Miracles Happen!

Well it`s been a good run here in Tagajo but unfortunately all good things must come to an end. We got the call from President last night and I will be heading up north just a little bit to a place called `Morioka`. I will become companions with Elder Narita (Japanese) and we will be the Zone Leaders there. We are also going to be white washing the area which makes for a little bit more of a challenge. It was really hard to get the call, and I really don`t want to leave Tagajo right now, but I know that Morioka is the place I need to be.




It has been an awesome week here in Tagajo though!! We have continued to see miracles, and our investigators are getting that much closer to baptism. We taught Shiga-San 4 really big commandments this week: 1) Sabbath Day 2) The 10 Commandments 3) The Law of Chastity, and 4) The Word of Wisdom. We were a little nervous going into it because we knew he smokes cigarettes. Every time we meet with him we can smell it from 15 feet away. We taught it to him though, he understood, and even said he would try hard to stop smoking!! It wasn`t as painful as we thought it might be!! Haha. We still don`t know how he has been doing with it, but He did have a desire to stop smoking and turn to the Lord, and that is what counts!! There is no doubt in my mind that he will be able to overcome that problem and will soon recieve baptism. :)



We also met with another family this week. The Yamada Family!!! They are the cutest family in the whole world. They came in contact with the missionaries about a year ago, but it wasn`t much. Juchau Choro and I have been working really hard to meet with them again, and this week we were finally able to do it!! They remembered about Eternal Families from before, and they still thought that would be awesome! (Except for the Dad. He thought this life was good enough but that`s just a slight problem ;) haha.) The Dad did say the closing prayer though and they still want to learn more :)



So a few weeks ago a random dude came into the church after our services were over. Unfortunately we had an appointment to get to so we weren`t able to talk a whole lot with him, but an older missionary couple in the ward talked with him. He is about 60 years old, his parents passed away, and he doesn`t have a family. Our older couple thought he was golden and we were excited to meet with him at a different time. He was supposed to come to church the next week but never showed up. Unfortunately we didn`t have any of his contact info either, except for the general area in which he lived. After a few weeks, we decided to go to the area and look for him. It was a blistery cold night and I`m not gonna lie I wasn`t the most excited to be out there. We kept on going though and after about 2 hours what do you know- we end up walking right into him on the street!!!! MIRACLE!!!! From there we were able to walk with him to our church and teach a lesson :) He`s a really good man and has lots of potential. There is no doubt in my mind that God lead us to him. This work is amazing!!!!!



As hard as it is to leave an area, I`m grateful for the time I`ve spent here in Tagajo. I feel so blessed to have come in contact with the people I did. I have learned as much from other missionaries, our wonderful ward, and most importantly our dear investigators. I know that a mission is to bless the lives of others, but at times I feel like I`m the one being blessed. Although I might not be able to see the fruits of my labors in the baptismal font during this life, I know that we will be able to meet again on the other side and talk about what an awesome time it was. I love my mission!!!!



Elder Ovard