Shield of Stone...

So I am having difficulty with the Title for this weeks blog. I started out with "One Month and counting..." then changed it to "Baptism number Ichi (1)", then went with "Lost in Japan" and decided to settle finally on "Shield of Stone" As you read in the letter you will see why i chose that title...

I can't believe that Randy has been in Japan a whole month. Every letter gets more and more exciting. Especially now that he has had his first baptism. The marvel of the Gospel and the love of the Japanese people.

Randy had some good fun with companion exchanges this last week with having a companion that speaks no English and Randy still working on his Japanese. He said it was quite fun even getting lost at one point. He even is talking more and that is unusual since he normally is a quiet kind of kid.

The thing in enjoyed most about this letter what his play on our last name and how he is honoring it. He is a Shield of Stone protecting the Gospel and preaching the Gospel ready to fight the adversary. An immovable Stone Dragon.

Read on and you will learn:

Dear Mother, Father, Brothers, Sisters, Friends, Mentors, and Those others that read this, Them other Missionary Mothers

Well I`ll start out by saying, I have only 50 min. to write this, so forgive any horrible misspellings or grammar errors because I`m typing as fast as I can to get this done in time. We`re heading off to Osaka today to go to Costco and get some food and other such American goodies today. Which means we have to leave soon and it limits my time in writing.

First things first, The Good news. Baptism count: 1!!!!!!!! Sunday April 25th I saw my first Baptism. It was a wonderful experience. Masaya was so excited and so enthusiastic about it. The spirit was strong as he was baptized and then confirmed afterwards. It was such an honor to participate in those wonderful Ordinances and it just reminds me of how true this work is and even more it reminds me of WHY I am here.

Life is great in Fushimi Japan. The work keeps moving, the lord keeps giving. I had my second Companionship Exchange this week with Joyo, The area just south of us. Except I stayed in Fushimi, became proxy Senior Companion, Had Elder Suzuki who speaks 0 english as my companion, in an area that I still wasn`t quite familiar with. The end result? Well let`s just say I learned A LOT! I only got lost once and then quickly found out where I was again. We didn`t find any new investigators but I did talk quite a bit more than usual. I led the way, and stopped quite a few people and began the conversations. Mostly ended up being. "HEY!!! I`M AMERICAN!! Came here 3 weeks ago and am learning Japanese..... Truth is... I don`t speak Japanese... Suzuki Choro... Taskete kudasai!(Help please!" Lol. But it was loads of fun. Amazing what Happens when you step out of the Boat and open your mouth.

By The way the quote from last week "Let`s walk on water" translated into Japanese is "Mizu no ue de arukimasho" I can write that in Kanji actually, to my own useless amazement, but I can`t quite write on a computer screen very well, maybe this`ll go through 水の上で歩きましょ

Anyway The teaching is going along just fine and the finding is going along well also. I`m absolutely loving it here and I`m having loads of fun.

By the way! The Reynolds Family from my Parent`s ward win a prize! They were the first ones to send me a letter while I`ve been in Japan! I don`t know what the prize is, but it`ll be something. I`m writing them today so they`ll hear from me in a week. Also Ian James wrote me, and as typical he used his vast store of English Knowledge to make me laugh so hard I could hardly breath. You`d have to read is extremely good and well..... Classical style English to even begin to comprehend. Anyway He used a word which I have never heard before: Phantasmagoria... yes that`s how he writes, using big words that little kids like me don`t understand.

As for words, I`d like to a quick word play on my last Name.

Tateishi

Tate-shield
Tate-Stand
Stand=Tatsu=Dragon

Ishi=Stone

so here are 2 extra meanings to the name Tateishi

Standing Stone is the original, according the Kanji, but it could be

Shield of Stone
Stone Dragon

So what do I do about it, I honor the name! I am a Shield of Stone, Let the fiery Darts strike against me, but they are of no use! Let People try and tear down what I belief but as a Shield of Stone I Stand in the way! Defending with my very self what I belief! I am immovable like a Stone Dragon, and I fight like a Stone Dragon too! That was all just random fun xD.

Onto This weeks "Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Moment":

"Apathy"

Yes strange thing to choose. But I`ve been thinking about it quite a bit lately. Mainly because I know from my own experience the deadly trap of Apathy. Let us first ask ourselves, What is Apathy? Well Apathy is a lack of emotions, an emotion in which you do not have any emotions. Which is why Apathy is so very dangerous. Let me expound:

A long long time ago, in a letter my father wrote to me as part of a youth activity, I was warned about Apathy. I cannot remember the specific details but I do remember something along the lines of this: "What is the opposite of Love? It`s not hate, it`s Apathy."

But why is it Apathy and not hate. Love is a strong emotion, you care for the person you love. Hate is also a strong emotion, you care about the person you hate, just in a negative way. But Apathy, you don`t care at all. That`s the trap I fell in for a while. Apathy. Example: During school I progressed fairly quickly, I graduated college at the same time as I graduated High School. But the problem was, to me it was all empty. It was just another motion, something that was apart of life, it didn`t REALLY matter to me, it was just something else that I did because well, it had to be done. I didn`t CARE. As it was shown in my grades, especially my senior year, I only had 1 A, while the rest were really around C`s. In the end I came out fairly well, but I had lost a lot of opportunities. If I had actually cared, and actually tried I`d probably be twice as smart as I am now, and have a future filled with a lot more opportunities than just going to an out of the way Community College in the middle of nowhere known as St. George (of course I do love St. George).

I will tell you now, after I have changed and corrected myself and now actually have a purpose, have something to strive for and to move towards that the absolute worst feeling in the world, even beyond anger, or sadness is Nothing. When I feel nothing it scares me far more than anything else in the World. I have a mind that likes to think, it likes to think a lot, and when There is no emotion, no feeling, just Cold Analytical, logical thinking that takes place it is quite scary. When that happens, when I don`t feel, I usually dwell upon the thought of, "What am I supposed to be feeling?" I often recall Christ upon the Cross in his last moments as he said "My God, My God, Why Hast thou Forsaken me." Because it is at those moments when I know, without a doubt that I do not have the spirit with me. And as a missionary, the one thing you need the most is the Spirit. Luckily though, it serves as a sort of chastisement that forces me back onto the straight and narrow path.

Now the other thing with Apathy, in a slightly more Temporal Matter. When you are apathetic you are content. You don`t care that you aren`t progressing, you don`t care that nothing is going on. It`s simply I`m fine where I am at right now. I can tell you now that that is not a good thing. When you aren`t progressing you are digressing, you are falling backwards ever so slowly, you are making bad habits. I simply say this: "Don`t be happy with where you are, be happy with where you are going." Now don`t take it as if I`m saying, don`t be happy at all with what you have, Be happy, but be even more happy with the knowledge that what you are doing will make you even better later. Progression is the key to true happiness. Because you can always look back and say "Wow, I thought I had it good back then but now... It`s even better."

I`ll by quoting Christ: "Be ye therefore Perfect."

In order to return to our Father in Heaven, we must be perfect. There is no possible way that we can become perfect, not on our own. It is only through The Atonement of Christ that we can become perfect, as all of us our human beings, all of us make mistakes (Me more than most I would say). But Christ`s Atonement has changed that, he can repair our mistakes, heal our wounds and lift us up to high places. "It is by Grace that ye are saved, after all that you can do." The keywords though are "After all that you can do." Strive always to do your best, push yourselves a little harder, and in the end the Grace of God will lift you up. As one of our themes in our district, every night we look back on what we`ve done and ask ourselves "Have I given it my all?" I can tell you the best days are the ones when I can answer that question, with firmness of heart and say "Yes, I gave it my all!"

"O thou good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over a few things, and so I will make thee ruler over many." I bear you my testimony that this is true. That as we always strive to do our best, God will lift us higher, we can attain heights we never thought were possible. Have faith and you can Walk on Water! I love you all and end in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

With much love to all
Elder Randall KK Tateishi