Baptism time...

Wow, what a week it has been. With a good friends son coming home from a mission I can see what growth happens. We send our children out as boys and they come home men. How proud I am to have a missionary serving. How happy I am to know that his personal growth and his personal relationship with the Lord will increase day by day.
Randy had his first Baptism that he could do the Baptism for. He loved it and the ability to use his priesthood. I miss him so much but all is well...

Dear Mother, Father, Brothers, Sisters, Family, Friends, and everyone else

Well.. It seems that someone was praying hard enough for me to email this week. Because, obviously I can.

The reason why. We had a baptism on Saturday. It was my second one, and the first baptism that I was able to perform. Sakamoto Genki was the person Baptism. He`s a great man, 24 years old and really wants to work hard at following Christ. It was such a great opprotunity and a privelage to perform the Baptism, and I felt the Spirit touch my heart during the Baptism and also during his Confirmation. One of the greatest feelings in the world for me, is when I use the priesthood to bless and assist people`s lives.

Other than that, nothing much when on this week. We did a lot of finding, I talked with a lot of people and generally had a lot of fun. I`m tired, sweaty and exhausted 99% of the time but I`m happy. Sorry this email is short, but I really don`t have much to say, or to talk about. Just Life is good. It is such a privelage to be a missionary and do the Lord`s work. There is nothing more that I would want to be doing right now than this. I know this is where I need to be, that this is what I need to be doing. I`m growing, I`m learning and over the process of these two years I`m becoming a man.

Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Moment of the week.

I would again like to quote a hymn this week. But this one, you won`t find in the current addition of the hymn book.

"Come thou Fount."

"Come thou fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace.

Streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise.

Teach me some melodious sonnet, song by flaming tongues above.

Praise the Mount, I`m firm upon it, Mount of thy redeeming love."


"O to grace, how great a debtor, daily I`m constrained to be.

Let thy goodness, as a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee.

Prone to wander, Lord I Feel it, Prone to leave the God I Love.

Here`s my heart, o take and seal it, seal it to thy Courts above."

I Recently got a copy of this song from one of the ward members and I quickly memorized it and have been singing it almost non-stop. I love this song, and I love the meaning to this song.

Christ is the found, from which all blessings come. He showers blessings upon his people and does his best to lead and guide them. O that my heart could be perfectly aligned with his will and be able to hold the same love and joy that he holds for each and every person. O that I could love as he loves and tremble at the very thought of the loss of someones salvation.

Mainly I wish to talk about the second verse. Recently I`ve felt this deep in my heart. Nightly as I pray upon my knees and cry to God, I realize how much I am in his debt. How pitiful an attempt it is for me to try to repay him through my services. Always, everyday I`m in his debt, because he is the one that does this work not me. I`m simply a tool in his hand, shaped and guided to do his will. And I`m a very poor tool indeed, "prone to wander, Lord I feel it, Prone to leave the God I Love." I can`t count how many times I`ve messed up trying to follow his will. How many times I`ve failed to follow a prompting of the Spirit. I feel like a horrible tool indeed.

But, I know that God Loves me, that he is guiding me and trying to help me. I know he is by my side every moment of the day, trying to push me to do what needs to be done. He`s here working beside, working through me, to find those that need this Gospel, to bless the lives of these people in Japan. O that I could speak this language with perfection, that I could testify to these people with the power of God in my voice. But alas, my tongue stumbles to find words, and fails to express what is in my heart.

I have found that my greatest talent is in writing. I can write elegantly, fluently, and I can convey my messages this way, but I wish that I could Speak as well as I could write. Lol.

"Here`s my Heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above." I have devoted these two years to serve the Lord. But in all fact and reallity, he`s devoted these two years to serve me.

Again, I bear witness of the truthfullness of this Gospel. Christ Lives, God Lives, and the Holy Ghost bears witness of them both. I know this is true. In the name of my Savior, Redeemer, Lord and King, Jesus Christ Amen.

Your Son, Brother, Friend

Elder Randall KK Tateishi