Elder Blake Ovard: Conference and Service!

Dear family and friends. How`s everybody doin?? I can`t wait any longer to tell you all how much I loved conference!! Was it not the best?! Or just me? Anyways, not only is it nice to be able to take a little break from the streets, but there is so much strength and energy obtained during that special time. I love conference and am more thankful than ever before for the guidance of living prophets and apostles! :) Oh ya!- did you watch the short news clip in between the Saturday sessions? If so you would have seen a second or two of press time for Elder Ovard haha. I did enjoy seeing the coverage about the disaster here in Japan.

We did make it back to Miyako once again this past week for another day of service. These days have become so special to me! We cleaned up a couple lots nearby the house of an old couple. Their house as well was tremendously damaged at the time of the tsunami but after a lot of repair work was looking quite nice! They let us eat lunch inside. They prepared tea for us (which we unfortunately had to turn down), but it`s the thought that counts! I found some time to talk with them and was blessed to feel of their sweet spirit. These people are so kind! I love them :) Eriko, one of our investigators, also came to the service activity! She watched a lot of conference and is progressing quite well. We want to talk about baptism with her sometime this week so we`re praying all goes well!

For weeks and weeks we have been looking for opportunities to help and serve the members here in Morioka. This week we were finally given an opportunity, and boy was it worth it!! We helped Brother Takayashiki, a farmer, harvest his rice. Considering this only takes place once a year and most Japanese people haven`t even done it before, T.D. Choro and I considered ourselves quite lucky :) I couldn`t help but to feel like I was back on the farm with Grandpa Gub`s! Ha. We cut a bit out with a tool called a `kama`, but most of the cutting took place with the combine. Elder T.D and I mostly bagged and stacked the gathered rice. It was actually kind of a work out! Although it did take up most of the day, it was one of the faster and more exciting days of the mission.

We have also learned that Japanese hospitals are quite efficient! After several weeks of leg pain, we were finally able to get T.D. Choro into a doctors office. Thank goodness nothing serious was found. He was diagnosed with Myotosis, or leg pain. For coming in off the street, having an x-ray taken, medicine recieved, and being out of there within an hour, we decided that $70 wasn`t all that bad!

I love you all. Thanks for all you do. I don`t express enough my gratitude and appreciation for all of you. It means a lot. The church is true. The Spirit confirmed to me once again as I watched conference that Jesus is the Christ, and that His church has been restored upon the earth through the prophet Joseph Smith. I feel blessed to be a missionary and have the opportunity to share that message with the people of Japan who desparately need it so much. Take Care.

Elder Ovard