Merry Christmas!

Olá!

I´m writing today because we decided to move our P-day to today instead of yesterday, so that we could work a little bit more on Christmas day! 

This past week was a good week for us. I am with my new companion, Elder Franco! His parents are from Angola, but he was born and raised in Lisbon, Portugal, so I guess that would mean that he is my first "Portuguese" companion! He is a very nice person and very funny. I am really hoping that this next transfer we will have a lot of success and good memories together. 

 As we were out working yesterday, I realized a few things. I realized that Christmas really does bring a special spirit to the world. The spirit of Christ seems to just come down like a blanket over the world, and most people act differently. Especially here in Madeira. There was not one store open, and practically no one on the street. It was the calmest day that I have seen on my mission. It hit me a few days ago that this would be my last Christmas as a missionary, and I decided that I wanted it to be memorable. Not because of presents or because of fancy food, but because of my service to the Lord. I felt priveliged to be able to walk outside and represent Christ on this special day. Unfortunately we weren´t able to teach anyone yesterday, but I was happy that I was able to at least walk through the streets giving people Christmas pass along cards and DVDs, and wishing them a merry Christmas. I was happy that we could  ring the doorbells of a few buildings and at least wish people a merry christmas through their intercoms. There were a few times throughout the day where I could just feel the sacredness of this day, and the miracle that it is that we have a Saviour and Redeemer! 

On Christmas Eve, our branch presidente and his family invited us, the other elders, and a couple of other members over for a Christmas lunch. Imagine my relief when I saw that we were going to eat chicken, haha! It was a nice lunch and a nice visit. At the end of the meal, one of my companions volunteered me to give the spiritual thought. I thought a few seconds about what I should say, and then I realized that the perfect thing would be to read the Christmas story in Luke Chapter 2.  I decided that we would each read two verses until the end, and as we read, that we should really imagine what was happening that calm Christmas night in Bethlehem so many years ago. As we finished reading, there were a few people in tears because of the spirit that we felt. I didn´t have to say anything, the message was already given by the spirit. 

What made my day even better was the fact that I could see all of my family through Skype yesterday. They are truly my biggest blessings, and my best friends! If I could choose between all of the presents in the world, or my family ,I would definetly choose my family. Nothing can replace them.

I love this time of year! I love Christmas, and the special feeling that we can always feel! I´m grateful that I could spend one more Christmas here on my mission. I hope that we can all try to bring the Christmas spirit with us into the new year!

I love and miss you all lots!

Love,

Elder Barker

Transfers!

Olá!

This last week was the last week of the transfer, and as always there are a few surprises! Don´t worry, I wasn´t transferred, so I will be staying at least another six weeks here in Machico! But my companion, Elder Romano, will be leaving tomorrow to serve in Guimarães (which is in the north of Portugal). It was a big surprise because this was only his first transfer here in Machico, and usually missionaries stay a lot longer on the island, haha. My new companion will be Elder Franco, who is from Africa but lives in Lisbon. I was able to meet Elder Franco earlier this transfer, and he seems like a pretty nice guy. He is one of my "brothers" on the mission, because we were both trained by the same trainer (Elder Cardenuto). 

Much to my surprise, Madeira is starting to get cold! Compared to the rest of Portugal, it probably isn´t that cold, but yesterday I forgot to wear a jacket and I was actually shivering, haha. 

I don´t have too much time to write a letter this week, but I just want to say that I am grateful that I can serve my mission! I´m grateful that I can have one more Christmas as a missionary, because the people are more open and kind during this part of the year. They are more willing to at least listen to us on the street! I´m grateful that we have the Christmas season to help us remember the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. There really is a tangible spirit in the air each Chirstmas season!

I´m sorry that this email this week is a little bit short! We don´t have to much time because Elder Romano has to get his bags all packed up, haha! 

I hope you all have a very merry Christmas, and that you try to do something good for someone each day! I love and miss you all!

Love,

Elder Barker

PS I probably won´t be able to write an email next week because the library will be closed on Christmas day :)

Birthday Week

Olá!

This week I turned 21!

 I wasn´t really expecting my birthday to be too much different than any other day, but there ended up being a few little suprises during the day! The day before my birthday, a member invited us and the other elders to eat lunch with her and her family on the 6th. We accepted, but the walk ended up being almost an hour long, haha. 

The whole way there I was feeling very excited to eat something delicious, because one of the other elders told me that this member always made really good food. So imagine my surprise when we walked in and the smell of fish hit me in the face. Not just any fish, but fried sardines, head and everything. 

This was definetly my first (and probably last) time eating fish on my birthday, haha! It actually wasn´t that bad, but I think I would prefer chick-fil-a ;). I also ate a raw avocado!

The member that made us the lunch is very nice, and has an interesting story. She has been a member of the Church for 23 years, but nine of those years she was super inactive. She even refered to herself as an apostate at one point. The last two years she has come back into full activity and told us that she never wants to go back to inactivity, because the Church fills a hole in her heart and she knows that it is true!

As we were walking back after lunch, we noticed a nursing home nearby. We decided to enter with our santa hats (that the mission gave us) on, and asked if we would be able to schedule a time to come back and sing some christmas hymns for the elderly people. 

The receptionist  told us that we could go right upstairs and sing to them right then! Good thing we had our hymnbooks with us! 

This experience was definetly the highlight of my birthday! 

The workers gathered together all of the patients into one room and we sang two or three songs for them. Several of the patients were unable to show emotion or move too easily, but I could still tell that they appreciated it. THere were some patients that started singing with us and the workers even filmed us and took pictures. At the end, we shook the hands of all of the patients and wished them a Merry Christmas.  I am so grateful for this opportunity I had to bring some light into this nursing home, especially on my birthday! I am also grateful for the #lLightTheWorld campaign, because if it wasn´t for that, we might not have been so atent to look for opportunities to serve!

The members of the branch also made me a birthday cake and sang me happy birthday at the christmas activity the day after my birthday! 

This week we got to teach Paulo twice, and both times they went super well! Paulo just absorbs everything we teach him, and really understands. He also gets super excited when he learns a new thing. Seriously, I have never seen anyone get so excited to learn about the Pre-existence! He also was so happy to learn that our life doesn´t end after we die! Paulo is literally a miracle, and I am so grateful that I get to be a part of his story. He told us that he will go to the District Christmas Party this saturday, and I just know that our members will be so welcoming to him!

We had our Zone Christmas Conference this week, and it was a lot different than last year, for a few reasons. This year, it was just the Madeira zone, so there were just 12 missionaries instead of almost 50. It was also super hot outside, so it didn´t even feel like Christmas time, haha. But it was still fun to see the other missionaries on the island, and to hear from our Mission Presidente. Afterwards our zone got together and we went to downtown Funchal and started singing Christmas hymns and talking to everyone we met about #LighttheWorld. It was very succesfull!

I love this time of year, and the sweet spirit that we can feel no matter where we are in the world. That sweet spirit comes from our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. I love Him and I´m grateful that I can represent him for these two years!

Have a very merry second week of December! I love and miss you all!

Love,

Elder Barker

Olá! 

Happy December! This year the Church is doing the same Christmas campaign as last year, #LightTheWorld. I´m excited because our mission presidente really wants us as a mission to get involved with it this time around. 

Just to explain, this campaign is something that the Church is doing to promote the true reason of Christmas: Jesus Christ. Each day up until December 25th, there is something that we can do to bless the life of someone else. Whether it be writing a thank you note, spending some extra time with your family, or donating something to a homeless shelter, each of these things can bring more light into this season of the year. 

At Mormon.org there is a video each day and three suggestions of something that we can do for somebody else(based on one of Christ´s teachings). To me, this is a wonderful way that we can celebrate Christmas this year! 

As a mission, our mission president wants us to get out with our district everyday to sing Christmas hymns and pass out the special #LightTheWorld calenders. I challenge all of you to try to do one of the suggestions each day, and I know that this will make your Christmas even better!

As we were walking out of the store a few days ago, a man called out to us and said, "Elders! Come here, I need spiritual help." 

Now, just a little backround about this man. About a month and a half ago, we tried to give him a pass along card on the street, and he started accusing us of being of the devil and was shouting at us and being very rude. I´ve been yelled at on the mission before, but this was one of the ruder people that I´ve met. However, everytime that we would see him on the street after that, we would always say hi, or tell him good morning or something similar, with big smiles. We saw him maybe five times after the first "incident." 

Fast forward to this week and he requests that come and help him. Just by talking to him, I could see that he had changed a lot, and that he had become humbled. He started talking about how much he misses his two sons (they live with the mom), and how he is worried that he won´t get paid anytime soon (he´s a fisherman). We ended up saying a prayer with him right there on the street, and he said that he felt so much better, that he could tell that we were missionaries sent from God. A few days later we talked to him again on the street, only this time Pedro showed up randomly! Pedro told Paulo (this man) to listen to what we have to say, because we have helped him so much and what we have to say is true! 

We haven´t been able to meet up with Paulo since then, because he hasn´t been at home when he says he would be, but we have lots of hope for him! This just is another testimony that people can really change, and that no little act of kindness (like telling someone goodmorning) goes unnoticed!

I love this time of year! The spirit of Christmas really touches people´s hearts, and there is really a special feeling in the air. I´m grateful that I get to spend one more Christmas here on my mission, and I hope that I can be able to touch the lives of even more people this month. I love my Savior. We were talking to a man on the street yesterday (actually we sang to him and then talked to him, haha), and something that he said really stuck with me. He said that Jesus Christ is our best friend. I´ve heard this several other times, but this time I really felt the truth of it. He is our best friend and will always be there for us! 

I love you all and I hope you have a great week!