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
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