Kobe Flower and Bird Park

The boys are back in school so for preparation day we took a few hours and went to a great bird and flower park on Port Island in Kobe. The flowers were beautiful, but we enjoyed taking pictures of all the exotic birds. We start a busy transfer week tomorrow so this was a nice way to relax. Enjoy the pictures!

Now that is a Lily pad. These were really cool. If the weight is evenly distributed, they can support up to 100 kilos. We decided not to try though.

This one kept poking me in the side.

Ever wonder how ducks can walk on water? It is easy when you step on the fish.

The ducks were a little annoying. They followed us around and pulled on our pant legs until we would feed them.

Rika made a lot of friends.

This was her favorite duck.

There were many more kinds of birds and gorgeous tropical flowers hanging from the ceilings. We were surprised it was so nice and that there was such a wide variety of birds. I did not post any pictures, but they had an owl collection that was quite impressive. Owls from all over the world, 30 or 40 different kinds. Enough about the birds. Back to the missionaries!

Special Transfer - 4 Missionaries Return Home With Honor!

This week we had a special transfer for four elders who have completed two years, but needed to get home before the regular transfer date to start school. Elders Steele, Schmidt, Swartz and Throop all departed on the 21st after two years in Kobe. We had a nice meal, testimony meeting and a trip to the park to view the night lights of Kobe the night before they left. In the morning, the four elders went on a morning run with Sister McIntyre and I up the mountain and to the river.
James and Ricky started school this week and look real excited about it in this picture from dinner. James was not happy he had homework on the first day back! Nevertheless, the food was delicious. Two kinds of Gyoza, stir fried meat and veggies, chili shrimp and chicken, salad and mango sticky rice.Elder Throop was given an apron from Sister McIntyre for his service in the mission office after his bike accident. She claims he was her first APW or Assistant to the President's Wife. Elder Throop finished his mission strong after healing and was eventually transferred back to the same area where the accident occurred, Hanayashiki, as his final area. A great group of elders. Regular transfers are the first week of September and we will be welcoming 9 new missionaries and 4 more return home.

Recent Shots from the Around the Mission

Here are some picture updates from around the mission. Above- The Miki Branch had a wonderful baptism this past week and most of the members are pictured here. Sister Goto Yukiko was baptized. She was taught by Elders Maua'i and Stennett. They are both from Hawaii and said luau dendo works great in Miki. Elder Reading who is also pictured also taught her when he was in that area.

When we did interviews in Fukuchiyama we all ate lunch at an all-you-can-eat yakiniku. Everyone looks quite satisfied. Pictured are Elders Matsuki, Mizuguchi, Fa'aleilei, Oshiro, Reading, Ritchie, Kurose and Cutler.

Sister McIntyre finally found something to do with all those old ties she gets from the missionaries. Here she models a skirt made from old ties. She now has each returning missionary leave her one of their old ties so she can make things with them.

This sign outside of a convenience store between Hirakata and Nara reads: Let's Stop Annoying Behavior . You can figure what behavior they are talking about.

Elders Monson and Swartz enjoy chocolate on their dry ramen noodles at a recent district lunch at the mission home.

Mission President Seminar in Korea

The past few days were spent in Seoul Korea for the Asia North Area Mission President Seminar. We were privileged to have Elder Cook of the Twelve preside and train us accompanied by Elder Costa of Presidency of the Seventy. Of course Elders Stevenson, Choi and Aoyagi all of the Seventy and our Area Presidency also attended and trained. All the mission presidents from Japan, Korea and Guam/Micronesia attended.This (below) is the group of Japanese presidents and wives that came out with us last year. Two more years to go and it is going way too fast. From left to right, President and Sister Isa, President and Sister Tateoka and President and Sister Daniels. Here are all the currently serving Japan Mission Presidents and their wives. This was taken at the Seoul Temple after our session.
We had a little time to hit the street market. This was as we left the Nandaemun Market in Seoul.
We visited the National Cultural Museum and took a whole group picture. Our general authority visitors and area presidency are on the front row. We are in the back row next to the Daniels and Tateoka's.
Some of us at the Museum on Saturday afternoon.

At Sunday night dinner, many of the Korean sisters dressed in traditional Korean dresses.

The conference was wonderful as we were instructed by the Spirit through an apostle and the Lord's servants. Elder Cook was one of the lead general authorities on the missionary committee when Preach My Gospel was created and he shared with us many insights about that wonderful guide for missionaries. We will be teaching and following up on the things learned in our missions and especially at zone conferences.

Happy Birthday 2009 Sister McIntyre!

This past weekend we spent a few days in Korea at a mission president's seminar with Elder Cook of the Twelve and Elder Costa of the Presidency of the Seventy as well as our Area Presidency. At dinner Monday night, Everyone sang Happy Birthday to Sister McIntyre and they prepared a birthday cake for her. She was so surprised and happy that she cried. She then had to use this big knife to cut it!

Upon arriving home from Korea Tuesday evening the boys and the elders surprised Sister McIntyre with a cake and other gifts. They sang happy birthday and shared a short video they created for her. Ricky made the cake and mom was pretty happy with all the love shown.

Typhoon and Earthquake Update, Plus Letters from Missionaries

The Kobe Mission was hit by Typhoon Number 9 this weekend. But don't worry! Everyone is safe and dry. Parts of the mission in the mountainous region near the Japan Sea (Toyooka especially) had river flooding and some landslides. Most the serious damage and deaths were in the low populated areas bordering the Hiroshima Mission where we do not have any missionaries serving. The southern part of Wakayama, Shingu and Tanabe, were also brushed by the typhoon's arms as it roared by in the Pacific heading for Tokyo. Just as it passed there was an earthquake in Shizuoka (Nagoya Mission) that was felt in parts of southern Wakayama as well. This may all sound scary, but it was basically business as usually and no one was hurt and no damage to report. Just a lot of rain. I was in Toyooka on Sunday for church and had the opportunity to set apart Elder Takashi Tada as a missionary. He enters the JMTC tomorrow. We also had a missionary fireside in the Toyooka Branch that afternoon. As I drove home the rivers that run through the area looked very full and authorities were starting to issue flood warnings. Later, I was glad to hear everything was OK and happy I made it home safely without any problems with washed out roads or landslides.

Several of the members of Toyooka on Sunday.

On a Brighter Note
One of the greatest privileges I have is to read weekly letters from the missionaries. If you have ever wondered what they say, let me tell you, I get everything and anything. These letters are sacred and I learn so much about the missionaries and mission by reading them. It can be exhausting if I have over 100 letters stacked up to read. And as soon as I am done, I get 100 more. But it is worth it. I certainly cannot share the letters with anyone, but from time to time I would like to share a few lines anonymously that are inspiring and can help you a feel what our great missionaries are experiencing. Here are a couple.


...Zone Conference was amazing. Every time I go to Zone Conference I get chastised by the spirit and it is refreshing! Sometimes when you are told you could be doing something better, you feel bad. But at Zone Conference, it was refreshing to hear and feel that happy need to change.


During our Sunday School class, I saw something amazing. There were 9 people in the room as follows: 1 teacher, 2 missionaries, 2 recent converts of less than 3 months, 1 less active member we invited to come to church and 3 investigators who were experiencing church for the first time. Those investigators, 2 are new who were contacted referrals and one is a progressing investigator. Amazing!


This week was fantastic. We really have raised the bar. I have come to love personal study. I really enjoy that half hour in the Book of Mormon. I really have felt the Savior's love over the past little while. I used to think the atonement would not apply to me. I was so wrong. I have come to learn that true repentance is a change of heart. I am grateful for the atonement.

That is all for now!

Short Update August 5, 2009

This past week we attended a wonderful baptism in Senri, Osaka North Stake. Sister Hirai Ayaka was found through street contacting and taught by Sisters Inoue and Kaneko. Her baptism was performed by Elder Sheffield. Elder Burton is also pictured with us.Last Saturday, the Kansai Branch and Kobe Ward held their annual summer festival, Matsuri. Sister McIntyre and I dressed up in our summer Japanese local wear for the occasion.
Julie is back in Utah and attending BYU, but took some time for a trip to Lake Powell with her friends. I did see a video of her up on one ski as well. Julie and Jeff at Rainbow Arch.

Amanda and Julie on the houseboat.

Julie and Jeff getting ready for some water sports.

Summer is at its peak now in the mission. Most days are very humid and hot. It will be this way into September. The end of September, October and November can be great weather wise here in Japan. We just have to watch out for the typhoons that tend to blow through in the fall. Proselyting in heavy typhoon rains is not very fun or dry. The boys start school on August 21st. They have been taking it pretty easy (sleeping in and playing basketball mostly).

More Updates From the Field

Zone Leader Council - End of July 2009 This past week we held zone leader council and then two combined zone conferences, one in Kobe and one in Abeno, Osaka. In the zone conferences, we focused on teaching for understanding and helping investigators make and keep commitments. We also spent some time talking about what and how we should study and plan each day. We will continue on that theme in the next conference as well. The Toyooka Branch in the Fukuchiyama District had a wonderful baptism. Sister Fujikawa was taught and baptized there by Elders Ito and Oshiro.

In the Habikino Ward, Osaka Stake, Sister Nana Sasaki was baptized as well. She was introduced to the missionaries by Brother Boyle. Elders Fa'aleilei and Uehara taught her. The Higashi Osaka Ward also recently had a wonderful baptism. Brother Shirai Hirataka was taught and baptized by Elders Emery and Johnson.

Summer is in full force, but the rainy season has not officially ended and things are pretty wet. The beginning of the season was very mild and relatively dry. However, the rain eventually came and has not let up. While there are nice parts of the day, it seems to cloud up and poor every afternoon and evening. But I am confident all the missionaries have sunshine in their souls all day long!

Erika's Weekly Letter

For those family and friends that do not get Erika's email forwarded to them, here is her letter from this past week. She is having a great mission Sapporo, Japan.

Alrighty dear family and friends,
I LOVE missionary work. Anyway last week our Key Indicators weren't all that great. We had quite a few lessons when we were teaching Mio and Ueda-san, but since they got baptized, our
'investigators to church' and 'lessons' went down. Well, of course it's common sense, but it was quite sad. We were eager to reach our goals, and find NEW people to teach. We had made a ton of appointments, but a lot of them fell through and got cancelled or were no shows, and I just started to feel so down. But, Monday and Tuesday of this week were great. Some of the appointments we had made last week came through this week and things have been wonderful. It's so great how the Lord ALWAYS provides. We got a new investigator on Monday. Her name is Tazuko. She has 2 children, one is 8 and one is 6 and they both attended the lesson. They come to Eikaiwa (English Conversation class) each week, and when the Elders did interviews, they set up the appointment for us. We taught her about the restoration, and she had many questions. She still hasn't accepted everything 100%, but we are hopeful of the future with her.
Tuesday we taught a girl, named Kotomi. She is 17 years old. She seemed pretty golden when we met her (coincidence, but we met her in the exact SAME place we met MIO). We made an appointment, and on Monday followed up to see if it was still on. She said yes, and we taught her lesson one yesterday. We had done our Baptism intro, and throughout the lesson, continually referred to baptism: when talking about Jesus Christ, or how and when the church was restored
the correct way, etc. Saito Shimai and I had decided on August 29 before leaving the apartment that morning as the day we wanted to challenge her for, but it was hard to bring it up naturally. As we were teaching, and almost finishing up, I felt that I needed to invite her to baptism, even if it seemed a little awkward timing. We asked her, "if you pray and this is true, will you follow Jesus Christ's example and be baptized?" She answered a simple, "yes." We then talked with her how we thought that as a goal August 29 would be good, and she agreed. She currently is attending a christian school, and wants to go to a christian college. Seriously just a wonderful girl.
Anyway, because she is a minor, we do need permission before teaching her again, we asked her if her parents would have a problem with it and it seems like they probably won't. We asked her to ask her parents and she said she would. Her mother apparently Loves Christianity, and lives in Nishi-ku (Kotoni area, where I was 2 transfers ago) and she lives here with her dad and Sister. Her sister is 21, and has a bible, because she went to the christian school too. Anyway it's just so great. We will get her whole family baptized! =) haha
Anyway We are looking forward to teaching these two new investigators, and finding more! The Lord is truly blessing us, and this blessed area, Asahikawa. I absolutely love it here. As for today, the Zone Leaders are gone at Zone Leader Council, so we decided to have a Girls' Pday. We are meeting Mio, and Kotomi, and going shopping, it should be a blast.
Thank you so much for all of your love and support. I love you all.

Sister Erika McIntyre

Ten New Enter the Mission and Eleven Return With Honor

Ten new missionaries entered the mission this week. A very unified and excited group of elders.

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 Message August 2009 -Greatness

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

Wakayama Tour with Assistants

This past week President McIntyre drove to Tanabe and Shingu with the assistants to meet and interview the missionaries in the southern part of Wakayama. It was an overnight trip and they visited three areas. After interviews in Wakayama, they drove to Gobo to pick up some things from the old missionary apartment there then continued on to Tanabe. President's Report: In Tanabe - Interviewed Elders Payne and Merrick. Here we all are front of the Tanabe Church.
Above - Elder Payne, President McIntyre, Elders Tupou, Fishler and Merrick.

We then drove along the southern coast to Shingu. We stopped for a quick photo in Kishimoto to take a picture of the rock formations called Hashiguiiwa. Elders Fishler and Tupou pose for a few shots.

In Shingu the next morning we studied with the missionaries there, Elders Honda and LaRose, then I interviewed them.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.