Dear Mother, Father, Brothers, Sisters, Family, and Friends
You know, I`m starting to wonder if I should really bother emailing so much anymore. It`s not all that long before I go home and I`m just running out of things to write. It might just be "Old Missionary" Syndrum, and just focusing on working or just everything feels the same. Not sure, because I do know that everything does seem to blur together a lot.
This week was pretty good though, although it was filled with quite a bit of frustration. With not being able to find people to teach for the past couple weeks it`s been very frustrating on me and on Elder Wilkes, who is still new and wants to see many big miracles. Patience has been a key role in all of this, and it was running very thin through a lot of the week. But we`ve gotten over that and with a new investigator found a lot of that pent up frustration has been relieved along with a great laugh.
We also had two companion exchanges this week. I got to work with Elder Dantas, a Brazalian missionary and that was pretty fun. He can really talk my ear off though. Then I worked with Elder Bailey again, and he`s been in the area right next door to mine for just as long as I`ve been here. So it was good to get together and almost like old friends. We had a good time and talked a lot of people and just generally had fun.
Now for the experience of the week:
"Shinpo Kyodai"
So, we have this 80 year old man in our ward that just recently got out of the hospital. His back had given out because he`s old and so now he`s confined to his apartment and has to use a wheel chair to get around, which is horrible for Japanese people because their apartments are so small and there is absolutely no room to manuever in there. We decided to visit him to cheer him up and share a quick message, but instead it turned into one of my most hilarious experiences in my mission. Let us just say that we sat down together on the floor like must Japanese people do and I asked him how he was doing. That was my first mistake, because I spent the next 45 min. trying to say something to let him know that we needed to go. He talked at full speed and I swear he didn`t take a single breath at all as he spoke. I could understand quite a bit of what he was saying but there was no time for me to jump in and reply or say anything. He just spent 45 min. complaining about his life. With only a few intervals that made this experience all the more hilarious.
After a few minutes he asked me to grab something, and I didn`t understand the word for what he wanted me to grab. (I don`t even know what to call it in english) I got up and started looking for this mystery object as he described to me what it was and where it was. "It`s that plastic container thingy under the chair!" He was very urgent and so I reached under the chair and lo and behold to my surprise it was a "pee bottle!" I quickly handed it to him and he started unsipping his pants and turning away from us, so me and my companion stood up and left the room for a moment to let him have some privacy, before he called us back in. The rest of the time we were just trying to get out of the there to no success.
But it gets even better. As we finally manage to let him know we need to leave Elder Wilkes asked if we could say a prayer and Shinpo Kyodai said it was just fine. Well, Elder Wilkes start saying the prayer and I start hearing Shinpo Kyodai shuffling around. I open my eyes and Lo and Behold! I see him unsipping his pants and turning around again to go pee. The rest of the prayer me and my companion were trying are very hardest not to laugh as Elder Wilkes was praying and I was literally biting my lips trying to stiffle my laughter. As we ended the prayer and apologized to him for interrupting he thanked us for the visit and we left the apartment. As soon as we were out the door and in the elevator we were laughing so hard.
We felt so bad afterwards for laughing, but we just couldn`t help it.
That was the highlight of my week. and other than that we had an awesome time going about teaching people and also finding people to teach.
Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Message of the Week
"Be still and know that I am God!" (Doctrine and Covenants 101:16)
When God brought the Israelites out of Egypt they were chased by pharoh and his chariots. When the Israelites saw the Egyptians they cried out in fear and desperation to Moses "Because there were not enough graves in Egypt, didst thou bring us out here to perish in the Wilderness!?" They were afraid that the Egyptians would come and slay them and many of them were angry for what Moses had done for they said it would have been better for them to be slaves in Egypt than to perish. But Moses Boldly turned to the Israelites and said "Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." (Exodus 14:13-14) With that God commanded Moses to split the Red Sea and we all know the story from there. The Israelites crossed the Red Sea on try land and performed one of the most famous miracles in Biblical History.
The simple key was Faith! Moses trusted in the Lord that all thing swould be will. He stood still, calm despite the pressures around him and he rose his staff and caused the Red Sea to split hither and thither. When our lives are hectic, when we are seemingly overwhelmed with a list of things that just have to be done, do we remember the Lord our God? Will we pause and remember the words of the Lord "Be still and know that I am God?" Those are powerful words to me. Even moreso with the way Moses phrased them; "The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." Or in other words "I`m God, I`ll do it, you be quiet and watch."
So let us not be like the Israelites who quickly forgot about the plagues that God placed upon the Egyptians, or like Laman and Lemuel who quickly forgot that they had seen angels and heard the voice of the Lord. Let us be like unto Moses who stood fearlessly before the waters of the Red Sea, or as Nephi who stood to go and get the plates and against Laban; "For [God] is mightier than all the earth, then why not mightier than Laban and his fifty, yea, or even than his tens of thousands?"
God Lives! In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.
With much Love,
Elder Randall KK Tateishi
Monday, October 24, 2011
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
And the winning day of return is.....
Dear Mother, Father, Brothers, Sisters, Family, and Friends
Wellllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll, It`s been an awesome, adventure filled week. I`ll start with Monday, about an hour or so after I emailed everyone.
So we were about 30 seconds away from our apartment when I saw a member of the ward and waved and said "Hi!" While pulling to a stop to go talk to him. Well, Elder Wilkes wasn`t paying attention to me stopping and ran into me. I didn`t think much of it, because It`s happened much before, but when I checked my bike, the back wheel was all warped and unusuable. xD So that started my adventure for the next couple days.
That night we had to walk around the whole time as I didn`t have a bike, and needless to say it was very uneventful. Then Tuesday morning we started a Companion exchange and had to spend the whole day walking around. Needless to say, every appointment that we had fell through, so almost all of our walking was pointless and unneccesary. So I ended that day exhausted, and really tired with little to show for it.
Wednesday I got the dreaded phone call from the Mission Office about making flight plans to go home.... =( Which just makes me feel that much older. Then we had Interviews with the Mission President which were fun like usually. After that we just went home, studied and then taught Eikaiwa.
Thursday we did a lot of running around making visits and trying to get some sort of lessons in. It was lots of fun as I was borrowing a members bike, which was about 5 sizes to small for me, and the seat wouldn`t stay up at the right height so I kept sliding down and then having to stop and readjust it. Lots of fun! Then we went up to Mikunigaoaka and taught Eikaiwa up there as well. We even played "How`s your Neighbor" which was loads of fun.
Friday we did our weekly planning and did even more running around trying to get more lessons in and had a lot of fun. Saturday was the same.
Sunday, was a good day, we had 4 less active members come to church, well techincally 3 since we now consider Nishiguchi Kyoudai as an active member. He`s SO aweomse!! I was so happy because he got a calling on Sunday as the new Elder`s Quorum Presdiency`s first counsellor. He is also going to be attending our weekly Ward Missionary Coordination meeting from now on and helping us with that, so we get to work with him a lot more. It`s so awesome to see how much he`s changed been blessed as he`s strived harder now to live the Gospel. He`s found a job and just looks and feels so much happier.
That was basically my week. I also recieved a letter telling me that my return date is now confirmed as Febuary 3rd 2012. Time is moving far too quickly for me.
Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Message of the week
I`m running out of things to share! As I keep thinking about a message every week all I can think of is "I`ve already shared that one."
Well I guess I`ll revert back to one that I have shared much this week and worked on a lot this week.
God. Who is he? What is he like? What does he do? Why does he exist? What is his relationship with me?
God is that great and eternal being that lives in heaven.
God "knoweth all things, and there is not anything save he knows it." (2 Nephi 9:20) He is all powerful, all mighty, he is perfect, and has perfect body of flesh and bones.
God looks down upon all people and watches over them. He blesses those that keep his commandments and "[His] work and his glory is to bring to pass the immortality and Eternal Life of Man." (Moses 1:39)
God is our Father, we are his children. As God, he knows all things, he can do all things, but we - me and you - are the focus of all his attention and all of his power. He desires our eternal well-being and works with all his might to do so. He loves each and everyone of us and cares for us. We can communicate with him through prayer. He is willing to answer our prayers and listens to every single one of them.
This is who God is. This is who your Heavenly Father is. He is always there, never changing, never forsaking any. The creator of the universe centers all of his power on you.
I know this. I know he`s there. I know he`s here. I know that he is my Father, and that he hears my prayers. I talk with him every night, every morning, every day. I am filled with "the love of God... [which] is the most desirable above all things. Yea, and the most joyous to the soul." (1 Nephi 11:22-23). All can partake, "all men are privileged the one like unto the other, and none are forbidden." (2 Nephi 26:28) God is only ever a prayer away. Of this I testify in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
With much Love,
Elder Randall KK Tateishi
Wellllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll, It`s been an awesome, adventure filled week. I`ll start with Monday, about an hour or so after I emailed everyone.
So we were about 30 seconds away from our apartment when I saw a member of the ward and waved and said "Hi!" While pulling to a stop to go talk to him. Well, Elder Wilkes wasn`t paying attention to me stopping and ran into me. I didn`t think much of it, because It`s happened much before, but when I checked my bike, the back wheel was all warped and unusuable. xD So that started my adventure for the next couple days.
That night we had to walk around the whole time as I didn`t have a bike, and needless to say it was very uneventful. Then Tuesday morning we started a Companion exchange and had to spend the whole day walking around. Needless to say, every appointment that we had fell through, so almost all of our walking was pointless and unneccesary. So I ended that day exhausted, and really tired with little to show for it.
Wednesday I got the dreaded phone call from the Mission Office about making flight plans to go home.... =( Which just makes me feel that much older. Then we had Interviews with the Mission President which were fun like usually. After that we just went home, studied and then taught Eikaiwa.
Thursday we did a lot of running around making visits and trying to get some sort of lessons in. It was lots of fun as I was borrowing a members bike, which was about 5 sizes to small for me, and the seat wouldn`t stay up at the right height so I kept sliding down and then having to stop and readjust it. Lots of fun! Then we went up to Mikunigaoaka and taught Eikaiwa up there as well. We even played "How`s your Neighbor" which was loads of fun.
Friday we did our weekly planning and did even more running around trying to get more lessons in and had a lot of fun. Saturday was the same.
Sunday, was a good day, we had 4 less active members come to church, well techincally 3 since we now consider Nishiguchi Kyoudai as an active member. He`s SO aweomse!! I was so happy because he got a calling on Sunday as the new Elder`s Quorum Presdiency`s first counsellor. He is also going to be attending our weekly Ward Missionary Coordination meeting from now on and helping us with that, so we get to work with him a lot more. It`s so awesome to see how much he`s changed been blessed as he`s strived harder now to live the Gospel. He`s found a job and just looks and feels so much happier.
That was basically my week. I also recieved a letter telling me that my return date is now confirmed as Febuary 3rd 2012. Time is moving far too quickly for me.
Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Message of the week
I`m running out of things to share! As I keep thinking about a message every week all I can think of is "I`ve already shared that one."
Well I guess I`ll revert back to one that I have shared much this week and worked on a lot this week.
God. Who is he? What is he like? What does he do? Why does he exist? What is his relationship with me?
God is that great and eternal being that lives in heaven.
God "knoweth all things, and there is not anything save he knows it." (2 Nephi 9:20) He is all powerful, all mighty, he is perfect, and has perfect body of flesh and bones.
God looks down upon all people and watches over them. He blesses those that keep his commandments and "[His] work and his glory is to bring to pass the immortality and Eternal Life of Man." (Moses 1:39)
God is our Father, we are his children. As God, he knows all things, he can do all things, but we - me and you - are the focus of all his attention and all of his power. He desires our eternal well-being and works with all his might to do so. He loves each and everyone of us and cares for us. We can communicate with him through prayer. He is willing to answer our prayers and listens to every single one of them.
This is who God is. This is who your Heavenly Father is. He is always there, never changing, never forsaking any. The creator of the universe centers all of his power on you.
I know this. I know he`s there. I know he`s here. I know that he is my Father, and that he hears my prayers. I talk with him every night, every morning, every day. I am filled with "the love of God... [which] is the most desirable above all things. Yea, and the most joyous to the soul." (1 Nephi 11:22-23). All can partake, "all men are privileged the one like unto the other, and none are forbidden." (2 Nephi 26:28) God is only ever a prayer away. Of this I testify in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
With much Love,
Elder Randall KK Tateishi
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Less than 100 days.....
I've come to the realization that Randy has less than 100 days left on his mission. 2 more transfers and he will be heading home. Wow! I never thought 2 years could go by so quickly. He will come home a changed person. One who is so much more ready to start living a life with the Gospel a priority. I'm glad that 19 year old young men are sent out on Missions. I think that living life as a missionary is going to the best preparation anyone could ever have for becoming a Father, Husband, Church leader and a good productive citizen. Thank you goes to Randy for doing exactly what his Heavenly Father wants him to do....
Dear Mother, Father, Brothers, Sisters, Family, and Friends
Welllllllllllllllll....... It`s Monday, after General Conference for me. It`s been a fantastic week, but a long week.
Tuesday was just a LOT of Biking all over the place and going far far away into neverland. Riding uphill for at least 20 min straight. Something that I do not ever want to repeat anytime in my life.
Wednesday I got sick! For the first time in almost a year. It sucked and I ended up still planning out for next week, sleeping for 2 hours and then going and teaching English Class.
Thursday was even better, still sick I had to go all the way down to Wakayama, which was over an hour and a half train ride, (plus I didn`t sleep very much) and sit through a 2 hour meeting with the Zone Leaders. Ate dinner then turned around and came back. I wanted to pass out on the train but instead followed the spirit that told me to talk to the guy that was sitting in front of us, ended up teaching him an entire lesson about the atonement and the Gospel of Jesus Christ and he wanted to hear more, got his phone number and even comitted him to be baptized. Said he would once he knew it was true and said he`d meet with us as soon as he could. He`s really busy reorganizing his life nad trying to find a new job and such. He`s called us quite a few times since then letting us know that he still wants to meet and trying to find time to meet.
Friday was District meeting, which went way fun but still tiring. Ate lunch together and then we came back to our area and taught a few lessons to members.
Saturday morning we went to Sakai for General Conference which was WAY awesome. I love General Conference, and I had a lot of fun talking with all the members. Sunday was the same, and afterwards we ate dinner with the YSA in our ward and had a fun time there as well.
You know, I`m never sure what I need to write here. My weeks just blur together way too much and I`m like usual just my boring self.
Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Message of the Week
What a blessing it is to have Prophets and Apostles to guide us in these Modern Times. I loved General Conference and I felt the Spirit speaking powerfully to me as each of the speakers stood up and presented a message to me. I found for myself many answers to personal prayers and problems that I have been facing of late. Ideas to help me to move forward and to become an even better human being and missionary. I still have pages and pages of notes to review, to ponder and to use to help myself apply all that I learned.
I would like to simply testify that I know that each of those men and Women that spoke during General Conference spoke the Words of God. They are his called servants and have been chosen to lead and to guide us in these Latter Days. As we listen to their words and accept them in our Hearts we will be blessed and will find shelter in these troubled waters. I know that President Thomas S. Monson is the living Prophet of God and that God does speak through him. I testify that the priesthood is truly the power of God and that it is here upon this earth today within this church. I bear witness that this is God`s true church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
With much Love,
Elder Randall KK Tateishi
Dear Mother, Father, Brothers, Sisters, Family, and Friends
Welllllllllllllllll....... It`s Monday, after General Conference for me. It`s been a fantastic week, but a long week.
Tuesday was just a LOT of Biking all over the place and going far far away into neverland. Riding uphill for at least 20 min straight. Something that I do not ever want to repeat anytime in my life.
Wednesday I got sick! For the first time in almost a year. It sucked and I ended up still planning out for next week, sleeping for 2 hours and then going and teaching English Class.
Thursday was even better, still sick I had to go all the way down to Wakayama, which was over an hour and a half train ride, (plus I didn`t sleep very much) and sit through a 2 hour meeting with the Zone Leaders. Ate dinner then turned around and came back. I wanted to pass out on the train but instead followed the spirit that told me to talk to the guy that was sitting in front of us, ended up teaching him an entire lesson about the atonement and the Gospel of Jesus Christ and he wanted to hear more, got his phone number and even comitted him to be baptized. Said he would once he knew it was true and said he`d meet with us as soon as he could. He`s really busy reorganizing his life nad trying to find a new job and such. He`s called us quite a few times since then letting us know that he still wants to meet and trying to find time to meet.
Friday was District meeting, which went way fun but still tiring. Ate lunch together and then we came back to our area and taught a few lessons to members.
Saturday morning we went to Sakai for General Conference which was WAY awesome. I love General Conference, and I had a lot of fun talking with all the members. Sunday was the same, and afterwards we ate dinner with the YSA in our ward and had a fun time there as well.
You know, I`m never sure what I need to write here. My weeks just blur together way too much and I`m like usual just my boring self.
Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Message of the Week
What a blessing it is to have Prophets and Apostles to guide us in these Modern Times. I loved General Conference and I felt the Spirit speaking powerfully to me as each of the speakers stood up and presented a message to me. I found for myself many answers to personal prayers and problems that I have been facing of late. Ideas to help me to move forward and to become an even better human being and missionary. I still have pages and pages of notes to review, to ponder and to use to help myself apply all that I learned.
I would like to simply testify that I know that each of those men and Women that spoke during General Conference spoke the Words of God. They are his called servants and have been chosen to lead and to guide us in these Latter Days. As we listen to their words and accept them in our Hearts we will be blessed and will find shelter in these troubled waters. I know that President Thomas S. Monson is the living Prophet of God and that God does speak through him. I testify that the priesthood is truly the power of God and that it is here upon this earth today within this church. I bear witness that this is God`s true church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
With much Love,
Elder Randall KK Tateishi
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
An exhausting week.....
Dear Mother, Father, Brothers, Sisters, Family, and Friends
This week has been a very exhausting week for me. I Haven`t been
sleeping well the past few nights, and so I was wiped all this
weekend.
Well, I`m not sure exactly what to explain for what happened this
week. Tuesday we taught a homeless man, who then disappeared before we
could start trying to find a way to help him out in his situation.
Wednesday was regular English Class night so nothing really exciting
happened there. Thursday we had District Meeting, and Friday we taught
a Chinese man who mistook the appointment and came 4 hours early to
the appointment. Luckily a member was there and called us to let us
know he was there. We also went down to Hashimoto again to teach our
investigator down there. That Lesson went pretty good.
Saturday was a day of dendo, we ate lunch at a Less-actives house and
then just went all over the place, visiting another member and then
another Less-active, Nishiguchi Kyoudai. He`s doing really good
actually, he came to church again and he even bore his testimony
during fast and testimony meeting.
Sunday was awesome. Even though I was utterly wasted and exhausted it
was a spiritually full day. It was fast Sunday and I had a good fast,
and also heard many and was able to bear a good testimony during Fast
and Testimony meeting. I was also able to get out of teaching Gospel
Principles class because no one showed up.
After church we had our usual study time, but it was interupted by
the local "Danjiri" which is basically this elaborately made wagon
that has drums on it and everyone pulls it around town making lots of
noise. I`ll include some pictures and you`ll understand what I mean. I
took a video as well. You might remember it from last year, but to say
the least it past right in front of our apartment twice and stopped
our study. For a moment. We then made Hamburgers for Dinner, which was
delicious.
After that we went back to the church for a Mission Fireside, in
which the ward mission leader had everyone think about what it would
be like if the missionaries were taken out of Kawachinagano for a
little bit. It was really cool to listen to them talk and discuss what
they could do to overcome that difficulty and then hear the Ward
mission Leader Testify about how they can act right now and can do all
of that stuff right now. I felt the Spirit so strongly at that point
that I just stood up in front of everyone and bore sincere Testimony
to them all about how they can do missionary work and should be doing
missionary work. I couldn`t stop myself to be honest.
All in all, the week ended really good. I`m excited about this
upcoming week and this month. It`ll be, way fun. I get an interview
with President Zinke, get to meet with a general authority and have
lots of exchanges, lots of meetings, General Conference and lots of
fun. Even have a Halloween party that I need to figure out what I`ll
be.
Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Message of the Week
I`d like to testify about the Gift of Tongues this week. As lately I
have been really feeling that power. My current companion, Elder
Wilkes, has only been out in Japan for about 2 months, and on his
mission for maybe a total of 4 and a half months. Yet his Japanese is
amazing and it is growing day by day. He can get along in basic
conversations he can testify he can talk and he can understand. It
never ceases to amaze me to see the extremely fast pace at which he is
learning Japanese.
As for me personally, I have found lately that I can testify and
express myself better in Japanese than in English sometimes. Last
night when I stood up in front of the ward, and at many District
Meetings as I`ve stood and testified to everyone I have spoken in very
powerful ways that I do not really even know how to express in
English. I have found my ability to express my emotions, my feelings,
in English has actually gotten worse! I bet my spelling is horrible
to!
I know that all of this does not come from me. That it is a gift from
God. It was only that simple commitment I made at the very beginning
of my mission. "God, I`ll learn the Gospel, you just give me Japanse."
I never really focused on learning Japanese that much. I just KNEW
that it would come. I KNEW that God would give me that gift. I am
grateful for that, and I can testify that the Gift of Tongues is a
true and living Gift. That God will grant it unto those who need it
and those who seek after it. He will give it to us according our
faith, and our circumstances. I testify of this in the name of Jesus
Christ. Amen.
With Love,
Elder Randall KK Tateishi
This week has been a very exhausting week for me. I Haven`t been
sleeping well the past few nights, and so I was wiped all this
weekend.
Well, I`m not sure exactly what to explain for what happened this
week. Tuesday we taught a homeless man, who then disappeared before we
could start trying to find a way to help him out in his situation.
Wednesday was regular English Class night so nothing really exciting
happened there. Thursday we had District Meeting, and Friday we taught
a Chinese man who mistook the appointment and came 4 hours early to
the appointment. Luckily a member was there and called us to let us
know he was there. We also went down to Hashimoto again to teach our
investigator down there. That Lesson went pretty good.
Saturday was a day of dendo, we ate lunch at a Less-actives house and
then just went all over the place, visiting another member and then
another Less-active, Nishiguchi Kyoudai. He`s doing really good
actually, he came to church again and he even bore his testimony
during fast and testimony meeting.
Sunday was awesome. Even though I was utterly wasted and exhausted it
was a spiritually full day. It was fast Sunday and I had a good fast,
and also heard many and was able to bear a good testimony during Fast
and Testimony meeting. I was also able to get out of teaching Gospel
Principles class because no one showed up.
After church we had our usual study time, but it was interupted by
the local "Danjiri" which is basically this elaborately made wagon
that has drums on it and everyone pulls it around town making lots of
noise. I`ll include some pictures and you`ll understand what I mean. I
took a video as well. You might remember it from last year, but to say
the least it past right in front of our apartment twice and stopped
our study. For a moment. We then made Hamburgers for Dinner, which was
delicious.
After that we went back to the church for a Mission Fireside, in
which the ward mission leader had everyone think about what it would
be like if the missionaries were taken out of Kawachinagano for a
little bit. It was really cool to listen to them talk and discuss what
they could do to overcome that difficulty and then hear the Ward
mission Leader Testify about how they can act right now and can do all
of that stuff right now. I felt the Spirit so strongly at that point
that I just stood up in front of everyone and bore sincere Testimony
to them all about how they can do missionary work and should be doing
missionary work. I couldn`t stop myself to be honest.
All in all, the week ended really good. I`m excited about this
upcoming week and this month. It`ll be, way fun. I get an interview
with President Zinke, get to meet with a general authority and have
lots of exchanges, lots of meetings, General Conference and lots of
fun. Even have a Halloween party that I need to figure out what I`ll
be.
Elder Tateishi`s Gospel Message of the Week
I`d like to testify about the Gift of Tongues this week. As lately I
have been really feeling that power. My current companion, Elder
Wilkes, has only been out in Japan for about 2 months, and on his
mission for maybe a total of 4 and a half months. Yet his Japanese is
amazing and it is growing day by day. He can get along in basic
conversations he can testify he can talk and he can understand. It
never ceases to amaze me to see the extremely fast pace at which he is
learning Japanese.
As for me personally, I have found lately that I can testify and
express myself better in Japanese than in English sometimes. Last
night when I stood up in front of the ward, and at many District
Meetings as I`ve stood and testified to everyone I have spoken in very
powerful ways that I do not really even know how to express in
English. I have found my ability to express my emotions, my feelings,
in English has actually gotten worse! I bet my spelling is horrible
to!
I know that all of this does not come from me. That it is a gift from
God. It was only that simple commitment I made at the very beginning
of my mission. "God, I`ll learn the Gospel, you just give me Japanse."
I never really focused on learning Japanese that much. I just KNEW
that it would come. I KNEW that God would give me that gift. I am
grateful for that, and I can testify that the Gift of Tongues is a
true and living Gift. That God will grant it unto those who need it
and those who seek after it. He will give it to us according our
faith, and our circumstances. I testify of this in the name of Jesus
Christ. Amen.
With Love,
Elder Randall KK Tateishi
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