will be doing. Those take time to plan and to carry out, especially when you are planning them and participating in them. It will be super cool though!
What’s the weather like outside. I want to get an idea of what it will look like when I get home. ;). That’s crazy. I can hardly believe it.
Mom: The deal with prayer sometimes is that we need to hear ourselves say it out loud. I have noticed that sometimes thinking something and saying the exact same thing can have different meaning and power behind it. In part because I want to be a man of my word, and so saying it out loud is very binding, where as just saying in my mind is just a half-hearted…eh…kind of thing. Prayer is an act of faith ins’t it? Then because we are given blessings after the trail of our faith then every prayer will bring some blessings of sorts. Sometimes I will pray to know what to pray for, because my act of faith that will bring a blessing might need to be put on someone else. The next thing is that I feel that Heavenly Father is more prepared to give out some blessings then others. Meaning, that He will always answer our prayers and everything, but I feel that when we pray (showing that act of faith) in accordance with His will, then He will have those blessings right there and right then, as opposed to a blessing that may later require more faith to attain, or give out to someone. Prayer has been a deep study topic for me, and frankly what it comes down to is how often do we pray to be in accordance with Him? What does He want us to do for Him? When our prayers start focusing on what He wants us to focus on (which can sometimes only come by asking for it) then we will see those blessing more in abundance. Of course some of the things we ask for will take time, but the little things that God is ready for right now, can happen right now! I don’t know if that helped at all. I wrote something about like this in my study journal. Asking for things is easy when you know it is backed by Heavenly Father. Prayer can be a very sacred moment for all of us. Trust in Him and everything will be okay.
Love, Varstnicul Nick Oldham