Mataró - Week 5 ...All is well

Well hello hello again! 

I want to apologize if you didn't get an email last week. I swore it sent but if it didn't then it's the tablets fault.  Anyways, it breaks my heart that Koda is gone. I plan on getting him back when I come home. Don't know how but I will do it. And if I have to pay money to do it then I will! I was crying tears about how you were crying and Koda was whimpering. Man, it hit me hard like the Holy Ghost. Instant effect! INSTANT! But I'm glad he is happy and you all are doing well.

I did get a haircut, by the way.  Thank you for checking up on me. 

Here are the answers to some questions I have been getting.

• My companion is from Florida, pfft, artificial trees and oranges. He goes home in about 10 months. Zone Conference was last Tuesday and oh my goodness it was amazing! I did not sing but that's okay.
• I did buy some envelopes and I have a letter in the mail for home, well soon. It’s the address for the house in Utah so I can't send it quite yet. Probably Friday or Saturday.
• I forgot to take pictures of our piso (apartment) but I promise I will get them.
• We do baptisms in a font, more like a pool, and I wish we could use it but, we are not at that stage yet. 
• I pick up mail at the mission home whenever we go to the office in Barcelona which can vary from 1-3 times a month. It depends I guess. We also get mail at Zone Conference if we have any.
• Send mail and packages to the mission office address. That's the best way I can get it.
• I will send a list of what I miss most from Home in another email*, but whatever you want to send me is great! I can't wait for those packages and letters.
• If you want, you can pray for [our investigators] Lupe, Jose, and Mustafa. They are all golden but it just takes some pushing.

Texas is in the prayers by the way. That's a lot of rain.  Too much.

Spanish is doing better. I might be able to talk with you by Christmas! I am reading the Book of Mormon in both English and Spanish every day. Almost done with 1st Nephi. I am studying 1-2 irregular words a day. I got about 4-5 down right now. I make sure I don't forget their conjugations at all. I am starting in the practice book again. Doing it from the beginning and going as far as I can go. 

Much love for you and the while family!!!!

Con amore siempre,

Elder Alexander J Maybury

Love you!!!!!!

*Sent in a second email, a list of things he would like from home

• Mac n cheese
• Syrup
• Socks
• Pictures of everyone! 
• Info on what's going on back home, both states and our home. 
• My Arizona shirt
• Homemade recipes!!!!!
• A memorabilia/item of each family member.
• Favorite church hymn of everyone in the family.
• Gramma’s homemade cookies! Mom's tambien! 

Root beer floats!!!  Yummy!!!

I made a Quesadilla, this was just the best looking one out of many.

 I won in chess!!!!!

A tribute to Koda...with my tears.  He was a good dog who will be missed but is going to a wonderful new home.  

Sigh.  I have a confession to make.  I tried an experiment.  And I think it failed.  You see, I didn’t want my son to feel so inundated with emails because he has only a very small window on his P-day and so I decided to only write to ONCE a week.  My Sunday email.  Well, I have never felt worse in my life!!!!  It made me miss him 2000% more!!!!  😭😭😭  I have cried so much this past week that I have to call this experiment an utter failure!  There is no way that I can only write to him once a week.  I tried.  There is so much I want to share with him...thoughts and motivational things.  

As I told him, I have a very special gift (as most mothers do), to be connected to his heart and there are moments, where you can actually feel what your child is feeling...even though they are far away.  Each week, I can feel his heart.  I know if he is feeling up or down and so I try to send him things that will respond to those feelings.  So, after 2 weeks of only a single email and my eyes being perpetually wet, I am going with my mother's instincts.  

As I noted in my Facebook post earlier today, I was actually online reading his email while he was still online and so I sent him an email back and then I got a response!  We did that back and forth for a little bit and it was like talking to him!!!  I can't describe it, but it filled my heart with so much happiness!!!  I really really needed to have that experience, especially after my big failure of the past 2 weeks.  I think somehow the Lord is always aware of what we need and he helped me to be more focused at that hour of the morning to be online, as I usually am not.  What a BLESSING! 😇😇😇

When he first sent the pictures over, they popped up in my email as very large and so his face FILLED my screen.  It was like he was right in front of me.  Tears welled up in my eyes and started flowing immediately.  The words that I blurted out in an email to him were, "you are gorgeous!  I miss your face!" 😭💕 But it is true.  I miss his face.  I miss that smile so much.  But he looks very happy and that makes my heart feel peace.  Of course, I noticed that he looked thinner.  I'm sure all that walking and eating mostly cereal just might do that.  I did respond back to him that he looked thinner and he said he had lost weight.  Once again, points for the things a mother knows.  

Finally, I am grateful for my son's service.  His service blesses our family in untold ways.  Some of it is evident and other ways it comes in quiet moments where we can feel the Spirit stronger and enjoy a sense of peace and happiness.  I am grateful for the sacrifice that he has made to serve his Father in Heaven.  He sacrificed all of the conveniences that you and I enjoy every day (TV, cars, movies, hanging out with friends, earning money, being with family) to dedicate a small portion of his life to the service of others and sharing a message of hope, love and happiness.  Every missionary who is serving has made this same choice. What amazing individuals they are to sacrifice for others.  As former missionary myself, I can tell you that it was the hardest work of my life and yet it was the most rewarding.  Thank you all for supporting our son and our family! 💕

If you would like to send Elder Maybury a letter or card or package, you my do so at this address:

Elder Alexander J. Maybury

Spain Barcelona Mission

C/Calatrava 10-12, bajos

08017 Barcelona

Spain

PS:  A great event that occurred this week was a Zone Conference.  The Barcelona/Badalona zones are two of the largest zones, so there were 58 missionaries in attendance. 

We had great lessons from other missionaries and then lunch!  For lunch, we had delicious coleslaw, fruit salad to along with the pizza.  For dessert, we enjoyed zucchini bread and ice cream sodas.  

 Can you find Elder Maybury in this 3rd picture?