I will be a Senpai in the MTC

Hello!


How is everyone? All is well here at the MTC. Last night we blocked off the entrance to the showers with the curtains and turned all the showers on to hot water. We had ourselves a nice little sauna :).

There were a few big changes that happened this week. Yesterday, our Zone was reduced by like 80 missionaries! They all headed out for Japan. About 30 of them were Japanese missionaries. It was sad to see some of them go. I'm pretty jealous! I know I still have much to learn though. So our Zone will be pretty small for this next week until the new Kohai (new younger missionaries) get here. I will then become a Senpai (or older missionary). Also, it was Brother Robertson's last day teaching us on Monday, so we will be getting a new teacher tomorrow. I really liked him but it will be good to learn from somebody else and maybe even connect better with the new teacher.

This past Sunday was testimony meeting and it was a real treat. The Japanese missionaries, elders and sisters, sang a musical number. It was absolutlely amazing. Although I couldn't understand a lot of what they were singing, the Spirit was still SO strong. It's crazy how the Spirit works. The Japanese people really know how to sing! The testimonies were awesome too. I was able to understand a lot more of what was being said.

This Thursday my companion and I have to teach Lesson 1 in Japanese. I'm a little nervous! I've barely been here a month and I'm already teaching a lesson in Japanese! Wow it's crazy. We've been working hard to get ready for it so I think we'll be ok. I'll let you know how it goes next week!

I love you all! Jamattane.

Week 4!

Konnichiwa!


Wow I can't believe it has already been a month! It is crazy how fast time flies by.

Last Tuesday we had a really special devotional. Elder Quentin L. Cook came and spoke to us! I was so excited to hear from an apostle. They don't come too often so it's always a treat to have them.

He talked about how it is such an incredible time to be called as a missionary. He said we were going out in a time that we can touch the hearts of the people in a special way because there isn't as much prosperity so the people are humbled. At the end of his talk, he pronounced a huge apostollic blessing upon all the missionaries. It was so powerful. It made me so excited and happy to be serving a mission.

Things here at the MTC are going great. Our schedule doesn't change much, but it always seems to fly by. We have class for most of the day. We learn the language, about Japanese culture, the gospel, and we always enjoy hearing stories from our teachers about their missions! The language is really tough. I am learning it though, just really slow. One piece at a time.

I played the piano during Priesthood on Sunday! It was really cool. It was completely different from any other time I've played because everyone was singing in Japanese! Haha. It was a good experience.

On Monday we will be having about 75 missionaries leave for Japan, including the Japanese Elders. Our zone will be much smaller!

I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Evening Fireside

It's been quite an exciting week! On Tuesday, we had about 40 Nihongen (Japanese) missionaries arrive here in the MTC, and then on Wednesday Junior got here! The Japanese people are so awesome. It's really fun to be around them and get a little taste of what it's really like. Most of them speak at least a little English, so we're able to communicate. Good thing cause my Japanese is not that great! Ha ha.

On Sunday we had our usual evening Fireside. All the missionaries get together in the gym for this. Brother Richard Heaton, the administrative director of the MTC, spoke. The lesson was on investigators. When he first began, he had all the converts stand. This made me happy because I knew Junior was here and would be standing. Brother Heaton then called a few of them up to join him on the stand, and Junior was one of them! Brother Heaton had them introduce themselves and tell a little bit about their conversion story. As Junior was talking, (in front of about 2,500 missionaries) he mentioned my name, that I baptized him, and that I was here at the MTC too. Brother Heaton then called me out and had me stand up so everyone could see me! Ha I was totally caught off guard! It was so cool though. Junior bore such a powerful testimony and it seemed like everything he said was so perfect. The entire meeting was so awesome.

Thank you all for your prayers, love, and support. I love you all. Have a great week!

Two Weeks!

Hello everyone!
Wow I can't believe I have already been here 2 weeks! Time goes by so fast. The MTC is great. My first few days here were really hard, but it has picked up and I am really starting to enjoy it. Elder Taylor (my comp.) and I are becoming really good friends and we get along really well. The language is tough. It can be hard and frustrating at times. I have to be patient with myself, and the Lord. I know that if I work as hard as I can and give my best effort, the Lord will fill in the rest. I love learning all I can about the gospel and being able to feel the spirit so much. It is awesome! Thank you all for your prayers, love and support. I really appreciate it.
Take Care,
Elder Ovard

1st Letter from the MTC!

Hello family!

I hope the drive home went well for all of you. These first couple days here at the MTC have been pretty long! It's been pretty frustrating and annoying trying to get the hang of things, but I'll pick it up soon.

My companion is Elder Taylor from Kaysville. I like him a lot. He played football and basketball so we have a lot in common. He is a pretty big kid too - like 6'3". We played basketball today during gym and we smoked everyone! HA! We're gonna make a good team. It's kinda weird having a companion with you all the time, but I'm glad I am with him cause I have no clue where I am going. So I just follow him around :) We had a Branch Meeting today and I was made Sr. companion. That doesn't really mean anything though. We will switch after 6 weeks.

The food has been good so far! There's definitely plenty of it!

We've also jumped right into the language. It will be really tough so please pray that I might be able to work hard and learn it.

I'm ok! Keep doing what you gotta do back home, and I'll try and work harder. I would really appreciate your prayers, and I'll pray for you. I have the best family in the world and I love you all.

Love,

Elder Ovard