New Transfer Focus - May 2009 President's Message

Dear Elders and Sisters,
The past few months we have focused on developing Christ like attributes. Becoming more like the Savior is a lifelong process. Do not be discouraged in your quest. During your mission and throughout your life continue to work on your “Being.” Our “Doing” also plays an important part in becoming a successful missionary. I know the Lord will bless each of you in your efforts in both these areas (being and doing) as you exercise faith and diligence and continue to DO those things we have been taught to do as the Lord’s missionaries.

I love Alma 37. This chapter consists of Alma’s commandments to his son Helaman. Alma teaches us some wonderful principles in this chapter that we need to understand to become successful missionaries. In verses 6 and 7 he teaches:

Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me, but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise. And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purpose; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls.

This principle of small and simple is key to our success as missionaries. This principle is taught in many places in the scriptures. In the book of James we read;

Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.

Becoming a successful “Preach My Gospel” missionary is governed by this same principle. I am continually amazed at how simple the formula is to become a successful missionary. While we sometimes feel the work is hard, and it can be trying at times, what we have been commanded to do as missionaries is actually quite simple. I pray we do not forget the promises of the Lord to His servants and this principle of small and simple things. We have been taught and commanded to DO some small and simple things everyday and every week as we serve as missionaries. It is these small and simple things that lead us to success and help us feel the true joy of missionary service.

In the D&C the Lord teaches us that out of small things proceedeth a great work:

Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great.
Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days.

The Lord also taught this principle to the Nephites. The Liahona pointed the way they should travel in the wilderness and it only worked according to their faith.

…and it was written and changed from time to time, according to the faith and diligence which we gave unto it. And thus we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things. (1 Nephi 16:29)

The Lord works miracles according to our faith and diligence. However, sometimes things He asks us to do seem so simple or unimportant that we forget or neglect to do them. Alma understood this and taught it to his son Helaman in Alma 37:40-41

And it (the Liahona) did work for them according to their faith in God; therefore, if they had faith to believe that God could cause that those spindles should point the way they should go, behold, it was done; therefore they had this miracle, and also many other miracles wrought by the power of God, day by day. Nevertheless, because those miracles were worked by small means it did show unto them marvelous works. They were slothful, and forgot to exercise their faith and diligence and then those marvelous works ceased, and they did not progress in their journey;

Elders and Sisters, let us not be slothful in DOING those things we have been commanded. Keeping the daily schedule, prayer and fasting, planning daily and weekly, opening our mouths and speaking with people wherever we go using natural conversations. These are small and simple things that will allow the Lord to do a great work through us. Diligently DOING these things shows our faith and diligence to the Lord and qualifies us to be found worthy to see the blessings of successful missionary work.

I love the words of the Lord to the Saints as recorded in D&C 123

16 You know, brethren, that a very large ship is benefited very much by a very small helm in the time of a storm, by being kept workways with the wind and the waves.
17 Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.

May we cheerfully and diligently DO in faith all those things that have been asked of us as missionaries, no matter how small or simple they may seem. As we do so, I know with the utmost assurance we will continue to witness the miracles of the Lord here in the Kobe Mission.

May the Lord Bless Each of You!
President and Sister McIntyre

Transfers April/May 2009

We returned four great missionaries this past week. Elders Edfrennes, Cook and Fell and Sister Sadler. They came into the mission home on Thursday for interviews and dinner and departed Friday morning May 1st.We had a great dinner followed by final testimonies and dessert Thursday night.This transfer we welcomed 9 new missionaries to the Kobe Mission. 7 are from Japan, one from Australia and one from the US. This transfer increased our ratio of Japanese and Sister missionaries in the mission.

Elder Kurose celebrated his birthday here in the mission home so Sister McIntyre made him a birthday cake.The new missionaries starting with the Sisters on the front row - left to right Sister McIntyre holding Sammy, Sisters Kina, Ho, Kaneko and Yamada. Elders in the back Pres. McIntyre, Elders Emery, Uehara, Kurose, Honma and Kudo.

This is a unique group for us as we usually have more foreign missionaries and one or two from Japan. This group was the opposite. They are all extremely well prepared and excited to be here. I am confident they will have a great positive impact on the work here in the Kobe Mission. It was a good transfer week. Next transfer (mid June) will be the biggest of the year. We will return 12 and get 14 new missionaries (8 Japanese and 6 foreign).

Julie in Tokyo

Julie appears to be in her element in Shibuya and Harajuku, Tokyo this past week.Crepes in Shibuya. Brings back a lot of memories. Hachiko square in Shibuya with Liz and Becka.

Yes, Julie loves Tokyo. It is just a little different than Provo, Utah!

Julie is in Kobe!

The sakura have all fallen, but the azaleas are almost in full bloom. The mission home and office are surrounded by these pretty flowers. Along with Spring, Julie arrived back in Kobe where she will spend spring term before going back to BYU. We are so happy to see her and have her back with us for a while.

The kids minus Erika doing some posing for the camera.

James is now taller than Julie. That was not the case at Christmastime when she was here last.

Ricky is passing me up a little and James is now taller than mom.

Sunday the 26th we attended the Kansai Branch in Kobe. After church we had a lunch with the Wades, the Kobe sisters and a recent convert and his wife here at the mission home. After lunch we had a great lesson with everyone there. Later in the afternoon we attended a get together for recent Young Single Adult converts in the Kobe Stake. We had five young men (all in their 20's) that have been baptized since the first of the year in attendance. We have been focusing on finding the elect and doing so by focusing our efforts on the younger generation. These young people may serve missions and will marry and establish strong LDS families. The Lord has blessed our efforts and we are seeing the church estblished and future leaders coming unto Christ in the mission.

Akashi Apartment Move

We closed two old apartments and replaced them with new ones this week. The Nishinomiya apartment and the Akashi apartment. Both were quite run down and some of you mothers would not want your sons living in them! Neither did Sister McIntyre. The Akashi apartment had been rented for 21 years. You can imagine 21 years of elders living in the same apartment. Just normal wear and tear would be bad enough! This room above had wall paper from the 1970's, but some of it was torn off and moldy. Don't worry, our other apartments are not any where near this bad and no one used this particular room.

The Akashi elders with the office staff and assistants after several hours of clean up and moving. Elders Steele, Rassmussen, Throop, Bohman, Remund, Fukui, Andrews and Sisters Painter and McIntyre. The tatami mats where worn through and the whole place needs a major overhaul. The owner however, was surprised it was in as good of condition as it was after so many years. We may even get some of our deposit back. (Wow) The new apartment is a 1 minute walk from the church, very nice and it cost a little less!

Great Missionary Experience From Sister Erika McIntyre - Sapporo, Japan

This is from this weeks letter from Erika. A great example of what it is like preaching the gospel here in Japan and a memorable spiritual experience for her.Okay, I have a fun spiritual experience for all of you.. so if you don't mind, go get your scriptures. Before I begin I have one piece of AMAZING news. TSUTSUMI-san is GETTIN BAPTIZED!!! Yup, we committed her on Sunday. She will be getting baptized on Mothers Day, May 10... after which I get to talk with my wonderful family on the phone. Wow, that day will be a good one! =)

OKAY... story. So Tsuji shimai (my companion) and I were heading home on our bikes and had some time left, so we just decided if we had a feeling to go somewhere, or if some place looked good to house, we would just go with our gut. We were biking home and nothing really necessarily looked good and I didn't have a strong feeling, but for some reason we turned into a neighborhood and found some apartments and started there. There were 3 towers, A, B, and C, and we decided to start at A. We found a cute older lady, and made an appointment with her, we went to B, and found a 59 yr old man, and made an appointment with him too... we were going to go home after tower B, but we decided to head to tower C before going home. In tower C, we found another lady and got an appointment with her. I was seriously overwhelmed with gratitude for Heavenly Father's guidance. OK... but that's not the story... so here's the story, Tower B, the 59 year old man. We went to visit him again Monday. Our team up (member) couldn't come, and being a man, another woman is necessary, but being Monday night, most members have FHE and we couldn't find anyone. The man was telling me how beautiful he thought my eyes were and all that, so I was also a little hesitant and thought we would pass him off to the elders anyways.... SO we asked the elders to come. All 4 of us went to his (Saito is his name) apartment and this is what went down (quote my journal cuz its faster): "anyway we went in and well, he is very strong in what he believes. He says that he can learn from other people, and that he doesn't know everything, but when we try to tell him something he tried to contradict us... but it was an amazing experience and the spirit was there. As we asked about God, he said he can't see God with his own eyes, so he can't believe. We used many examples of not seeing, but believing, but he still said unless he can see Him he doesn't believe. He continued to say all these things that he believed and ended it by turning to me and saying, "see there is no God right?" I didn't really want to argue, but decided to testify... I began speaking, "No, I KNOW there is a God. I have my own personal experiences and witness that God is there. I've felt his love and know without a doubt that He is there. We each can have a personal relationship with Him and I've truly felt Him many times in my life, and have had experiences too personal to share through which I KNOW that He lives." Up until this point he would attack us mid-sentence, or as soon as we finished he would say something, but as soon as I finished talking, for once in the 40 minutes we had been there, he was DEAD SILENT. That's when I realized how powerful personal testimony is. No one can deny what another person knows or believes or experienced. You can't tell someone their testimony is wrong. He just sat there and stared at me, not sure what to say. Then Elder Jones came in and also began to testify, "I too know that God lives, we all have had similar experiences and that is why we are here (on our missions)." Then he asked Saito-san, "Haven't you at some point in your life felt God's love?" Now before, Saito-san was saying how God doesn't exist, but this is how he answered, "Well, yea, I MAY have felt His love...." then he said, "but whether it's God or Kami, or Hotokesama (Buddha), I don't know. But yea, I've felt that there may be some greater being..." When he said that, the story of Alma and Korihor came into my mind. And this morning during personal study I thought I would open up and compare the experiences. Alma 30:37- Alma asks, Believest thou that there is a God? :38 Korihor says, "Nay" :39 Alma: I say unto you I know that there is a God and also Christ shall come. :40 Alma asks, "what proof do you have that there isn't a God, besides only your word? :41 Alma: ...but I have all things as a TESTIMONY that these things are true. (testimony is greater proof than just words) :43 Korihor: Show me a sign :44 Alma: All things denote there's a God :48 Korihor changes from completely denying to.. well.. maybe... "I don't DENY the existence of A GOD, but I do not believe that there is a God." Saito-san to sokkuri to omotta (Just what Saito said!). Anyway, through this experience with Saito-san, I realized the importance of TESTIMONY. We can say, we believe, we feel, we think, but WE KNOW is the strongest witness you can give. And THAT is when the HOLY GHOST carries it UNTO the hearts of those we teach. Also, I realized how true the scriptures are and how they STILL APPLY for us today. Just as ELDER BALLARD's talk on those who have gone before, we can truly learn lessons from the missionaries in the Book of Mormon. Missionary work is still done the "Old fashioned way" (when it comes to testimony and conversion.)

After we talked with him some more, he said he had read the Bible before. So I offered him the Book of Mormon. He had heard of it, but had no idea what it was about. He read the introduction with us there, and seemed way into it. We pointed out Moroni 10:3-5 and marked it for him, then gave him a hand out entitled 20 questions that the Book of Mormon answers. He read those and said he had interest to learn more. The Elders took the next appointment and my companion closed with a prayer. He also knelt as we prayed, and as soon as words were spoken I felt a rush of the spirit. It was a great learning experience for me to feel the power of testimony and the Book of Mormon. It is SO IMPORTANT for us as missionaries (and as MEMBERS) to TESTIFY of the things we believe (know). The Holy Ghost will help us if we do, and will be with us to support what we say. WE don't JUST think, believe, or hope, but WE KNOW this church is true. We have received the confirmation, and we have the responsibility to spread the Word with all those we meet."

There are stories like this happening everyday in this country and the Kobe Mission. The work is moving forward. We are very proud of Erika, our sister missionary, and the work she is doing.

All Shapes and Sizes

These are probably our tallest and shortest missionaries (Elders). When the missionaries first arrive and meet these elders, the Japanese missionaries can't remember who is who between Rasmussen and Latimer and the foreign missionaries have a hard time distinguishing between Maeno and Kanno, all pictured here. Rasmussen is about 6'8" and Latimer must be about 6'4" or so. Not sure about Maeno and Kanno. You can guess. We interviewed the missionaries in Abeno, Osaka this week and it was Elder Kanno's birthday. We celebrated with a homemade cake baked by Sister McIntyre. Elder Kanno turned 20.

Erika's Birthday, Our Anniversary and Another Week Passes

President Daniels sent us some pictures of Sister McIntyre this past week. Her birthday was the 12th. She is wearing the blue sweater sitting next to Pres. Daniels. This must have been a recent zone conference. Below - Erika is sitting next to Sister Daniels during zone conference lunch. We sent her a care package for her birthday and of course correspond by email every week like all parents of missionaries do.

Looks like they had dessert or birthday cake for everyone! Erika is doing wonderful and enjoying her mission in Sapporo! She is glad it is finally warming up a little and the snow is melting!

This week we travelled to Iwade to do interviews in the Wakayama Sakai Zone and also Mikunigaoka for the Sakai Mikuni Zone interviews. Saturday I travelled to Kyoto and conducted training with all the bishops in the stake (at the request of the stake president) regarding the Preach My Gospel missionary program. Sister McIntyre travelled to Abeno in Osaka to attend the baptism of Sister Emi Miura.
Here is Sister Miura with several missionaries starting from the right - Elders Latimer, Maeno, Harris, Sisters Kogawa, Miura (in White) and Meyers and Elder Kanno.

Sunday the 19th was our 23rd wedding anniversary. We were invited to speak at the Ibaraki Ward Conference on the topic of (you guessed it) missionary work. Somehow word got out about it being our anniversary and the ward missionaries made gifts for us. Standing next to me is Brother Yoshino who was Sister McIntyre's institute teacher in Tokyo 27 years ago when she first joined the church. He also served as a mission president in Japan several years ago. The Iwaki Family also gave us some delicious chocolates. We were very touched by everyone's kindness and enjoyed the conference and visiting with the members there. Above we are pictured with Elders Capener and Castleton and the 4 ward missionaries.

It is official now. We have been married for more than half my life (and in a few months the same will be true for Rika). 23 of 46 years. I don't remember much about what it was like without Rika and I don't think I want to. I often think how amazing it is that we were born on opposite sides of the world into very different circumstances and cultures and yet have ended up together with a wonderful family united by our love of each other and the gospel. Sister McIntyre joined the church as a 17 year old young woman. Over the next several years our paths crossed many times. At times we were in the same place at the same time (on both sides of the globe) and did not even know each other. But somehow after my mission we ended up in the same ward at BYU, eventually began dating, and were married two years later. To be able to serve together here in Kobe is like a dream to us. We would have never imagined we would be asked to do this, but we are glad we were and can serve the Lord and Japanese people. It is miraculous to us to look back over our lives and see how the Lord has taught us and prepared us to do the things He wants us to do. That evening, the Kobe Elders and Sisters joined Ricky, James and us for cake (made by the members in Ibaraki). We will have two more anniversaries while we serve with our 25th just a few months before we complete our term of service.

Ricky and James both gave nice talks in Sacrament meeting today about the Aaronic Priesthood and the Duty to God Program. We left right after their talks and made our way to Ibaraki in time for the ward conference there. Next week we have more interviews and will be opening two new apartments. Also, next weekend Julie returns to Japan from BYU and will spend spring term with us. We are excited to see her. We are also starting to prepare for a big transfer. We have 9 new missionaries coming in the end of the month.

More Cherry Blossoms and Fukuchiyama Interviews - April 2009

Just across and down the street a couple minute walk from the mission home is the Gokokuji Temple. Lots of Sakura in bloom so we walked down at lunch time one day this week and enjoyed the beautiful blossoms.

This week we travelled to Fukuchiyama to interview the missionaries and to hold my monthly meeting with the District President. We noticed the sakura blooming at the Fukuchiyama Castle so we stopped and got a quick picture. This is a great little castle in the center of town set on a big hill. Not too sure of the history on this one, but it was certainly lived in hundreds of years by a Daimyo and Samurai who ruled the area.

Here is a picture of the zone. Elders Nicerio, Ritchie, Cutler, Sheffield, Badger, Bohman, Ito and Oshiro. Elder Fukui, who works in the office right now had a birthday this week and it seems that everyone made him a cake!

Kyoto Zone Interviews April 2009

Easter week - We visited Kyoto for interviews on Tuesday the 7th. The Easter bunny also joined us with eggs and treats. Kyoto is beautiful with all the trees in bloom.

After a zone lunch at Shakey's Pizza - all you can eat, we returned to the church in Shimogamo for interviews. The missionaries can get all the pizza, etc. they want for 670 yen. I am fairly confident they do not make any profit off the missionaries. Pictured above - Elders Budge, Andreasen, Cook, Thompson, Shattuck, Madgiman, Shepley, Williamson, Manning, Obata, Chamochumbi, Jones and Sisters Webb and Notsu.Everyone was pretty sick from eating too much pizza and the conversation changed to what we do each day for morning exercise. They seemed surprised when I told them how many push ups I do every day. To demonstrate, Elder Cook challenged me to 25 on the spot. They enjoyed watching that! We both did 25 and I am sure everyone got a good picture. You never know where and when those pictures will show up though! Kind of scary...

Himeji Castle Sakura (Cherry Blossoms) 2009

The cherry blossoms are in full bloom and fortunate for us the Kobe Mission area has some of the best and most famous viewing spots in Japan. One great place is Himeji Castle. On preparation day we visited Himeji and met up with several missionaries. Some were viewing and others planned to do some sports activities at the castle park.

This is the inner most mote around the castle with cherry blossoms.

Elders Steele and Wintz.

Sisters Glenn, McIntyre and Yamashita with the bamboo. Not sure what they are doing?

Another castle shot. People love to picnic under the trees this time of year and there are lots of people around to talk to!

Here is a group of missionaries. Yamashita, Glenn, Sorensen, Throop, Mizuguchi, Wintz, Steele, Remund, Varjao, Rasmussen, Merrick and Payne.

This is a shot from the front of the castle. It is about 400 years old and one of the largest still existing in Japan. The grounds are very spacious and you can see the castle from miles away as it stands high in the center of the valley.

Outside the walls, vendors are selling traditional Japanese festival food. That what I call it anyway.

Candied fruit.

Tako Yaki - Octopus dumpling balls

Sweet bean cakes.

Okonomiyaki - Pancake style cabbage and meat cakes.

And of course your basic squid on a stick.

Another pancake type roll on a stick. Shrimp in the middle.

April 2009 Begins with Visit to Otsu, Shiga Prefecture

April 5th, Fast Sunday, we fasted as a mission to show our thanks for the wonderful converts we have seen so far this year and to help us find and ask the Lord to lead us to more people prepared to hear and accept His message. Missionaries also fasted personally to help further develop Christlike attributes. We invited the members to join in the fast as part of their normal fast day. In the afternoon, we travelled to Otsu in the Kyoto Zone to see the baptism of the Olivera family. Otsu is a wonderful city in Shiga prefecture along the shores of famous Lake Biwa. The Olivera's were baptized into the Omihachiman Ward, which does not have a font in their rented church building. The Otsu church is very nice and stands on a hill above the lake. You can see the lake a little below on the left in the picture above. Otsu is about 30 minutes by car from Omihachiman.

The family of three was baptized together. Brother and Sister Olivera are from Brazil, but have lived in Japan for nearly 15 years. She is Brazilian Japanese. Mayke, their son, is 15 years old and was born and raised here. They were first contacted about 9 years ago by the missionaries and have been studying the gospel ever since. Brother Olivera said he wanted to be sure before joining and now he is looking forward to their next goal of being sealed in the temple in one year. Elders Magidman and Thompson were the latest to teach them, but other elders still serving in the mission and pictured here also taught them the gospel including Elders Obata, Fukui and Monson. Elders Magidman and Obata are also from Brazil. The 5th was also Elder Wade's birthday. We had cakes made by the missionaries and cookies designed by Sister McIntyre.

Earlier in the week we had a chance to stop by the church in Miki and visit with the elders there. It is rented building and looks a little worn outside, but it is quite nice inside. The Miki branch is up the mountains just above Kobe in the Kobe stake.