The Best is Yet to Come...

Randy is plugging away...we are T-minus 11 months till he is home and I can't wait...Although, I am not aloud to mention that fact in any emails I send to him...He wants to enjoy and be in the moment where he is. Things are going well and pretty much un-eventful....which is good...

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

To quote Elder Holland: "The best is yet to come!"

And so it is. Everyday brings new adventure and new life. When one strives to follow the right course, Everday is better than the last. and so "the best is yet to come."

It`s been another beautiful week here in Japan. The sun is shining, the weather is warming up and Spring is just around the corner, I can feel it coming.

Monday we went to a nearby Bhuddist temple and looked around, twas pretty cool. I love the architecture here, and I want my house to have a Japanese style exterior, of course the inside will be more American because Japanese houses are TINY! Tuesday was a wonderful day, English class went well. There were 9 people that came last week, when usually there are only 4. It caught me off guard and I wasn`t prepared for so many people! I was interviewing people, finding out how good their English was and what more they wanted to learn. Barely got half of them done. But they all had fun talking to each other.

Wednesday and thursday we didn`t have anything to special, but we still had fun. Friday we went to Himeji and had District Meeting, nothing exciting there, except we went to a Brazilian all you can eat buffet. Just like "Made in Brazil" down in St. George. Wasn`t nearly as good, but it was still good to have some nice tasty meat. Meat is WAY too expensive in Japan. Then Friday night we met with one of our Investigators, Bruce, I ended up dropping him as an investigator because he really only had interest in English. It was kind of sad. I HATE dropping investigators, because I don`t want to give up on them, but I know I have to because we don`t have the time to work with people that aren`t even going to try. I did give him one finally testimony though.

Saturday was nothing special either, except we went to Akashi and played Basketball again. I SUCK! Yea, I`m really horrible at basketball, but it was fun and some good excercise.

Sunday was a beautiful day. I had an amazing fast, filled with the Spirit and filled with Love. I heard some wonderful testimonies given at church and I was able to bear a wonderful testimony as well. It`s amazing how easily things flow from your tongue when guided by the Spirit. We had a wonderful Gospel Principles class taught by the Ward Mission Leader. All in all it was just wonderful, despite the fact that I was sore from basketball, tired from not sleeping well the night before and exhausted from spending the whole day without eating. By the time I got home I almost crashed as soon as I finished eating I was so tired. But the thing was, I was satisfied. Certain that I had done my best.

Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Message of the Week

Belief

Hope

Faith

Ether 12:4 Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.

Belief, Hope, Faith. All intertwined but all different. So close, yet still seperate. We must first belief, must believe that God Exists, that he is our father, that he loves us. Then we must hope, hope that the world to come will be better than the world we have now, that the future will present us with something better. Then we must have Faith, have faith in God, and take those steps forward to follow him. Belief and Hope reside in the mind, Faith is action. Belief and Hope build Faith.

Faith points to the future, it always looks forward, it always WORKS forward. Faith is action, is acting upon belief, doing what we believe God wants us to do, Faith is folloing the commands of God and ever seeking to do what is right, just, and good. Faith leads us to progression, Faith is climbing the stairway that leads to Heaven. Through Faith we gain a greater Hope, we see that our Faith is getting us somewhere, that our Faith is leading us to glory and exaltation, and we learn that we can Hope for even better. Then our Belief, turns into Knowledge, for we know that the stairway we climb is one of righteousness, is the one that God has built for us.

Belief, Hope, Faith. Light in the darkest night, Anchor against the mighty storm, A Firm foundation against the greatest of eathquakes.

Helaman 5:12
And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build (Belief, Hope, Faith) your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

Got Faith?

In the name of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Love,

Elder Randall KK Tateishi