Sister McIntyre Should Have Stayed with Her Companion! - Interviews in Nara with the Missionaries and the Deer

President and Sister McIntyre with the deer in Nara Koen (Park)

The deer are so cute in Nara. Awe...Sister McIntyre made a new friend.

But she wondered too far from her companion...and this "guy" deer made a move on her.

She tried to run away, but he called his friends. Where is her companion?!

Run Sister McIntyre, Run! Next time stay with the President! Especially if you have deer crackers!
Erika stuck with the babies. And we did rescue Sister McIntyre.

We have been in Kobe almost a month. Sometimes it feels like 2 years (in a good way!) We feel quite at home and have done so much in the short time we have been here. We have almost completed a first round of interviewing all 100 missionaries. Each missionary is personally interviewed by the president every transfer. Each one takes at least 15 minutes, but most tend to run longer, especially now as we are still getting to know most of the missionaries. In most cases, we travel to a central place in each zone (Stake) and spend the whole day there interviewing. We have 5 zones and each zone takes about two days. So interviewing missionaries takes about two weeks of our time every transfer. Each missionary also writes the president a weekly letter on Sunday night. They usually start flowing in on Monday and I get the last of them on Wednesday each week. I read each one and often have to follow up with questions and/or issues that come out in their letters. So I have to take notes each week as I read them. Reading 100 personal letters takes some time. Some are short and some are long. About the time I finish one weeks letters, the next weeks start to arrive! Through these letter and the interviews, I get to know the missionaries very well. I wish some of the missionaries would write clearer and larger (it is amazing how small some people can write!) and avoid pink and fluorescent green pens! I think I will mention that in our next Zone Conferences.

It really is a special experience to get and read these letters. It has made me think of our prayers to Heavenly Father. While I can hardly handle 100 letters a week, He hears and answers millions and maybe billions of prayers each day. In these letters the missionaries tell me about their week. They share their ups and their downs. They ask me for help and express their gratitude. I have thought that is how we should pray to our Father in Heaven each day. He wants to hear about what and how we are doing. We should share with him a report of our day. We can ask him for help and express our love and gratitude. What a job He has! I am totally inadequate to even handle these 100 letters, but it has helped me feel greater appreciation for our Father in Heaven. In a small way, through reading these letters, I think I have felt joy similar to the joy He must feel when we open our hearts to him in sincere prayer.

On the other hand, when I get a letter that was clearly written in 30 seconds with not much meaningful content or thought, I feel that missionary is robbing himself of a great blessing. Our frivolous and/or insincere prayers must make our Father in Heaven feel the same way. He is there waiting to hear and answer our sincere prayers. All we have to do is talk to him!

Yesterday (Friday the 25th) we travelled to Nara to do interviews with eight missionaries. Nara is an old capital of Japan and it has many beautiful temples and national treasures. After the interviews which finished around 4pm, we made our way to the famous Nara Park where hundreds of "formerly" wild deer run free and love to eat specially prepared "deer crackers" conveniently sold throughout the park. We love Nara Park and looked forward to visiting there on our way home from the interviews. Erika went with us. James was at a young men's campout and Julie was in Tokyo and Ricky still in Utah (he arrives here on the 9th.) Here are a few pictures, including the ones above of Sister McIntyre being chased and running away from charging wild deer!

We love our mission!

Missionaries Come and Go July 2008

These are the first missionaries to arrive from the MTC since we started to serve. Sister Kurashita, Sister Meyers and Sister Notsu on the front row. Elders Smith, Harvard and Ashdown in the back. They are wonderful and full of excitement. It was quite an experience to have them with us for two days in the mission home and then see them matched with their first companions. We will get to know them well over the next few years!


This is our first departing group. They come into the mission home the day the new missionaries go out and spend one night with us. After their final interviews with the President, a dinner and testimony meeting top off their last night in Japan. Pictured here are Sisters Williams, Davies, and Quinn. Standing are Elders Hana, Blankenagel, White, Hansen, Wolfe and Howell.

It is a wonderful experience to hear their final testimonies and how they have grown and struggled at times throughout their missions. I am already convinced that nothing is as great as a mission experience in preparing these men and women for their future lives.


One mission tradition is to climb the hill behind the mission home and take pictures the night before they depart. The view can be great if the weather cooperates. This was a shot from that night. It overlooks part of Kobe City and the Bay.


As a family (still minus Ricky though) we had some time for some fun as well. We visited a ranch in the mountains only a few minutes away from the home. Here are a few pictures. The mountans and views are quite beautiful here.

Check back again for more updates!

Arrival in Mission!

After a wonderful 5 days in the Provo MTC where we were counseled and taught by the prophets and apostles, we had one quick night at home to pick up the kids and visit grandpa before departing for Japan. Our good friends, the Fowers, picked up Ricky as he will stay behind for a month or so in Utah to attend summer camps. The rest of us were up until about 2am with final packing and preparation. Then off to the airport at 6am! Jeff Evans was kind enough to pick us up and take us to the airport.

Japan Bound New Mission Presidents with Elders and Sisters Walker and Stevenson of the Seventy. (Left to right -Daniel's, Tateoka's, Isa's, Brother and Sister Pincock, McIntyre's, Walker's and Stevenson's)

We arrived in Tokyo on Friday the 27th of June. After a wonderful dinner at our hotel with the other new mission presidents in our area and the Area Presidency (Elder Evans, Elder Choi and Elder Yamashita - and their wives) we had a long awaited good nights rest!

James and Sammy on the Bullet Train! On Saturday morning we had additional training with our Area Presidency. The kids went to pick up Sammy. And we were on the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Kobe by early afternoon.

We were greeted by President and Sister Tucker on the platform accompanied by the Assistants, Elders Hanna and Ahmu, and the Kobe Stake President, President Oshima.

The mission home is only about a 10 minute drive from Shin Kobe station. Upon arrival we were greeted by the two mission home staff elders, Elder Christie and Elder Kunihiro and the Sisters, Sister Bensen and Sister Webb. They had made a big welcome sign for us. We were already exhausted! But our mission was just beginning!!!

The rest of Saturday was spent getting oriented and unpacking. (It has taken us all this week to finally get unpacked with all the other activities and things we have been doing. But it is starting to feel a little like home.) Sunday we attended the Kobe Ward and the Kansai (English) Branch. We had the chance to introduce ourselves and share testimonies in each. After some meetings with President and Sister Tucker that afternoon the mission was officially transferred to us and they left! The mission home is on the right (you can only see a corner). This is the church next to our home.

Monday we held our first Zone Leader's Council. All the missionary leaders came to the mission home for meetings. It was a wonderful experience to finally start to meet these great missionaries. We have 100 in total. We have now met every one of them. This week we held zone conferences and our family had the chance to speak to the missionaries and share our vision for the next three years. The kids all introduced themselves and Erika participated in the conferences as she prepares to start her mission soon.

We felt a desire to create a spirit of unity in the mission and Sister McIntyre made a beautiful Japan Kobe Mission Quilt for each missionary that serves with us to sign and then date it when they return home. The missionaries love it!
Take a look at some of our wonderful missionaries!!

We have another 60 or so just like these! They are wonderful.

Today - Sunday July 6th -After sacrament meeting in Kobe, we traveled to the Sekime Ward in Osaka to attend a baptism for a 90 year old sister we met on Saturday. It was a great meeting and she was so excited to get baptized and follow Christ. It just goes to show you it is never too late!

Sister Tsuji is next to Sister McIntyre. Elder Allen got caught with his eyes closed, but Elder Ring is wide awake! They are the Elders who taught her and the Zone Leaders in the Osaka Zone (Stake).

MTC Experience - Our first little miracle

The past two days have been amazing. We have heard from the First Presidency and met and been instructed by many of the members of the twelve and the seventy. We have made many new friends with the other mission presidents and their wives and ate many meals with the presidents and wives going to Japan and the Asia North Area.

Our good friends, the Daniels, who are called to preside over the Japan Sapporo mission still think the brethren got our calls confused. We took this picture pointing at their mission as if it was ours! President Daniels served in Kobe and hoped to return there as president. But they are happy and excited to be the frozen chosen of Sapporo. We are happy to be heading for Kobe!

Tonight we had the chance to meet with all the missionaries going to our mission currently in the MTC. There are 12, 11 Elders and 1 Sister. We spent about two hours with them getting to know each other and sharing our testimonies and stories. We already love these missionaries. They are wonderful. In this group alone we have missionaries from Australia, Brazil and the US. Many had fathers and/or siblings that served in Japan. How lucky we are to lead them.

The last few days as I pondered what to talk about with these missionaries in our first meeting, I had the very distinct impression that I needed to speak with one of them. I felt strongly I needed to let this missionary know that Heavenly Father loves him and that the right decision was made in coming on this mission. This missionary's name stuck with me all day today and I felt this was a prompting from the Spirit. As we went around the room and greeted the missionaries, I told that missionary what I felt and that I felt the Lord wanted me to share these feelings. Later as each missionary introduced themselves and told us about themselves, this missionary shared with us and the group as tears flowed that his father had passed away two weeks before entering the MTC. I then knew why the Lord had prompted me to share those feelings. We then had a mini lesson on following the promptings of the Spirit as missionaries. For Sister McIntyre and me, this was one of the first miracles of our mission. How grateful we are for revelation and the promptings of the Spirit.

MTC Day!

We have been busy the past few days preparing to enter the MTC. Today we reported. After dropping the boys off at our friends home, we drove down to Provo and Erika and Julie saw us off.

Here are some pictures!

The badge Ceremony!

Day one was short and mainly orientation. Tomorrow, Sunday, the seminar starts and we will hear from President Monson and others. We are looking forward to it.

As part of our orientation we toured the MTC and had the chance to visit the Japan bound missionaries. In addition to meeting all 12 missionaries going to our mission (which was really exciting), we had a chance to visit with Elder Sellers and Elder Parks, both former members of our stake in Japan. I was Elder Parks' bishop several years ago and his father served in the bishopric with me. Elder Sellers' dad served as bishop in the same stake with us.

It has been a busy day and a busy several weeks. The mission has begun! We felt a wonderful spirit today and are grateful for the chance to be here.

We ate dinner with President and Sister Daniels and President and Sister Tateoka, who are going to Sendai. More later when we have chance!

Leaving Japan and Setting Apart in Utah

It has been a busy few weeks leading up to our MTC Mission President's Seminar. We will enter the MTC on Saturday June 21st. On June 7th, Julie graduated from High School at the American School in Japan. Both Erika and Julie completed all four years of high school there. We have many fond memories of ASIJ and will miss the school.

On June 12th we flew to Utah having completely moved from our Tokyo home. Earlier that week we shipped our remaining personal effects from Tokyo to the mission in Kobe. June 12th was Julie's birthday, she turned big 18. To celebrate her birthday and graduation, on June 11th, we took her to Kobe Beef at the Sekishintei Restaurant in the New Otani Garden. Sister Evans and Jeff joined us.

We arrived at our home in Utah on the afternoon of the 12th. The next morning, Friday the 13th, our shipment from Tokyo, which was sent back in May, was delivered to our home in South Jordan. As far as we can tell, nothing was damaged or broken. We will not really unpack much as we are leaving back to Japan in a few days. Our old life will remain boxed in our Utah home basement.

Friday the 13th 2008 was not unlucky for us. This is the day we were set apart as Mission President and full time missionary. The whole family went to the church administration building where we met with Elder Oaks of the Twelve and Elder Maynes of the Seventy. My oldest sister Sharon, her husband Jeff and Dad were also able to join us. Elder Oaks, assisted by Elder Maynes, set me apart first as Mission President of the Japan Kobe Mission, with all the keys associated with that calling. After which Elder Maynes, assisted by me and Elder Oaks set Rika apart as a full time missionary, companion to me, the mission president, and special representative of the church. It was a great experience. Before actually being set apart, we had time to visit with both of them and learned about Elder Maynes' early days at BYU on a basketball scholarship. After the setting apart, our family went to the Roof Restaurant in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and had a great meal together.


It was great to be all together as a family for this event. We have had several hectic months preparing for the next few years, and it is all culminating with our entering the MTC and returning to Japan to start our mission this month. Although we are busy and it seems like we have too many things to get done, I find I have extra energy to do all the needful things and somehow everything seems to fall into place. We are grateful the Lord is helping us and watching over our family.

Called to Serve

"I hope they call me on a mission..." and the Lord did long before we thought we were ready or were planning! On December 20th 2007, we were interviewed by President Henry B. Eyring and called to serve a mission for three years as Mission President in the Japan Kobe Mission. We have always wanted to serve a mission, but thought we would do so after the kids were all out of high school. Needless to say, the timing of this call was somewhat of a surprise. The meeting with President Eyring changed everything, including our lives. The past several months have been busy as we prepare our personal and professional lives as well as our family for the next three years. We are grateful and humbled by this opportunity to serve and pray the Lord will continue to bless our family as we serve Him and His children in Japan. We hope to keep everyone informed as to how we are doing during our mission. This blog will let us post journal entries and pictures for family and friends. We will be busy but hope we can update everyone once and a while on our preperation day!

Erika (our oldest daughter -see below) thought it would be fun to show what President and Sister McIntyre looked like when they were younger. This is our engagement announcement photo. Thanks Erika for putting this up!

Below is us today as we start our mission. We have been married 22 years and will celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary in the mission field just before returning home in 2011. We haven't changed a bit! Right?

We report to the MTC on June 21st for the Mission President's Seminar and will fly out to Japan on June 26th. We will officially start the mission in Japan on June 30th, 2008. We are excited and nervous at the same time. But very grateful to be able to serve the Japanese people and work with all the wonderful Elders and Sisters that will be called to Kobe during our term as President.

Here is a picture of our 4 wonderful children. This was taken in the summer of 2006.
From left to right:
Julie (18 in June), Eric or Ricky (16 in July), Erika (21) and James (12)

The boys will accompany us to Kobe.
Julie and Erika will go with us to Kobe in July, but return to BYU in the Fall.

More later....

From the Church News

New mission presidents
February 16, 2008
Seven mission presidents and their wives have been called by the First Presidency to begin their service about July 1. Their mission assignments will be announced later.

William Arthur McIntyre Jr., 44, Tokyo 1st Ward, Tokyo Japan South Stake; counselor in stake presidency; former bishop and counselor, high councilor, stake Young Men president, assistant Scoutmaster and missionary in the Japan Tokyo South Mission. President and general manager, Franklin Covey Japan. Born in Sacramento, Calif., to William Arthur and Lovern Kimball McIntyre. Married Rika Ito, four children. A stake Young Women president, Sister McIntyre is a former counselor in the stake Primary presidency, counselor in ward Relief Society and Young Women presidencies, Cub Scout leader and nursery leader. Born in Fukushima, Japan, to Rikuro and Tomiko Kuroba Ito.