Hello Hello!
How are you all
doing?!
Wow what a magnificent
week it has been. Well except for some parts. But hey, everyone has those.
Logroño has been below too cold for me. Listen, I was born in Arizona and
raised in California, ok. When you think of those to states, what word comes to
your mind? Well I can tell you what
doesn't! Cold! That's right brothers and
sisters, Elder Maybury was not bred for the cold. He is a natural predator that
likes to bask in the sun okay, not shrivel up under 3 layers of blankets at
night, trying to fall asleep but is afraid to because he thinks he might die
from hypothermia. Well, now that that is
out of the way, I’ll continue.
So, I had my first
Sunday in Logroño. It was a fast Sunday as well. I fasted for a lot of things.
I can say that I am generally happy with the results. It just adds to my
testimony that God IS there and does here us. We may get the vision in the
night time but He will give us what we need. We just need to have the faith and
hope that we can receive it from him.
So, the day after I
arrived in Logroño was something that has never happened to me before. So, a
little background, at the train stop to Logroño, I was with another Hermana
because this was our new area (after transfers). Anyway, I got off the stop....
But she did not. She did not get off in time and went all the way to Bilbao
(another hour trip). So her companion got a train ticket to go up there to get
her. They stayed there for the night and came back in the morning. So that
takes me to my current place in this story. We were heading to the train
station to pick up the Hermanas and help them with their luggage when about 2
minutes away from the piso, some man stops us, yells at us and HITS my
companion in the chest and then ME in my arm! I was shocked! What just happened! We walked
away so confused. I looked back to see if he was following us and he looked
blank, like why had we walked away and didn't do anything. But let me tell you
something, that feeling of confusion left and just a whole bunch of "
Ready to pound this dude down" juice in our veins. Are you kidding me?!
Not even a full 2 days and I already got attacked! Come on! After we helped the
Hermanas, we went to a library to do some online proselyting and we saw that
man again! Ugh. Almost an altercation from him again. He wanted our documents.
This brother is loco! We left needless to say. Then at night we were at the
Church and we walked back to piso. We went through a park were 2 youth were in
front of us and one of them said to the other, " You wanna mess with
them?" Elder Maybury is about to lose it here. I was a bit scared to walk
the streets. Loud noises or people yelling were terrifying me. But now my
nerves have calmed down.
So Logroño is surrounded
by mountains! It's quite beautiful actually. On Friday, it snowed here. None of
it really stood to the ground but it was snowing! I felt like a kid seeing it.
I loved it. I was also sick the first 3 days here. Ugh. I think it was from all
the stress of transfers. Also, I sucked on some tablets that apparently were for
acid relief. I thought it was candy and the reason it tasted bad was because it
was old. Well, that's a story from the good ‘ol mission right there.
So, this preparation day
we did some neat things. First, we went to a sword shop! Are you kidding me?! I
didn't know that they had those. I bought a mini sword about the size of a pen.
Not expensive at all. It's pretty neat. We then went to the mall and looked at
stores and walked around. We went to a Carrifour which is like a Wal-Mart
basically. We then went to a Wok which is Chinese restaurant. Dad, eat your
heart out. We got the buffet and oh my goodness I ate so much. I had a plate of
just sushi on it. It was so good. We then went back to piso and relaxed before
we came here. That was mostly it for today.
So, the church here is 2
stories, pretty neat. However, my most favorite thing here is seeing one of my
teachers here from the CCM in Madrid!!! He helped me and another Elder during
the study hour that we have to ourselves right before our exercise time there.
And he lives in the piso right above ours. Fantastic! It's a small world. I had
no idea. The members here are, well, they are members. I don't really know them
too well. You hear things, like in every area. But I still need some more
experience with them. But, I'm ready to work though, so that's what counts. The
church is 20 minutes away from our area by bus. About 30-40 minutes by foot.
Elder Tuttle doesn't know the area too well so it's a learning experience for
both of us. Well, I think that's about it. I'll include pictures of the
activities and such. I love you all! I can't wait for Christmas! And I can't
wait to talk to my family!
Love you all! Keep the
faith!
Love forever, Elder
Maybury
It's to cold out here. I forgot my beanie so I wrapped my head with my scarf
My plate of sushi...yummo!
My mini sword. It's a replica of the sword of the Templars of England
Elder Maybury doesn't feel like himself without some ice-cream
Sushi with my companion, Elder Tuttle
Swords!!!
A beautiful Chinese wood carving
An actual Samurai suit of armor!
WHAT
A FUNNY KID!!! I have to tell you that
as James and I were reading this email, we were laughing so hard – at the
beginning. That is classic
Alexander! He is a hoot! Of course, many people will not know, but him
eating antacid tablets thinking they were candy is also, CLASSIC
Alexander!!! So, so, so funny! 😂😂😂 At one point in his youth (maybe age 12), he
picked up something off of the street and ate it because it “looked” like
candy! Gaaahhh!!! You can imagine his father’s and my shock at hearing
this. But, that is just his
personality. He has done the cinnamon
challenge, eaten hot peppers, and other odd things because he says, “why not? It looks good.” He just cracks us up! 😂
Then,
of course, to read of the difficulties he was experiencing with some people in
his new area had me worried. Sigh! This is where a mother wears out her knees
praying for her child to remain safe. I
know my Zander. He will resist the urge
to fight back, but if he had to, he would defend himself. He knows to walk away, as he has had to a
couple of times in Spain alone…but I know that juice running in his veins hangs
out for a little bit as he tried to make sense of why someone random person
would hit them. Please add to them to
your prayers.
One
of the greatest things about his letters is that I can tell that he is happy in
his work. I know there are still
difficult moments and that is what makes a mission a well-rounded growth
experience. BUT, if you can find the joy
and the happiness in what you are doing, regardless of the circumstance, you
are going to have find your happiness.
And I can see it in his emails and in his face in his pictures. It’s in his eyes. I know the sparkle of his eyes. It brings me an indescribable joy to know
that he is happy.
This
past week was particularly hard for me in missing my son. I got all of the decorations out of the
garage and we put up a tree. I could
start to feel the void of not having my Christmas elf with me. Zander has always been the one to share the
joy of Christmas with me. He loves the
shopping. He loves the decorating. He loves the energy. He loves giving to other people. He is always so generous. As I listened the to the music, my heart
began to overflow and I could not stop the tears. I cried. Actually, I sobbed. It is his first Christmas away and I am feeling
all those feelings of missing him come flooding back. My poor husband did not know what was
happening. I was just sobbing. He asked me what was wrong and came near to
me in an effort to help. I couldn’t dry
my eyes fast enough. I couldn’t speak
and then I finally squeaked out, “I just miss him”…and then came more
tears. Thankfully, my husband is a
compassionate soul and he just held me and let me cry. Crying helped, but it will take a while
before I don’t feel this way. And, I’m
not interested in NOT feeling this way.
I think it is okay to miss someone.
It shows that you are connected to them.
So, when certain Christmas songs come on, I simply allow myself to feel
what I need to feel. And then I move
on.
I
am going to be over-joyed when we get to talk to him on Christmas!!! It such a wonderful gift. It’s the only gift I need…but I will accept
others *hee hee*
‘Tis
the season. The season to give. The season to share. The season to serve. The season to love. The season to “Light the World”. In case you have missed it, we are focusing
25 days in December to “Light the World”, meaning to the light the world in the
Saviors love by focusing each day on an act of service or love towards those
around you. If you are on Facebook, you
can see Elder Maybury’s posts about the importance of the gospel, the Savior,
the scriptures and the people he loves.
As
always, and truly from the bottom of my heart, thank you for supporting my
son. He loves you all and feels the
support of those at home.
If
you would like to send him a letter or a card, you may do so at this address:
Elder Alexander J.
Maybury
Spain Barcelona
Mission
C/ Calatrava 10-12,
bajos
08017 Barcelona
Spain
All
cards and letters use one international stamp = $1.15 (up to 1 ounce)
December 4, 2017
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