Olá!

For the past few weeks, everyday has gotten hotter and hotter!
Apparently this region of Portugal is one of the hottest and driest. I
heard that it´ll get up to at 115ºF soon. There is no escaping the
heat, because none of the homes have built in air conditioning (not
even the brand new homes), so everyone just kind of has to sit in
front of their fans and suffer through it, haha. I´ve started taking
showers in cold water, because it is the only relief from the heat.
Also, about half of the people who answer their doors, are half-naked,
so that´s been fun.

A few days ago we had a nice rainstorm, with lighting and everything.
But as a result of the lighting, there has been a huge wildfire in
Portugal. The worst in decades, with at least 60 people killed. The
fire isn´t near us, but yesterday there was a bunch of smoke drifting
around in Castelo Branco.

The Relief Society president here in Castelo Branco actually went
through something extraordinary Saturday afternoon when the fire
began. She was taking the two hour bus ride from Coimbra to Castelo
Branco, which passes through some forested areas. As they were on the
road, the lighting struck, and she saw the fire begin, and she saw
several people killed. Everyone on the bus started to panic, and the
bus driver decided to take an alternate route through an aldeia( a
small portuguese village).

Roads in aldeias are usually super narrow and hard to navigate. As
they started going down the narrow road, it looked like the bus
wouldn´t be able to squeeze through the alleys, and the passengers
were panicky. Then, our Relief Society presidente (Clara) stood up and
told everyone to be calm, and she said that if they all collectively
said a prayer in their hearts to make it through, God would hear them
and help them. She  told us this story at church, and then said that
everyone on the bus went quiet as they silently prayed, and they were
able to make it through the narrow roads, and escape the fire.

 As we were eating in a Pastelaria (pastry shop) this morning, I saw
the news talking about this wildfire, and it showed so many burnt up
cars and houses. It showed families crying desperately. I know that
our member could have easily been one of the casualties. My heart goes
out to all those good people whose lives are being turned upside down
right now.

A few days ago we had another activity in the church-- "Meet the
Mormons." It was a low-key activity where we just watched the movie
"Meet the Mormons," but I think it turned out well. Only four members
showed up though, haha. We called one of our investigators, Manuel
(the one that gives us dinner), and he showed up! He liked the film,
but didn´t come to church the next. Pouco e pouco (little by little).

This week we will be doing something in our area that I hope will
help--a missionary "blitz" where five other missionary companionships
will come to our area to help us out.

However, we just found out about this a few days ago, so we haven´t
had much time to prepare. We asked our zone leaders if we could move
it forward a few weeks to a Saturday, so that our members would be
able to come and be involved, and so we could have more time to
prepare--they said no. We tried to tell them that it would be better
on the weekend in the next transfer period, but they told us that it
had to be this week on Wednesday.

I have to admit that I was super against this (and actually annoyed),
not because it is a bad idea, but because it is something that
requires a lot of time to prepare, if we want it to be successful and
not just knocking on doors. And we don´t really have the required
time.

I was dead set against it, but then my companion suggested that we
pray and ask the Lord if we should go through with it. As we prayed, I
felt surprised to feel good about it. I thought of two scriptures:
1) D&C 9:8  "But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out
in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right
I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you
shall feel that it is right"

and 2) Isaiah 55:8-9  "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither
are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher
than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts
than your thoughts."

I thought, everything logical is pointing away from doing this
activity this week. Only a few of the members would be able to come
and help, the missionaries from the other areas would be here during
the worst part of the day to find people in their homes, we wouldn´t
have much time to prepare, etc. But the spirit was telling me that it
was the right thing to do. My companion felt the same way.

 So we went to the chapel yesterday to start planning what we would
do. On the way over, I prayed that our small amount of time would be
magnified so that we could adequately get ready for this "blitz". We
spent four or five hours straight yesterday preparing maps, looking up
all the addresses of our less actives (at least 120!), dividing up our
area into six portions, assigning each companionship to an area, etc.
In the end, we decided to label this activity "O Resgate" or  "the
Rescue." We decided that we would focus on finding the inactives in
the branch, so we assigned 7 or 8 people to each companionship. We´ll
only have about 2 1/2 hours for everything, so it will truly be a
"blitz".

I know that Christ works with His imperfect missionaries to accomplish
His work here. I have lots to learn, and I know that I will always
have lots to learn. I know that Christ is our Savior, and that he
truly did suffer for our sins and pains. This truth was reinforced to
me yesterday as I was bearing my testimony in another talk at church.

I love and miss you all! Please pray for the good people of Portugal
who are being affected by these fires! I love this country, this
people, and this Gospel!

Love,
Elder Barker