WARMING UP!

Hey everyone! Hope all is well and that everybody`s doin good back home. Things have warmed up a little bit over here and the snow is just about gone. It did snow yesterday morning but it melted right away so that`s always good. I can`t wait for Spring and Summer!!! There is a beautiful lake right in front of our church that has been frozen since I got here and it is finally starting to melt so I`m way excited!!! From what we hear, it`s one of the prettiest sites in the mission :) There are tons of swans and ducks in it as well. Elder Narita and I have been running to it and around it in the mornings. There is a season in Japan called the `sakura` when all the trees blossom and everything looks beautiful so I am hoping to stay here in Morioka until then!!
Not a whole lot has happened since Wednesday. We were down in Sendai Friday and Saturday for Zone Leader Council. It was awesome. I love going to the mission home and recieving training from President. He`s amazing. There is also a mountain close-by that we go on Friday evening to pray. It is always such an awesome experience. Although it is evening and you can`t really see a whole lot, it is still a lot like the `sacred grove`. It`s a forest and everything is beautiful and green. There definitely is power when we go to a quiet place and pour out our hearts to God.
Fred came to church yesterday, and we were finally able to get him to understand the Restoration!!! We were able to get a hold of the French version of the dvd, watched it, and he understood! It felt so good haha. He is still scared about being baptized soon, so we testified hard to him that he needs the Holy Ghost as soon as possible. He knows that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that our message is true, he`s just gotta take the leap of faith and get in the water! He`s a real awesome kid though and I love him. Unfortunately Rika and her kids weren`t able to make it to church :( They were planning on coming and then Sunday morning we got a call and she said that her baby girl had a fever so she wouldn`t be able to make it. I was heart-broken. We were looking so forward to having them at church and teaching them the Plan of Salvation. It was a bummer but they are still doing good. She is reading and praying everyday and is noticing the difference it is making in her life. Hopefully we can meet with them sometime this week!!
That about does it for the week. Tomorrow we have Leadership Training here in Morioka with the Zone so it will be fun to get with everybody again. Things are going well and I thank you all for your love and support. The church is true :) Bye Bye
Elder Ovard