Elders and Sisters,
Just over a year has past since we arrived in Kobe. We are grateful for this opportunity to serve with you. You are truly wonderful missionaries and we love each of you.
This past year we have witnessed a marvelous work begin to transpire in the Japan Kobe Mission. We have enlarged our vision, increased our faith, lengthened our stride and as a result, through your faith and diligence, we have seen an increase in converts and more excitement regarding missionary work among the members. But this must be just the beginning!
We have worked hard to become “Preach My Gospel” missionaries by following the principles outlined in that guidebook and the scriptures. Preach My Gospel missionaries are good missionaries. They follow the program, are obedient to the rules, and feel the Spirit work through them. They are successful missionaries. (See PMG P. 10-11) As I think back to where we were as a mission a year ago and where we are today, I see great progress and could not be more pleased with what we have accomplished. Nevertheless, as I have pondered what the Lord would have us do to continue to fulfill our purpose as missionaries and move the work forward at a faster pace, I have realized that there is still much we can do to improve. Lately I have felt we have become a “good” mission. But my desire, and I believe the desire of the Lord, is for us to become a “great” mission and each of you “great” missionaries.
The difference between good and great is very subtle. And the world’s definitions of greatness vary. Let me explain some of the attributes of true greatness as I see it by sharing some examples. Think about these two great historical individuals from modern society, Mother Theresa and Ghandi. Both these individuals are considered great by most people who are familiar with their lives. Why? What sets them apart from other people? As I thought about this, I realized they are not considered great for what they did or accomplished per se, but for
what they did for others and the examples they set. Neither held positions of formal power or authority nor sought for such recognition. But the legacy they left was the
impact they had on millions of people through their service, sacrifice and examples. This kind of greatness is not the same as the greatness that may be achieved by an athlete that scores the most points or wins the most championships. That kind of greatness is based on what they accomplished largely for themselves. In a sense it was for personal glory or satisfaction. That kind of greatness is not lasting and will eventually fade or even be forgotten.
Now think of the Savior, the greatest of all. The great sacrifice for each of us individually and all mankind, the atonement. It is what the Savior did for each of us that defines His greatness. It was in His doing the will of the Father and not himself. It was His great example of a perfect life.
Service, Sacrifice and Example!
The difference between being a good missionary and a great missionary may be found in your attitude and motivation. Your
desire to serve, your
willingness to sacrifice and what kind of
example you set will certainly define what kind of missionary you become and how you will be remembered when you complete your mission. That will be your legacy. Are you here to score a lot of points or compete with others? Or are you here to serve the Lord and help others come unto Christ through your service, sacrifice and example. Are you here to do your will or out of obligation to fulfill your duty or someone else’s expectations? Or are you here to do the will of the Father because you love Him and your fellowman? You can follow the program and go through the motions and be a good missionary. Or you can be great missionaries by doing the will of the Father in all things as did the Savior.
Through our
service, sacrifice, and example we will help people come unto Christ. Each of you has the potential to influence the lives of hundreds, even thousands, of people through your work here.
We help people come unto Christ by inviting them to make and keep commitments. As we teach true doctrine, testify and show a good example, people will begin to have faith in Christ and the courage to keep commitments and obey the commandments. These commitments prepare people to make and keep covenants. The first covenant people need to make to prepare to return to our Father in Heaven is made through the ordinance of baptism.
Be bold in your efforts to invite people to change and keep commitments. It is how they repent and come unto Christ. It is how you will play a role in helping them come unto Christ. It is how you will influence the lives of people as a missionary and how you will become a Great (Preach My Gospel) Missionary. Don't settle for good, when you have the potential to be great.
May we strive for Greatness and to be more like the Greatest of all, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
President and Sister McIntyre
Back row - Elders Nishio, Starks, McConnell, Wiser, Sjavik and McGuire. Front Row - Elders Bowman, Slater, Imai and Rahn.
First meal in the mission home!
11 Returning with Honor - Back Row - Elders Rassmusen, Stufflebeam, Jorgensen, Wintz, Neilsen, Merrick and Williamson. Front Row - Elder Latimer, Sisters Tsuda and Webb and Elder Fishler.
Sayonara Cake. Frosting looks like it is melting a little! But it tasted great.
Earlier in the week Elder Fishler's mission dream was fulfilled when he earned his apron from Sister McIntyre. Looks good on him. I think he will make a good cook for a wonderful sister someday! And I hear he is available and looking.
What a wonderful and busy week it has been.
President's Report: In Tanabe - Interviewed Elders Payne and Merrick. Here we all are front of the Tanabe Church.
After missionary interviews, Elder Honda, who is the Branch President of this little branch, had a PPI with me and we discussed the branch and how we can strengthen it. As always, it was a fun trip and we got a lot accomplished.
Ricky in the back row middle.
Sister Ka Rina from Nabari with Elders Monson and Akina. Also pictured are Brother and Sister Akino from the Nabari Branch.
After lunch, Sister McIntyre had a few minutes with the sisters privately so she could discuss issues related exclusively to being a sister missionary. Before we started up the afternoon session, Sister McIntyre also gave each sister an apron she made. The sisters all signed them for each other.
A wonderful group of missionaries! These sisters are sure to be great wives, mothers, teachers and leaders in the church.
Sisters Tsuda and Yamada serving in Sakai taught about how to use study time more effectively to plan and prepare to teach lessons for investigators.
Sisters Hayase and Meyers serving in Abeno taught how they find using eikaiwa pamphlets to lead a conversation to a gospel topic.
Sisters Yamashita and Kurashita serving in Hirakata do a little skit based on the "woman at the well" and then taught about the importance of companionship unity.
Sisters Kogawa and Kobayashi who also serve in Hirakata sang a little ditty about the Book of Mormon and taught about the how they help investigators learn from the scriptures. They also showed a picture book they created to help teach young investigators.
Sisters Glenn and Kina serving in Kobe taught about getting commitments and how to ask effective questions to help investigators understand the importance of the gospel message. They shared a great song they wrote.
Sisters Inoue and Kaneko serving in Okamachi shared part of their training through music. They also did a role play to show how we need to smile when teaching and respect investigators beliefs while teaching them the truth.
Sisters Webb, Notsu and Ho serving in Shimogamo, Kyoto shared with us how they held a mini MTC in their ward to help the members understand the principles and program missionaries follow as found in Preach My Gospel.
Talk about too many cooks in the kitchen. Try having 15 sister missionaries in your kitchen all at once! Sister Ise prepared Hawaiian hay stacks for lunch and everyone seemed to love it. It was a great day and the sisters were uplifted and instructed. In the afternoon, president shared some training from PMG that the sisters can apply not only now as missionaries, but once they return home and prepare for marriage as well. The afternoon ended with testimonies and the sisters were all back in their areas for lessons and proselyting by dinner time.
In addition to our Sister's Conference we travelled to Nara on Monday and interviewed the missionaries there and Tuesday we spent the day in Kyoto interviewing the 15 missionaries in that zone. That evening while in Kyoto I met with the Kyoto Stake President and the zone leaders in our monthly correlation meeting. 
Saturday we drove to Kyoto for the baptism of Koga-san. It was a great service. He was found several months ago by Elders Bahr and Moore. Elders Williamson and Drake continued to teach him and baptized him. He is a teacher, single and in his early 30's. He is going to attend the All Japan Single Adult conference next month. His next goal is find a nice sister to take to the temple!
After the baptism, we drove to Iga Ueno in the Nabari area which is in Mie prefecture and spent the night. We got there around 10pm. Sister McIntyre went to bed, but I enjoyed the onsen bath before retiring. The next morning we attended the Nabari Branch. This is a small branch in the Osaka Stake, but pretty far out of Osaka in the mountains bordering the Nagoya Mission. They meet in this building on the 4th floor. Nabari is a beautiful place with lots of rolling green hills and rice fields in the valleys. It was fast and testimony meeting and we both were able to share testimonies. This is a wonderful branch and we felt a great spirit there. They usually have around 30-35 people attend including missionaries and investigators. This Sunday there were 40 or more there including 9 investigators. Elders Monson and Akina called many people they are teaching and invited them to church to meet us.
Here are some other pictures from recent baptisms. Elders Ashmore and Sorenson baptized Brother Takase in Takatsuki ward this past month.
Bother Nakamura of Katsura baptized his 15 year old daughter Reina as well. She was taught by the Shimogamo Sisters Webb, Notsu and Ho.
