hahahaha...Can't stop laughing that people think he looks like Harry Potter...He's half Japanese so how does that work? Anyways, enjoy his letter and I'm wishing all a Very Merry Christmas and I hope the spirit of Christmas shines upon everyone:
Dear Mother, Father, Sisters, Brothers, Family, and Friends
Welllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll............................ It`s Christmas WEEK!!!!!!! My favorite time of the year. With joy and happiness to spread abroad and happy times to spend with your family! Well this`ll actually be my first Christmas away from Home..... But I am undaunted and not really all that concerned. I am 5000 miles away from home, upon a small island but I remember what is written in the Scriptures, that God remembers all his people, even those lost on the Isles of the Sea. What better way to spend Christmas than giving?
So this week has been another interesting week. Tuesday we went off to Akou, a Samurai town for a huge Matsuri(Festival) that they were having. It was loads of fun, I saw a lot of people dressed up like Samurai, and a lot of just wickedly awesome things. Including a huge statue of some Greek God made out of Salt. Lots of cool statues and learned some interesting things about Japanese History.
Wednesday we had a hastily compilied special training with President McIntyre in Himeji, which we ran over to as quickly as possible and were almost late because we had had appointments. We rode through the Himeji Castle grounds, and although they are remodeling Himeji Castle, and it`s covered in an exoskeleton of cloth and steel scafolding, it was very beautiful. Himeji Castle is absolutely Huge.
Thursday we just dendoed around and had fun talking with some people.
Friday we had a Companionship Exchange and I went to Himeji again, wandered around there and had some fun with Elder Akina, from Honolulu Hawaii. Got to know each other pretty well and just messed around, while still following rules.
Saturday came back and prepared for the ward Christmas party, which was utterly amazing. Me and Elder Hale had to perform a skit, which was hilarious, because we can`t speak Japanese at all. I just kind of goofed off during the skit trying to make people laugh despite our butchered Japanese. Then I got to dress up as Santa Claus and hand out treats to everyone, that was loads of fun.
Sunday was church, which was fun as usual, and after church we dendoed around the nearby eki and talked with a few people. Quite hilarious, because High school kids like trying to speak english to us Foreigners. And a few of you might actually catch this one, but Even the Japanese say I look like Harry Potter. I was walking down the street and a group of punk High School kids rode past and one of them was like "Hey! He looks like Harry Potter!" I tried talking to them but they didn`t stop. Talked to one cool guy named "Bruce" about Eternal marriage and set up an appointment with him. So it was all cool. I basically just have fun with people when I`m out on the street, such as when punk High School kids, I catch their names and tell them the Kanji for it, or give them random English sayings that they have no idea what they mean.
So that was my week, lots of fun, joking around, playing games, talking with people and just generally kicking back and having fun while I work. I find it works very well, just so long as you don`t let it go too far.
Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Message of the Week
So it`s Christmas time, and I`ve been thinking a little bit about what my Christmas Message should be. But that`s the easy part, I`ll just talk about Presents!
Everyone knows that part about Christmas, we give presents to others, we do nice things for others, we smile and we do our best to make some elses day brighter. We eat turkey or Chicken or Ham, have delicious meals, (Or if you`re Japanese you buy a Christmas cake and get KFC for dinner), and stay with the family.
Most people have their favorite Christmas, when they recieved an awesome present, or had a great experience with their family. Most people have their favorite gift that they`ve ever recieved. I think mine was Halo from my brother Bobby, or the Paintball gun I got one year. I hardly remember all the presents.
Those people that are more spiritually inclined will relate the stories of when they gave to others, or served others. For me that time was two years ago, when I went up to Salt Lake City with my high school choir and we sang carols at a Hospital. I remember clearly still the small, fragile boy sitting in a wheel chair, connected to an IV and wheeled into the lobby by his parents. He had been going through extensive Kemotherapy and was still weak. He requested us to sing a specific song... I think it was Joy to the World, but I hardly remember the singing so much as I remember his face. The bright smile and bright eyes. It should have been hard to sing with tears in my eyes, but I remember the words and notes flowing freely just for him.
But what is the true meaning of Christmas? Why do we go and give gifts to those around us? What is the reason?
Think about this. What was the greatest gift ever given?
Nearly 2011 years ago, in a quiet manger in Bethelehem, the greatest gift ever was given to ManKind. We all know the story of the Nativity, the Virgin Mary and her Husband Joseph, placed in a humble shack, when Jesus Christ was born, the savior of all man kind. I wonder on occassion, as the song goes, "Mary did you know, that your baby born, would one day rule the nations?" Did you know that your newborn child was going to perform the greatest miracles ever seen, and proceed to die selflessly for all mankind?
That was the greatest gift ever given. By a loving heavenly father. As it is written: "Or what man is there of you, who, if his son ask bread, will give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" (3 Nephi 14/Matthew [Sermon on the Mount])
God gave us the greatest gift that could ever be given. He gave us a light that can not be hidden, he gave us a shining example of what our lives should and can become. He showed us perfection, and lit the pathway before our feet. But not only did he do that, he provided the way by which we might obtain that. Through Christ all sins can become cleansed, we can be healed, we can become pure. Through Christ and his Atonement we may stand once more with God in bodies of flesh and bone. Because of Christ we can have Eternal Salvation and Exaltation. Because of Christ we can live with our familes forever, unparted by death, undamged by sin, untouched by sickness and sorrow.
Christ showed us true Love, he gave us the truest and purest of all gifts. He offers it freely to all with the simple, meek words of love. "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I shall give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me: for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)
Just remember what God gave to you that quiet night two thousand years ago in a quiet manger in a small town. Then think of how you could ever hope to repay him, what small thing you cand do to make someone elses burden just that much lighter. Each of us has a gift that we can give, each of us has someway that we can help someone else. Let us lift each other up, and together walk towards Christ. I say these things, in his Holy Name. Amen.
In the Spirit of Love,
Elder Randall KK Tateishi
Monday, December 20, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
Randy's a Punk?
Wow...transfers happened this week and he is now a "Senior" companion, which basically just means he is in charge. He is happy and content and still loving life. Read his letter. I love that soon I get to call him on his Christmas day and get to hear his voice again. Just that thought keeps me smiling:
Dear Mother, Father, Brothers, Sisters, Family, and Friends
I wish ye well from the far east! Well... Techinically I`m further west than I was last week, also further North too. Mom, you were pretty close with your guess, I`m actually realllllllly close to Kobe. In the same Province Actually. I`m in Kakogawa City! East of Himeji, West of Akashi. Beautiful place, and I`m back in the city. I got the beach still (not that it matters because it`s soooo flippin cold out here), I got a wonderful train station with lots of people, I sparkling shiny new companion, and a City filled with new Adventure. I have finally achieved the long dreaded position of Senior Companion, yes I`ve dreaded this. I don`t like being a leader, but o well. My new Companion is lovely Elder Hale, hailing from Boise Idaho, a near genius in mathematics, science, and english, although lacking a little on the Japanese side, but he`s only a transfer 4 missionary. He still has the fresh out of the MTC Luster, which is fine by me, gets me pushing a little harder to have him see some more success here. We get along splendidly, have loads of fun and are generally alike in tastes, although I do find myself outclassed in smarts. Then again, I never really was all that smart, just good at faking it xD.
So this past week has been bitter sweet, filled with entertainment, and fond farewells. Newfound Determination, and shrugging off of old ways. Every Transfer, every area, every new companion brings new adventures, new progression, and generally just new things.
I started out the week with a wonderful little escapade to Misaki Koen at the very most southern point of Sennan. I watched Monkeys throw poo, American Racoons, Endagered Japanese Cranes, Pink Flamingos, Kangaroos, Giraffe, Lions, Tigers, Red Pandas, Japanese Deer, Beavers, Small Japanese Bears, Penguins, and Dolphins dressed up like Santa Clause (yes I really did). It was aweeesssssssssooooooooomeeeeeeeee. We got to watch a Dolphin show, in which they did awesome flips, awesome tricks, and was just utterly amazing, I didn`t get wet though, which was a good thing.
Tuesday I found out I was going to Kakogawa, so I said farewell to my beloved investigator, Nakanishi, I also said goodbye to Sora, who took us out for dinner that night. I then packed on Wednesday, taught English for the last time in Sennan and said goodbye to everyone. It was slightly a depressing day. Although as I walked out of the church after Eikaiwa and was just about to lock the door one of the Ward Members Drove up and ran up to me and threw a Bokuto (Wooden Katana) in my hand and said "HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Good Luck in Kakogawa!" and ran off. I looked at it for a moment and thought: "O thanks.... but how am I goign to get it to Kakogawa since I just sent off all my luggage already."
Thursday I began my adventurous trip to Kakogawa early in the Morning. Had my backpack on and my bokuto sticking out of my small carryon bag that I have acquired (cheaply), crammed into a stereotypical Japanese train. Fitting maybe 50 more than the suggested max into each car. I literally felt like a sardine in a can, trying not to stab people with the wooden sword. Made it to Tennoji in Osaka without any horribel incidents and met up with a large group of missionaries. Said hello to my beloved MTC companion elder Cannon, who was actually about to meet up with my other beloved companion Elder Escalante. I then headed off to Sannomiya, in Kobe, and met up with my new companion Elder Hale, found out that he and Elder Escalante had just been working together in Kakogawa, and so I said hello to Elder Escalante and then goodbye as I headed to my new home. Came back, The doorbell rang a grand total of 9 times in about 4 hours time period, 3 from Fukuyama about bikes, 2 from the mail, 1 from a random newspaper salesman, and 1 from Sagawa about luggage, and 2 from me being a punk. I also got called a whole bunch from mentally handicapped person who I had no Idea was mentally disabled. Yea she was calling and wanted us to go over immediately and save her from something. I then called a ward member who actually ended up being her Home Teacher and told me that she was kind of insane. Got a cold but still dendoed.
Friday we dendoed more, I still had a little bit of a cold, found a young mother while housing, met a totally awesome guy named "The Caves" or at least that`s his music name, singing in front of the Train Station. Also used the fact that it was extremely cold outside to talk to people, which was probably the greatest form of Dendo I`ve ever done. I confused a whole bunch of Teenagers, and young adults by simply saying my name. Every always questions me as to whether I`m Japanese or American after I say my name. "My name is Tateishi." and the reply is usually "JAPANESE? Really?" Then I have to explain everything, it`s really good for catching people`s attentions and making friends. But really annoying when they think you really are Japanese and think that you can understand everything they say. Still Sick
Saturday we had a mini Christmas party at which I met possibly the oldest member in Japan. She`s 91 years old and was baptized when she was 30, also did a lot of the work for translating hymns from English to Japanese. That was an interesting conversation... because she doesn`t remember anything more than 5 seconds ago. Asking me the same question at least 5 times. I then met with the bishop and talked with him a little. Then we dendoed some more and I got to testify to a bunch of punk teenagers that were nothing more than troublemakers. That was fun, told them the meaning of Christmas and silenced all mocking words with a strong and firm testimony about Jesus Christ. Still Sick
Sunday was wonderful, we had an awesome day at church, met with one of our Baptismal Candidates.Taught her a little lesson. I also met a lot of the ward members, who were confused as to whether I was Japanese or American. Had to give a talk at a Missionary Fireside after church, and generally just had fun talking with everyone. Came back, ate lunch, did some housing and streeting, ran into a Less active named Matt, an American from Utah. He was a cool guy, talked a lot about football and other random tings and shared a scripture. Still Sick.
Which brings me to today. Still Sick.
The apartment is an utter mess, which I need to give Elder Escalante a firm beating for when I meet him again. Managed to clean the kitchen a little bit today, and a the mess I made from unpacking. I still need to finish cleaning the kitchen, the closets, the bathroom, the Shower, and the Kitchen. It`s quite disgusting actually. But just one step at a time. And yes I`m still sick, stuffy nose, no fever, and my voice doesn`t work very much so singing is full of squeaks and cracks.
Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Moment of the Week
Like always I`m not all that sure what I want to talk about this week. Actually, I`ll just bring it back to Obedience.
This week I have been nearly Perfectly Obedient to all the missionary rules here in the Kobe Mission. I can`t say Perfectly, because I`m not perfect. But I have been very obedient in keeping the rules. Despite being a little sick, I still get up on time and excercise and study fully like I`m supposed to, I leave the apartment on time, I take 1 hour lunch breaks and no longer, I talk to as many people as will stop and talk to me and generally keep all the rules.
Why do I share this? Because I want to tell you that with being obedient comes a confidence that I have never had on my own. Most people that know me, know I`m not all that confident of a person, Especially when it comes to people work. Book work I know my stuff, or at least have confidence, but when it comes to People I`m an epic failure. I always hated giving talks in Sacrament and to be honest I did my best to weasel out of them. Now to compound that, I don`t speak Japanese fluently, so it just takes another blow to my self-confidence. But here, this week, when I`ve had a junior companion who`s Japanese is at best below par, I`ve had a confidence in myself to step up to the plate and talk to people. I Haven`t been afraid to open my mouth and just talk to people, or stop people. With that confidence came even more blessings, because as I opened my mouth to speak it made me more obedient, for God commanded me to open my mouth and speak to people. With following that I have seen scriptures fulfilled: "Open your mouth, and it shall be filled, and you will be able to confound the wise."
I was able this week to fulfull my responsibilities, to speak to many different people, to testify of the Divinity of Christ and his wonderful work. I was able to stand as a witness and proclaim loudly "The news of glad tidings and great joy." And I felt that I was successful. I felt the Spirit of God Working through me and I knew I was doing the right thing.
I refer you again to one of my favorite messages that I gave around 4th of July. WIth Obedience to the principles of the Gospel we will be blessed. True happiness comes by living true lives and living true principles. Christ taught those principles, the Prophets reiterate them and expound them for us today. As we follow them, the living Prophets, Christ, and God, we will find blessings in our lives. We find ourselves more in Harmony to God, and as in many languages we say "Closer" to God. So it is. We draw closer to him and are closer to the pure source of light and energy. Just as we move closer the fire in the damp cold night, we find it`s warmth seep deeper inside of us, so it is as we move closer to God.
As a Missionary my duty is what many people think it is, I spend all my days crying to the world "REPENT REPENT!! Prepare ye the way of the Lord!" or in other words "Come, follow him who will take away all your burdens and all your cares, follow him the good shepard who will guide us to green pastures." I say unto these people as Alma did of old "Repent ye, and prepare the way of the Lord, and walk in his paths, which are straight; for behold, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, and the Son of God cometh upon the face of the earth. Yea, I say unto you come and fear not, and lay aside every sin, which easily doth beset you, which doth bind you down to destruction, yea, come and go forth, and show unto your God that ye are willing to repent of your sins and enter into a covenant with him to keep his commandments, and witness it unto him this day by going into the waters of baptism." (Alma 7:9,15)
Fear not to Follow him. Lay aside your doubts, your fears and follow him. Be obedient to the principles of the Gospel and I can promise that you will be blessed, you will be happy. Sin is pain and Sorrow, Obedience is Peace and Happiness, I know both, I`ve felt them both. As we follow the commandments we are blessed, of Course we do not escape all pain and all suffering, that is life, everyone is to be tested and tried, everyone is to suffer temptations and difficulties, but how much easier it is to pass through every fire, every trial, every pain when you have the confidence that God is on your side. When you know the scriptures that say: "For I will go Before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up."
Finally I requote King Benjamin: "And Moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are recieved into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of neverending happinss. O remember, remember that these things are thre; for the LORD GOD hat spoken it." (Mosiah 2:41)
I testify to you that this is the truth, that it lies here in plainness for all to see. "Repent ye, Repent ye, and prepare ye the way of the Lord." I quote Alma again: "Behold, he (The Lord God) sendeth an invitation to ALL men, for the arms of mercy are extended towards them, and he sait: Repent, and I will recieve you. Yea, he saith: Come unto me and ye shall partake of the fruit of the tree of life: yea, ye shall eat and drink of the bread and waters of life freely." God awaits us all with open arms, awaits us to take those steps towards him. He loves every one of his children, every human being that has ever, is, and will ever live upon this earth. WE are all his children and all he asks is for us to come home, to return to him. Repent! Let go of sin and enter into the loving arms of God.
I love you all, and I testify that this is the truth, this is God`s work. That he Lives and watches over us all, he loves each and everyone of us all more than we could ever hope to know. I know Christ lives, I know the sacrifice that he has made for me, I know he stands beside God, our Older Brother, shining the light on the pathway to God, taking us by the hand and showing us the way home. I bear witness of this, in his sacred name. Amen.
WIth much Love,
Elder Randall KK Tateishi
Dear Mother, Father, Brothers, Sisters, Family, and Friends
I wish ye well from the far east! Well... Techinically I`m further west than I was last week, also further North too. Mom, you were pretty close with your guess, I`m actually realllllllly close to Kobe. In the same Province Actually. I`m in Kakogawa City! East of Himeji, West of Akashi. Beautiful place, and I`m back in the city. I got the beach still (not that it matters because it`s soooo flippin cold out here), I got a wonderful train station with lots of people, I sparkling shiny new companion, and a City filled with new Adventure. I have finally achieved the long dreaded position of Senior Companion, yes I`ve dreaded this. I don`t like being a leader, but o well. My new Companion is lovely Elder Hale, hailing from Boise Idaho, a near genius in mathematics, science, and english, although lacking a little on the Japanese side, but he`s only a transfer 4 missionary. He still has the fresh out of the MTC Luster, which is fine by me, gets me pushing a little harder to have him see some more success here. We get along splendidly, have loads of fun and are generally alike in tastes, although I do find myself outclassed in smarts. Then again, I never really was all that smart, just good at faking it xD.
So this past week has been bitter sweet, filled with entertainment, and fond farewells. Newfound Determination, and shrugging off of old ways. Every Transfer, every area, every new companion brings new adventures, new progression, and generally just new things.
I started out the week with a wonderful little escapade to Misaki Koen at the very most southern point of Sennan. I watched Monkeys throw poo, American Racoons, Endagered Japanese Cranes, Pink Flamingos, Kangaroos, Giraffe, Lions, Tigers, Red Pandas, Japanese Deer, Beavers, Small Japanese Bears, Penguins, and Dolphins dressed up like Santa Clause (yes I really did). It was aweeesssssssssooooooooomeeeeeeeee. We got to watch a Dolphin show, in which they did awesome flips, awesome tricks, and was just utterly amazing, I didn`t get wet though, which was a good thing.
Tuesday I found out I was going to Kakogawa, so I said farewell to my beloved investigator, Nakanishi, I also said goodbye to Sora, who took us out for dinner that night. I then packed on Wednesday, taught English for the last time in Sennan and said goodbye to everyone. It was slightly a depressing day. Although as I walked out of the church after Eikaiwa and was just about to lock the door one of the Ward Members Drove up and ran up to me and threw a Bokuto (Wooden Katana) in my hand and said "HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Good Luck in Kakogawa!" and ran off. I looked at it for a moment and thought: "O thanks.... but how am I goign to get it to Kakogawa since I just sent off all my luggage already."
Thursday I began my adventurous trip to Kakogawa early in the Morning. Had my backpack on and my bokuto sticking out of my small carryon bag that I have acquired (cheaply), crammed into a stereotypical Japanese train. Fitting maybe 50 more than the suggested max into each car. I literally felt like a sardine in a can, trying not to stab people with the wooden sword. Made it to Tennoji in Osaka without any horribel incidents and met up with a large group of missionaries. Said hello to my beloved MTC companion elder Cannon, who was actually about to meet up with my other beloved companion Elder Escalante. I then headed off to Sannomiya, in Kobe, and met up with my new companion Elder Hale, found out that he and Elder Escalante had just been working together in Kakogawa, and so I said hello to Elder Escalante and then goodbye as I headed to my new home. Came back, The doorbell rang a grand total of 9 times in about 4 hours time period, 3 from Fukuyama about bikes, 2 from the mail, 1 from a random newspaper salesman, and 1 from Sagawa about luggage, and 2 from me being a punk. I also got called a whole bunch from mentally handicapped person who I had no Idea was mentally disabled. Yea she was calling and wanted us to go over immediately and save her from something. I then called a ward member who actually ended up being her Home Teacher and told me that she was kind of insane. Got a cold but still dendoed.
Friday we dendoed more, I still had a little bit of a cold, found a young mother while housing, met a totally awesome guy named "The Caves" or at least that`s his music name, singing in front of the Train Station. Also used the fact that it was extremely cold outside to talk to people, which was probably the greatest form of Dendo I`ve ever done. I confused a whole bunch of Teenagers, and young adults by simply saying my name. Every always questions me as to whether I`m Japanese or American after I say my name. "My name is Tateishi." and the reply is usually "JAPANESE? Really?" Then I have to explain everything, it`s really good for catching people`s attentions and making friends. But really annoying when they think you really are Japanese and think that you can understand everything they say. Still Sick
Saturday we had a mini Christmas party at which I met possibly the oldest member in Japan. She`s 91 years old and was baptized when she was 30, also did a lot of the work for translating hymns from English to Japanese. That was an interesting conversation... because she doesn`t remember anything more than 5 seconds ago. Asking me the same question at least 5 times. I then met with the bishop and talked with him a little. Then we dendoed some more and I got to testify to a bunch of punk teenagers that were nothing more than troublemakers. That was fun, told them the meaning of Christmas and silenced all mocking words with a strong and firm testimony about Jesus Christ. Still Sick
Sunday was wonderful, we had an awesome day at church, met with one of our Baptismal Candidates.Taught her a little lesson. I also met a lot of the ward members, who were confused as to whether I was Japanese or American. Had to give a talk at a Missionary Fireside after church, and generally just had fun talking with everyone. Came back, ate lunch, did some housing and streeting, ran into a Less active named Matt, an American from Utah. He was a cool guy, talked a lot about football and other random tings and shared a scripture. Still Sick.
Which brings me to today. Still Sick.
The apartment is an utter mess, which I need to give Elder Escalante a firm beating for when I meet him again. Managed to clean the kitchen a little bit today, and a the mess I made from unpacking. I still need to finish cleaning the kitchen, the closets, the bathroom, the Shower, and the Kitchen. It`s quite disgusting actually. But just one step at a time. And yes I`m still sick, stuffy nose, no fever, and my voice doesn`t work very much so singing is full of squeaks and cracks.
Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Moment of the Week
Like always I`m not all that sure what I want to talk about this week. Actually, I`ll just bring it back to Obedience.
This week I have been nearly Perfectly Obedient to all the missionary rules here in the Kobe Mission. I can`t say Perfectly, because I`m not perfect. But I have been very obedient in keeping the rules. Despite being a little sick, I still get up on time and excercise and study fully like I`m supposed to, I leave the apartment on time, I take 1 hour lunch breaks and no longer, I talk to as many people as will stop and talk to me and generally keep all the rules.
Why do I share this? Because I want to tell you that with being obedient comes a confidence that I have never had on my own. Most people that know me, know I`m not all that confident of a person, Especially when it comes to people work. Book work I know my stuff, or at least have confidence, but when it comes to People I`m an epic failure. I always hated giving talks in Sacrament and to be honest I did my best to weasel out of them. Now to compound that, I don`t speak Japanese fluently, so it just takes another blow to my self-confidence. But here, this week, when I`ve had a junior companion who`s Japanese is at best below par, I`ve had a confidence in myself to step up to the plate and talk to people. I Haven`t been afraid to open my mouth and just talk to people, or stop people. With that confidence came even more blessings, because as I opened my mouth to speak it made me more obedient, for God commanded me to open my mouth and speak to people. With following that I have seen scriptures fulfilled: "Open your mouth, and it shall be filled, and you will be able to confound the wise."
I was able this week to fulfull my responsibilities, to speak to many different people, to testify of the Divinity of Christ and his wonderful work. I was able to stand as a witness and proclaim loudly "The news of glad tidings and great joy." And I felt that I was successful. I felt the Spirit of God Working through me and I knew I was doing the right thing.
I refer you again to one of my favorite messages that I gave around 4th of July. WIth Obedience to the principles of the Gospel we will be blessed. True happiness comes by living true lives and living true principles. Christ taught those principles, the Prophets reiterate them and expound them for us today. As we follow them, the living Prophets, Christ, and God, we will find blessings in our lives. We find ourselves more in Harmony to God, and as in many languages we say "Closer" to God. So it is. We draw closer to him and are closer to the pure source of light and energy. Just as we move closer the fire in the damp cold night, we find it`s warmth seep deeper inside of us, so it is as we move closer to God.
As a Missionary my duty is what many people think it is, I spend all my days crying to the world "REPENT REPENT!! Prepare ye the way of the Lord!" or in other words "Come, follow him who will take away all your burdens and all your cares, follow him the good shepard who will guide us to green pastures." I say unto these people as Alma did of old "Repent ye, and prepare the way of the Lord, and walk in his paths, which are straight; for behold, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, and the Son of God cometh upon the face of the earth. Yea, I say unto you come and fear not, and lay aside every sin, which easily doth beset you, which doth bind you down to destruction, yea, come and go forth, and show unto your God that ye are willing to repent of your sins and enter into a covenant with him to keep his commandments, and witness it unto him this day by going into the waters of baptism." (Alma 7:9,15)
Fear not to Follow him. Lay aside your doubts, your fears and follow him. Be obedient to the principles of the Gospel and I can promise that you will be blessed, you will be happy. Sin is pain and Sorrow, Obedience is Peace and Happiness, I know both, I`ve felt them both. As we follow the commandments we are blessed, of Course we do not escape all pain and all suffering, that is life, everyone is to be tested and tried, everyone is to suffer temptations and difficulties, but how much easier it is to pass through every fire, every trial, every pain when you have the confidence that God is on your side. When you know the scriptures that say: "For I will go Before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up."
Finally I requote King Benjamin: "And Moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are recieved into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of neverending happinss. O remember, remember that these things are thre; for the LORD GOD hat spoken it." (Mosiah 2:41)
I testify to you that this is the truth, that it lies here in plainness for all to see. "Repent ye, Repent ye, and prepare ye the way of the Lord." I quote Alma again: "Behold, he (The Lord God) sendeth an invitation to ALL men, for the arms of mercy are extended towards them, and he sait: Repent, and I will recieve you. Yea, he saith: Come unto me and ye shall partake of the fruit of the tree of life: yea, ye shall eat and drink of the bread and waters of life freely." God awaits us all with open arms, awaits us to take those steps towards him. He loves every one of his children, every human being that has ever, is, and will ever live upon this earth. WE are all his children and all he asks is for us to come home, to return to him. Repent! Let go of sin and enter into the loving arms of God.
I love you all, and I testify that this is the truth, this is God`s work. That he Lives and watches over us all, he loves each and everyone of us all more than we could ever hope to know. I know Christ lives, I know the sacrifice that he has made for me, I know he stands beside God, our Older Brother, shining the light on the pathway to God, taking us by the hand and showing us the way home. I bear witness of this, in his sacred name. Amen.
WIth much Love,
Elder Randall KK Tateishi
Monday, December 6, 2010
A broken camera kind of day....
Sounds to me like Randy's week was a little, oh, interesting to say the least. I'm glad he can smile through it all and still enjoy life. This was past Friday was Randy's 20th birthday and it is the 1st birthday of his that I have never spent with him. I think I will take upon myself the attitude Randy has and keep on smiling and enjoy (while missing him greatly) knowing that he is happy, the Lord is happy and the people of Japan are (mostly) happy....
ear Mother, Father, Brothers, Sisters, Family, Friends,
This one is very short, Only got about 30-40 min. before I gotta go. We`re going to the zoo for my birthday/last Preperation Day for this transfer today. Yes I get to go to the zoo in Japan, and I`m excited, because they have a dolphin show.
Anyway, I can tell you that nothing exciting happened this week, except getting yelled at by an investigator because I Don`t speak perfect Japanese. That`s an interesting story. Tried talking with him and ended up getting yelled at for a good 20 min. over the phone, than he called back and talked to Camacho Choro for another 40 min, and one point threatened to come and hit him. That was not a fun night. But an adventure nonetheless. (By the way it wasn`t my fault, or my companions fault that he got mad). He was mad at us because we taught him the Word of Wisdom and he had problems with that, and also got mad at us for using the phrase: "We know......" telling us that we couldn`t KNOW that these things were true. Then got really mad when we told him that we can, and that he could too if he asked God, that`s when he threatened my companion.
That was one moment that I remember, but the major highlight was on the weekend.
Friday was my Birthday, which, was basically a normal day, just my companion baked me some brownies, which were delicious, I recieved some of the most delicious apples from the Ward Mission Leader, and the "Missionary Papa" took me out for dinner at a delicious restuarant. And my camera broke, pulled it out of my pocket and turned it on to take pictures and the screen was all messed up and broken.
Sunday was the best though. We recieved our monthly "Fruits Basket" from the ward. We quite literally have more food than we know what to do with, lots of vegetables, rice, snacks, cereal, Mikans, Apples, Potatoes, and Bananas. Got to testify at church, which was fun, and then my companion had to go up and testify and tell everyone that it was my birthday a few days ago. The ward here seems to like me, as they were planning for the christmas party and were all hoping that I would be there for it.
Basically that was my week. I got a birthday card from Sister McIntyre, But other than that I Haven`t gotten any letters since the beginning of November. lol O well.
By the way, thanks for the short messages everyone! (Mom sent them too me)
Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Message of the Week
Well... I`m 20 years old, I`m no longer a teenager it seems. But I`ll always be one at heart. In Japan I am now officially an Adult. What does that mean? Not much.
I may be an Adult but I still must be as a child, humble, meek, submissive, easily entreated, relying upon my Father in Heaven. (Not whiny or complaining).
I must still be as a Child, constantly inquiring of my Heavenly Father as what I should do, how I should do things, seeking to add to my knowledge and to grow. I must be patient and wait for him to pour out his blessings upon me, and wait for his timing, not mine. As I learn to follow him, to love him, and do as he asks, to rely upon him, he will trust me more, he will give me more. It is as simple as a Father-Child Relationship, except he is our Perfect Father and knows all that we need.
I just want to remind everyone, and I mean everyone, from the lowest of the low, to the highest of the high, that we are all Children of God. We are his sons and daughters and like always he loves us with his perfect Love.
I say these things simply, in the name of God`s only Beloved son, our Brother, Jesus Christ, Amen.
Love,
Elder Randall KK Tateishi
ear Mother, Father, Brothers, Sisters, Family, Friends,
This one is very short, Only got about 30-40 min. before I gotta go. We`re going to the zoo for my birthday/last Preperation Day for this transfer today. Yes I get to go to the zoo in Japan, and I`m excited, because they have a dolphin show.
Anyway, I can tell you that nothing exciting happened this week, except getting yelled at by an investigator because I Don`t speak perfect Japanese. That`s an interesting story. Tried talking with him and ended up getting yelled at for a good 20 min. over the phone, than he called back and talked to Camacho Choro for another 40 min, and one point threatened to come and hit him. That was not a fun night. But an adventure nonetheless. (By the way it wasn`t my fault, or my companions fault that he got mad). He was mad at us because we taught him the Word of Wisdom and he had problems with that, and also got mad at us for using the phrase: "We know......" telling us that we couldn`t KNOW that these things were true. Then got really mad when we told him that we can, and that he could too if he asked God, that`s when he threatened my companion.
That was one moment that I remember, but the major highlight was on the weekend.
Friday was my Birthday, which, was basically a normal day, just my companion baked me some brownies, which were delicious, I recieved some of the most delicious apples from the Ward Mission Leader, and the "Missionary Papa" took me out for dinner at a delicious restuarant. And my camera broke, pulled it out of my pocket and turned it on to take pictures and the screen was all messed up and broken.
Sunday was the best though. We recieved our monthly "Fruits Basket" from the ward. We quite literally have more food than we know what to do with, lots of vegetables, rice, snacks, cereal, Mikans, Apples, Potatoes, and Bananas. Got to testify at church, which was fun, and then my companion had to go up and testify and tell everyone that it was my birthday a few days ago. The ward here seems to like me, as they were planning for the christmas party and were all hoping that I would be there for it.
Basically that was my week. I got a birthday card from Sister McIntyre, But other than that I Haven`t gotten any letters since the beginning of November. lol O well.
By the way, thanks for the short messages everyone! (Mom sent them too me)
Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Message of the Week
Well... I`m 20 years old, I`m no longer a teenager it seems. But I`ll always be one at heart. In Japan I am now officially an Adult. What does that mean? Not much.
I may be an Adult but I still must be as a child, humble, meek, submissive, easily entreated, relying upon my Father in Heaven. (Not whiny or complaining).
I must still be as a Child, constantly inquiring of my Heavenly Father as what I should do, how I should do things, seeking to add to my knowledge and to grow. I must be patient and wait for him to pour out his blessings upon me, and wait for his timing, not mine. As I learn to follow him, to love him, and do as he asks, to rely upon him, he will trust me more, he will give me more. It is as simple as a Father-Child Relationship, except he is our Perfect Father and knows all that we need.
I just want to remind everyone, and I mean everyone, from the lowest of the low, to the highest of the high, that we are all Children of God. We are his sons and daughters and like always he loves us with his perfect Love.
I say these things simply, in the name of God`s only Beloved son, our Brother, Jesus Christ, Amen.
Love,
Elder Randall KK Tateishi
Monday, November 29, 2010
Giving Thanks....
We as a family are so blessed. We love each other, we have fun with each other and most of all we honor each other. I am so happy to have a family where respect and love are thriving. I love that Randy is learning everyday and so grateful for the things he has learned. I truly am a blessed mother, with wonderful children and an amazing husband that puts up with all my weirdness and continued craziness. I am blessed with a son who follows and listens to God's plan for him. Who knows who he is and knows the power or our Heavenly Father's love.
ear Mother, Father, Sisters, Brothers, Family, and Friends
Too many emails, too little time.
Wasn`t yesterday that I Emailed? I swear weeks seem like days. I really didn`t do anything at all very special this week. Didn`t get yelled at by anyone, didn`t have any strange happenings, it was just another week.
Wednesday Takada, one of my English Students came to class with his LightSabers again. Had some fun there, I won surprisingly enough. Even Kamacho hopped in. Was loads of fun. Then for Eikaiwa we had a small Japanese version of Thanksgiving, rice cakes, sushi, milk, and cookies(Molassas Sugar Cookies), and failed Cheese Cake. That was entertaining.
My actual Thanksgiving feast was an all you can eat Japanese Barbeque, it was delicious but I think My stomach has shrunk because I cannot eat all that much anymore. I also brought cookies for everyone and my District Leader told me I should just be like a factory and keep on making them alllll the time. He ate like half of them because he came over to our apartment for Companion Exchanges. Saturday I made pizza for Nakanishi and ate dinner with him, that was fun.
Sunday was the only real interesting day that I had this week. There was a primary program at Church this week, which was very hilarious, especially since we had investigators there. FYI, Japanese Primary Programs are almost the exact same as American Primary Programs, You have a few Children that sing as loud as they can, regardless of whether or not they are even close to the right note. One Child in particular went rebelious at the podium and would not read his part, he would only stand there and wave at everyone and breath loudly into the microphone or make strange noises. Then when the Primary president tried to get him to say what he was supposed to he rebelled and pushed her away, until finally his mother came up and made him sit down. It was quite funny to watch. After that we met with a few members, who corrected my Kanji, 証, Because I had it backwards. Ate some delicious Okonomiyaki, which I will discover how to make, both the sause and the pancake and make it for everyone back home.
Basically that was my week, nothing special at all, but quite fun. This week is my birthday, making me feel old, and next week Is Transfer week. So I`ll have a little bit more to talk about in the next couple weeks.
Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Moment of the week
I Won`t take too long this week either.
Alma 5:26 And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?
Recently I have been studying what I call "A change of Heart" or in other words Aligning my Heart with the will of God, repenting and striving to become more faithful, more dilligent and more Christlike.
As I read this scripture I thought to myself: "When did I sing that song of Redeeming Love?" While deep in thought I remembered the prayers that I have said in the past, those that truly came from my heart, and I also remembered a scripture earlier in the same Chapter, "God changeth the hearts of men." I remembered that those times that I really felt the true love of God, so purely in my heart, when I felt the chains and bands of misery and sorrow that held me bound shattered, when I truly knew that what I was doing was right, that those times were always times of sincere pray, for deep thought, Times of a broken heart and a contrite spirit.
I then continued to think about my prayers now. I thought to myself "Do I truly pray to God? Is it just some rote thing that I repeat every night in mind, or do I truly really know that God is Listening to what I say? Do I truly pray as if he were beside me?" Those questions came into my mind and I started to realize I`ve been gettting content lately, and a little lazy. I hadn`t been truly understanding that when I pray, I`m talking with God, I did not truly appreciate that I have the opportunity, the privilege to commune with the one true and Living God. What an honor it is to know that, what a privilege it is to have the confidence to pray to God and know without a doubt in your mind that he will hear your prayer, that he will answer your prayer. I know he hears me, I know he answers me. Countless times has he answered my prayers, he has guided me in learning Japanese, he has guided me to people ready to be taught, he has guided me to people to help, and he has answered my prayers in showing me what I need to do. He has poured out his grace, and his love upon me, and I know, I truly know that he loves me.
I`m not sure how many times I`ve said it before, how many times I`ve repeated this, or ho mwany more times I will repeat this, but if there was one message I could shout to the world it would be this. God Lives and Loves! Every individual he loves the same, from the lowliest person, to the most exalted, from the wretched sin ridden man to the holy prophet of God, he loves everyone with a love that we cannot comprehend. He hears everyones prayers, he listens to what we have to say, he knows our concerns and he stands with open arms.
33 Behold, he sendeth an invitation unto all men, for the arms of mercy are extended towards them, and he saith: Repent, and I will receive you.
34 Yea, he saith: Come unto me and ye shall partake of the fruit of the tree of life; yea, ye shall eat and drink of the bread and the waters of life freely;
He awaits you, everyone of you. He stands with open arms waiting for you to come to him. He beckons, he calls, he begs for you to come to him, like a mother to her wayward child he cries "Come unto me, and ye shall have rest." It is us that has to move, it is us that has to go. He knows what we need, and so we must go to him.
I know Christ lives and Loves, I know he has risen again. He is my Saviour, my Redeemer. 20 years I`ve lived, and the only thing worth report is 1 year in his service. It is an honor to serve him, to follow him, to know him. I have sung that song of redeeming Love, and I try to sing it loud now, for all to hear. I Bear witness of the truthfulness of Christ, and of his Sacrifice, in his Holy name. Amen.
Love, Elder Randall KK Tateishi
ear Mother, Father, Sisters, Brothers, Family, and Friends
Too many emails, too little time.
Wasn`t yesterday that I Emailed? I swear weeks seem like days. I really didn`t do anything at all very special this week. Didn`t get yelled at by anyone, didn`t have any strange happenings, it was just another week.
Wednesday Takada, one of my English Students came to class with his LightSabers again. Had some fun there, I won surprisingly enough. Even Kamacho hopped in. Was loads of fun. Then for Eikaiwa we had a small Japanese version of Thanksgiving, rice cakes, sushi, milk, and cookies(Molassas Sugar Cookies), and failed Cheese Cake. That was entertaining.
My actual Thanksgiving feast was an all you can eat Japanese Barbeque, it was delicious but I think My stomach has shrunk because I cannot eat all that much anymore. I also brought cookies for everyone and my District Leader told me I should just be like a factory and keep on making them alllll the time. He ate like half of them because he came over to our apartment for Companion Exchanges. Saturday I made pizza for Nakanishi and ate dinner with him, that was fun.
Sunday was the only real interesting day that I had this week. There was a primary program at Church this week, which was very hilarious, especially since we had investigators there. FYI, Japanese Primary Programs are almost the exact same as American Primary Programs, You have a few Children that sing as loud as they can, regardless of whether or not they are even close to the right note. One Child in particular went rebelious at the podium and would not read his part, he would only stand there and wave at everyone and breath loudly into the microphone or make strange noises. Then when the Primary president tried to get him to say what he was supposed to he rebelled and pushed her away, until finally his mother came up and made him sit down. It was quite funny to watch. After that we met with a few members, who corrected my Kanji, 証, Because I had it backwards. Ate some delicious Okonomiyaki, which I will discover how to make, both the sause and the pancake and make it for everyone back home.
Basically that was my week, nothing special at all, but quite fun. This week is my birthday, making me feel old, and next week Is Transfer week. So I`ll have a little bit more to talk about in the next couple weeks.
Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Moment of the week
I Won`t take too long this week either.
Alma 5:26 And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?
Recently I have been studying what I call "A change of Heart" or in other words Aligning my Heart with the will of God, repenting and striving to become more faithful, more dilligent and more Christlike.
As I read this scripture I thought to myself: "When did I sing that song of Redeeming Love?" While deep in thought I remembered the prayers that I have said in the past, those that truly came from my heart, and I also remembered a scripture earlier in the same Chapter, "God changeth the hearts of men." I remembered that those times that I really felt the true love of God, so purely in my heart, when I felt the chains and bands of misery and sorrow that held me bound shattered, when I truly knew that what I was doing was right, that those times were always times of sincere pray, for deep thought, Times of a broken heart and a contrite spirit.
I then continued to think about my prayers now. I thought to myself "Do I truly pray to God? Is it just some rote thing that I repeat every night in mind, or do I truly really know that God is Listening to what I say? Do I truly pray as if he were beside me?" Those questions came into my mind and I started to realize I`ve been gettting content lately, and a little lazy. I hadn`t been truly understanding that when I pray, I`m talking with God, I did not truly appreciate that I have the opportunity, the privilege to commune with the one true and Living God. What an honor it is to know that, what a privilege it is to have the confidence to pray to God and know without a doubt in your mind that he will hear your prayer, that he will answer your prayer. I know he hears me, I know he answers me. Countless times has he answered my prayers, he has guided me in learning Japanese, he has guided me to people ready to be taught, he has guided me to people to help, and he has answered my prayers in showing me what I need to do. He has poured out his grace, and his love upon me, and I know, I truly know that he loves me.
I`m not sure how many times I`ve said it before, how many times I`ve repeated this, or ho mwany more times I will repeat this, but if there was one message I could shout to the world it would be this. God Lives and Loves! Every individual he loves the same, from the lowliest person, to the most exalted, from the wretched sin ridden man to the holy prophet of God, he loves everyone with a love that we cannot comprehend. He hears everyones prayers, he listens to what we have to say, he knows our concerns and he stands with open arms.
33 Behold, he sendeth an invitation unto all men, for the arms of mercy are extended towards them, and he saith: Repent, and I will receive you.
34 Yea, he saith: Come unto me and ye shall partake of the fruit of the tree of life; yea, ye shall eat and drink of the bread and the waters of life freely;
He awaits you, everyone of you. He stands with open arms waiting for you to come to him. He beckons, he calls, he begs for you to come to him, like a mother to her wayward child he cries "Come unto me, and ye shall have rest." It is us that has to move, it is us that has to go. He knows what we need, and so we must go to him.
I know Christ lives and Loves, I know he has risen again. He is my Saviour, my Redeemer. 20 years I`ve lived, and the only thing worth report is 1 year in his service. It is an honor to serve him, to follow him, to know him. I have sung that song of redeeming Love, and I try to sing it loud now, for all to hear. I Bear witness of the truthfulness of Christ, and of his Sacrifice, in his Holy name. Amen.
Love, Elder Randall KK Tateishi
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Dear Mother, Father, Brothers, Sisters, Family, and Friends
One more day rolls by, one week flashes away. Lots of emails to read, and more to write. All one can do is smile and cheerfully move on to the next day.
This week was another quick week, But interesting nonetheless. Monday and Tuesday went by without anything interesting, Wednesday was when it all started picking up. Had two lessons on Wednesday, the first went longer than planned and so we were late for the second, which was all the way on the other side of town. Which meant we had to ride as fast as we could, over hills and vale to get there. After that we ate a late lunch... Which was around 2:30. Went back out, and did some housing until about 5:30. Which was the highlight of my week.
It was just getting dark, the sun having just set, and we had just one last house on the street before we went to the church to start getting ready for English Class. Ring the bell and the wife comes out. We talked for no more than 5-10min. and we were just finishing setting up a return apointment for the beginning of next month and were handing her the note when everything went crazy. Her husband walked out the door, and looked at us and asked us what we want. We told him we were missionaries and we were sharing a message about families. He came out stepped in front of his wife as if he were trying to protect her and then proceeded to give us a 30 min. lecture about how we shouldn`t be out knocking on peoples doors at 5:30 at night because people are eating dinner. He was throughouly angry at as and yelling at us. We simply stood there quietly, unable to say anything much because he cut in everytime we said a word. Somehow he changed the topic to how religion is bad and it causes wars, at which point we finally had enough and just testified to him. He started to end the Conversation by saying, "No Thanks! I`ve already had the Mormons come over before!" Me and Elder Camacho looked at each other with smiles on our faces and replied "We are Mormons." At that moment the man changed entirely. He went from mean to very nice. And started going on about how he had seen Mormon Missionaries in a while and was very friendly from then on. We told him we had made an appointment with his wife to come again and asked if it was still alright and he sad "Whatever, just next time don`t come at this time." Which was fine because we had said we`d come around 4.
Well.. I spent too much time with that story and I need to head out. Time is short. Basically we had 3 people come to church this week, and one of them was Nakanishi, which made me very happy. Apparently out of all the missionaries he`s met over 30 years I`m his favorite. He likes to call me his child, which is wierd.
Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Message of the Week.
This will be very short but here it goes.
It`s thanksgiving, so I`ll simply say this, BE THANKFUL!!
God has given unto us all things for our benifet, he has blessed our lives in countless ways and he continues to watch over us night and day. He answers our prayers, and hears our cries. He Blesses us in our times of need.
I am grateful for all I have, especially for my family, for their love and their support for me. I wouldn`t be here without them!
I am especially grateful for the Atonement and for the peace it has brought into my life, and for the blessings it has poured out upon me and those around me. I know Christ Lives, that he is my Savior and Redeemer, I Know he suffured and died for me, because of his great love for me. I Know he loves everyone, the poor, the weak, the humble, the rich, the strong, the clean and the unclean. I bear this witness in his holy name, even Jesus Christ, Amen.
Love,
Elder Randall KK Tateishi
Transfers aren`t until the 7thish. I have no idea about christmas calls.
Love you Mom
One more day rolls by, one week flashes away. Lots of emails to read, and more to write. All one can do is smile and cheerfully move on to the next day.
This week was another quick week, But interesting nonetheless. Monday and Tuesday went by without anything interesting, Wednesday was when it all started picking up. Had two lessons on Wednesday, the first went longer than planned and so we were late for the second, which was all the way on the other side of town. Which meant we had to ride as fast as we could, over hills and vale to get there. After that we ate a late lunch... Which was around 2:30. Went back out, and did some housing until about 5:30. Which was the highlight of my week.
It was just getting dark, the sun having just set, and we had just one last house on the street before we went to the church to start getting ready for English Class. Ring the bell and the wife comes out. We talked for no more than 5-10min. and we were just finishing setting up a return apointment for the beginning of next month and were handing her the note when everything went crazy. Her husband walked out the door, and looked at us and asked us what we want. We told him we were missionaries and we were sharing a message about families. He came out stepped in front of his wife as if he were trying to protect her and then proceeded to give us a 30 min. lecture about how we shouldn`t be out knocking on peoples doors at 5:30 at night because people are eating dinner. He was throughouly angry at as and yelling at us. We simply stood there quietly, unable to say anything much because he cut in everytime we said a word. Somehow he changed the topic to how religion is bad and it causes wars, at which point we finally had enough and just testified to him. He started to end the Conversation by saying, "No Thanks! I`ve already had the Mormons come over before!" Me and Elder Camacho looked at each other with smiles on our faces and replied "We are Mormons." At that moment the man changed entirely. He went from mean to very nice. And started going on about how he had seen Mormon Missionaries in a while and was very friendly from then on. We told him we had made an appointment with his wife to come again and asked if it was still alright and he sad "Whatever, just next time don`t come at this time." Which was fine because we had said we`d come around 4.
Well.. I spent too much time with that story and I need to head out. Time is short. Basically we had 3 people come to church this week, and one of them was Nakanishi, which made me very happy. Apparently out of all the missionaries he`s met over 30 years I`m his favorite. He likes to call me his child, which is wierd.
Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Message of the Week.
This will be very short but here it goes.
It`s thanksgiving, so I`ll simply say this, BE THANKFUL!!
God has given unto us all things for our benifet, he has blessed our lives in countless ways and he continues to watch over us night and day. He answers our prayers, and hears our cries. He Blesses us in our times of need.
I am grateful for all I have, especially for my family, for their love and their support for me. I wouldn`t be here without them!
I am especially grateful for the Atonement and for the peace it has brought into my life, and for the blessings it has poured out upon me and those around me. I know Christ Lives, that he is my Savior and Redeemer, I Know he suffured and died for me, because of his great love for me. I Know he loves everyone, the poor, the weak, the humble, the rich, the strong, the clean and the unclean. I bear this witness in his holy name, even Jesus Christ, Amen.
Love,
Elder Randall KK Tateishi
Transfers aren`t until the 7thish. I have no idea about christmas calls.
Love you Mom
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
...and Jesus Wept
Ok so our family has a favorite back up scripture to the question asked.."what is your favorite scripture?". Of course it rolls off the tongue quickly and it's easy to memorize. Where I am going is that this week Randy didn't have a Gospel Message so what did he use? Hahaha...not our favorite, but he could have...
Dear Mother, Father, Brothers, Sisters, Family, and Friends
Welcome to another week! They just keep on flowing by.
But nothing much has changed here at all. Still the same old same old. We went housing about everyday this week. Which was interesting to say the least. You get strange answers when you talk to people through little intercoms. And it gets strange when you talk with young kids but you don`t realize it until they say: "ummm my Mom`s not home right now." Or you get people that say: "I`m not interested because it`s late!" (Time: 5:30 PM). There are a variety of answers you get, but you just move on to the next house. It`s just annoying when you only speak with 1 out of every 10 people face to face (excluding unanswered doors).
We taught a Part member family this week, and saw some extremely talented artwork. All of the 3 daughters and the mother can draw like crazy good. Apparently the yougnest draws some pretty famous Manga as well, or so says my companion because he`s seen her manga before. That was a fun experience.
Let`s see....... we found an investigator on Saturday named "Sora" Meaning Sky in Japanese. He works at the Kansai Airport and is studying something about airplanes. He even came to church yesterday and liked it. Then after church we sat in on Ward Council and laid before them a new idea to help them with working with the Missionaries. That was fun trying to explain in Japanese. I find that I can get around here in Japan with little problems. Buying food, going places and doing things, but I can only handle basic simple conversations. Get into details about things like Manga, Video Games, Sports, Airplanes, or other non-church related items and it all goes right over my head. It`s the same with reading, give me a church book and I can read about 50%, but give me a warning label on a product and I catch a whopping 5%.
Anyway. Life just keeps on rolling, Japanese keeps on coming, people just keep on going. It`s all just one step at a time. Today is today, tomorrow is tomorrow.
By the way, I`m going to put together a Christmas video for everyone and send the SD Card here pretty soon. Don`t know when, but hopefully it`ll be before Christmas is over.
Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Message of the Week
Welllllllllllllll........... I have no clue this week.......
Really I don`t.
"And I said unto him: I know that [God] loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things." (1 Nephi 11:17)
"My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep. He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh." (2 Nephi 4:20-21)
I`ll leave the message at that. Since Nephi Gloried in plainness, I shall too. I Do not know the meaning of all things, neverthless. I know that God Loveth his Children.
In the name of Jesus Christ, my Saviour. Amen.
With Love,
Elder Randall KK Tateishi
P.S. At least I didn`t whip out "And Jesus Wept."
Dear Mother, Father, Brothers, Sisters, Family, and Friends
Welcome to another week! They just keep on flowing by.
But nothing much has changed here at all. Still the same old same old. We went housing about everyday this week. Which was interesting to say the least. You get strange answers when you talk to people through little intercoms. And it gets strange when you talk with young kids but you don`t realize it until they say: "ummm my Mom`s not home right now." Or you get people that say: "I`m not interested because it`s late!" (Time: 5:30 PM). There are a variety of answers you get, but you just move on to the next house. It`s just annoying when you only speak with 1 out of every 10 people face to face (excluding unanswered doors).
We taught a Part member family this week, and saw some extremely talented artwork. All of the 3 daughters and the mother can draw like crazy good. Apparently the yougnest draws some pretty famous Manga as well, or so says my companion because he`s seen her manga before. That was a fun experience.
Let`s see....... we found an investigator on Saturday named "Sora" Meaning Sky in Japanese. He works at the Kansai Airport and is studying something about airplanes. He even came to church yesterday and liked it. Then after church we sat in on Ward Council and laid before them a new idea to help them with working with the Missionaries. That was fun trying to explain in Japanese. I find that I can get around here in Japan with little problems. Buying food, going places and doing things, but I can only handle basic simple conversations. Get into details about things like Manga, Video Games, Sports, Airplanes, or other non-church related items and it all goes right over my head. It`s the same with reading, give me a church book and I can read about 50%, but give me a warning label on a product and I catch a whopping 5%.
Anyway. Life just keeps on rolling, Japanese keeps on coming, people just keep on going. It`s all just one step at a time. Today is today, tomorrow is tomorrow.
By the way, I`m going to put together a Christmas video for everyone and send the SD Card here pretty soon. Don`t know when, but hopefully it`ll be before Christmas is over.
Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Message of the Week
Welllllllllllllll........... I have no clue this week.......
Really I don`t.
"And I said unto him: I know that [God] loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things." (1 Nephi 11:17)
"My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep. He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh." (2 Nephi 4:20-21)
I`ll leave the message at that. Since Nephi Gloried in plainness, I shall too. I Do not know the meaning of all things, neverthless. I know that God Loveth his Children.
In the name of Jesus Christ, my Saviour. Amen.
With Love,
Elder Randall KK Tateishi
P.S. At least I didn`t whip out "And Jesus Wept."
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Twerp!
So Randy is a Twerp! I sent a letter off to him asking what he might need, like new shirts, coat, sweaters, food...anything? And his reply was...."Love you Mom"...yep, that's all. not an answer of his needs just "Love you Mom".....How am I supposed to send him Christmas gifts if I don't know what he needs. Along with that his Birthday is coming on the 3rd of December....he is such a Twerp! Oh well, I love him anyway and I think I understand his reasoning....
Dear Mother, Father, Brothers, Sisters, Family, and Friends,
Well another week has just flown by in the blink of an eye, filled with interesting events ranging from sorrowful events to joyful events. But in all things we simply remember that the bad are mingled with the good. As Lehi said to his son "Without sorrow there could be no Joy. Without evil, there is no Good."
In all reallity, it was actually a great week, just filled with a couple hiccups here and there. But it did start off a little on the wrong foot. Tuesday we visited Nakanishi, who although still liked to have us over, was not so interested at all in our message. Simply he does not have faith, or even the will to try to obtain faith. He lacks the desire to do much else other than sleep. It does sadden me to see his condition, and I pray for him daily, and I do what I can to testify to him and teach him, but while I sat in the lesson on tuesday, flipping through my scriptures praying to find something to help him, I opened twice to very similar scriptures. One was Alma as he preached to the people of Ammonihah, Alma 8:10 "Nevertheless Alma labored much in the spirit, wrestling with God in mighty prayer, that he would pour out his spirit upon the people who were in the city, that he would also grant that he might baptize them unto repentance. Nevertheless, they hardened their hearts." 8:15 "Blessed art thou Alma, Therefore, lift up thy head and rejoice, for thou hast great cause to rejoice; for thou hast been faithful in keeping the commandments of God from the time which thou receivedst thy message from him." and the other was to Nephi in Helaman 10:4 " Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done; for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not feared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my commandments." After I opened up to the second scripture I caught the message that the Lord was trying to say to me. "You`ve done what you`ve can, you`ve testified, you`ve taught, you did what you could to share the spirit." Nevertheless It still saddens me to see what has happened to him and I don`t ever want to give up. We Won`t stop visiting him or helping him, he is simply less of a priority, for we have been called to "Find the Elect, and the Elect hear my voice, and harden not their hearts."
We also lost contact with another one of our progressing investigators for most of the week. When we finally got a hold of him on Thursday, he wasn`t really interested in our message anymore. He had liked church, but hadn`t really felt the spirit and he also didn`t really want to try to obtain faith, he felt that other things were more important, school, his part time job and play.
Other than that, throughout the week we did a lot of adventuring. We rode our bikes for about an hour and a half to the very southern point of our area. When we looked at the map we thought "Hey it looks like there might be something interesting down there." When we got down there, there was nobody, and nothing. No stores, no resturants, just a few houses. The only thing of interest was a Zoo/amusement park. Where they have a Dolphin show and a variety of other things, it looks interesting and we plan on going down there sometime, probably the first week in December for my birthday.
Then yesterday after church we decided to go check out the College that is in our area, it was about an hour ride out there, on top of a mountain. Then we got lost on the way up there and almost ended up in someone elses area, before we were like "Well... I don`t think this is the right way, because, that`s the way to Iwade."
Satdurday I spent the day sleeping because I was sick, some kind of 24 hour virus. Me and Camacho choro had the same thing. Basically that was my week. Not the most exciting week, but far from being the worst.
Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Message of the week
This message will be fairly quick, I don`t want to steal too much time, or ramble on for too long, but I`ll share a little message having to do with the experiences that we encountered this week.
As I said, we suffered a couple of tragedies, at least tragedies for missionaries. When people we loved, and cared for rejected what we taught. But what do we do after we experience setbacks like that? Sadly, it is a simple as moving on. People have their free agency, they can choose for themselves either evil or good, they can decide for themselves whether or not they want what we have.
I do not condemn them for their choices, in fact I believe that they did not fully understand what we had taught. I Christ has said "They seeing, see not, and hearing, they hear not." They did not truly open their hearts to our message and let the spirit into their souls. We taught, we testified, we sowed seeds and we pray that one day, those seeds will blossom, and that someone else might reap where we have sown.
Tragedy comes, it is life. But it is how we react to such tragedies that determines the true outcome. If we fold up, and give into the pressure of our trials only worse things follow. I know from experience. Niether can we simply ignore it and bury our heads in the sand. We must stand upright before God, with a firm determination that we will succeed. We must rely upon his arm, and follow his will. He knows the safe way through the storm, It`s not easy, he never said it would be, but it`s worth it. For when the storm clears, when you can look out across the now calm waters and see the beauty of what you have found, you will understand. Just a simple example using the weather here. From our Apartment we can look out over Osaka bay and see Kobe, Sumomoto, and the Kansai Airport almost as if it were floating on the water. Yet, when it does not rain for a week, smog and smoke begin to cover the bay, obscuring our view, so we can only see as far as the beach. But then when the storms come, with heavy winds and rains, it blows away the smog and cleans the air. After those storms, we look out and we can see all the way past Akashi Brigde. See in the very distance even more mountains, green and beauty.
Tragedy comes, it is life, but when we react rightly, and correctly, we will be made all the stronger.
Rely upon the Lord, follow him through the storm, He showed us the way and if we follow him all will be well. "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give ye rest. Take my yoke upon you, for I am gentle and meek and burden is light." Matthew 11 (Paraphrased)
I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.
With much Love
Elder Randall KK Tateishi
Dear Mother,
Love you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Your Son,
Elder Randall KK Tateishi
Dear Mother, Father, Brothers, Sisters, Family, and Friends,
Well another week has just flown by in the blink of an eye, filled with interesting events ranging from sorrowful events to joyful events. But in all things we simply remember that the bad are mingled with the good. As Lehi said to his son "Without sorrow there could be no Joy. Without evil, there is no Good."
In all reallity, it was actually a great week, just filled with a couple hiccups here and there. But it did start off a little on the wrong foot. Tuesday we visited Nakanishi, who although still liked to have us over, was not so interested at all in our message. Simply he does not have faith, or even the will to try to obtain faith. He lacks the desire to do much else other than sleep. It does sadden me to see his condition, and I pray for him daily, and I do what I can to testify to him and teach him, but while I sat in the lesson on tuesday, flipping through my scriptures praying to find something to help him, I opened twice to very similar scriptures. One was Alma as he preached to the people of Ammonihah, Alma 8:10 "Nevertheless Alma labored much in the spirit, wrestling with God in mighty prayer, that he would pour out his spirit upon the people who were in the city, that he would also grant that he might baptize them unto repentance. Nevertheless, they hardened their hearts." 8:15 "Blessed art thou Alma, Therefore, lift up thy head and rejoice, for thou hast great cause to rejoice; for thou hast been faithful in keeping the commandments of God from the time which thou receivedst thy message from him." and the other was to Nephi in Helaman 10:4 " Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done; for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not feared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my commandments." After I opened up to the second scripture I caught the message that the Lord was trying to say to me. "You`ve done what you`ve can, you`ve testified, you`ve taught, you did what you could to share the spirit." Nevertheless It still saddens me to see what has happened to him and I don`t ever want to give up. We Won`t stop visiting him or helping him, he is simply less of a priority, for we have been called to "Find the Elect, and the Elect hear my voice, and harden not their hearts."
We also lost contact with another one of our progressing investigators for most of the week. When we finally got a hold of him on Thursday, he wasn`t really interested in our message anymore. He had liked church, but hadn`t really felt the spirit and he also didn`t really want to try to obtain faith, he felt that other things were more important, school, his part time job and play.
Other than that, throughout the week we did a lot of adventuring. We rode our bikes for about an hour and a half to the very southern point of our area. When we looked at the map we thought "Hey it looks like there might be something interesting down there." When we got down there, there was nobody, and nothing. No stores, no resturants, just a few houses. The only thing of interest was a Zoo/amusement park. Where they have a Dolphin show and a variety of other things, it looks interesting and we plan on going down there sometime, probably the first week in December for my birthday.
Then yesterday after church we decided to go check out the College that is in our area, it was about an hour ride out there, on top of a mountain. Then we got lost on the way up there and almost ended up in someone elses area, before we were like "Well... I don`t think this is the right way, because, that`s the way to Iwade."
Satdurday I spent the day sleeping because I was sick, some kind of 24 hour virus. Me and Camacho choro had the same thing. Basically that was my week. Not the most exciting week, but far from being the worst.
Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Message of the week
This message will be fairly quick, I don`t want to steal too much time, or ramble on for too long, but I`ll share a little message having to do with the experiences that we encountered this week.
As I said, we suffered a couple of tragedies, at least tragedies for missionaries. When people we loved, and cared for rejected what we taught. But what do we do after we experience setbacks like that? Sadly, it is a simple as moving on. People have their free agency, they can choose for themselves either evil or good, they can decide for themselves whether or not they want what we have.
I do not condemn them for their choices, in fact I believe that they did not fully understand what we had taught. I Christ has said "They seeing, see not, and hearing, they hear not." They did not truly open their hearts to our message and let the spirit into their souls. We taught, we testified, we sowed seeds and we pray that one day, those seeds will blossom, and that someone else might reap where we have sown.
Tragedy comes, it is life. But it is how we react to such tragedies that determines the true outcome. If we fold up, and give into the pressure of our trials only worse things follow. I know from experience. Niether can we simply ignore it and bury our heads in the sand. We must stand upright before God, with a firm determination that we will succeed. We must rely upon his arm, and follow his will. He knows the safe way through the storm, It`s not easy, he never said it would be, but it`s worth it. For when the storm clears, when you can look out across the now calm waters and see the beauty of what you have found, you will understand. Just a simple example using the weather here. From our Apartment we can look out over Osaka bay and see Kobe, Sumomoto, and the Kansai Airport almost as if it were floating on the water. Yet, when it does not rain for a week, smog and smoke begin to cover the bay, obscuring our view, so we can only see as far as the beach. But then when the storms come, with heavy winds and rains, it blows away the smog and cleans the air. After those storms, we look out and we can see all the way past Akashi Brigde. See in the very distance even more mountains, green and beauty.
Tragedy comes, it is life, but when we react rightly, and correctly, we will be made all the stronger.
Rely upon the Lord, follow him through the storm, He showed us the way and if we follow him all will be well. "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give ye rest. Take my yoke upon you, for I am gentle and meek and burden is light." Matthew 11 (Paraphrased)
I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.
With much Love
Elder Randall KK Tateishi
Dear Mother,
Love you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Your Son,
Elder Randall KK Tateishi
Monday, November 1, 2010
6 more weeks....
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No transfer for Randy this one. This will be the first time since he has been out that he has stayed the longest at. He is happy and is just working along singing and loving as he goes. This is a great letter with a great message....
Dear Mother, Father, Sisters, Brothers, Family, and Friends
Drum roll please..... *Drum Roll*
Ok so I`m still in Sennan, with Elder Camacho. Nothing`s changed this transfer and so we get to jump into a new month, a new adventure together. We`ve got 6 weeks to count down, and work hard to get some miracles rolling here in Sennan. Daily our prayers cry to the Lord for help, and daily we go out in search of those that are ready to hear the Gospel. As the great hymn says: "Put your shoulder to the wheel, push along. Do your duty with a heart full of song. We all have work, let no one shirk, put your shoulder to the wheel."
So a singing I will go! With the Lord as my Light, and the spirit to guide me along great things will happen here!
Anyway. This week has been a fairly long week actually. But only because we didn`t transfer. It`s odd because it doesn`t feel like I`m on transfer 6, I still feel like a green bean sometimes, lol. Except I can`t use the excuse "I Don`t understand" anymore, or at least not as much anymore. O well, even the last transfer missionary still has things to learn, I just have more than most!
Well, Most of our days were filled with Proselyting all over the place, riding all across town trying to find people, trying to meet with people and just plain riding! Actually on Friday we rode alllll the way up past Kaizuka City, while it was pooring down rain. The ride up there was almost an Hour and a Half, excluding the ride back. Before I became a Missionary that would have been my yearly excercise I believe.
Wednesday before Eikaiwa(English Class) One of the students brought a couple of toy lightsabers, and so we started playing around with them. I`ll send some pictures. They ended up double teaming me! One of them did Kendo in school and the other(the one who brought the lightsabers) actively studies and practices Sword Play. Needless to say I got one of them before they got me. Lol. Mother: I can now say that all the pain I went through while battling "Big Mike" with wooden Katana`s has come in use.
Anyway, I`ve been having loads of fun. Talking with different people, teaching a variety of people and getting to know people. Laughing and Loving all the way! It`s cold here (I`ve lived in St. George too long and Had too hot and too long of a summer here in Japan) but as I Told one of our investigators when everyone said that a Typhoon was coming: "Rain or No Rain I`m still coming over!" Which it ended up being no rain, and I was sad, because everyone lied to me about the Typhoon. It actually ended up being pretty sunny out with a light wind. "Some Typhoon."
Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Message of the Week
If you have not read D&C 6, I would suggest you do so. Well at least to catch a little bit more of a glimpse about what I am about to teach.
This Chapter is a lot about Missionary work, and When I read it, it was as if it was written to me, just different names.
"Now as you have asked, behold, I say unto you, keep my commandments, and seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion; Seek not for riches, but for wisdom, and behold, the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich. Behold, he that hath Eternal life is rich. Verily, verily, I say unto you, even as you desire of me so it shall be unto you; and if you desire, you shall be the means of doing much good in this generation. Say nothing but repentance unto this generation: keep my commandments, and assist to bring forth my work, according to my commandments, and you shall be blessed. Behold Thou hast a gift, and blessed art thoug because of thy gift. Remember it is sacred and cometh from above. And if thou wilt inquire, thou shalt know mysteries which are great and marvelous; therefore thou hsalt exercise thy gift, that thou mayest find out mysteries, that thou mayest bring many to the knowledge of the truth, yea, convince them of the error of their ways." (D&C 6:6-11)
Lol, I wish I could write the whole of the chapter here, but that would take far too long. So simply I will expound upon this part that I have written.
As members of this Church, here are two things that we have been commanded, "Keep the Commandments, and Seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion." We all know we need to keep the Commandments and we have all heard it said "Every Member a Missionary." But where else can we "Seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion"? Amidst our own Homes is one answer. Amongst our Children, amongst our relatives, amongst our friends. As we seek to build up and strengthen the testimonies of those around us, as we fulfill and magnify our callings in the church we "Seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion."
As we seek after Knowledge, searching the scriptures daily, and seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost to fulfill our callings, our responsibilities we can obtain that. Remember, "Keep [the] commandments, and assit to bring forth [God`s] work." We can obtain the greatest of all treasures, a treasure that can not be bought with money, nor bartered, nor stolen, but must be earned, must be worked for and we must be worthy to inherit. The greatest of all prizes: Eternal Life. For as the Lord said: "Behold, he that hath eternal life is rich."
In our journey through life we will obtain gifts, everyone their own individual gift, one that they can use best, one that will help them to fulfill their personal responsibilities. Everyone has a gift, a talent, an ability. Sometimes they are just so small that it takes much effort to notice them, others are plain and obvious such as Singing, or Sports, or Genius. In my journey as a missionary I have seen my talents and abilities, my gifts flourish and come forth, becoming more and more noticible to me and much easier to develop and use. One I can say is writing, I love to write, and I find that through writing I can bless those back home. I can do my best to share my heart with them through this written words. Other gifts I have found include Love, Knowledge, Patience, Perserverance, Dilligence, Obedience, and Laughter. All Gifts of God. Bestowed upon me by a loving God. As we seek those gifts, we must seek for them not because we want them, but because we want to use them to bring forth the work of God.
We must use our gifts to bless the lives of others, to shine forth as a light to those around us. As we shine brighter those around us will also begin to shine brighter.
For once, I think I`m actually going to quote Micheal Jackson. "If you want to make the world a better place, then where should you start? The man in the Mirror." (Forgive me for butchering the quote, I never listened to much of his music.) So we start with ourselves, we keep the commandments. We develop the Attributes of Christ and follow the blueprints that he laid for us within the scriptures. Then we shine brightly, we become the Salt of the earth, we savour the world and make it just that much better, one person at a time. We seek to bless those around us, seek to help them find happiness for themselves. And then in the end "If thou wilt do good, yea, and hold out faithful to the end, thou shalt be saved in the kingdom of God, which is the greatest of ALL the gifts of God; For there is no gift greater than the gift of Salvation." "And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father." So let us lift our heads and rejoice, let us seek to bring our friends, our families along with us, let us obtain that gift together, not alone, but together. Seek for Zion, where the pure in heart dwell, where peace abounds, and love flows!
I share this in the name of my Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, Amen.
With much Love,
Elder Randall KK Tateishi
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Happy Days are here again....
I don't know about you, but the tone of Randy's recent letters have really been uplifting. He sounds so "Happy". He is learning what Love means/is. He is loving the people he teaches and following the counsel of his Mission President. What a great example he is to me and I'm sure to others as well. We hit the 9 month mark and soon he will have been gone 1 whole year. It is hard to believe how fast it has gone by, but I kind of like it that way.
Dear Mother, Father, Sisters, Brothers, Family, Friends, and Mentors
HOLY COW!!!
I Opened my email and looked at the pictures of Hannah and Tavie. Then I was like "Wait!? WHERE DID MY BABY NIECES GO!?" They have grown up soooo fast. They are going to be huge by the time I get back.
Anyway, On my list of Letters is:
Gypsy
The Reynolds
The Barnhardts
Hopefully I`ll get those letters out today, I actually should have gotten Gypsy`s letter sent off last week, but I just didn`t mail it.
Well, It`s been another fantastic week here in Japan. We`ve done a variety of things and talked to a variety of people. But it actually brings to a close my 5th transfer, and also my first 7 Months in Japan. Christmas and Thanksgiving are just around the corner followed closely by New Years, and I am feeling fantastic. Transfers are this week, so I`ll let you know if I get transfered or not... I probably will though :(
This week I have been working a lot with my favorite investigator Nakanishi. You might remember, that he is a 48 year old man, living alone and that when I first met him all he did was sit silently and smoke half a pack of cigarettes. Well, let me expound on what has happened this week with him. He came to church this week, which was amazing, he has also been reading and praying, he is even trying to quit smoking now. He`s accepted the challange to be baptized, and basically as soon as he quits smoking He will be baptized. He talks, he laughs, he jokes, and he smiles now. I have really learned to love this old man. I`ll tell you simply how we got him moving even faster. It was simply one word in Japanese "Ai Shite Iru yo!" (yes that is essentially 1 word in Japanese) or in English two words, "Love you!" I started saying that a couple weeks ago, and very quickly he started to change. When he knew that we loved him, and really did want to see him happy, his attitude began to change, he opened up more, he talked to us more. Now we call him every night, we talk to him and we laugh with him. (As I said, Love is one of the most important things you can have.)
Anyway, Other than that we have met with a variety of interesting people, have two people (Nakanishi, and Ito) Preparing to recieve Baptism next month, and I got to travel to Iwade and have fun talking to a variety of other people. Life is Wonderful, life is Beautiful and I Thank God everyday for what I have.
Mother has asked me to share a story about Baptism, so I will share the story of my first baptism here in Japan. Inokoishi Masaya.
Well basically Masaya was a "Kinjin" or a perfect investigator. He had been well prepared to recieve the Gospel and from the time they first found him he was baptized within a Month. I got to participate in the latter half of his lessons and his experience.
Throughout the entire process we only ever had one problem, He was underage, and not yet an adult so he needed to have permission from his parents to be baptized. But his Father and Mother were against it. They didn`t want him to be baptized and told him to wait until after he turned 20 (The age at which Japanese Citizens become Adults). So me and Elder McLaws fasted and prayed for Masaya, that he would be able to be baptized and enjoy the blessings of the Gospel. That night after our fast, we called Masaya to see how he was doing, and he told us that his Mother had changed her mind and said that she would talk to his Father about letting him get baptized. Within a week we had his parent`s permission and everything went smoothly.
I remember also his baptism, seeing him come out of the water, and I saw his bright smiling face. I remember hearing his testimony, which I only barely understood, and I remember standing in to confirm him and bestow upon him the gift of the Holy Ghost. Throughout all of that I remember feeling a sense of peace and joy for him, that now his feet were on the path of Righteousness.
Within a week he was working with us, sitting in on lessons, and testifying to other investigators, I saw in him a bright light and a determination to do what was right. I never fully understood everything that he said, or his testimony, because my Japanese was so weak at the time, but I could see and feel how strong it was.
Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Moment of the Week
I Don`t want to spend too much time writing this week so I want to quickly share a scripture.
D&C "There is a law irrevocably decreed in heaven, before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated. It is based upon Obedience to that law upon which blessings are received."
Now I probably ruined that scripture, but it went something along those lines.
Simply, when we obey a commandment, we are blessed, when we disobey a commandment we lose those blessings. I have found that this is especially true when it comes to missionary work. When a missionary begins to stray, even in the slightest blessings begin to fall away and we are left to our own power to try and do the work of God. As we step more and more in line with God and his will, and follow his rules and commandments more and more blessings come. I think of it as a quadradic formula almost. When we start obeying with exactness, with every small commandment that we follow the blessings begin to soar higher and higher, but when we take away even the smallest the blessings fall with the exact same speed.
As President McIntrye has told us "The difference between a Successful Missionary and an Unsuccessful Missionary is that the Successful missionary is willing to do what the UnSuccessful Missionary won`t." Just those small things really can make a difference. For example, A Monkey`s DNA is about 99% the same as Human DNA, But the difference between the two is startling. Just that 1% makes all the difference. So just be that much more obedient, just be that much more faithful, and you`ll find out that those little differences, add up very quickly.
With Much Love, and In the name of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Your Son, Brother, Friend
Elder Randall KK Tateishi
Dear Mother, Father, Sisters, Brothers, Family, Friends, and Mentors
HOLY COW!!!
I Opened my email and looked at the pictures of Hannah and Tavie. Then I was like "Wait!? WHERE DID MY BABY NIECES GO!?" They have grown up soooo fast. They are going to be huge by the time I get back.
Anyway, On my list of Letters is:
Gypsy
The Reynolds
The Barnhardts
Hopefully I`ll get those letters out today, I actually should have gotten Gypsy`s letter sent off last week, but I just didn`t mail it.
Well, It`s been another fantastic week here in Japan. We`ve done a variety of things and talked to a variety of people. But it actually brings to a close my 5th transfer, and also my first 7 Months in Japan. Christmas and Thanksgiving are just around the corner followed closely by New Years, and I am feeling fantastic. Transfers are this week, so I`ll let you know if I get transfered or not... I probably will though :(
This week I have been working a lot with my favorite investigator Nakanishi. You might remember, that he is a 48 year old man, living alone and that when I first met him all he did was sit silently and smoke half a pack of cigarettes. Well, let me expound on what has happened this week with him. He came to church this week, which was amazing, he has also been reading and praying, he is even trying to quit smoking now. He`s accepted the challange to be baptized, and basically as soon as he quits smoking He will be baptized. He talks, he laughs, he jokes, and he smiles now. I have really learned to love this old man. I`ll tell you simply how we got him moving even faster. It was simply one word in Japanese "Ai Shite Iru yo!" (yes that is essentially 1 word in Japanese) or in English two words, "Love you!" I started saying that a couple weeks ago, and very quickly he started to change. When he knew that we loved him, and really did want to see him happy, his attitude began to change, he opened up more, he talked to us more. Now we call him every night, we talk to him and we laugh with him. (As I said, Love is one of the most important things you can have.)
Anyway, Other than that we have met with a variety of interesting people, have two people (Nakanishi, and Ito) Preparing to recieve Baptism next month, and I got to travel to Iwade and have fun talking to a variety of other people. Life is Wonderful, life is Beautiful and I Thank God everyday for what I have.
Mother has asked me to share a story about Baptism, so I will share the story of my first baptism here in Japan. Inokoishi Masaya.
Well basically Masaya was a "Kinjin" or a perfect investigator. He had been well prepared to recieve the Gospel and from the time they first found him he was baptized within a Month. I got to participate in the latter half of his lessons and his experience.
Throughout the entire process we only ever had one problem, He was underage, and not yet an adult so he needed to have permission from his parents to be baptized. But his Father and Mother were against it. They didn`t want him to be baptized and told him to wait until after he turned 20 (The age at which Japanese Citizens become Adults). So me and Elder McLaws fasted and prayed for Masaya, that he would be able to be baptized and enjoy the blessings of the Gospel. That night after our fast, we called Masaya to see how he was doing, and he told us that his Mother had changed her mind and said that she would talk to his Father about letting him get baptized. Within a week we had his parent`s permission and everything went smoothly.
I remember also his baptism, seeing him come out of the water, and I saw his bright smiling face. I remember hearing his testimony, which I only barely understood, and I remember standing in to confirm him and bestow upon him the gift of the Holy Ghost. Throughout all of that I remember feeling a sense of peace and joy for him, that now his feet were on the path of Righteousness.
Within a week he was working with us, sitting in on lessons, and testifying to other investigators, I saw in him a bright light and a determination to do what was right. I never fully understood everything that he said, or his testimony, because my Japanese was so weak at the time, but I could see and feel how strong it was.
Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Moment of the Week
I Don`t want to spend too much time writing this week so I want to quickly share a scripture.
D&C "There is a law irrevocably decreed in heaven, before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated. It is based upon Obedience to that law upon which blessings are received."
Now I probably ruined that scripture, but it went something along those lines.
Simply, when we obey a commandment, we are blessed, when we disobey a commandment we lose those blessings. I have found that this is especially true when it comes to missionary work. When a missionary begins to stray, even in the slightest blessings begin to fall away and we are left to our own power to try and do the work of God. As we step more and more in line with God and his will, and follow his rules and commandments more and more blessings come. I think of it as a quadradic formula almost. When we start obeying with exactness, with every small commandment that we follow the blessings begin to soar higher and higher, but when we take away even the smallest the blessings fall with the exact same speed.
As President McIntrye has told us "The difference between a Successful Missionary and an Unsuccessful Missionary is that the Successful missionary is willing to do what the UnSuccessful Missionary won`t." Just those small things really can make a difference. For example, A Monkey`s DNA is about 99% the same as Human DNA, But the difference between the two is startling. Just that 1% makes all the difference. So just be that much more obedient, just be that much more faithful, and you`ll find out that those little differences, add up very quickly.
With Much Love, and In the name of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Your Son, Brother, Friend
Elder Randall KK Tateishi
Monday, October 18, 2010
Just plain nice.....
Dear Mother, Father, Brothers, Sisters, Friends, and Family
Another week rushes past in the blink of an eye. I woke up Sunday Morning and was like "Ahhh another Tuesday..... Wait a second.... It`s Sunday!?" Yea my days are starting to get mixed up here and there. We actually only have 1 more week before we get transfer calls. I have no idea if I`m going to stay or go, but I do have a feeling I might get transferred. We`ll see though, with President McIntyre anything goes.
This week.... Well We visited quite a few people this week, Had fun at Members Houses and had plenty of great experiences. My favorite investigator Nakanishi has been very Genki of late. Called me his favorite missionary and we`ve had many a good laugh together. It`s always wonderful to see someone you really care about become happier.
On Friday though we had a special Zone Conference. Elder Kikuchi Aoyagi, of the Asia North Area Presidency and Quorum of the Seventy came and toured our mission. We got to hear him talk to us and he gave some very wonderful training along with President McIntryre. I Loved hearing President McIntryre talk about "Zion`s Camp" and how everyone has their own personal "Zion`s Camp" Moments. The times where we are called to do something, and we do our best to do it but we see no results. When it seems that there is no success and then we are called to something else. Most of the time we`ll look back and see nothing come of what we have done and believe that we were called to the wrong position. Well maybe, just like Zion`s Camp we were called not to complete the job, but simply to see if we`d try and do it, to see if we would be Obedient, and maybe it was for us, for us to grow and to learn.
Other than that the only Highlight has been that of one of our Eikaiwa(English Class) Students. Last week he came up to me after class and asked me to pray for his Mother, who was deathly ill, and asked how too pray. So I taught him how to pray, and prayed for his mother. This week he came to class extremely excited, and thanked us because his Mother`s health was recovering and she was beginning to feel much better. She is about 80 years old and it was a miraculous recovery.
Well I don`t have too much to report this week. Just that and lots of mosquito bites on my ankles. Life is good, and everything is beautiful and fantastic.
Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Moment of the Week.
Well, another week, another Gospel Moment, another pause to find out what I should write.
Of late I`ve been reading from the Old Testament. As part of my goals I wish to read all the Standard Works(Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price) and the last one I have left is the Old Testament, which is a beast to tackle. I`ve just finished reading Joshua and am now just beginning to read into Judges. But now I`m kind of thinking back to the whole story of Israel going into Canaan and conquering the people.
The People of ancient Israel truly do amaze me. Throughout the Books of Moses and Joshua they continue to rebel and forget about God. They do it very quickly as well. When they escaped Egypt and worshiped the Golden Calf, when they complained to God about not having meat to eat, when they feared the people of Canaan more than they feared God. How quick they were to forget. No wonder they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years!
But why is that? How could anyone forget the great miracles that Moses wrought before their eyes? He split the red sea, and caused plagues to come down upon the Egyptians without harming the Israelite's, and yet how quick they were to forget that. They forgot how God rained Manna from heaven, how he had scattered other enemies before them. It is quite amazing when you read their stories.
But how can we learn from their mistakes? I don`t think any of us would quickly forget if we saw President Monson cause a Mountain to move, or a river to reverse it`s course or any huge miracle. I certainly wouldn`t. We can learn by applying the same principle to the smaller things. How quick are we to forget the words of our Prophet? How quick are we to forget the spiritual messages that we have received? It`s like the Pride Cycle, we are knocked down low, and humble ourselves and repent and then God Blesses us, than we forget what he did for us and boast of ourselves only to be knocked back down.
How can we avoid this cycle? By being grateful for what we have. If we can do as President Monson has taught us in this past General Conference, and nurture an attitude of gratitude than we can avoid the pride cycle for the most part. If we are always thankful for what the Lord has given us, and always remember the many blessings he has poured out upon us we will remain humble before the Lord and avoid Pride. We can avoid those same pits and falls that we had fallen into before. So just be grateful, and as the Hymn goes, "Count your many Blessings, name them one by one. Count your many blessings, and see what God hath Done." Our Blessings are many. I know this, I can`t count all of mine, but just to list a few: My wonderful Family, My Friends, My Mentors, Those that Love me, To have this opportunity to Serve a Mission, for My Companion, and also for the wonderful time in which I live. I could continue to list more, but that would take too long.
Just Remember, I know that God Lives, I know that he loves me. I have seen his hand in my life and in the lives of others around me. When I open the eyes of my heart, and search to find God, I find that he is not far away at all. I am indeed grateful for his unsurpassed Love, and I am Grateful for his mercy and greatness. I know that Christ Lives also, that he loves also, that he has paid the price for us all, and for that I am eternally grateful, and at times I wish I could sing praises all the day long for what he has done for me. I bear testimony of Him, of The Father, and of The Son, in the Holy name of my Redeemer, Jesus Christ, Amen.
With Love,
Elder Randall KK Tateishi
Another week rushes past in the blink of an eye. I woke up Sunday Morning and was like "Ahhh another Tuesday..... Wait a second.... It`s Sunday!?" Yea my days are starting to get mixed up here and there. We actually only have 1 more week before we get transfer calls. I have no idea if I`m going to stay or go, but I do have a feeling I might get transferred. We`ll see though, with President McIntyre anything goes.
This week.... Well We visited quite a few people this week, Had fun at Members Houses and had plenty of great experiences. My favorite investigator Nakanishi has been very Genki of late. Called me his favorite missionary and we`ve had many a good laugh together. It`s always wonderful to see someone you really care about become happier.
On Friday though we had a special Zone Conference. Elder Kikuchi Aoyagi, of the Asia North Area Presidency and Quorum of the Seventy came and toured our mission. We got to hear him talk to us and he gave some very wonderful training along with President McIntryre. I Loved hearing President McIntryre talk about "Zion`s Camp" and how everyone has their own personal "Zion`s Camp" Moments. The times where we are called to do something, and we do our best to do it but we see no results. When it seems that there is no success and then we are called to something else. Most of the time we`ll look back and see nothing come of what we have done and believe that we were called to the wrong position. Well maybe, just like Zion`s Camp we were called not to complete the job, but simply to see if we`d try and do it, to see if we would be Obedient, and maybe it was for us, for us to grow and to learn.
Other than that the only Highlight has been that of one of our Eikaiwa(English Class) Students. Last week he came up to me after class and asked me to pray for his Mother, who was deathly ill, and asked how too pray. So I taught him how to pray, and prayed for his mother. This week he came to class extremely excited, and thanked us because his Mother`s health was recovering and she was beginning to feel much better. She is about 80 years old and it was a miraculous recovery.
Well I don`t have too much to report this week. Just that and lots of mosquito bites on my ankles. Life is good, and everything is beautiful and fantastic.
Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Moment of the Week.
Well, another week, another Gospel Moment, another pause to find out what I should write.
Of late I`ve been reading from the Old Testament. As part of my goals I wish to read all the Standard Works(Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price) and the last one I have left is the Old Testament, which is a beast to tackle. I`ve just finished reading Joshua and am now just beginning to read into Judges. But now I`m kind of thinking back to the whole story of Israel going into Canaan and conquering the people.
The People of ancient Israel truly do amaze me. Throughout the Books of Moses and Joshua they continue to rebel and forget about God. They do it very quickly as well. When they escaped Egypt and worshiped the Golden Calf, when they complained to God about not having meat to eat, when they feared the people of Canaan more than they feared God. How quick they were to forget. No wonder they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years!
But why is that? How could anyone forget the great miracles that Moses wrought before their eyes? He split the red sea, and caused plagues to come down upon the Egyptians without harming the Israelite's, and yet how quick they were to forget that. They forgot how God rained Manna from heaven, how he had scattered other enemies before them. It is quite amazing when you read their stories.
But how can we learn from their mistakes? I don`t think any of us would quickly forget if we saw President Monson cause a Mountain to move, or a river to reverse it`s course or any huge miracle. I certainly wouldn`t. We can learn by applying the same principle to the smaller things. How quick are we to forget the words of our Prophet? How quick are we to forget the spiritual messages that we have received? It`s like the Pride Cycle, we are knocked down low, and humble ourselves and repent and then God Blesses us, than we forget what he did for us and boast of ourselves only to be knocked back down.
How can we avoid this cycle? By being grateful for what we have. If we can do as President Monson has taught us in this past General Conference, and nurture an attitude of gratitude than we can avoid the pride cycle for the most part. If we are always thankful for what the Lord has given us, and always remember the many blessings he has poured out upon us we will remain humble before the Lord and avoid Pride. We can avoid those same pits and falls that we had fallen into before. So just be grateful, and as the Hymn goes, "Count your many Blessings, name them one by one. Count your many blessings, and see what God hath Done." Our Blessings are many. I know this, I can`t count all of mine, but just to list a few: My wonderful Family, My Friends, My Mentors, Those that Love me, To have this opportunity to Serve a Mission, for My Companion, and also for the wonderful time in which I live. I could continue to list more, but that would take too long.
Just Remember, I know that God Lives, I know that he loves me. I have seen his hand in my life and in the lives of others around me. When I open the eyes of my heart, and search to find God, I find that he is not far away at all. I am indeed grateful for his unsurpassed Love, and I am Grateful for his mercy and greatness. I know that Christ Lives also, that he loves also, that he has paid the price for us all, and for that I am eternally grateful, and at times I wish I could sing praises all the day long for what he has done for me. I bear testimony of Him, of The Father, and of The Son, in the Holy name of my Redeemer, Jesus Christ, Amen.
With Love,
Elder Randall KK Tateishi
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
9 months down only 15 more to go....
Can you believe that Randy has been gone 9 months already. The growth, joy and love he has experienced is tell me "job well done, now keep going". He sounds twice as happy and just relaxing and enjoying. Again, as if you didn't know, he is totally AMAZING!!!!!
Dear Mother, Father, Sisters, Brothers, Family, Friends
Another week rolls on by, carefree and filled with Joy. I first like to express my gratitude to everyone this week. I LOVE all the letters and emails I`ve gotten and they always serve to brighten my day. I even had a streak of recieving letters for 3 days in a row this week. That made me very happy. Autumn is now here in full force and Christmas is coming barreling down the hill. Another blink or two and I`ll be back in summer!
So, I`ve been so busy this week I can`t even remember everything that`s happened. Tuesday we met with quite a few people and taught quite a few lessons, Wednesday was filled with more lessons. Thursday I got interviewed by President McIntrye, Friday I rode waaaaaaaayyyyyyy up north and had a lesson and then rode waaaaayyyy back to the apartment. We were riding our bikes for over an hour each way. Saturday was a day full of headaches and futile attempts at comprehending complex Japanese for 6 hours as I listened to General Conference. Yes I had to listen to all of the saturday sessions in Japanese. I Got as far as Elder Holland in the first session, before my brain fried. Note that Elder Holland was the second Speaker. Although I did manage during the 1 hour break we had to watch Monson, Holland, and Uchtdorf from the first session in English. After that entertaining experience we visited a family.
That was an interesting experience. This family has known the Missionaries for over 15 years, and always invites them over to dinner. It was quite funny because the Father ended up drinking a little too much beer and would start spouting off random stories of when missionaries came over. Even the son turned to his dad and said, "Dad, I think you`ve had a little too much to drink." We had a good time and shared a good message with them.
Sunday I showed up at church for the Sunday sessions of General Conference, fully expecting to have to listen to them in Japanese. But then UPS Pilot from Texas showed up and we were able to watch the Conference in English. That was a miracle. He had actually been scheduled to go to Singapore, but they changed his plans and he came into Osaka for 3 days, and Sennan just happens to be the closest Church building to the Airport. I was verrrrrrrry grateful for that Blessing. I Loved all the talks that I heard, especially Monson`s talk on Gratitude.
After Conference we rode around and found that they were having a huge festival here in town. A Danjiri, which is a harvest festival of some sort. They make these huge hand pulled Wagons with drums built in the back and pull them around town. Apparently in Hannan City (The southern city in our area) alone had 25 of these Danjiri`s. I`ll Upload pictures. But they run with these things and they even pull them up hills and one even goes into the ocean. It was quite fun to watch.
After that we visited our investigator Nakanishi. Which was a wonderful experience and I was able to testify to him, and feel the Spirit fill my heart. It was just another confirmation to me of the truthfullness of what I am doing.
Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Moment of the Week
I`m not even sure what I want to share this week. Lol. Most of the time I`ll have an idea or two before I come to email, but I seem to have forgotten all of them.
What more can I say than this, God is a God of Love, and when you feel his Love, and when you can share that love, there is nothing greater in the world.
Recently I recieved a letter from my good friend, in which he bore his testimony to me. Of all the things he wrote to me, that was the greatest, I felt like Alma when he met with the sons of Alma. "Yea I was filled with joy, that he was still my Brother in the Lord, and that he had waxed strong in the Knowledge of the Truth." I felt his strong spirit, and I was proud of him. I saw in what he wrote the fulfilling of part of his great potential that I had always known he`d had. I was happy because I knew that he had partaken of the same fruit, of the same joys that I have had. I saw that, and I nearly wept with Joy.
In a similar experience, if not very different, I met with Nakanishi yesterday. The poor, man who lives alone, he has no desires, no hope, no faith. I talked to him, I taught him, I read scriptures to him, I prayed for him, and I loved him, and I testified to him. I shared my joy with him, and told him that he could have the same joy and happiness that I had if only he wanted it, if only he strove for it. But he was unsure, he didn`t want to try. When I heard his reply I felt my heart sink, not in despair, but in sorrow for him. Because I love him, because I want to help him, but I can only do so much for him. I cannot make him belief, I cannot make him do anything, I can only invite, and I did. Don`t get me wrong, I`m not discouraged or burdened with these, but I am still sad for his sake and I still pray for him daily.
So this is my Joy. My Happiness, my peace, my everything, my all. Love. That simple word, so pure and perfect, Love. I can look into nearly anyone`s eyes now and say in all seriousness that I Love them. That I care for them, that I want to help them. That I am willing to sacrifice for them, and that brings me joy. To see their smile, to see their grateful eyes, to see them succeed, to see them grow, to see them happy. If there is anything that I wish to carry on with me after my mission it is this simple lesson of Love. That when you Love you will find happiness.
So Love people. First your God, than your family, than expand outwards to your friends and neighbors, then love the world around you. Make someone smile, make someone laugh, wipe away the tears of the sad, and comfort the grieving. Lend a hand to those in need and you will make the world just that much better, it is simply one step at a time.
That is my message today, which I know I have shared so many times before. But I say it again, and again, and I will NEVER get tired of saying it. No greater commandment Has God ever given than to Love one Another.
So I end, with Love unto all. I pray for all of you, that you may find happiness and peace, that you may find joy and love within your own lives. I love you all, and wish you will.
In the Name of Jesus Christ, my Saviour, and Redeemer, amen.
Love,
Elder Randall KK Tateishi,
Monday, October 4, 2010
and the son will be an "All-American Standing Stone"
Oh my heck...I laughed so hard with this letter. Randy is having way too much fun, but yet great success in his ability to communicate and understand the language. This letter you will need to remember that "Tateishi" means Standing Stone, then you will understand what Randy is really saying. As far as the picture...well, just read along and you will see.
Dear Mother, Father, Sisters, Brothers, Family, and Friends
Another busy week has flown by faster than I could blink. I swear it was yesterday that Kamacho Choro came to Sennan, now we`re already halfway through the transfer, President Interviews are coming up, General Conference is here, and I`m just plan lost as to where all my time went.
So I`ll start off with what I did this morning.
I Looked at my pedigree on Dad`s side of the family tree and saw the name "Zenbei." I looked to my companion and asked him. "What`s the Kanji for this name?" He shrugged, and after a moment said, "There are lots of Kanji for that name, but Here`s one."
He then gave me this Kanji: 全米
He told me the meaning of it, and I now wish to name my son Zenbei Tateishi. And this will be his conversation.
"So Zenbei, where does your name come from?"
"Japan."
"What does it mean?"
"All-American."
So my son will be an "All-American Standing Stone."
That was my adventure this morning, and me and my companion where laughing for too hard, and for far too long.
Tonikaku.
This week, we did a lot of biking, a lot teaching, and I did lots of baking.
Monday I started trying to make Molassas sugar cookies, they ended up getting burnt, until the very end of the batch when I realized that they are supposed to look doughy until they cool down. Then I made a second batch of them that actually worked. Tuesday we taught a few people, and rode around a lot, then the Assitant Presidents came down and did a companionship exchange with us until Wednesday night. I spent most of Wednesday listening to Elder Solomon quote movies, songs, and random comedies. It was highly entertaining. Wednesday night we had a party, loads of fun, You`ll just have to look at the pictures and try to find out what I was doing. (I`m not even sure what I was doing.) Thursday we went to Iwade for District Meeting and ate at a Buffet, and a buffet that dad would like. All you can eat meat, which you cook yourself to your own liking. YakiNiku as it`s called in Japan. It was very delicious.
Friday I cut grass with a kama all day. Saturday we rode about an hour and a half to the northern part of our area, only for our investigator to sleep in and not show up to the appointment. Then rode back. It was a total of about 35-40 Kilometers there and back. Sunday we spent most of the day at church talking with members and recieved the "Fruits basket" from the ward. We basically don`t need to do any shopping this week we recieved so much.
Today, we plan on going to the golf range with one of the members, Kamacho Choro has never been Golfing before and so we`re going to see how well he can hit a golf ball.
Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Message of the Week!
So what should I talk about this week. It Gets hard coming up with new messages every week.
I`ll just share an experience from this past week in one of my lessons.
We were teaching Itami-san this week, the very stubborn old man who has read far too many religious books and now beliefs that everyone really just beliefs in the same thing. We first attempted to teach him about the Plan of Salvation, but he wouldn`t listen to us. So my companion tried harder to get into the actual lesson, but Itami-san bluntly told him he didn`t want to hear it right now and said, "I already know about this `plan` thing, what I want is just a regular conversation just to bounce off ideas." He then proceeded to talk about Reincarnation and how everyone lives multiple lives.
By this time, I had listened to him recite many different bhuddist beliefs and I had only been understanding maybe 70% of the conversation, and so I decided to actually start trying to say something useful and proceeded to explain why Reincarnation wouldn`t really work. As soon as I was done speaking he looked at me, silent for a moment, no reply, and then turned to my companion and said "See, like that! That`s the kind of conversation I want."
This happened about 2 or 3 times more during the visit, in which I started quoting from the New Testament, and Old Testament to support what I was saying. Which I have yet to read the Old Testament all the way through, and have only read the New Testament once.
Where am I going with this? Well the Lord really truly does guide his servants. When I stopped worrying about what was going on, and stopped thinking or fretting about wether it was the right thing to say or not, and when I started trusting in the spirit of the Lord, I was blessed. I was able to teach him, and I was able to remember scriptures from long ago. It was all through the Spirit.
I know that with the Spirit, all things are possible. That there is no need to worry. In all things the Holy Ghost will "lead you by the hand."
Your Son, Brother, Friend
Elder Randall KK Tateishi
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Beware of Dogs!
Oh my gosh....Randy is so back in the swing of things. He has his humor back and his love of missionary life back. I love how he writes and describes everything. Ok, the Beware of the Dogs portion of the letter was hilarious. I sent him a "Missionary" pillowcase that has rules and cautions for missionaries and one of them is "Beware of Dogs". I can't believe he got bit, but such is life for a missionary. Again I am so proud of him and his willingness to serve. His love of the Gospel grows and grows everyday and I can see it through his letters. I love him so much and am very happy for him. Stress is gone and he can en"joy" life again.
Dear Mother, Father, Brothers, Sisters, Family, and Friends
Well another excellent week has rolled past, and I`m still alive and kicking. Me and Elder Kamacho, now nicknamed as "Fillipine-san" or "Otomodachi-san," have been tearing it up here in Sennan. This week has been like walking from the pitch black of a moonless cloudy night, into the bright morning sun. We have done a lot of biking and riding around, lots of exploring, lots of talking, and even more importantly, lots of teaching. I guess I just got so used to seeing almost no results for the past 3 months that I had hardly noticed what was going on. Now this week I`ve been filled with adventure and filled with things to do.
Last week Monday we wandered around the mall, which by the way is absolutely huge, that is about 10 min. from our apartment. Then went and visited our investigator, whose dog decided to bite my hand. x.x I should read my pillow case more often. ("Beware of Dogs.")
Tuesday I gave a blessing, in Japanese, that was an amazing experience, being guided in what to say. The words I spoke, were not mine. Then that night I went to a small, "cram school" as they call it, to help someone teach English. Basically I answered Questions that the students had about me, America, and learning a new language. The most frequently asked question was, "Do you like Sushi?"
Wednesday I taught English at the church, and I can`t really remember what else happened, but we were busy, I remember that.
Thursday Morning, we woke up and looked outside, it was just a little cloudy and fairly windy, and we were like "Ok, It might rain today." About 30 min. later a mini typhoon flew over us, and it started pouring down rain, and the wind howled and thunder was roaring loudly. 20 min. later it was all gone, just as we were getting ready to leave for District Meeting.
Thursday, I got to pull weeds for a few hours, the same "cram school" students came and helped. If you`ve ever walked into a jungle, that would be very similar to the yard we were working on. Thick weeds covering the ground, and lots of annoying vines. Ended up doing it by hand and just pulling them out of the ground. Found out that it was actually a very small Sweet Potato Garden, and there ended up being a lot of Sweet Potatos that we found. During the whole process we found a giant centipede. When we found it, we said "O hey look at that huge centipede." All the kids up and ran like the wind, even the teacher ran away. Me and my companion picked up sticks and tried to kill it, but it wouldn`t die, until I grabbed a kama and cut it in half. Even then it was still twitching. No one would even go close to the area where we found it.
Had a barbeque with everyone there, and recieved a whole bunch of letters from all the students, thanking me for going in that one day. Had lots of fun, and talked with lots of people.
Friday and Saturday were filled with appointments, and Sunday we had church. All in all it was an awesome entertaining week. Found another giant mall in our area, that took us about an hour just to walk through, only getting distracted once by a lego store. It was lots of fun.
Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Message of the Week
"Men are that they might have joy." 2 Nephi 2:25
I could just leave it at that, and be happy with it. But I`ll expound upon it very simply and quickly.
When you read the scriptures, you`ll find these words written frequently "Be of Good Cheer." It`s what God frequently tells his people. In Japanese it is rendered "Genki o Dashinasai!" With the same meaning, except I like Japanese more since it includes the command form "nasai." It feels more like a commandment than just words of comfort. Yes, we`re commanded to be happy, I`ll take that as one of my favorite commandments.
Everyone will have times when they are down, when they are unhappy and sad, when the entire world seems to press down upon them. Let me be the first to tell you that Missionaries are no exception to the world. We too have our down times, we too have our times of trouble. But, just take it as it comes. Let the Lord guide you, be patient in your trials, and have hope! Remember just have Hope.
I just remembered that I had taught about Hope a few days ago to somebody. She asked me about hope and so I replied, "Hope is knowing that although times are hard now, that although everything hurts or seems so horrible right now, that someday, whether it be tomorrow, next week, next year, or the next life, we WILL have rest. When we have faith in the Atonement of Christ, we have a bright hope that all our trials and tribulations will not last forever," Our relief might not come when we think we need it the most, our day of rest may not come when we think we can`t make it any further, but it WILL come. Then, when we reach that point, and look back at the mountain we have climbed, we will see the blessings that have come from following the Lord`s will, and waiting upon his time.
So just have Hope, in the brightest day, or the darkest night, have hope! The day will come when we shall rest again in the presence of the Lord.
I say these things in the name of my savior, my redeemer, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Which Much Love,
Elder Randall KK Tateishi
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Excuse me...but have you seen....
My Son Randy, lately, also known as Panda Bear, Elder Tateishi, Tateishi Choro? He stands about 6' tall has brown hair, brown eyes and wears glasses? He has a huge smile that is infectious and kind of talks loud and laughs even louder. He can come up behind his mother and give her a hug and a kiss and tells her he loves her all the time, at any given moment. He is a little on the serious side of life, but knows that he can still have fun like drinking hot chocolate out of a cookie and singing songs with his companion and a sock puppet. He left on his mission in January of 2010 and is due to return 2 years later. He used to write fun letters about life and experiences but as of lately, he is missing. He has had a couple of companions that, well lets say, suck. His dad and I are concerned and were wondering if you could find him and bring the old Randy back. Remind him that he is to be cheerful and enjoy life and his mission. Remind him that he is loved by his Heavenly Father and perfectionism is not attainable in this life, just a goal that we may never achieve until the after life, but we are to strive to do our best. Remind him he doesn't need to beat himself up over little things and that it's, OK. We sure miss him and would love to read his awesome letters again.
Ok, Randy has been located and is back in the full swing of things. We sure miss him, but are happy to say, HE CAN WRITE EVERY WEEK AGAIN! So here is the joy of another letter from him. (the above paragraph about looking for Randy was my opening remarks to him in the email I sent him this week)
Dear Mother, Father, Brothers, Sisters, Family, Friends, Mentors, and everyone who reads this Letter,
Probably should just leave it at "Mother, Father, Brothers, Sisters, and Family." We`re all family in some way or another.
Anyway. This week has been a great and fantastic week. Transfer calls came in on Tuesday and my companion got shipped off to Omihachiman. So we spent Tuesday and Wednesday packing and visiting people, preparing for him to leave. So not much happened for that part of the week. Although I did have an interesting visit to one of the Member`s house. We sat and talked about looking at your strengths, your talents and gifts. I said simply "Well I`m organized and clean in the Apartment." He laughed and said, "What does that have to do with Dendo?" I paused, and couldn`t really think of anything (Another negative sign about my self esteem) He laughed again and smiled saying "You know Elder Tateishi, you have a good `Aura.` Your Friendly, your kind, your `soft` so to say." Well that made me feel better. I had never thought of myself that way.
So after that we got up at 4 AM on thursday to get to Osaka on time for transfers. We arrived at 6:30, 30 min. early and nobody was there. Stood around for a little while, and waited until people started showing up at about 10 after 7. I was in Osaka until about 11:00 when my new companion showed up. While waiting we proselyted a little bit, I was paired up with one of my MTC buddies who went to Hiroshima and we had lots of fun wandering the streets, having no idea where we were. 11:00 rolled around and I met my new companion, Elder Kamacho.
Elder Kamacho, is from Okinawa, but he is Phillipino. As in, he was born in the Phillipines, is a Citizen of the Phillipines, but doesn`t speak Tagolog or English, and speaks nothing but Japanese. Yes, kind of strange, and I thought my heritage was strange enough for Japanese people to understand. When the members first met him they weren`t sure about how much Japanese he could speak and kept asking "So you can speak Japanese alright then?" My Companion`s reply, "I don`t speak any other language THAN Japanese."
The Past few days we`ve been having a lot of fun, getting along very well and are really good friends now. We`re working hard and getting things moving along here in Sennan. He is learning English, and so in the apartment we try to speak English, and out on the street we speak Japanese. It`s lots of fun, and My Japanese is coming along at a phenomenal rate. Though I swear I don`t do anything to learn it. It`s simply osmosis(SP?) and the "Gift of Tongues." My study consists of reading the Book of Mormon for 10 min and another 10 Min, in Preach My Gospel, all in Japanese, and then I spend 10 min. flipping through words that I don`t end up using throughout the day. Yep, it`s Osmosis and the Gift of Tongues.
I`ve been somewhat promoted so to say, I`m Area Senior, meaning I`ve been in the area the longest, but I`m not the Senior Companion. All I do is act as the guide until my companion knows the people and the area. But I`ve actually ended up doing a lot more talking than I expected, I wield the almightly Cell Phone and carry the keys, yes I hold the power! Had fun at Church conducting the Meeting between the Ward leaders and the missionaries, explaining what we did throughout the week and what we needed help with. So It`s been an excellent week, with a lot of growing and a lot of fun.
Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Message of the Week.
Yes, It`s Weekly again!
Ok this week I want to pick out a scripture from the Book of Mormon.
Mosiah 4:27
"And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order."
This is something I`ve learned this past transfer as I watched not only me, but my companion wear out and drift away a little bit. When you spend every day riding your bike as fast as you can, rushing from place to place, always fretting about what needs to be done immediately or what we should have said or done, you start to not have fun, and then you start to not want to work, and then you just don`t work effectively.
I had my companion blow up on me a couple times because he was so stressed, that even the smallest things that I did, or moreso that I DIDN`T do, would get him angry. In fact we parted ways on less than good terms.
But then I got my new companion, Elder Kamacho, and he shared that same scripture with me the very first day. Since then I Haven`t been fretting about things, although I am still beating myself up a little bit mainly in a joking manner, but the jokes are a bit bitter and in the back of my mind they are a bit true. I should probably stop that.
"All things must be done in wisdom and order." Patience is the key to all of this. Things may not happen immediately, results may not come in the moment after or even in a week or 2 weeks or even in a month. I pause and I look back at where I was almost 9 months ago and see the huge progress I have made. Along the way most of the time I didn`t feel like I was going anywhere, that I wasn`t progressing very fast at all, but when you look back, and you see how much of the mountain you`ve climbed, the progress is amazing.
Take for example my Japanese. Out of all the things that I have worried about on my mission, the one thing that has never been among them is my Langauge skill. I never worried about speaking Japanese, at least not all that much, I never got up early to study or stayed up late to study, on occasion I would take 10 or 20 min during lunch or p-day to study a little bit but nothing more. Throughout the whole process I have felt as if my Japanese was not progressing very fast, that it was moving along at a crawl, but here I stand, and look back, now My Japanese is of sufficient skill that I could probably live in Japan on my own with only a few minor problems.
That`s what I`ve learned, be patient, ESPECIALLY with yourself. Don`t worry about what`s going to happen next, don`t fret about this and that, don`t think about the "O I should have done this..." or the "I Could have done that.." Just take things one at a time, put one foot in front of the other, and follow the path that has been laid before you, God will guide you, and in the end you`ll find yourself exactly where you wanted to be, Eternal Life held in your own hands.
Live, Love, Smile, and be happy. God didn`t send us here to be sad and suffer through life with heads hanging down and trudging along. He Sent us here to grow and find happiness. Men are that they might have joy. In the famous words of Bob Marley, "Don`t worry! Be Happy!"
Lol. So far my mission has been a roller coaster ride, filled with ups and downs rolls and turns. But with each time you`re knocked down a peg or two you learn something new. There have been times where I wondered if God was simply trying to see how many times he could knock me down before I simply gave up, but then I learned how stubborn and stupid I had been in thinking that. It`s a humbling experience being a missionary, you learn that you do almost nothing in this work. I walk the streets, I ride my bike, I open my mouth. The Lord Guides my bike, places my feet upon the path, and places the words in my mouth. The only thing he asks me to do, is watch, learn, be worthy, and work. One thing that has really changed in my way of thinking is this: Alma 26:12
"Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we [will perform] in this land, for which we will praise his name forever."
I know I`m weak, I know that I`m imperfect, that I am nothing, but I know also that if I rely on God, rely on the power of the Atonement, he will do the things that I can`t. So why worry about it. "You raise me up, so I can stand on Mountains. You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas. You Raise me up, to more than I can be." I could quote line after line of songs and scriptures that repeat the same thing. Rely on the Lord, rely on God, and in the end you will be far better off.
I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
With much Love,
Elder Randall KK Tateishi
Ok, Randy has been located and is back in the full swing of things. We sure miss him, but are happy to say, HE CAN WRITE EVERY WEEK AGAIN! So here is the joy of another letter from him. (the above paragraph about looking for Randy was my opening remarks to him in the email I sent him this week)
Dear Mother, Father, Brothers, Sisters, Family, Friends, Mentors, and everyone who reads this Letter,
Probably should just leave it at "Mother, Father, Brothers, Sisters, and Family." We`re all family in some way or another.
Anyway. This week has been a great and fantastic week. Transfer calls came in on Tuesday and my companion got shipped off to Omihachiman. So we spent Tuesday and Wednesday packing and visiting people, preparing for him to leave. So not much happened for that part of the week. Although I did have an interesting visit to one of the Member`s house. We sat and talked about looking at your strengths, your talents and gifts. I said simply "Well I`m organized and clean in the Apartment." He laughed and said, "What does that have to do with Dendo?" I paused, and couldn`t really think of anything (Another negative sign about my self esteem) He laughed again and smiled saying "You know Elder Tateishi, you have a good `Aura.` Your Friendly, your kind, your `soft` so to say." Well that made me feel better. I had never thought of myself that way.
So after that we got up at 4 AM on thursday to get to Osaka on time for transfers. We arrived at 6:30, 30 min. early and nobody was there. Stood around for a little while, and waited until people started showing up at about 10 after 7. I was in Osaka until about 11:00 when my new companion showed up. While waiting we proselyted a little bit, I was paired up with one of my MTC buddies who went to Hiroshima and we had lots of fun wandering the streets, having no idea where we were. 11:00 rolled around and I met my new companion, Elder Kamacho.
Elder Kamacho, is from Okinawa, but he is Phillipino. As in, he was born in the Phillipines, is a Citizen of the Phillipines, but doesn`t speak Tagolog or English, and speaks nothing but Japanese. Yes, kind of strange, and I thought my heritage was strange enough for Japanese people to understand. When the members first met him they weren`t sure about how much Japanese he could speak and kept asking "So you can speak Japanese alright then?" My Companion`s reply, "I don`t speak any other language THAN Japanese."
The Past few days we`ve been having a lot of fun, getting along very well and are really good friends now. We`re working hard and getting things moving along here in Sennan. He is learning English, and so in the apartment we try to speak English, and out on the street we speak Japanese. It`s lots of fun, and My Japanese is coming along at a phenomenal rate. Though I swear I don`t do anything to learn it. It`s simply osmosis(SP?) and the "Gift of Tongues." My study consists of reading the Book of Mormon for 10 min and another 10 Min, in Preach My Gospel, all in Japanese, and then I spend 10 min. flipping through words that I don`t end up using throughout the day. Yep, it`s Osmosis and the Gift of Tongues.
I`ve been somewhat promoted so to say, I`m Area Senior, meaning I`ve been in the area the longest, but I`m not the Senior Companion. All I do is act as the guide until my companion knows the people and the area. But I`ve actually ended up doing a lot more talking than I expected, I wield the almightly Cell Phone and carry the keys, yes I hold the power! Had fun at Church conducting the Meeting between the Ward leaders and the missionaries, explaining what we did throughout the week and what we needed help with. So It`s been an excellent week, with a lot of growing and a lot of fun.
Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Message of the Week.
Yes, It`s Weekly again!
Ok this week I want to pick out a scripture from the Book of Mormon.
Mosiah 4:27
"And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order."
This is something I`ve learned this past transfer as I watched not only me, but my companion wear out and drift away a little bit. When you spend every day riding your bike as fast as you can, rushing from place to place, always fretting about what needs to be done immediately or what we should have said or done, you start to not have fun, and then you start to not want to work, and then you just don`t work effectively.
I had my companion blow up on me a couple times because he was so stressed, that even the smallest things that I did, or moreso that I DIDN`T do, would get him angry. In fact we parted ways on less than good terms.
But then I got my new companion, Elder Kamacho, and he shared that same scripture with me the very first day. Since then I Haven`t been fretting about things, although I am still beating myself up a little bit mainly in a joking manner, but the jokes are a bit bitter and in the back of my mind they are a bit true. I should probably stop that.
"All things must be done in wisdom and order." Patience is the key to all of this. Things may not happen immediately, results may not come in the moment after or even in a week or 2 weeks or even in a month. I pause and I look back at where I was almost 9 months ago and see the huge progress I have made. Along the way most of the time I didn`t feel like I was going anywhere, that I wasn`t progressing very fast at all, but when you look back, and you see how much of the mountain you`ve climbed, the progress is amazing.
Take for example my Japanese. Out of all the things that I have worried about on my mission, the one thing that has never been among them is my Langauge skill. I never worried about speaking Japanese, at least not all that much, I never got up early to study or stayed up late to study, on occasion I would take 10 or 20 min during lunch or p-day to study a little bit but nothing more. Throughout the whole process I have felt as if my Japanese was not progressing very fast, that it was moving along at a crawl, but here I stand, and look back, now My Japanese is of sufficient skill that I could probably live in Japan on my own with only a few minor problems.
That`s what I`ve learned, be patient, ESPECIALLY with yourself. Don`t worry about what`s going to happen next, don`t fret about this and that, don`t think about the "O I should have done this..." or the "I Could have done that.." Just take things one at a time, put one foot in front of the other, and follow the path that has been laid before you, God will guide you, and in the end you`ll find yourself exactly where you wanted to be, Eternal Life held in your own hands.
Live, Love, Smile, and be happy. God didn`t send us here to be sad and suffer through life with heads hanging down and trudging along. He Sent us here to grow and find happiness. Men are that they might have joy. In the famous words of Bob Marley, "Don`t worry! Be Happy!"
Lol. So far my mission has been a roller coaster ride, filled with ups and downs rolls and turns. But with each time you`re knocked down a peg or two you learn something new. There have been times where I wondered if God was simply trying to see how many times he could knock me down before I simply gave up, but then I learned how stubborn and stupid I had been in thinking that. It`s a humbling experience being a missionary, you learn that you do almost nothing in this work. I walk the streets, I ride my bike, I open my mouth. The Lord Guides my bike, places my feet upon the path, and places the words in my mouth. The only thing he asks me to do, is watch, learn, be worthy, and work. One thing that has really changed in my way of thinking is this: Alma 26:12
"Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we [will perform] in this land, for which we will praise his name forever."
I know I`m weak, I know that I`m imperfect, that I am nothing, but I know also that if I rely on God, rely on the power of the Atonement, he will do the things that I can`t. So why worry about it. "You raise me up, so I can stand on Mountains. You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas. You Raise me up, to more than I can be." I could quote line after line of songs and scriptures that repeat the same thing. Rely on the Lord, rely on God, and in the end you will be far better off.
I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
With much Love,
Elder Randall KK Tateishi
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