I am so happy and so is Randy....he is really feeling the joy of being a Missionary and I am feeling the joy of being a mother. Life is so good and I feel so blessed with family and friends. What a great feeling it is to know that God loves you (and me)and God wants us to be happy so.....I am!
Dear Mother, Father, Sisters, Brothers, Family, and Friends
I don`t know why, but right now I`m just so happy. Nothing really special has happened this week but I`m just happy. I`m happy I am where I am, I`m happy I`m a missionary, I`m happy because of my Family, I`m happy because of my Companion, I`m happy because one of my previous investigators in Sennan (Sora) was baptized last week, I`m happy because I KNOW the Lord loves me. "But by the grace of God, I am what I am!"
Tuesday we got Transfer calls. Elder Hale transfered to Miki, and my new companion is Elder Uehara, the oldest missionary I`ve ever had, he`s on his second to last transfer. Tuesday and Wednesday were spent getting things packed and ready for Elder Hale to Transfer. Thursday me and Elder Uehara came back to the Apartment and cleaned up a little bit, got his stuff unpacked and all ready and then planned for the week and the transfer. Friday and Saturday we went out and Dendoed around by the Eki. I`m learning a lot from Elder Uehara, especially about how to be more bold in talking to people.
Sunday we had Ward Conference. The stake president came and a lot of other people as well. It was almost the exact same, except the Bishop told everyone the Ward goals for the year. Including 8 baptisms by the end of the year. Although the ward mission leader is a little bit more bold and wants 1 baptism every month. Looks like I`m going to have to step it up a bit and getting things rolling. After church we wandered around half of our are trying to find new areas to Dendo, but we had no luck with that.
We also got news recently that Elder Cook of the Twelve will be coming at the beginning of next month and we`ll be having a mission wide conference. I`m excited for that one.
So my new companion. Elder Uehara, he is from Hokkaido, the southern part of the big island of Northern Japan. He`s 26 years old and will be 27 soon after he gets off his mission. He is a convert, baptized when he was 22 and a Graduate from College, oddly enough his major is Computer Science, although he hates programming. He`s fun and I love working with him, he`s an excellent worker and basically just amazing. We get along just fine.
Elder Tateishi`s Message of the Week
I remember towards the beginning of my mission I sent an email to someone about miracles. About what the greatest miracle is. I hold to that same idea today. That the greatest miracle is: "Life."
As I said at the beginning I`m happy right now. I`m happy because of my Life. Of the experiences I`ve had, of what I`ve learned of where I am. What a miracle my life has been, from the very outset to now. To have been born to two loving parent`s who raised me in the Gospel, to have been able to overcome difficulties and challenges throughout my life. What a miracle it is that I am what I am today. I repeat again, "By the Grace of God, I am what I am!"
I am a human being, filled with weaknesses. I am frail, a lump of coal. I want to call to mind a famous short video clip within the Church, "Jonny Lingo." Simply the story takes place in Hawaii, were a very ugly girl named Mohana lives. She can`t get married, because no one wants her, and as the weddings went in that time she could have been bought for 1 very sick cow. But along came a rich man, Jonny Lingo, a merchant, who loved Mohana very much, so he bought her for 10 cows, an outragoues price, for most wives were bought only for 4 or 5 at most. Yet he bought her for 10 cows! And when he did, over time she became even more beautiful than anyone thought possible, her father was even angry at Jonny Lingo, saying she was worth at least 12 cows!
Now where am I going with this? It`s a funny movie for any who have seen it, but I`m going to compare it to the Grace of God. Each and everyone of us is a Mohana. In comparison to the glory of God we are just downright ugly. We have no worth, we are filthy. We are weak, we are human. God is like Jonny Lingo, and he sees each and everyone of us, he loves each of us despite our weaknesses, our frailities, our imperfections. So he bought us, and the price he paid was his beloved son, Jesus Christ. Our freedom has been bought, and through that price we too can obtain beauty and worth, obtain perfection.
I repeat again, "By the Grace of God, I am what I am!" I repeat again, "I knoweth that God Loveth his Children, Nevertheless I do not know the meaning of all things." This is the greatest miracle, Life, Eternal Life. A gift given unto us by God, or father in heaven who loves us so dearly that he was willing to pay the greatest sacrifce.
I love you all, and I pray for you all. Take care, and remember, remember the Love of God. Wherever, whenever, whoever. God Loves you. Of this I bear witness in the name of Christ, Amen.
Your Son, Brother, Friend
Elder Randall KK Tateishi
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