Hello hello family and friends!!! How is everybody doing?! I hope all is going well for you because I couldn`t be doing any better right now :) It`s been another week full of miracles and blessings. I have been able to see the hand of the Lord in so many things and that it one of the greatest joys of missionary work!
First of all, I have some really exciting news!! Kawamura Rika and her son Yugo did make it to church yesterday. But it gets better! That was the first time we had been able to meet up with Rika as she had been in the hospital a couple weeks before and was recovering at home this past week. So it was definitely good to get with her and her cute little 2 year old girl again :) Ha. We met with them after the church meetings and as we followed up with her we learned that she has been praying and reading the Book of Mormon everyday. She is in Alma!! And her 10 year old son Yugo is on page like 98! Haha they are doing so good. We asked them about their baptism and Rika was down to do it whenever. When we asked Yugo he was down as well and even caught his mom a little off guard by saying he wanted to be baptized! (Haha I thought they had already talked about that before). They were both happy and we were able to make a date for this upcoming Saturday. Yaaaayyyy!!! I had been praying everyday that Heavenly Father would watch over and protect them, especially Rika, during the time we weren`t able to meet and I know he did. She has been keeping the commandments and is ready to be baptized!! We are very excited for them. After our lesson we headed downstairs and ate lunch with the branch. It was a good meal and a good opportunity for the other 4 investigators to associate with the members :)
We were also able to make another baptismal date with a kid named Onodera Migaku :) He`s a 1st year college student and is a fun kid. He is a fairly new investigator as we have only had a couple lessons with him. He loves music and even invited us to a couple concerts this past week haha. Unfortunatley we had to tell him that we can`t go but one of the concerts was at a nearby mall so Elder Shinno and I thought it wouldn`t be a bad idea to go meet up with him afterwards and do a lesson. We were able to do so and yes I did see the singer. She was a young girl, supposively quite famous here in Japan, but what surprised me even more was the shirt she was wearing- an Iowa Hawkeyes t-shirt haha. Of course I thought of you Mitch ;) Hope everything`s going well for you.
Our investigator from Madagascar, Fred, is still here and I love him. He is still the most humble, kind person I know. He comes to church every week and I translate for him and Brother Bassett, an American here teaching English. Fred is studying Japanese but it is still a little hard for him. Especially church words. As for now, that is his biggest fear. He wants to be baptized but is nervous about doing it here in Japan. He wants to do it in his own country, with his family. I love teaching him though. We recently taught him the Plan of Salvation and it was so special to see that knowlegde flow into him. He has studied the Bible before and is a really smart man, so he was a little confused about why he had not heard of this before. It is because a lot of those things aren`t written directly in the Bible. Because of the Restoration and through the prophet Joseph Smith we have been blessed to learn about things like the Plan of Salvation. The Restoration is so important in our lives!! I am grateful for it and the Book of Mormon.
It is sad to have President Tateoka leave. He has worked hard for the past 3 years. He is an awesome mission president and I will be eternally grateful for the things I have learned from him. It is also exciting to have a new one coming in!! His name is President Rasumussen. I don`t know much about him but I do know that he has been called of God! We are excited to see what the future has in store. He arrives here tomorrow evening. I love you all and thank you for all your love and support. I have the best family and friends in the world!! Hope you have an awesome week. Take Care.
Elder Ovard
Called to Serve
Japan Sendai/Sapporo Mission
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
こんにちは! Hello! More Clean UP!!
こんにちは! Hello! How are my favorite family and friends doing back home?? It has been a little bit of an up and down week but once again I am here at the computer with another one down. Time flies. We have been really blessed this week though with some awesome experiences.
Tuesday we had District Meeting (not gonna lie it`s nothing too exciting considering our district consists of our apartment elders ha) and afterwards we recieved a phone call from President Tateoka. He told us that we would be getting another opportunity to do some service on the upcoming Thursday. Yay!! We were all so excited. So we called our zone, told them the news, and got things ready to go. We headed down to Sendai on the bus Wednesday evening, woke up early Thursday morning and headed out for the activity. I need to remember to be humble about having this opportunity considering not all of the missionaries in the mission were given it. Only the Sendai and Morioka Zones. I was lucky! Anyway, something different about this past service project was that the news station from Utah, KSL, came and did a little newsline. As we were sitting on the bus getting ready to head out to the area, a lady from the Deseret News and Bruce Lindsey from KSL hopped on the bus as well. Ya I was a surprised! Haha not gonna lie when I saw him and heard his voice it felt like I was right at home watchin the news. So it was fun to have them there and see them do their work.
One of my favorite parts of the whole project was that we got to do our service in one of my old areas, Tagajo. It felt so good to be back. The place is pretty torn up though. We worked on one house and took out the floor and cleaned up the yard and what not. We could see the water line on the house of where the water had been. It was so sad. Thankfully the house was still standing but everything they once had was all gone. There is so much work to be done and it will take quite a while for things to get back to where they once were, if that ever happens. We were also given another really awesome opportunity of being able to go further into more of the destroyed areas to check things out. We traveled over to an area called Ishinomaki. It was brutal. They did let us take pictures this time and I took advantage. It was so sad. There were only a few houses still standing but for the most part everything is gonzo. I felt so bad for those people. They lost everything they once had. It caused me to think about what is really important in life. Of course it`s my family! I love my family more than anything in the world and am so thankful I can live with them forever. As we headed home we made another stop by the city hall in Tagajo. The man in charge of all the service wanted to tell us `thanks`. He was so kind. He even got a little teary eyed. These people are so grateful for any help they get. As we rode off in the bus everybody outside and even inside the building waved good-bye to us. It was so special and I could feel their love and appreciation as much as anything in the world. I love these people and want to do whatever I can for them!!
Yes we still did do our missionary work :) Kawamura Rika did make it out of the hospital but we still have not been able to meet with her. She is going to talk with her doctor again today so we will be able to figure out more about her situation later on. She will be fine though!! Her faith is strong. Her son, Yugo, is still tearin it up! He came to church again yesterday by himself and is doing everything to prepare for baptism. It`s more of a time game right now but we`ll be patient!
All four of us missionaries spoke in church this past Sunday about missionary work. Not gonna lie I didn`t have the most time to prepare for things so I really had to rely on the Spirit for help but I made it work. As I did study though I was able to ponder on our responsibility as members of the church to share the gospel. It is such a big responsibility, but wonderful blessing!! I know that as we do our part as members of the church to share the gospel we will be blessed for our efforts. There are many ways to do missionary work, we just gotta think a little bit and do it! My favorite way to serve is still through example. I`m definitley not the best at it and I have a lot of room for improvement but I know that as we try and become more like our Savior it can influence those around us to do the same. I`m grateful for all of you and the examples you are in my life. I love you!!!!
Elder Ovard
オバ－ド長老
Tuesday we had District Meeting (not gonna lie it`s nothing too exciting considering our district consists of our apartment elders ha) and afterwards we recieved a phone call from President Tateoka. He told us that we would be getting another opportunity to do some service on the upcoming Thursday. Yay!! We were all so excited. So we called our zone, told them the news, and got things ready to go. We headed down to Sendai on the bus Wednesday evening, woke up early Thursday morning and headed out for the activity. I need to remember to be humble about having this opportunity considering not all of the missionaries in the mission were given it. Only the Sendai and Morioka Zones. I was lucky! Anyway, something different about this past service project was that the news station from Utah, KSL, came and did a little newsline. As we were sitting on the bus getting ready to head out to the area, a lady from the Deseret News and Bruce Lindsey from KSL hopped on the bus as well. Ya I was a surprised! Haha not gonna lie when I saw him and heard his voice it felt like I was right at home watchin the news. So it was fun to have them there and see them do their work.
One of my favorite parts of the whole project was that we got to do our service in one of my old areas, Tagajo. It felt so good to be back. The place is pretty torn up though. We worked on one house and took out the floor and cleaned up the yard and what not. We could see the water line on the house of where the water had been. It was so sad. Thankfully the house was still standing but everything they once had was all gone. There is so much work to be done and it will take quite a while for things to get back to where they once were, if that ever happens. We were also given another really awesome opportunity of being able to go further into more of the destroyed areas to check things out. We traveled over to an area called Ishinomaki. It was brutal. They did let us take pictures this time and I took advantage. It was so sad. There were only a few houses still standing but for the most part everything is gonzo. I felt so bad for those people. They lost everything they once had. It caused me to think about what is really important in life. Of course it`s my family! I love my family more than anything in the world and am so thankful I can live with them forever. As we headed home we made another stop by the city hall in Tagajo. The man in charge of all the service wanted to tell us `thanks`. He was so kind. He even got a little teary eyed. These people are so grateful for any help they get. As we rode off in the bus everybody outside and even inside the building waved good-bye to us. It was so special and I could feel their love and appreciation as much as anything in the world. I love these people and want to do whatever I can for them!!
Yes we still did do our missionary work :) Kawamura Rika did make it out of the hospital but we still have not been able to meet with her. She is going to talk with her doctor again today so we will be able to figure out more about her situation later on. She will be fine though!! Her faith is strong. Her son, Yugo, is still tearin it up! He came to church again yesterday by himself and is doing everything to prepare for baptism. It`s more of a time game right now but we`ll be patient!
All four of us missionaries spoke in church this past Sunday about missionary work. Not gonna lie I didn`t have the most time to prepare for things so I really had to rely on the Spirit for help but I made it work. As I did study though I was able to ponder on our responsibility as members of the church to share the gospel. It is such a big responsibility, but wonderful blessing!! I know that as we do our part as members of the church to share the gospel we will be blessed for our efforts. There are many ways to do missionary work, we just gotta think a little bit and do it! My favorite way to serve is still through example. I`m definitley not the best at it and I have a lot of room for improvement but I know that as we try and become more like our Savior it can influence those around us to do the same. I`m grateful for all of you and the examples you are in my life. I love you!!!!
Elder Ovard
オバ－ド長老
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Warming Up!!!
It`s been another awesome and unbelievably fast week out here in the mission field. It is getting so hot!! There wasn`t a ton of rain this past week but now that I say that it will probably dump all week so I better watch out haha. It`s way nice to be able to go out there in the short sleeve white shirt without a jacket though. I`ll take this anyday over that winter weather. I`m sure everybody is pretty excited to get in the swimming pool right about this time. Did you know that there aren`t too many pools here in Japan? There isn`t too much space for them so I think they have to go to a public place and I haven`t even seen too many of those. Bummer huh?!
We`ve had our fair share of ups and downs this past week but overall it has still been full of miracles. We had exchanges this week with a couple Elders from Kitakami which also went really well. We have been working really hard with Kawamura Rika and her son Yugo to get them ready for their baptism which was scheduled for this upcoming Saturday but unfortunately it will have to be postponed for another couple weeks. First of all, Rika has been in very bad physical condition as of late and is now in the hospital. She has been meeting with her doctor and he finally told her it would be best to rest in the hospital for a few days. She has had terrible headaches and I think has been pretty stressed out with different things. She also smoked some cigarrettes which is another reason her baptism will have to be postponed. She wants to quit though and even feels like entering the hospital might be Heavenly Father`s way of helping her quit. She has the desire, understands the importance of baptism, and wants to do it. I know she can and that she will!! :) While on splits with Elder Watanabe we were able to go visit her before she went into the hospital. We gave her a Priesthood blessing. It was awesome!! As for now we`re gonna pray for her and be patient with the Lord`s timing. We did schedule another date for the 25th of this month :)
Her son, Yugo, is doing awesome!! I think he was a little sad about his mom but we called him Saturday evening to see if he was gonna come to church and he was all over it haha. He made plans to have his grandpa bring him over. We arrived at the church Sunday morning around 9:00 a.m. for a meeting with the mission leader and he had already showed up!! Haha he was in the sacrament room reading his scripts and when he saw us he ran up and gave us a big hug. He was so happy. We taught him simply the Plan of Salvation before church started. This kid is amazing. Oh ya I almost forgot!! Earlier in the week we had a lesson planned with he and his mom but she had something come up and wasn`t able to make it. He was pretty discouraged. He called us later in the day and asked if he could just meet with us by himself. Of course!! We made plans to pick him up and go to the church. We watched the `Restoration` video. He loved it and the spirit was strong. He asked about baptism afterwards and we were able to make a date with him. He is scheduled to be baptized with his mom on the 25th :)
We have found a lot of good people this past week and are gonna try to get them progressing this week. We have been so blessed. I have an amazing companion. And the other 2 missionaries we`re living with are awesome too. I feel so blessed to be living with 3 wonderful Japanese Elders who do so many nice things for me. There haven`t really been any issues between us as far as culture goes and what not. They make me lots of good food and I`m pretty much satisfied from there. Haha just kidding. But they do throw down some good meals :) The mission is full of opportunities of a lifetime. I`m thankful for what my Heavenly Father has given me. I love you all!!!
Elder Ovard
We`ve had our fair share of ups and downs this past week but overall it has still been full of miracles. We had exchanges this week with a couple Elders from Kitakami which also went really well. We have been working really hard with Kawamura Rika and her son Yugo to get them ready for their baptism which was scheduled for this upcoming Saturday but unfortunately it will have to be postponed for another couple weeks. First of all, Rika has been in very bad physical condition as of late and is now in the hospital. She has been meeting with her doctor and he finally told her it would be best to rest in the hospital for a few days. She has had terrible headaches and I think has been pretty stressed out with different things. She also smoked some cigarrettes which is another reason her baptism will have to be postponed. She wants to quit though and even feels like entering the hospital might be Heavenly Father`s way of helping her quit. She has the desire, understands the importance of baptism, and wants to do it. I know she can and that she will!! :) While on splits with Elder Watanabe we were able to go visit her before she went into the hospital. We gave her a Priesthood blessing. It was awesome!! As for now we`re gonna pray for her and be patient with the Lord`s timing. We did schedule another date for the 25th of this month :)
Her son, Yugo, is doing awesome!! I think he was a little sad about his mom but we called him Saturday evening to see if he was gonna come to church and he was all over it haha. He made plans to have his grandpa bring him over. We arrived at the church Sunday morning around 9:00 a.m. for a meeting with the mission leader and he had already showed up!! Haha he was in the sacrament room reading his scripts and when he saw us he ran up and gave us a big hug. He was so happy. We taught him simply the Plan of Salvation before church started. This kid is amazing. Oh ya I almost forgot!! Earlier in the week we had a lesson planned with he and his mom but she had something come up and wasn`t able to make it. He was pretty discouraged. He called us later in the day and asked if he could just meet with us by himself. Of course!! We made plans to pick him up and go to the church. We watched the `Restoration` video. He loved it and the spirit was strong. He asked about baptism afterwards and we were able to make a date with him. He is scheduled to be baptized with his mom on the 25th :)
We have found a lot of good people this past week and are gonna try to get them progressing this week. We have been so blessed. I have an amazing companion. And the other 2 missionaries we`re living with are awesome too. I feel so blessed to be living with 3 wonderful Japanese Elders who do so many nice things for me. There haven`t really been any issues between us as far as culture goes and what not. They make me lots of good food and I`m pretty much satisfied from there. Haha just kidding. But they do throw down some good meals :) The mission is full of opportunities of a lifetime. I`m thankful for what my Heavenly Father has given me. I love you all!!!
Elder Ovard
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Still Shakin' in Morioka!
Well family and friends it`s another one down in the books. It has been my first full week back here in Morioka and yes it does feel good :) I have even come in contact with another friend from before! A few times by now I think. His name is Earthquake Robby? Hahaha. Yes we are still shakin and rumblin over here just a little bit. No worries though ;) It has also been raining lots over here so I think we are about to hit the `rainy season`. The weather is warming up though so that always makes things nice. And living with 3 Japanese Elders always makes things interesting too :) Ha I would have never guessed in my life I would have ever been put in a situation like this. I really enjoy it though. One morning I got a call from some dude trying to get a hold of a foreigner to come and be a minister for a wedding ceremony or something like that. Somehow he knew I was a missionary and could somewhat speak Japanese. He offered good money too!;) I had an enjoyable time talking with him and getting these 3 Elders a little nervous about what I was gonna do haha. I didn`t accept the offer although it didn`t sound like to bad of a deal getting payed nearly $200 to say a couple lines. Maybe next time :)
So we are getting closer and closer to Rika`s baptism each and every day. We met with her last week and began to teach her the commandments. We began with the Word of Wisdom, Tithing, Pray Often, and Obedience. The only problem she had was tobacco in which she was smoking 10 cigarettes per day. Her doctor had advised her to quit and she had a desire herself but hadn`t been able to put the habit away quite yet. She accepted the commitment though! We called her the next evening to follow up and she had thrown away all the cigarettes she had and was keeping the commitment!! We were so happy. She told us she thought she could follow it for the next 2 weeks and be baptized on her date for the 18th. So we are working towards that! She has so much faith and is so strong. We are also working with her son as well!! I was able to meet up with him for the first time since being back and it was a happy reunion on both ends. He is such a stud. His name is Yugo and he`s only 10 years old but he has such a good head on himself. We didn`t really focus the lesson on him but we did try to commit him to baptism as well. He didn`t accept. He said he still didn`t know the things in the Book of Mormon were true so he wasn`t ready yet. Of course we were a little disappointed but more than that I was in a little shock! This kid really knows and understands what he is getting into!! He is reading and praying everyday and his prayers are amazing. We will try and put a little more focus into him as well so he can be baptized right along side his mom.
Our investigator friend from Madagascar is still doing great and came to church again this past Sunday. He is so humble and pure. He loves to study the `Bible` with us :) We did talk about baptism with him once more but right now his biggest fear is his family. The language is still pretty tough on him and I think he is nervous about being baptized here in Japan because of that. He said he would rather do it with his fam back in Madagascar. I`m not sure whether or not they are meeting with the missionaries or going to church but they are supportive of Fred`s decision to go to church. I feel bad for him and the hard situation he`s in. As for now we will just continue to pray!
It was our first `real` week of church here in Morioka as last week was the District Conference and everybody was all smiles :) I too am excited to be here and ready to see some miracles! I love you all. Have an awesome week back in the good ol` USA! Take Care.
Elder Ovard
So we are getting closer and closer to Rika`s baptism each and every day. We met with her last week and began to teach her the commandments. We began with the Word of Wisdom, Tithing, Pray Often, and Obedience. The only problem she had was tobacco in which she was smoking 10 cigarettes per day. Her doctor had advised her to quit and she had a desire herself but hadn`t been able to put the habit away quite yet. She accepted the commitment though! We called her the next evening to follow up and she had thrown away all the cigarettes she had and was keeping the commitment!! We were so happy. She told us she thought she could follow it for the next 2 weeks and be baptized on her date for the 18th. So we are working towards that! She has so much faith and is so strong. We are also working with her son as well!! I was able to meet up with him for the first time since being back and it was a happy reunion on both ends. He is such a stud. His name is Yugo and he`s only 10 years old but he has such a good head on himself. We didn`t really focus the lesson on him but we did try to commit him to baptism as well. He didn`t accept. He said he still didn`t know the things in the Book of Mormon were true so he wasn`t ready yet. Of course we were a little disappointed but more than that I was in a little shock! This kid really knows and understands what he is getting into!! He is reading and praying everyday and his prayers are amazing. We will try and put a little more focus into him as well so he can be baptized right along side his mom.
Our investigator friend from Madagascar is still doing great and came to church again this past Sunday. He is so humble and pure. He loves to study the `Bible` with us :) We did talk about baptism with him once more but right now his biggest fear is his family. The language is still pretty tough on him and I think he is nervous about being baptized here in Japan because of that. He said he would rather do it with his fam back in Madagascar. I`m not sure whether or not they are meeting with the missionaries or going to church but they are supportive of Fred`s decision to go to church. I feel bad for him and the hard situation he`s in. As for now we will just continue to pray!
It was our first `real` week of church here in Morioka as last week was the District Conference and everybody was all smiles :) I too am excited to be here and ready to see some miracles! I love you all. Have an awesome week back in the good ol` USA! Take Care.
Elder Ovard
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