My First Area and Training Companion

After 6 weeks in the MTC learning the lessons and some of the language, the missionaries are sent to their respective missions.  In Spain, there are 3 missions: Barcelona, Malaga, and Madrid.  

Elder Maybury with President and Sister Dalton of the Spain Barcelona Mission

Day 1: They left the MTC on Tuesday morning and after a 3 hour train ride, arrived in Barcelona where the Mission President and his wife, President and Sister Dalton, greeted them along with the two Assistant's to the President.

Elder Maybury is in the far back on the left-hand side

From the train station, they went to the Mission Home, where they had a quick meeting to introduce the new missionaries to their new home in the Spain Barcelona mission. Then, a nice lunch of enchiladas with corn and salad.  And for dessert?  Yummy brownies and ice cream.

After lunch we went to Mont Juïc. This is always a special trip for the new missionaries. They had the opportunity to look over the entirety of Barcelona and take a moment reflect on the special experiences that they are about to have.

Later that day, they went to do missionary work out in the city with some missionaries from that area up until bedtime (around 9:30pm).




Day 2: This is an exciting day because each of the new missionaries will be paired with a new companion.  This companion will be their trainer.  This is a missionary who has been out in the field for a while, who is obedient and who has demonstrated some level of leadership.  For almost all missionaries, their trainers become eternal friends that they cherish forever.  A bond is made when you are new to the field, are scared about the new language and are trying to find your sea legs, so-to-speak.  So, finding out who your training companion is going to be is always exciting.

Aside from that, the new missionaries will find out their first area of assignment.  The area of a mission is made of several cities.  The Barcelona mission goes all the way to the border of France (see pic).

Area map of the Spain Barcelona mission, including the island of Palmas

This new group of missionaries is truly spectacular! This morning the new missionaries came to the Barcelona 2nd Ward Chapel where they met up with their yet unassigned trainers. After a delicious lunch of barbecue pork sandwiches with a salad on the side, they took a group picture then moved into the final training meeting. They heard messages about the Vision of the Mission, What we do in El Faro, and a presentation entailing many aspects of the missionary work here in Spain.

Notice Elder Maybury in the direct center of all of the Elders.

Elder Maybury's new companion is Elder Graham and they will be serving in the city of Mataró.  

Elder Maybury and Elder Graham

This is a city on the coast of Spain just a little north of Barcelona.  There will be a lot of work for them to do there.  One thing to know is that missionary work keeps you busy and so you are tired by the end of the day.  But that is a great sign.  No missionary wants to come home after 18 months or 2 years feeling like they had a good long rest.  They want to come home feeling exhausted.  Knowing that they used every day to its fullest to serve the people of their mission.  

Mataró enjoys a nice climate of low to mid 80's throughout August and into the mid 70's for September.  There is some great history associated with this city, that dates back to the Roman times, including the recent discovery of one of the first Roman bath houses, which is now an area that can be visited.  

In this picture you can see the entire area of the CITY of Mataró.  That is a lot of walking!  Of course, they will be able to ride the bus, but most of the mission is walking.  It's a good thing he is athletic!

**********************************************

Alexander's new P-day will be on Mondays, so the blog will be updated on that day.  It will be hard to not hear from him on Thursday, but I can look at his smiling face in these pictures and know that he is working hard and that makes me happy.

Please know that there will be moments for almost all missionaries where they experience some down times.  Sometimes it's just because you put so much love and energy into teaching people that you feel worn out and then feel some disappointment if the work is not progressing.  This is why, as family and friends, we can continue to send him positive messages.  Write to him.  Once he gives me permission to share his email address, I will do that, but for now, please use the mailing address below.  It will take 7-10 days for him to receive a letter.

As always, thank you for supporting our son.  He feels your prayers.  He feels your love.  He feels uplifted and supported by all of us back home.


Mailing address:
Elder Alexander Maybury
Spain Barcelona Mission
c/Calatrava 10-12, bajos
08017 Barcelona
Spain

My last week in the CCM!!! (Week 6)

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen!!!!

Today is the last week before I head out into the field!!!

It's so crazy! At the beginning 6 weeks seemed forever but know on the last week I wonder where did time fly by? I have learned a lot of cosas (things) here and I really enjoyed my time here. The CCM cannot prepare you enough for the field experience but it does help a lot. Without it, I don't know what I would have done. 

The teachers here are fantastic and way good at soccer. My district has the best teachers though (just so you know). I am almost done with the Book of Mormon. I'll with hopefully be finished by Saturday. So I will have completed the whole book in about 1 1/2 months. All you have to do is read 14 pages a day. Sounds like a lot but when you have 1 hour each day to read it, it can be quite entertaining. 

Today we got our Residency cards. They are pretty cool. We know have visual and tangible proof that I am a resident of Spain. At least I do. My records are safe with the church. So even if I lose my card I'll still be a resident. 

We went to the Sol (sun) Plaza again today. Didn't really buy anything. We just looked around. I did have some Burger King so that was an experience. And was really clean. Today will be the last day we get to go to the temple. Bummer. But i will enjoy every minute of it. We are doing the session in Spanish again so I'll really have to listen. And even though the words change, the feeling doesn't. That's what so good about the gospel is that it never changes. It's always constant. The Lord is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 

Spain is a growing to be a new home for me. It will certainly have it's challenges but I am adapting. I constantly get comments when I play. I always try and be humble when they tell me but deep down (maybe not so deep) I agree with them. But i always thank the Lord for keeping me safe and I recognize him as the one who gives me my talent.

Spanish is coming along great and I might be at the point where I can hold a conversation with [my mom]. This week is no English on the 4th floor which is where our classes are so I have been doing my best. Cuando hablo solo Espanol en la 4 Planta, es a veces dificil porque yo no entiendo mas Espanol pero hago mi mejor. 

The food here is okay. It gets kinda gross after a while but food is food.

It wasn't a super busy or impactful day but it was good. I didn't take a lot of pictures this week but that only means there will be more next week! Woo-hoo.

I love you guys a lot. I can always feel the prayers here. You guys are amazing. 

Con Amor, Elder Maybury

My sweet little sister always sends me hearts like this, so I'm sending one back.

Just a reminder of who I represent.

Reading my lessons in Español

Out and about at the Plaza

Using my artistic skills to bless the lives of others - haha

Our last district photo together - next week, we are in our different missions

A picture to represent how much I miss playing light-sabers with my Pops

What a wonderful update from our son.  As I responded to his email early this morning, one of the first things I put in my letter was that I can feel his happiness through his emails.  It is such a powerful feeling.  I still miss him TONS...but knowing that he is where he is supposed to be and seeing his personal and spiritual growth is an undeniable blessing and I would never keep him from that just to keep him with me.  He has a special gift that many people can feel whenever they spend time with him.  I am so grateful that he will be able to serve the people of Spain and that they will be blessed by his gift, his sweet spirit and his huge and loving heart. 

When I saw the picture of him above (holding the little Obi-Wan Kenobi drawing), the picture was very large in my email and his face filled up my screen.  The tears just started pouring out of my eyes.  To have my son's beautiful face looking into my eyes was a gift that I needed today.  For a brief moment, it was like having him here right in front of me.  I can see beyond all of the impact of the years and still see the face of my baby.  My first-born.  I can see the baby faces in all of my children.  It never leaves you.  Alexander has always had these gorgeous eyes.  That is one of my favorite things about each of my children, as they all have different color eyes.  Alexander's are brown, Daniel's are light brown with hints of green, Joshua's are blue, and Isabella's are "jade".  But to have my son so far away from me right now and then to have his face pop up on my screen and fill up the entire screen with that face and those eyes...it was a literal gift that warmed heart.  A heart that is missing her son.  

However, this brings so many new and exciting things for him.  He will leave the CCM (or the missionary training center) next Tuesday and he will take a 4 hour train trip to Barcelona.  After spending 2 days there with the Mission President and the other new missionaries, he will be assigned an area and will be assigned a new companion.  He will be in his new area anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months.  It will be fun for him to get to know new people and work with the Spanish people.  

In this mission, they do a lot of walking.  In the instructions he received when he his mission call first came, he was told to prepare himself by walking up to 25-30 miles each week, as that would be an equivalent of how much walking he will do in his service areas.  I know he is up for that challenge, but are his shoes!  🤔

He also reported that he is the same weight as when he started his mission.  He said others have been gaining weight, but he is not.  We bought his clothes with the idea that he might put on some weight in his mission, but with so much walking he wonders what will happen.  Oh the worries of youth!!!  I wish that I had that problem!  Hahaha.  But, he has two good belts that will hold up his pants nicely and we'll just have to see how it goes.  Maybe a little more ice cream will help him out. 😁

As always, we want to thank you for supporting our son.  He LOVES feeling your prayers.  He loves hearing from you.  He loves your letters and messages.  Speaking as a former missionary, I can tell you that letters from home mean a lot.  You don't always have time to write everyone back, but you read and re-read every letter.  

If you would like to write to Elder Maybury, you may do so at this address (it has changed, since he will be leaving the CCM in a few days):

Elder Alexander Maybury

Spain Barcelona Mission

Calle Calatrava N° 10-12, bajos

Barcelona

08017 Barcelona

Spain

This is the mission home address.  You can send him letters here for the duration of his mission.  He may notify us of his apartment address once he is assigned an area, but the mission home address is secure for all letters and packages.