Everything Stays the Same!

Elder Ovard and Narita at the ice sculptures in Morioka

Well another transfer down with much more to come :) We got the call from President this morning and not a surprise, but happy to hear that nothing will be changing here in Morioka. Elder Narita and I will be together for at least another 6 weeks :) I`m so grateful for the time I get to spend with a Nihonjin (Japanese). He is such a good missionary and I have tons of fun with him. He cracks me up too haha. I can`t get over how much he loves America and wants to be American haha. He`s a funny kid. It`s not too uncommon for the Japanese to like America and want to go, but Narita Choro is head over heels haha. Our Zone did change a bit though. I am happy to say that another one of my fellow MTC brothers will be rollin into the zone. Lundell Choro!!! Haha we had a blast in the MTC and I`m happy to be back with him.



I forgot to mention it last week, but I have awesome news!!! Shiga, one of my investigators from Tagajo, was baptized last week!!!! Yay!! I got a call from the 1st counselor in the Tagajo ward a couple days before the baptism and it was as happy of a day as I`ve ever had. I was so excited!! He is such an awesome man. I learned so much from teaching him and am so grateful for the opportunity I had to meet with him. I thank my beloved comp Juchau Choro in Tagajo for finishin off the job ;)

Have you all read this months Liahona?? I`ve looked into it a little bit this past week and it is awesome! There are some real good stories but one of my favorites was from Elder Kikuchi, the Japanese, of course:) He has a really good article and talks about a food called `tofu` that he used to make. I want you all to know that I eat that stuff everyday and I love it! Haha it`s always fun to connect :)

So we had an awesome week of missionary work. We had 4 investigators come to church!!! One of our new investigators, Rika, came with 3 of her kids. She actually only has 2 kids, but her niece is also living with her. Her niece and son, both 10 years old, are investigators as well. She also has the cutest little baby girl I`ve ever seen in my life!!! It was their first week at church and I would say it was a good one for them to come. President and Sister Tateoka came to the ward and spoke during sacrament meeting. Afterwards we taught them the message of the Restoration. They are so good!!! I called Rika earlier in the week to see how things were going for her and she told me she had been reading the Book of Mormon everyday and was praying morning and night. She said that if she forgot to pray, she would hurry and do it right away. Wow!! As we taught them the lesson, I was amazed at how smart the kids were. They asked really good questions and understood everything well. We committed them to baptism and they accepted, but we weren`t able to make a date. They all want to come to church next week though so we will meet with them then. They are so amazing!!!


Fred is also doing really well. We have been working really hard with him to understand the Restoration and we were finally able to get him a French Book of Mormon so I think that will help. He speaks his Madagascar language, French, pretty good English, and is learning Japanese. Wow!! He is still a little nervous about being baptized so soon, but I do think that he will feel the Spirit and know that what he is doing is right. He is such a good person with a big heart!


We have other investigators as well, but as of now, those are our strongest and most hopefull ones. It is such a blessing to be able to meet with them and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them. There is so much confusion and termoil in the world today and the gospel is really the only place we can find the true happiness and joy we all want. I`m so grateful for the opportunity I have to serve a mission so that I can come to understand that. I love you all and thank you for all your love and support. Take Care.


Elder Ovard