Hey
momzee!
How are
you?!
Wow, this
week has just absolutely flown by for me!!!! I have been trying to do want you
have said and not focus on the time or anything. Only on the work. And everything just went by so smoothly, as
in time wise. I can’t believe it's Monday already. But that's not my point about
the time. My point is that when I just focused on doing the Lord's work and
forgetting myself, then everything was just bliss, it seemed.
The
miracle I saw this weekend was when I did an internship with Elder Perry from
Girona. Since we were in my area, I did the planning and taking charge of the
day. But I found that the more that I tried to make plans and keep them, and be
a leader and work hard, the more I wanted to do the work. I felt a much
greater need teach people. I started walking faster, trying to teach everyone
and looking for the next person to contact. It was an amazing feeling. It was a
true blessing to me.
So, news
from Spain. I guess the elections are done with for having Cataluña separate
from Spain. I don't know what has happened but I'm guessing no separation is
going to be possible. President Dayton did warn us of possible events and how
we should be prepared to stay in piso for a couple of days. I was all prepared
but I didn't feel that anything was going to happen. I felt that the Lord would
watch over us and he definitely has. I prayed for this and my prayers have
continually been answered. There may be more protests or events and we
will watch for those and we are prepared to stay inside if we have to.
I bought
some new things today. Some sweats and a long sleeve workout shirt for my excercise
and comfort. Really cheap too. I'll send some pictures next week of how I look.
So, we officially have all 4 beds in one room. My companion and the other Elder
like to have to talk at night, but I hate it because sleep is precious to me.
And I will take every advantage I get of it. But they wanted to do it and I'm
just like, "As long as I can sleep
then I am fine". My bet though, is that it won't last long. But I'm
not a betting man so let's see what happens.
So I have
enacted a plan. My reading the Book of Mormon plan. If I read 3 chapters every day,
then I will finish by November 28th. Of course, this is in Spanish by the way.
And I have noticed that just reading is not enough for a language study. So I
basically take the 1 hour for lunch and I mix it with my study time. So I eat
for 30 minutes and study for 90 minutes. I like it so much better this way.
Having a plan really helps. It's nice to have a goal. But we need a plan to
help us reach that goal, otherwise a goal is just a desire. Elder Ballard said
something like that.
General
Conference was so amazing. It was hard to listen to it in Spanish but I re-watched
it in English. The talks were so my fantastic. Elder Uchtdorf’s about Light was
superb. I love talks about Light. I made my own super character that had light
abilities. Hahaha. Not recently, but when I was younger (16-17).
I'm not ashamed. But one of my favorite talks was by one of the seventies,
Elder Richard J. Maynes. It was when his dad said, "Son, never sacrifice your integrity. Nothing is harder to get back once
you compromise it. Don't do it!" I loved that so much. Our integrity
is how we show the Lord our willingness to follow his will or not.
I will
get all my mail either next Monday or at Zone Conference. At Zone Conference,
they deliver everyone's mail in the Zone there. But I am close enough to the
mission home that I can travel on Preparation Days and grab it. I love Isabella’s
pictures. I accidentally sent her birthday letter in the Mail already. On the
back of the card inside, I drew the Spain flag and didn't finish coloring it,
hence, I “accidentally” sent it (before I finished it). But hopefully it will
be there before her birthday.
I love
you all so much. Keep the emails coming!!!! I love them. It fills my heart to
know that you all are being blessed. It's hard for me to think of myself of
being worthy to serve the Lord. I sometimes wish I could invoke the powers of
heaven or have visions in the night time. But I remember that those who believe
after a sign is given are of little faith and not worthy for the Kingdom of
God. But to know that everyone is being blessed rests my heart. I am having so
much fun here. Not every day is a piece of cake, but it's where I want to be
because it's where the Lord wants me to be. And nothing makes me happier than
doing the will of the Lord.
I love
you all so much. I pray for you daily. I never forget your love for me and the
examples you have set and the guidance you have given me. I wish I would have
listened to you and dad more often. You truly do know what is best for us. I
pray for [my siblings] every day. … I remember a talk in General Conference one
time where it was said that after 15 years of relevant prayer and fasting, that
his sister came back into the Church, and has received several callings, is
married in the temple with a beautiful and successful family. So we never
give up faith and we never give up hope and we never give up praying. Prayers work.
I will
talk to you all next week.
CON UN FUERTE
ABRAZO DE MATARÓ ESPAÑA,
Elder
Maybury
FLASHBACK: This was when I was in the MTC and got to play soccer almost every day.
All 4 beds. Mine is on the far right. Ain't no way I'm sacrificing anything or moving.
Apparently here are more than one different types of Rubic's cubes. I have solved the triangle one. But I don't even try the other ones.
Just for fun!
I love you all!
What a
joy to read my son’s letters each week.
And even more so, to see his development and strength. It is probably one of the greatest joys a
parent can have – to see their child grow and develop in good and positive ways
and to see them happy. I am loving the
change that has taken place over our son these past 3 weeks. Yes, he was having a difficult time in the
beginning when he first arrived in this area.
Then he was having a difficult time with the language. I decided to give him some counsel about
that. I told him that if he was so
focused on making the language perfect (in his eyes), then what else was losing
his focus? In other words, if he gave
over his energy to worrying about the language, then something else would not
get the attention it deserved. So, I
encouraged him to let go of the desire to speak it perfectly by week 15 or
month 4, and to just put his feet to the ground and go out and work every day. I promised him that not only would his
time/days go quicker, but the language would come easier. It makes me smile that he is putting my
counsel to the test and he is doing just that.
It looks like it is helping him to make a very important transition.
It made
me smile to see that he is happy working and serving. Of course, this is the child that I have
always known. As a young child, he was
never too difficult – he had his moments here and there – and as a teenager, he
was generally a pleasant child, willing to help. But the past 1-2 years were the formative
years. He really started to blossom and
grow and develop. And this past year has
been a beautiful insight into the type of servant of the Lord and man he has
the great potential to become. The past
2-3 weeks, I have seen the vision of the missionary that I knew he would
be. My son is not perfect, but he has a
heart of gold. He is loving, giving,
kind, dedicated, and he is a hard worker.
You can see this in his own words, where he wants to work hard each and
every single day. This is not only a
blessing for himself, as it will help him through difficult moments that will
still come on his mission, but it is a blessing to his companions and the
people of Spain. Sometimes, in order to
truly serve people, you need to let go of all of your weaknesses. I can see that he is starting to do
that. He is letting go of trying to
perfect them himself and he is embracing them and calling upon the Lord to help
make them a strength for His purposes. I
am proud of my 19 year old son.
His testimony
strengthens my own.
His
example is an example to me.
His
determination helps me to keep moving forward.
I am
forever grateful to my son for this decision he made to serve the Lord for 2
years. He now only has 20 months
left. It can seem like a long time left,
but I am excited for the growth that will come across the next 20 months
because I am truly inspired by how he has grown and developed over the past
4. It’s gonna be great to watch him
grow!
Just a
little bit about the “revolutions” in Spain.
As he had mentioned in a previous email, the state of Catalonia, wants to
separate themselves from Spain and become their own country. They
held some elections just recently regarding this decision. The king of Spain has called for unity;
however, the people of this area continue to protest and what their
independence. The area of Catalonia,
includes my son’s area of his mission. A
lot of the protests and clashes with police are happening in Barcelona, just 10
minutes from my son, but the people in his area are vocal, as well. The missionaries in these areas have been
cautioned to stay inside their apartment during certain times of the day or
during certain events (ex: planned protests), and they are to never get
involved with any of these events. As my
son mentioned, he prays specifically for their safety and they have felt
safe. Just this past weekend, however,
tensions have risen and there are have been more clashes with the police. So, once again, seeing Barcelona Spain in the
news has not brought good feelings for his family so far away. I DO pray for his safety and the safety of
all of the missionaries in that area. We
KNOW he is being blessed and watched over. We continue to hope and pray that
there will be a peaceful resolution to this current issue in Spain.
UPDATE:
From nbcnews.com
Catalonia will declare independence from Spain within
days (from Tuesday). They said about 90% of the 2.3 million who voted were
in favor of independence.
Catalonia is Spain’s richest region and has its own
language and culture. It said that Spain’s Caixabank, Cataloni’s largest
lender, reassured bank customers that their deposits are secure from the
growing crisis. “Catalan banks are Spanish banks and European banks
are solid and their clients have nothing to fear”
Spain’s Banco Sabadell, the country’s 5th largest
bank with a large business in Catalonia, also attempted to calm jitters. Both
banks have seen their share price fall in recent days amid the turmoil.
These are the areas/regions that are part of Catalonia. See MATARO in blue on the coast near Barcelona. These areas will now be separate from the country of Spain. What this actually means for the missionaries there remains to be seen.
But
beyond all of this, I am happy that my son is happy and that he loves the work
and that he is having an enjoyable time (amid some ups and downs).
As
always, thank you for supporting our son.
He can definitely feel your prayers.
Please continue to pray for him.
Thank you.
If you
would like to send him a note or a card, please do so at this address:
Elder Alexander J Maybury
Spain
Barcelona Mission
C /
Calatrava 10-12, bajos
08017
Barcelona
Spain
International
stamps cost $1.15 and cover up to one ounce.
ps: My favorite line of this ENTIRE letter was this: "I wish I would have listened to you and dad more often. You truly do know what is best for us." Awww....that sentence actually brought a tear to my eye.
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