"Each Life That Touches Ours for Good"

Midway through this week, I received some sad news regarding one of my mission companions. He was killed in an automobile accident. I couldn't believe it but pretty soon, everyone I served with in the Japan Nagoya Mission was talking about it. I was of course heartbroken because he was too young. Adding to the tragedy, he got married to a lovely woman in the Church last November. In short, hearing that news really put a damper on my day. His name was Masashi Imaizumi and he was my very first Japanese companion in the mission field. We proselyted in the city of Toyohashi located in Aichi Prefecture together for a little over a transfer before I got sent to Suzuka in the Mie Prefecture. In essence, our time was short but we had a lot of great memories and experiences. I couldn't help but look through my mission pictures and find the ones of me and him...

Together we were two goofballs, but we were like brothers...

Music has always brought comfort to me during times like this and once again, I think of the lyrics to the following Hymn:

Each life that touches ours for good

Reflects thine own great mercy, Lord;

Thou sendest blessings from above

Thru words and deeds of those who love.

What greater gift dost thou bestow,

What greater goodness can we know

Than Christlike friends, whose gentle ways

Strengthen our faith, enrich our days.

When such a friend from us departs,

We hold forever in our hearts

A sweet and hallowed memory,

Bringing us nearer, Lord, to the.

For worthy friends whose lives proclaim

Devotion to the Savior's name,

Who bless our days with peace and love,

We praise thy goodness, Lord, above.

(Hymn #293 'Each Life That Touches Ours for Good')

The two of us in shades. We were so cool!

I never thought that someone I knew, someone I had a chance to work with and get to know better would suddenly be taken away from us in less than two years time... Granted, I remember him as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But he was a mighty fine missionary serving as the Lord's representative in his home country! Though our time together in the mission field was shorter than initially expected, we had great times together. He was quiet and very observant, but he served with all his heart, might, mind, and strength. He knew the Japanese people better than me. He knew the missionary efforts in Toyohashi very well. And he was a great companion to proselyte with. It was an honor and privilege to have been able to work with him, even though our time together in Toyohashi was cut short unexpectedly. We biked through the rain and humidity and we were blessed to have been able to finish our missions together near the beginning of 2012.

The two of us standing in the left at the end of our missions.

Now that he's gone, I value the friendship and camaraderie we shared even more. And even though his sudden passing brought a painful sting to those of us who knew him, the knowledge we have through the gospel of Jesus Christ brings assurance and comfort to us to know that it's all for the best... Yes, I'm sad that he died at a young age. And I'm sad for his widowed wife; I can't imagine what she is going through in the wake of this tragedy. God allows things to happen for a reason and we can't always comprehend the will of God. But no matter what, we're better off putting our trust in Him. I have a testimony of that. It isn't easy but it's the best way to deal with it. And I know we'll run into each other again. We know about the Plan of Salvation and we are a part of it. And I know for a fact my former mission companion, my brother, Masashi Imaizumi is one who touched my life good as well as the lives of many others. He and I were like brothers and I looked up to him often. My deepest thoughts and testimony of these things I leave with you, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Callings

I'm coming up on week three of my second semester of school. Church-wise, I've been given more responsibility. I've already been serving as one of the ward pianists since last semester. For this semester, after getting our groups organized, I was extended a calling to serve as a co-group leader (a sort of "FHE dad", in addition to an "FHE mom" as some would refer to it) for our Family Home Evening Group, composed of myself, five other guys and six ladies from our Young Single Adults Ward. If you've been a longtime reader of my blog(s), you might recall when it was the last time I actually served in some kind of leadership capacity. You might also recall on how I feel about certain callings when taken into certain perspectives. If you've followed my blog up to this point, you'll know that not all the feelings I had about these topics were positive experiences.

Needless to say, I'm on pins and needles right now. I've got butterflies in my stomach. Last semester, there were times I had to take the lead on FHE group lessons/messages. Despite my attempts to be professional and maintain composure, I felt those times were next to borderline-disastrous (not complete disaster, mind you). Thankfully, the Lord doesn't expect anyone including myself to be perfect at anything.

On a similar topic, my family and I experienced good news as my younger sister received her mission call; I am a strong supporter for having more sister missionaries now that the age of eligibility for missionaries have been lowered. My sister has been called to the Singapore Mission, Malay-speaking. Where she is going was somewhat a surprise for all of us because no one in our family that I'm aware of has served a mission anywhere around that part of the world yet. Her call to serve has put me into a state of reflection as I looked back at my time in the mission field in the Japan Nagoya Mission. If I were to summarize my mission experience in less than ten words, I would say "A lot of things turned out unexpectedly." Unexpected things such as:

• The 2011 Touhoku earthquake and tsunami disaster affecting the country
• Having to cope with an influx of missionaries from the neighboring Tokyo Mission when it had to be shut down along with other consequences that were the results of the disaster
• Being sent to areas where the focus was Spanish or Brazilian Portuguese instead of my assigned language of Japanese
• Not becoming involved in some leadership capacity when all my mission I strived in the hopes to be one

To be honest, I had many ups and downs on my mission. There were numerous times when those experiences were by far the most frustrating moments. With regards to leadership (or resentment), well, I don't think I have to mention or repeat anything I clearly stated previously. I clearly remember my dad's E-mail that he wrote me during the height of those frustrations: 

"In missions and in life we are given assignments. You have been given assignments, and you have done them to the best of your ability. We don't always understand the reasoning behind those assignments... So take your assignments and continue to do them the best way know how. The other stuff will take care of itself. We all have jobs, they are all important. Sometimes they aren't "prestigious" or "high-profile", but they are all important, and not everyone can do them. So take pride in the fact that you can do them, and do them well and with success. You have nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about. You should be proud of your accomplishments and proud of yourself as an individual. I am. Take a new perspective. Don't worry about your peer group, you only have to measure yourself by what YOU know you are capable of, by YOUR yardstick (and maybe a little bit of MY yardstick). I measure you, and I see the good stuff you do. I couldn't be prouder of you, or prouder to be called your dad."

These words from my number one father figure really helped me to carry on especially this past year, as the going got tough. As I think about my dear sister my pride as her older brother is shining. I can see her facing new a host of challenges and feeling frustration and disappointments from time to time. But I know she can tackle them and overcome every time. Whether it's a mission, a calling, or in life, we do these things to grow. Oftentimes, we serve in our church callings and leadership capacities because we need to grow and learn something. And that's what mortal existence here basically winds down to: growing and learning. 

Going back to my recent calling I received to serve as a group leader for our Family Home Evening group, I expect to grow from serving in this calling; I expect to learn a thing or two. Since having a hiatus in leading in ANYTHING this last year, I hope to fulfill my responsibilities to the best of my abilities. If you read one of my earlier posts, I repeat what President Dieter F. Uchtdorf said:

"Certainly you are not overlooked or unwanted by your Heavenly Father. He loves you. And I tell you with certainty that you are needed by your Church... But when God works through us, no one and nothing can stand against us. This is why you are needed. You have your own special contribution to make, and God can magnify that contribution in a mighty way."

I can't say I'm confident in any of my abilities but that's not going to stop me from striving to make my contributions and learn and grow. I have a testimony of the importance in our church callings, assignments and obligation. Fulfilling them usually leads to new discoveries in one's own abilities and is a major opportunity for personal growth. Oftentimes, there are those set aside to fulfill certain tasks and only they can accomplish them because the Lord sees it fit to be so. Let the Lord's will be done.