The Japanese people are so sweet and simple. Such a loving and accepting spirits they are. I am grateful that Randy gets to spend some time with them and have experiences that are amazing. What love he has come to have for his mission. Thank you Lord for sending my son to this great and wonderful place. For that I simply say "Thank you"....
Dear Mother, Father, Sisters, Brothers, Family and Friends
Well, doesn`t seem like I have to much to reply to this week. Not very many emails have come my way today. But that is just fine by me, gives me more time to write this letter and have some fun. Plus it means I`ll probably spend less money at this internet cafe.
Anyway, I can`t say too much happened this week. On Monday we had the Summer Festival, which was way fun. There were a thousand little children running around and a whole lot of parents as well. It was a blast. With shaved ice, fried chicken, mochi, and a lot of random games and such. Seemed like all the kids were just having fun. Saito even came with her daughter and they had fun.
Tuesday through Saturday were the same old same old. Just out and about trying to find people to teach. Made the week seem like it was taking forever. But when we visited some random members we got fed delicious dumplings and pineapple. It was way good.
We also visited Nishiguchi Kyodai this week and he was way happy to see us. Gave him a quick message and than we decided together to reteach him the missionary lessons to help build up his faith and get him strong and active again.
Sunday went awesome as well. Had a random person call up wanting to go to church. Then we had an awesome time at church with the members. Nishiguchi Kyodai came to church again and he was participating in class and everything. He looks like he`s doing really well. I`ve been here in Kawachinagano so long though that I`m practically a member. In fact one of them said in jest "Elder Tateishi, which of the young women are you going to marry here? You know you`re never going to leave!" I love the members here. They all make me laugh and are all amazing, they have great faith and love the Lord.
Sorry, my week was kind of uneventful, but I have a single quote to put in from my companion.
"I bet that dog calls everytime we bark!" (The sign of forgetting ones english)
Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Message of the week
"Always on Guard"
Luke 22:31 "And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat."
We`ve all heard about Satan, about how he goes about amongst the children of men and seeks to draw them away from God through temptaion, cunning, guile, and sometimes persecution. He is a devilish being and his tricks seem endless at times. He never gives up and is always persistent as he tries to plant seeds of doubt into our minds or make us take one little step away from God. Sometimes he plays upon our passions and desires, sometimes he pressures us through so called friends and family. Other times he lulls into a false sense of security making us believe that "All is well in Zion." Then he will slide in and try to catch us unawares.
The Devil is a cunning fellow I dare say. He`s been doing this for thousands of years, so I expect him to be quite good at his occupation. He knows the little chinks and weak links that he can work on to wear one down. He knows all the little tricks and all the big tricks, and he won`t give up, not ever. Sometimes he`s a lot more dilligent than we are!
So there is the devil with his little bag of tricks, and here are we, living our lives as we always do. But we must be ever vigilant and always on guard. We must never drop our guard, or let ourselves be drawn into a false sense of security. All are subject to the temptings of Satan, from the weakest to the strongest. The Lord warned even the ancient apostle of Old, Simon Peter, to be careful, for Satan still desires to take them, even more so than others. At times even some of the greatest and most faithful of us are lead away and decieved, such as Judas Iscariot, or a number of Leaders that participated in the Restoration of the Gospel in the Latter days.
The Lord warned even Joseph Smith to "cgird up your loins, and take upon you my whole darmor, that ye may be able to withstand the evil day, having done all, that ye may be able to estand." (D&C 27) The Lord further expounded saying: "Stand, therefore, having your loins agirt about with btruth, having on the cbreastplate of drighteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the egospel of fpeace, which I have sent mine gangels to commit unto you; Taking the shield of faith wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the afiery darts of the wicked; And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of my aSpirit, which I will pour out upon you, and my word which I reveal unto you, and be agreed as touching all things whatsoever ye ask of me, and be faithful until I come, and ye shall be bcaught up, that where I am ye shall be calso. Amen."
And herin we find the formula for fighting off the Devil. Simply put, Stand firm in the Faith of our Lord and God and he shall have no power over us. For as it is written: "[Man] shall bruise thy[Satan] head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." Satan only has as much power as we give him. If we follow the Lord he will support us and give us strength to stand and against the adversary. "And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the arock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your bfoundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty cstorm 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." (Helaman 5:12)
Even as a missionary, everyday I have to stay on guard and be ever vigilant. I cannot relent, I cannot relax that guard, for at everyturn there is something there, to draw me away, to tempt me. But as I stand tall, and build upon the firm foundation of Christ I know I cannot fall. As my faith grows stronger my desires to do evil lessen and my desires to do good grow. This is an everyday battle, day in and day out. But never are we alone in this battle, as we constantly fall to our knees in prayer and over our whole heart and soul unto our God he will protect us and give us strength. He will not forsake us nor will he let us fall, for he says:
The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose
I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, I’ll never, no never,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake!
(How firm a foundation, hymn 85)
I testify again of these things, I know that Lord God is my Saviour and Redeemer, that he lives and is ever vigilant and is quick to come to my aid. I know that he loves me and watches over me and that he will never forsake me.I testify of these things in his Holy name. Amen.
Love,
Elder Randall KK Tateishi
Monday, July 25, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
HAHAHA...
I totally forgot to post this last letter. Sorry folks. Busy, busy, busy...that's about all i can say about Randy. Way to go!!!
Dear Mother, Father, Sisters, Brothers, Family, and Friends
Ok, so I don`t have all that much time today, we stopped at an internet cafe because we don`t want to ride all the way over to the free email place and we have a Summer party at the church today so we don`t have much time, also the longer I stay here the more expensive it gets. I`ll just go over the three major highlights of this week and type off a quick Gospel Message.
So Highlight number 1: Presidents Interviews
Tuesday we had interviews with the President Zinke. It was awesome, he is an amazing person and the Kobe mission will see many many miracles under his leadership. We`ll be able to not only succeed in the work but we will also all become better and great people. His vision is for all of his missionaries to become True Discples of Christ and follow the Holy Ghost 100% of the time. It`s a big vision but it is achievable, me and Elder Cloward are starting to see a little bit of it, and we`ve seen amazing miracles this week and have had many awesome experiences.
During Interviews we also had District Meeting and the Assistants and Zone Leaders were there. They all spoke in english because we have a young district with many that don`t speak Japanese all that well. But we have the Shimada couple who don`t speak enlish at all. Well I ended up translating for them for the whole time. The Assistants and the Zone Leaders training were the worst. They talked so fast and I had to talk fast and translate faster than I ever thought my mind could ever work. It was all summed up by the words of Elder Lee the Assistant: "Elder Tateishi, I swear I saw flames coming out of your mouth!" Thanks to a lot of help from the Spirit I was able to translate enough that they understood what was going on.
Note: I do not want to translate again.
Highlight number 2: Nishiguchi Kyodai
So during our weekly planning last week Elder Cloward and I set goals for this transfer. One of which was to reactivate a less active member. We both thought about it for a moment and decided on Nishiguchi Kyodai, a man we had only ever met once and had talked our ear off. So in order to fulfill this goal we went and visited him on friday. To our amazement and luck we were able to get a hold of him and find his house and he invited us in. We talked for a while, mainly he did about his ancient missionary experiences and about different scriptures and things. He told us that as we talked with him a lot of his old experiences and things he had forgotten were coming back to his mind. We then shared a message about the Lord watching over us so long as we would remember him. As I spoke about prayer and asked him if he was praying he shook his head and said, "No, not in a long time." I then commited him to pray daily and he reluctantly agreed.
As we prepared to leave I invited him to give a prayer. He reluctantly agreed again, making the excuse that he didn`t remember how to pray. But then he did, and when he did I felt the spirit come into the room and I heard his voice crack a little as he was almost crying. This man, hadn`t prayed in over 20 years, and as he prayed again he was once again able to feel the love of God come into his heart. We left and told him that we`d try to call him again on Saturday night to see if he was praying. Saturday rolled around and we were unable to get a hold of him, and at first we were a little disappointed.
But then to our surprise he showed up to church on Sunday. Many of the ward members were amazed, and we were as well. He hadn`t been to church in over 20 years! He sat through all of church and as I talked to the second counselor in the bishopric, who lives close to Nishiguchi Kyodai, I found out that on average he was only able to get a hold of him 1 time every year, where as Elder Cloward and I were able to get a hold of him twice in barely two weeks. I know the Lord was there in that, and that he was guiding us to this poor man who needed to once again taste of the Love of God.
Highligh Number 3: The Resurrection
So during my interview with Presdient Zinke I told him about Saito and what had happened. He looked at me and said, "I`m pretty sure you`ve done all that you could for her. But do you think the Lord wants you to give up on her now or keep trying?" I was a little shocked at that, thinking that I had already moved past what had happened, but then I thought about it and made up in my mind to go visit her again to see how she was doing.
On Thursday night we rushed over and knocked on her door. She was surprised to see us but nevertheless she was very excited and happy. We talked for a while and towards the end she looked at me and said "When ever I am with you I always want to ask you `What do I need to do Next?`" I wasn`t going to push her back into hearing the lessons but I nicely told her that if she wanted to understand and feel more of God`s love that all she needed to really do was come to Church, to Pray, and Read the book of Mormon. We then invited her to the Festival we are having today and she agreed to come.
The next day around lunch she called me and she asked to meet with us again and hear more of our message. We taught her on Saturday about the plan of Salvation, which just happened to be the same pamphlet she had read that morning and she had questions about. She even pointed to the back were it asks the question: "What should I do next?" and the list of "Read the Book of Mormon, Pray to know if this is true, and Attend Church." She told me she felt stupid for not realizing sooner what it was she needed to do. I just smiled at her and told her that it was ok and that she could still continue doing them.
Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Message of the Week
Alright, Time is short. But I will share this:
"Come unto me all ye who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
I love this scripture and it has so much power to it. Simply put, I have felt this a lot this week as I have sought to come unto Christ and take his yoke upon me. My worries have lessened and I have felt even more happy. But even more than that I have realized how much strength and power I recieve from him. As a missionary I do nothing! I am nothing more than a tool in the master`s hand. He is the one that does all this work, he is the one that bears the burdens and carries the yoke. I did little for Nishiguchi Kyodai or for Saito. In both cases I was just where I needed to be when the Lord wanted me to be there. Nothing more, nothing Less.
I know that Christ lives and guides this Church. I know that he is my saviour and Redeemer, and I bear witness of this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
With Love,
Elder Randall KK Tateishi
Dear Mother, Father, Sisters, Brothers, Family, and Friends
Ok, so I don`t have all that much time today, we stopped at an internet cafe because we don`t want to ride all the way over to the free email place and we have a Summer party at the church today so we don`t have much time, also the longer I stay here the more expensive it gets. I`ll just go over the three major highlights of this week and type off a quick Gospel Message.
So Highlight number 1: Presidents Interviews
Tuesday we had interviews with the President Zinke. It was awesome, he is an amazing person and the Kobe mission will see many many miracles under his leadership. We`ll be able to not only succeed in the work but we will also all become better and great people. His vision is for all of his missionaries to become True Discples of Christ and follow the Holy Ghost 100% of the time. It`s a big vision but it is achievable, me and Elder Cloward are starting to see a little bit of it, and we`ve seen amazing miracles this week and have had many awesome experiences.
During Interviews we also had District Meeting and the Assistants and Zone Leaders were there. They all spoke in english because we have a young district with many that don`t speak Japanese all that well. But we have the Shimada couple who don`t speak enlish at all. Well I ended up translating for them for the whole time. The Assistants and the Zone Leaders training were the worst. They talked so fast and I had to talk fast and translate faster than I ever thought my mind could ever work. It was all summed up by the words of Elder Lee the Assistant: "Elder Tateishi, I swear I saw flames coming out of your mouth!" Thanks to a lot of help from the Spirit I was able to translate enough that they understood what was going on.
Note: I do not want to translate again.
Highlight number 2: Nishiguchi Kyodai
So during our weekly planning last week Elder Cloward and I set goals for this transfer. One of which was to reactivate a less active member. We both thought about it for a moment and decided on Nishiguchi Kyodai, a man we had only ever met once and had talked our ear off. So in order to fulfill this goal we went and visited him on friday. To our amazement and luck we were able to get a hold of him and find his house and he invited us in. We talked for a while, mainly he did about his ancient missionary experiences and about different scriptures and things. He told us that as we talked with him a lot of his old experiences and things he had forgotten were coming back to his mind. We then shared a message about the Lord watching over us so long as we would remember him. As I spoke about prayer and asked him if he was praying he shook his head and said, "No, not in a long time." I then commited him to pray daily and he reluctantly agreed.
As we prepared to leave I invited him to give a prayer. He reluctantly agreed again, making the excuse that he didn`t remember how to pray. But then he did, and when he did I felt the spirit come into the room and I heard his voice crack a little as he was almost crying. This man, hadn`t prayed in over 20 years, and as he prayed again he was once again able to feel the love of God come into his heart. We left and told him that we`d try to call him again on Saturday night to see if he was praying. Saturday rolled around and we were unable to get a hold of him, and at first we were a little disappointed.
But then to our surprise he showed up to church on Sunday. Many of the ward members were amazed, and we were as well. He hadn`t been to church in over 20 years! He sat through all of church and as I talked to the second counselor in the bishopric, who lives close to Nishiguchi Kyodai, I found out that on average he was only able to get a hold of him 1 time every year, where as Elder Cloward and I were able to get a hold of him twice in barely two weeks. I know the Lord was there in that, and that he was guiding us to this poor man who needed to once again taste of the Love of God.
Highligh Number 3: The Resurrection
So during my interview with Presdient Zinke I told him about Saito and what had happened. He looked at me and said, "I`m pretty sure you`ve done all that you could for her. But do you think the Lord wants you to give up on her now or keep trying?" I was a little shocked at that, thinking that I had already moved past what had happened, but then I thought about it and made up in my mind to go visit her again to see how she was doing.
On Thursday night we rushed over and knocked on her door. She was surprised to see us but nevertheless she was very excited and happy. We talked for a while and towards the end she looked at me and said "When ever I am with you I always want to ask you `What do I need to do Next?`" I wasn`t going to push her back into hearing the lessons but I nicely told her that if she wanted to understand and feel more of God`s love that all she needed to really do was come to Church, to Pray, and Read the book of Mormon. We then invited her to the Festival we are having today and she agreed to come.
The next day around lunch she called me and she asked to meet with us again and hear more of our message. We taught her on Saturday about the plan of Salvation, which just happened to be the same pamphlet she had read that morning and she had questions about. She even pointed to the back were it asks the question: "What should I do next?" and the list of "Read the Book of Mormon, Pray to know if this is true, and Attend Church." She told me she felt stupid for not realizing sooner what it was she needed to do. I just smiled at her and told her that it was ok and that she could still continue doing them.
Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Message of the Week
Alright, Time is short. But I will share this:
"Come unto me all ye who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
I love this scripture and it has so much power to it. Simply put, I have felt this a lot this week as I have sought to come unto Christ and take his yoke upon me. My worries have lessened and I have felt even more happy. But even more than that I have realized how much strength and power I recieve from him. As a missionary I do nothing! I am nothing more than a tool in the master`s hand. He is the one that does all this work, he is the one that bears the burdens and carries the yoke. I did little for Nishiguchi Kyodai or for Saito. In both cases I was just where I needed to be when the Lord wanted me to be there. Nothing more, nothing Less.
I know that Christ lives and guides this Church. I know that he is my saviour and Redeemer, and I bear witness of this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
With Love,
Elder Randall KK Tateishi
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
32 times......
HAHAHAHA....my son is a dork!!!! I guess after a year and a half he still gets a little nervous speaking in sacrament and he still can fall down for no reason at all. But....I still kind of like the kid.....
Dear Mother, Father, Brothers, Sisters, Family, and Friends
HOT! HOT HOT!!
Phew, it`s been an interesting week with it`s ups and downs. Monday
we had a District Lunch and Basketball game, that completely wore me
out, then it rained hard and as I was riding fast down a hill, dirt
kicked up and got my white shirt all dirty and spotted with oil and
dirt. That`s what you get for not following the Scout motto of "Be
Prepared."
Tuesday went pretty well, we taught Saito, but then wednesday and
thursday slipped down and went horribly because Saito stopped hearing
the lessons. It was devestating for me and Elder Cloward. It was
unexpected, because we had such high hopes for her and were certain
that she would progress. But many things happened, and it all changed
very suddenly. It`s a long story about what happened, but suffice to
say, she figured that she could make it on her own, and that she
didn`t really need church to make her life better.
Friday and Saturday were just finding days. We went all over the
place on our bicycles. It was hot and we were both drinking water like
crazy. We talked to many people and came back to the apartment ready
to collapse. Saturday night the second counselor in the Bishopric gave
me a call and asked me to give a ten minute talk about missionary work
in Sacrament meeting the next day.
Sunday, we went to church early to practice the song me and Elder
Cloward were going to perform during Sacrament, and then we were
supposed to have coordination meeting but none of the Ward
Missionaries or leaders showed up in time. The great thing though, was
a less-active we have been working with over the past 5 months came to
church. We were excited to see him. I gave my talk and Elder Cloward
and the less-active counted up how many times I touched the mic in the
ten minutes I was talking. Something like 32 times apparently. All I
can see from the podium are the two of them laughing as they are
looking at a piece of paper.
After church we went out some more and did more finding, all over the
place. We ran into Takehiko, a 17 year old kid who is not a member,
but the grandson of a very active woman in the ward. He was really
cool and we talked to him for a bit, during which I fell over while
just standing there, just like a drunk who can`t stay standing and
sways a lot. Yea, I toppled over backwards ontop of my bike and Elder
Cloward just laughed at me for a second before he helped me back up.
It was way too hot out.
Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Message of the week:
I`m not sure at all what I should write, but that`s how it goes most
of the time. Sometimes I just start typing and things just slip into
my mind, of what I need to write and what somebody just might need to
read.
The Lord works in mysterious ways, but always by small and simple
means. With our investigator Saito, as she worked and listened to what
we taught and really desired to change she kept asking "How is God
going to answer my prayers?" As I watched her grow and change I saw
her prayers being answered, and I even told her so. I tried to help
her recognize what was happening. But she didn`t see it. She kept
expecting me to be able to answer every question she had, she kept
expecting me to be able to fix her problems. She didn`t rely enough
upon the God, and too much upon me. So when the time came and she
asked a question, no, not even a question, when she had a problem that
I couldn`t come up with an answer for immediately she lost faith in me
and turned away. That was devastating to me and I was absolutely
crushed.
She had been given an answer to her prayers, she had recieved it, but
she was unable to recognize it. It was small and simple, something
that seemed to occur naturally to her. But to us we saw the change in
her eyes happening quickly.
It is up to us many times to recognize the small and simple things
that the Lord does for us, or the way in which he teaches us. As I
taught Saito and as I testified to her and did all I could for her, I
felt as if I had done my part. As if I had done what the Lord wanted
me to do for her. But then she was lost and it hit me hard. To be
honest it shattered me. At first I wanted to be angry, at another
missionary because he had unintentionally caused the problem, but I
knew I couldn`t do that, then I thought I had done something wrong,
but I hadn`t. All I was left to do was ask "Why?" It didn`t make sense
to me, I was doing all that I was supposed to do and now I was back to
nothing again.
But I resolved in myself to throw those questions and just go back to
work. There was, is nothing else I can do. She made her choice, and I
cannot force her to do otherwise. As the days went by, I felt as if
nothing was happening at all, and as I think about it now I am
thinking that this is another trial of my faith. I grew last transfer,
and I worked hard. Now it is the time to temper that faith and seal it
so that it becomes firm and immovable. Just like pottery, it is molded
into the desired shape and then fired in the furnace in order to keep
its shape.
We must not lose faith in our times of difficulty. We must stand up
and face the challanges that roll our way with hope and faith. And as
we go, along the way we`ll begin to piece the puzzle together and
understand what the Lord`s purposes our. What he wants to teach us,
what he wants us to learn. But in the end, it will come down to
trusting in the Lord and following him upon the stormy seas. I`m not
sure what`s going to happen this transfer, but all I can do is keep on
going. There is no more time for me to stop, no more time for me to
look back. My time as a missionary runs short, and I still have much
that needs to be done.
Again I say that I know that Christ lives. Again I testify of his
divinity as our saviour and our Redeemer. I know of his love and his
goodness. I trust in him and strive to do all I can to follow him. I
know this is where I am needed now, that this is what the Lord wants
me to do. I bear witness of these things, in the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
With Love,
Elder Randall KK Tateishi
Dear Mother, Father, Brothers, Sisters, Family, and Friends
HOT! HOT HOT!!
Phew, it`s been an interesting week with it`s ups and downs. Monday
we had a District Lunch and Basketball game, that completely wore me
out, then it rained hard and as I was riding fast down a hill, dirt
kicked up and got my white shirt all dirty and spotted with oil and
dirt. That`s what you get for not following the Scout motto of "Be
Prepared."
Tuesday went pretty well, we taught Saito, but then wednesday and
thursday slipped down and went horribly because Saito stopped hearing
the lessons. It was devestating for me and Elder Cloward. It was
unexpected, because we had such high hopes for her and were certain
that she would progress. But many things happened, and it all changed
very suddenly. It`s a long story about what happened, but suffice to
say, she figured that she could make it on her own, and that she
didn`t really need church to make her life better.
Friday and Saturday were just finding days. We went all over the
place on our bicycles. It was hot and we were both drinking water like
crazy. We talked to many people and came back to the apartment ready
to collapse. Saturday night the second counselor in the Bishopric gave
me a call and asked me to give a ten minute talk about missionary work
in Sacrament meeting the next day.
Sunday, we went to church early to practice the song me and Elder
Cloward were going to perform during Sacrament, and then we were
supposed to have coordination meeting but none of the Ward
Missionaries or leaders showed up in time. The great thing though, was
a less-active we have been working with over the past 5 months came to
church. We were excited to see him. I gave my talk and Elder Cloward
and the less-active counted up how many times I touched the mic in the
ten minutes I was talking. Something like 32 times apparently. All I
can see from the podium are the two of them laughing as they are
looking at a piece of paper.
After church we went out some more and did more finding, all over the
place. We ran into Takehiko, a 17 year old kid who is not a member,
but the grandson of a very active woman in the ward. He was really
cool and we talked to him for a bit, during which I fell over while
just standing there, just like a drunk who can`t stay standing and
sways a lot. Yea, I toppled over backwards ontop of my bike and Elder
Cloward just laughed at me for a second before he helped me back up.
It was way too hot out.
Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Message of the week:
I`m not sure at all what I should write, but that`s how it goes most
of the time. Sometimes I just start typing and things just slip into
my mind, of what I need to write and what somebody just might need to
read.
The Lord works in mysterious ways, but always by small and simple
means. With our investigator Saito, as she worked and listened to what
we taught and really desired to change she kept asking "How is God
going to answer my prayers?" As I watched her grow and change I saw
her prayers being answered, and I even told her so. I tried to help
her recognize what was happening. But she didn`t see it. She kept
expecting me to be able to answer every question she had, she kept
expecting me to be able to fix her problems. She didn`t rely enough
upon the God, and too much upon me. So when the time came and she
asked a question, no, not even a question, when she had a problem that
I couldn`t come up with an answer for immediately she lost faith in me
and turned away. That was devastating to me and I was absolutely
crushed.
She had been given an answer to her prayers, she had recieved it, but
she was unable to recognize it. It was small and simple, something
that seemed to occur naturally to her. But to us we saw the change in
her eyes happening quickly.
It is up to us many times to recognize the small and simple things
that the Lord does for us, or the way in which he teaches us. As I
taught Saito and as I testified to her and did all I could for her, I
felt as if I had done my part. As if I had done what the Lord wanted
me to do for her. But then she was lost and it hit me hard. To be
honest it shattered me. At first I wanted to be angry, at another
missionary because he had unintentionally caused the problem, but I
knew I couldn`t do that, then I thought I had done something wrong,
but I hadn`t. All I was left to do was ask "Why?" It didn`t make sense
to me, I was doing all that I was supposed to do and now I was back to
nothing again.
But I resolved in myself to throw those questions and just go back to
work. There was, is nothing else I can do. She made her choice, and I
cannot force her to do otherwise. As the days went by, I felt as if
nothing was happening at all, and as I think about it now I am
thinking that this is another trial of my faith. I grew last transfer,
and I worked hard. Now it is the time to temper that faith and seal it
so that it becomes firm and immovable. Just like pottery, it is molded
into the desired shape and then fired in the furnace in order to keep
its shape.
We must not lose faith in our times of difficulty. We must stand up
and face the challanges that roll our way with hope and faith. And as
we go, along the way we`ll begin to piece the puzzle together and
understand what the Lord`s purposes our. What he wants to teach us,
what he wants us to learn. But in the end, it will come down to
trusting in the Lord and following him upon the stormy seas. I`m not
sure what`s going to happen this transfer, but all I can do is keep on
going. There is no more time for me to stop, no more time for me to
look back. My time as a missionary runs short, and I still have much
that needs to be done.
Again I say that I know that Christ lives. Again I testify of his
divinity as our saviour and our Redeemer. I know of his love and his
goodness. I trust in him and strive to do all I can to follow him. I
know this is where I am needed now, that this is what the Lord wants
me to do. I bear witness of these things, in the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
With Love,
Elder Randall KK Tateishi
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
6-months...
Well, Randy did not get transferred so by the end of this transfer he will have been in the same area for 6 months. He does love the area and loves his companion. I figure only 6 more fast Sunday's and he will be heading home (wait, I'm not allowed to get trunky for him). He does have to remind me to not remind him how much closer he is to coming home than staying out
Dear Mother, Father, Sisters, Brothers, Family, and Friends
Yes, if you haven`t guessed it, another beautiful week has flown by.
There is truly nothing greater than being a missionary! The Spirit is
strong, the love of the Lord is present, and my spirits are bright.
Sooooooooooooooooo...... Sunday to Sunday I have spent everyday in
contact with my investigator, Saito who is just amazing. Last week
Sunday, after we taught her, she called me and we talked for 45 min.
and she was wondering everything that she needed to do. Monday Night I
called her again and talked to her for another 45 min. than 30 on
Tuesday, visited her for a little bit on wednesday and thursday,
called her Friday, she called me on Saturday to tell me she was going
to church, then she came to church on Sunday, attended all the
meetings, went home and called me later that night wanting to have a
lesson and we were able to scramble together a Priesthood holder to
come and help us teach. All in all, in a single week I have seen a
woman grow from dark, shaded, and unhappy eyes, to bright, smiling and
happy. She is a miracle, from the moment we found her she has been
seeking to know the truth, and she feels as if she is very close to
finding it. Because she is!
I can truly say that the greatest reward for me as a missionary is
not the experience I gain, or the language I learn, but it is in fact
the light I see in the eyes of the people as they grow and become
happy. Sunday, after church and after my fast I came home, my heart
full of the Spirit. I felt as if I had tasted of the waters of Life, I
did not thirst, I did not hunger. My physical exhaustion was swallowed
up in the joy of the Spirit. I fell on my knees and didn`t want to get
back up, when I was done, I sat for only a moment before I did it
again. I love this work.
We met President Zinke on Friday, he is awesome and he`s going to
take this mission above and beyond what President McIntyre did. He is
amazing with a great vision and great faith. I`m honored and excited
to work with him.
Other than that, I don`t have too many highlights. We got transfer
calls this morning, and I`m staying in Kawachinagano again with Elder
Cloward. It`ll be my Fourth transfer here and it`ll leave me here for
a total of almost half a year. I got here in the beginning of March
and will leave in the middle of Augest probably.
O, and HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!
Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Message of the Week.
I`m going to pull out a single scripture this week, one that Sister
Zinke used when she spoke this Friday.
Matthew 9:14 "Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."
Well I have read this scriptures countless times, and I have heard it
quoted countless of tiems, but when Sister Zinke read it to us, it
finally clicked as I realized what the scripture meant.
I`ve always known that this was the call Christ gave to his apostles,
and, in an off sense, to me as a missionary. But I finally came
realize the deeper meaning of the scripture, one so plain and easy to
understand I felt dumb for not realizing it early.
All that Christ has ever asked me to do is to Follow him. That was
the same call to the Apostles that is the same call to me. He has
simply asked me to follow him. Then he added, " and `I` will make you
fishers of men." Catch that? We do not make ourselves into great
missionaries, we do not do it alone. The LORD is the one that makes us
into great missionaries, and all we have to do in order for that to be
done is to follow him.
You may remember from a while ago when I talked about handing
yourself over to the Lord, handing your lump of coal over the Lord in
order to become a Diamond. Well this is the same thing that I am
talking about. As we follow the Lord with full purpose of Heart he
will turn us into what we need to become. He will make us far greater
than we could ever be alone.
This past Month as I have knelt down on my knees every night, as I
made a finally decision and said "Lord I am in YOUR hands. I will do
all that I can to follow thee, despite the results. I trust you." As I
followed through with that and I went forward I have never before in
my life seen so many blessings or seen myself change so much. I have
grown, I feel free, I feel happy, I feel overcome with Joy. I am
becoming who the Lord wants me to become, I have gained confidence in
myself and my abilities I have gained confidence in the Spirit, I have
come to know and trust the Lord even more than before.
I know that Christ is my Savior, I know that he loves me and that as
I strive everyday to follow him he will be with me at all times, in
the best of times and in the worst of times. I know he lives! I know
his love, I know him! The scriptures cry out to me clear and sure,
they speak his words to me. The feelings of the Spirit show me what it
is I need to do, and tell me what it is I need to say. The strength of
the Lord keeps me going everyday and fills me throughout the night. I
know that this gospel is true and I testify boldly of it in the name
of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen
With much Love,
Elder Randall KK Tateishi
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