A quick stop at Shakey's Pizza in Kyoto on the day of interviews. Below are some attempts to get a picture of the zone while eating
The sisters sat by us at a separate table.
The other angle!
Elder Matsuoka got a cookie on his birthday. He is one of our faithful office elders!
We also had a visit from Brother Fukui, who just went home from his mission here a few weeks ago, but lives in the mission next door. He will be off to BYU Idaho next month.
We thought this would look like a Mormon Family photo. We got at least three generations in there! It was a nice long log. Just long enough for us to all sit on.
Elder and Sister Pyper looking on as I handle the BBQ.
Elder Matsuoka's mother made these I Love the Japan Kobe Mission shirts and sent one to each of us. Here Sister McIntyre shows hers off with Elder Matsuoka.
Eating and playing catch.
Eating!
In Himeji (Kobe Stake) Sister Tanizawa was taught and baptized by Elders Aguirre, Rhan and Andreason. Elder Varjao also participated.
Brother Sakuramoto Shogo was baptized in Fushimi, Kyoto Stake. He was taught by there most recently by Elders Taketomi and Slater.
In Ibaraki, Osaka North Stake, Sister Shinoda was taught and baptized by Elders Kanno and Neff. They found her housing!
Here are some of the staff and attendees at the seminar. There were about 70 prospective missionaries in attendance.
In the morning I led a 1 hour session focusing on Chapter 6 in Preach My Gospel, The Attributes of Christ.
Here we introduced our mission theme which is based on the 9 attributes of Christ listed in PMG.
Later we had many of our missionaries join in and actually go out and proselyte with the attendees. Here is good shot of the missionaries.
We had curry for lunch and enjoyed the conference. It was great to see all the potential elders and sisters from Kansai.
Some of the missionaries and YSA.
Four of our wonderful YSA in costume.
The Elders manage the pinata they made especially for the party.
The kids loved taking shots at the bat.
Candy frenzy!
Sister McIntyre poses with Sisters Yamada and Inoue. Below, Sister Inoue also tries on the Korean dress.
A highlight of the night was bobbing for apples. Elder Ito went all the way in for his!
His companion, Elder Christie, was not to be out done!
Lots of snacks and scary punch.
Sister Inoue served up the potion.
Little devils.
Little angels!
Pumpkin carving demonstration by Sister McIntyre.
The kids loved it as this is not normally done in Japan. It was the first time to see a real Jack o lantern for most of them.
It was a happy Halloween in Kobe!
From little girl in a kimono to high school cheerleader in Tokyo and now a missionary in Fukuoka! They grow up fast!
With Julie entering the mission field, we will have three Sister McIntyre's serving at the same time. Sister Erika McIntyre in Sapporo, Sister Julie McIntyre in Fukuoka, and mom, Sister Rika McIntyre in Kobe. What a blessing that is for our family.
Julie loves Japan and lived through high school in Tokyo. Fukuoka will be a little more rural than Tokyo! Julie just finished her third semester at BYU and is not yet 21 (the normal minimum age for sister missionaries). However, since we are serving as a family, she is allowed to start her mission at a younger age.
The timing will work out well as Julie will finish her 18 month mission the same time we complete our three years. Erika will be returning in Late January or Early February after 18 months of service. 
The boys were out of school for fall break on Monday so we enjoyed a family shopping day in Link Town.
On the way home he had some delicious okonomiyaki for dinner. You cook it yourself at the table. Don't know why Ricky is making a mean face? He loved the food!
Link Town is on the outskirts of Osaka near the Kansai Int'l Airport bridge. You can see the big Ferris Wheel and the ANA Hotel in the background.
Serving a mission with teenage boys presents some unique challenges. We weren't sure what to do when they rolled down the windows and started saying hello to people while wearing the ski masks! It is Halloween week so I think they did their trick. We did not give them any treats though. It was a fun day!
