He loves us...

Randy never ceases to amaze me. I often wondered what went through his little head. When he was younger he always wore his feelings on his sleeves for everyone to see. He was caring, giving and always concerned with other people. He would cry for others at the drop of a hat and was especially concerned for people if they were not doing the right things. As he grew up he became more reserved. Although, I still could look into his eyes and see the hurt he held for friends, brothers and family if they did something wrong or didn't live the gospel. I also think he felt responsible for their welfare and salvation. I remember when he was the 1st Assistant in Priest Quorum and the worry and feelings he had when people weren't "doing what they were supposed to be doing". Sometimes I would see him tear up, but not want anyone to know he was feeling these thoughts.

I am proud to say now he is becoming a man. He is feeling again. I can see his concern for others in his letters. Not only concern for the people he is teaching in Japan but for family and friends. It is much appreciated. Unfortunately he is a lot like me...LOL...I remember Bishop Gough saying once "Sister T., he is a lot more like you than you think". I too worry about others and wish I could fix everyone's problems, but I can't. I think both Randy and I would gladly take on other people's problems, fix them and give them back to the person healthy and healed.

I am happy to see that he noticed things in our family that are to me, perfect. He noticed the small things his dad has done for me, he noticed the love that he has for his brothers and sisters. He noticed the Love we all have for each other. We may not be the perfect family (cough, cough), but we are a loving family who would drop whatever they were doing to help each other. I love that about our family. We may live miles away from each other, but the care and love is still between us all. Some of us may not show it all the time, but I can guarantee the love is still there. We may not agree on each others lifestyle, but the love is still there. I am proud to say and shout I LOVE MY FAMILY!

Without further ado....

Dear Mother, Father, Brothers, Sisters, Family, Friends, Mentors, and everybody else

It`s another week rolled by and life is good in Japan. A brief overview consists of lots of walking and lots of biking.

Monday after Emails ended up being a regular day, we didn`t go anywhere because we wanted to catch up on some letters, which I still have quite a few to catch up on. Currently on my list of letters to write are: Ian James, Gypsy Bowler, Dell Okamoto, Reynolds Family, Adam Jentzch. I think that`s all of them, and I may only get one or two done today, but just to let those people know, you are on my list and I`m slowly working on writing you! Just have patience with me, I don`t have much time to write letters ever.

Tuesday and Wednesday were great days, I had my first solo Contacts. We saw some people playing baseball and my companion ran off to go play with them, leaving me to talk with one of the young men on the sidelines. I talked with him for a good 15 min. alone. It was fun, and I really felt the spirit working through me as I knelt on the grass, beneath a shady tree, on a bright sunny day and taught about the gospel. He was a nice young man and looked like he had interest and hopefully we can teach him more. The other Solo Contact was on the train ride back from Kobe (where we went for Zone Conference) My companion simply gestured for me to start talking to the young man next to me, and stood back and watched me struggle. His only comment was "You talk very loud."

Wednesday was Zone Conference. It was a great Zone Conference and we mainly talked about keeping the "Goose Genki." Taking the example of the Goose that lays the golden Eggs, and not killing the goose in an attempt to get all the golden eggs out of the goose at once. We went over how to keep ourselves physically and mentally fit in order to stany genki and happy and work efficiently and productively. The whole thought is that a steady incline and increase gives a better overall result than bursts mingled with down periods. All in all it came down to not pushing yourself too hard, which is something that I realized I needed to work on. I keep getting on myself for not being as good at contacting as I think I should be. But I`m all good now and realize that I`m steadily improving all around. It`ll just take some time.

Thursday and Friday we had awesome days, we had one person contact us and say "Hey your Mormons right? Where`s your Church I want to see what it`s like." We were both very surprised. We found a few others that seemed to literally fall from the sky and just land in our hands. A Korean that spoke really good english wanted to come to church and said he would next week. Along with a few other people. We also visited a couple of the members this week. At one of the families ate Raw eggs for the first time in my life. It was.... interesting. At least I got to mix the eggs with lots of meat. It wasn`t too bad actually, just something entirely new.

Saturday and Sunday were really good as well. Saturday we went out Proselyting all over and did a little bit of housing. Towards the end of the night, when we were returning to our apartment I decided that we should stop by one of our investigator`s house to check up on him and see how he was doing. He wasn`t home, but I left a note in his mail box just telling him that we really wanted to meet again. The next day on Sunday he came to church and surprised me. He said that he really liked the Note I had left for him and that he thought that he should go to church that day. I was so excited to see him, because he is an investigator from when I first got here, he`s an older man with a kind heart and very loving.

Sunday was extremely busy, we didn`t leave the church until almost 6 PM, when church ends at 3. We taught a lesson to one of our other investigators, and were setting up appointments to meet with members throughout the week. We barely had any time to go out and proselyte. We didn`t find anybody but it was good because I had a few more chances to step out and take the lead in the contacts. So that was my week, in Japan, nothing exciting.

Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Moment of the Week

So Life is good is it not? But what makes our life so joyful and happy? What is it that we need to live out enjoyable, happy and fulfilling lives?

I would simply Quote Christ, when he listed the Two Greatest Commandments.

"The Lord thy God with all thy heart, might, mind, and Strength."

"Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself."

So what is it that we need? Simply put it is Love.

Love brings us joy, loves brings us happy, it is the basis of all other emotions that revolve around making us feel good. When we are happy it is because we love what is going on, when we celebrate it is because we love the occasion. Love, it is as plain and simple as that. Paul taught that without Charity(Love) we are nothing. But what is Love? There are various kinds of Love. There is Love and pure affection for a spouse, a Beloved. There is Love and Affection for one`s child. There is Love for our Siblings, and Love for a Friend. I will simply start from the bottom of the list.

Love for a Friend. All of us have friends that we love to varying degrees. Some we love enough that we say "He`s practically my Brother." Others we simply say that they are acquaintances. But all the same we love them, we are willing to sacrifice for them to varying degrees. Whether it simply be time as a companionship to be together, or assistance in completing an activity, or being there to support them in times of trouble and help counsel and overcome their problems. The very basic description of Love is simply this, being willing to sacrifice something in order to assist the person you Love. Christ once said "There is no greater love than this, That a man would be willing to lay down his life for a friend." As we Love, and sacrifice for others we help them to become happy, we see their joy and return it makes us happy. It is a simply revolving cycle. If you Love someone, if you sacrifice even a little and assist them, they in turn will Love you, and be willing to sacrifice a little for you. Therefore as Christ said "Do good to them that hate you." Show love even for your enemies, love them, and it will help to deflect their anger, and even if they continue it is to their condemnation and not yours. As Christ Said, "Love thy Neighbor as Thyself." We are to love everyone, for everyone is our neighbor. We need to help them and assist them. Be Charitable, loving, caring, kind, sensitive to all of those around you. As you see the joys of others around you, as you share your love with everyone, your love will grow and in turn your happiness will grow.

Love for our Siblings. This Love is forged deeper than just friends and those around you. There is simply something about being of the same blood and the same parentage that helps to forge a bond between siblings. Sometimes we neglect it, for it is easy to do so, we live with them for 24/7 for almost 18 years before we move out on our own. We just get tired of the same old people. But time and time again I hear the stories of Siblings who fought as children yet when they were older and moved out they reforged their bond and grew even closer as Adults. Many regret that they did not have a close relationship with their siblings, many wish that they had done better as a Brother or a Sister. I am one of those. I neglected that bond I had with my siblings while I was in my teenage years. They were simply another person I lived with, and at times they were annoying to me, simply getting in my way of hanging out with friends or doing what I wanted. I regret that. For in the last year or so before my mission, and in the last month more so, I grew to know one of my brothers really well, then I realized how much I had missed out. To have a sibling you could trust, to have a brother or sister who could help you and lived with you would have been such a great blessing in my life. I Honestly say that I neglected those bonds when I was younger, but now I hope on reforging all of them with my older brothers. I want to be able to be there for all my brothers and my sister, I want to be a true Brother to them all. I want to be able to help them when they ask for it. Christ is Our brother, and is ultimately the Greatest example we have of Brotherly Love. He Suffered for each and everyone of us, he "Laid down his life" for us.

Love for our Children. I can easily, and honestly say that I have no Children, Never had, and although I will it`s still a ways into the future. But I do know something, if not as fully or brightly as most parents do, of the love for one`s Child. I simply have to look at my two nieces, Hannah, and Tavie, Possibly the two cutest little girls in the world. I love them dearly, and always wish the best for them. I held them, I played with them, I helped them, even if it was only a fraction of what their parent`s did for them. I know that I would do anything for their well being, for their safety and continued growth to become strong and wonderful adults in the years to come. I look as an example of parental love to my Parents. I never ever doubted that my parents loved me. I knew it from the time I was born and still know it today. I have seen it in the way they raised me, in the way they helped me. As Parents they were always there for me, whether I sought for their help or not, they were waiting to pick me up when I fell, to clean my scraped knees and to set me on my feet again. My Parents were far from perfect parents, they could even tell you that, but the one thing that sines so brightly to me, above all the other things they did for me was simply Love. That`s all it took. Simply knowing that they loved me, helped me through my difficult times, hearing their soothing words when I was down, the warm and gentle hugs we shared, the happy smiles, the tears that we shed together. That`s what I remember. I also knew of their Love for my other siblings, for many times I looked from a far and watched what my parents did for my brothers and sisters. I watched my mother cry when my siblings hurt, I saw her rejoice when they rejoiced, I saw that she hurt when they hurt, she shared what they felt, and what they did. My Father Likewise, although he stood silently in the background, talking little and never saying much. He was the silent sentinel upon the hill. Waiting patiently to step in and assist. I remember the few times that he actually spoke words of wisdom to me, when he gave me advise. So gentle and quiet was his voice, so simple and delicate were his words. Rarely he raised his voice, but always in tender Love did he help me.

God is our Father. He is the Father of our spirits, and likewise he is a perfect father. He feels all the pains that we feel, he rejoices when we rejoice, he cries when we cry. He Stands as a silent sentinel in the Heavens, waiting patiently, sometimes suffering the pain of watching us fall because he knows it will help us grow. He watches quietly, waiting for us to call, and when he acts it is almost always, quietly and gently to pick us up, dust our knees and set us on our feet again. How firm is his resolve that all of us can attain a perfect happiness. He loves each and everyone of us, he knows us by name. He calls to us through tears of pain, as we stumble blindly in the Dark. His Light soft, but brilliant. We must call to him and then he will guide us.

Finally there is Love for a spouse, a beloved. In this I have little experience. I am young, I am unmarried, and I know little about True Love. I do have a little experience, I do Love. I know what it feels like to Love and I know what I would do for Love. But I look not to myself but again to my parents as an example of Love. Although I never see my father embrace my Mother, I rarely see them so much as sit beside each other on the couch. But I know that they Love each other, because I see it in the way they treat each other. Always do they refer to each other in all things, always do they trust each other with everything. They frequently seek each other`s advice and are always there for the other. I always say the greatest two words my father ever taught me were simply these: "Yes, Dear." In those two simple words, he shows his Love. He shows he is willing to sacrifice to help my mother be happy. To do even the menial house work to make her happier. My Mother Likewise, cooking dinner, and cleaning the house, assisting in all things and helping to keep the finances in order. Although they are quiet towards each other, their actions speak so much louder than words. Love is not Physical contact, nor is it expressed in words, It is in what we do, and how we think. Respect is part of it, but more fully it is trust and honest, unfeigned care for the other. A willingness to put aside everything for the other. I cannot wait to be married. I wish to love my wife with all my heart, I wish to be there for her always and devote my life to her. For we must remember, that marriage is not limited to this life alone, but it extends into the eternities as well.

I end by simply saying, I love you all. I may not know all who read this by name, but I do know that I am willing to sacrifice for all. It may be to a varying degree, for I am imperfect. But as a Missionary you learn that Love is greater than all. I love these people, and that is why I am here. I have felt peace, I have found Joy, and I wish for all to partake of this most sweet and joyful fruit that I have found. That is my dream, that is my goal. To share this fruit with all. My heart goes out to you all, and especially to a certain person who knows who she is. I love you.

Share your love, be charitable, be kind, be sensitive. Help each other, build each other. Love each other as God Loves you. With true love, and Charity you will truly find yourself happier.

I know that God Loves me, and I know that Christ Loves me, I know that they love each and every person upon this earth and that they care for them. We simply need to reach out to them. I bear my witness to you that they Live, they can guide our steps, and help us live. I know they have for me. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, My savior, Amen.

Brother to All, and Loving Son,

Elder Randall KK Tateishi