Week 55 – București, România

This last week was fun, and this last Saturday brought my bigger story. We decided to have a Christmas concert. We wanted it to be really big. We advertised pretty hard and practiced even harder. I did my duet with Sora Trebas again, and frankly I was down right nervous…again. I think that this time I was more nervous than the Embassy performance. It didn’t help that there were more people and there were even a few guest people. So we thought it would be a great idea to get a few guest people to come and participate, especially because there are some very talented less active members and active members here in Bucharest. So we got a man who is a professional cellist. he was very very good, but he also didn’t do anything super difficult, like I had hoped that he would. The really exciting guest though was Antonia.

Now a little background before you go and search her name. I think that she is a member and she is, as some missionaries put it, the prettiest woman. She is a very popular singer here. Her family are active members. She had a good voice, but honestly I believe that Sora Trebas and Sora Gee both have a better voice than she does. it is just that she has all the fancy equipment for really cool stuff. It was cool though that she came and sang. That brought a handful of people to come. Then of course they left right after she did. What a shame, especially because some of the more spiritual songs were after her.

Nevertheless, it was a very successful evening with lots of wonderful performances. Before our performance I said a little prayer that I would be able to sing good enough to bring the spirit. It was by far the best time we have sang that song, and the spirit was strong. it was amazing to me to see how even though not much changed, I was still nervous, I was still short on breathes, it wasn’t any longer for me, but for the Lord, and he made it amazing. The credit is His. it was really good.

Other than that I can’t think of any other things we did or saw. We have been able to get out and work harder lately, and I have been feeling much, much, much better. That and the sun came out for two days in a row! That was a gift if I ever saw one. We hadn’t seen that in three weeks! We have fog here every single night, and the typical day is at 90ish percent humidity. So strange. I am used to it now, but it is still a weird thing. The wind cuts through anything not Romanian bought, and I am grateful for my coat.

I had heard about mom taking Jujitsu. I can see her getting really into it. That reminded me of the part in Chuck where he is walking into the Buy More and Lester comes up to him and Chuck round house kicks Lester into an aisle.! 😀 SO FUNNY!

Hey being a saint is what we are all about, is it not? I am excited that we will be able to talk to each other here pretty soon and I am grateful that this Christmas season has been going the way it has been going. I have really been able to feel a change in me, and a change in how well I feel the Spirit. I know I am not perfect and so mistakes will come, but I think I am understanding more and more the silly little push pins that agonize me, and I am learning to ignore them. The thing is I seem to always have this doubt that I am not forgiven. That the Atonement won’t cover today’s mistake however big or small. But I have been realizing that as long as I commit to change every single day, then the Atonement makes all the difference, and I shouldn’t worry about the voices saying that it doesn’t work. It works. Every moment of every single day. I have felt it lately a lot, and I am excited to continue to change. I think that that lesson, of change, is a main part of the overall testimony that is growing inside me on my mission. Understanding that if you jump in with both feet, the Lord will make sure the water isn’t too cold. What a wonderful thing to be thinking about and to know. I am grateful for that realization, and I hope to not forget about it anytime soon.

I hope everything else is going well. Oliver get your grades up! Abby and Lilly keep it up! But more importantly than all of that, you all should be reading your scriptures everyday. The Lord has taught us that gaining the world means nothing if you lose your soul in the process. So don’t do that!

Grow spiritually, and you will be greatly blessed. Far more blessed than you could possibly imagine. I love seeing pictures, so keep them coming.

Love, Varstnicul Nick Oldham