Hey
everyone! How are we doing today?
What a
week it has been! Interesting stuff is going on here in the mission. Or at
least the mission gets different from time to time. So first of all, I cannot
remember if I put this in my last email but next August (I believe) the Spain
Barcelona Mission will be getting the reset of the North of Spain! Why? Well,
the "province" of Catalonia, so the people who want to be independent
wouldn't like it if our Chiapas said Spain Madrid Mission East or West. So,
they are giving the North to us now.
We
stopped a robbery. So, this is how it went down. We stopped to sit down on a
bench to rest for a moment and figure where we are going to work next. Then a
man comes up to us trying to ask for money, then trying to sell us two bottles
of liquor. We told him we can't give him money, but we will buy him a sandwich
if he wants it. He submitted after we still told him no money. We went to the
bar/market behind us and he asked the lady to make him a medium size ham and
tomato sandwich. As she was making the sandwich and as I was absorbing the
store, I saw the man reach his hand over the counter and swipe a phone from the
other side that was inside some papers. I told my companion and then confronted
him about it. At first he told me no, then he said yes and said that I didn’t
see anything. I told him that I did see him steal the phone. The lady came over
and realized that something was going on. I told him as well as my companion
that we are trying to do something nice for you, but you can't go around
stealing things. Well, then the lady started yelling at him for stealing and
the other worker came around yelling as well saying that they can check the
cameras to see what happened. He gave up the phone at that point and said it
was on top of the counter, not behind. He then asked me if it was on top or
behind, and I said it was behind the counter. He left in a hurry and we then
asked if we could buy the sandwiches since it was already made and we were a
bit hungry. The ladies gave it to us for free. So nice. We then left that area
because we didn't want to run into him again. So now I have a good mission
story.
We went
to a pueblo today called Valledemossa. Really beautiful and took some good
pictures and a video. We entered a Catholic church and when we left, everyone
was kind of quiet and said that they didn’t feel the Spirit there. Just some
more evidence of how true the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is. I
got a souvenir there as well. It's a little wall plaque. Really cute.
I did an
Intercambios with Elder Holbrook today in Manacor. Wow it's tough there. It's
very small and we actually contacted someone who the missionaries had already
talked to a couple of weeks earlier! So yeah, pretty small. We went to a pueblo
and we tried to take a picture of us jumping in the air, but it never really
worked out well. When one was in the air, the other was on the ground.
Hahaha!!!
Oh,
I have fantastic news for you mom. I have sent a package to you all today. It
contains 4 items. I'll tell you what they are. Dad has a [item from Madrid]. Joshua has [an item from Madrid].
Isabella has [an item from the islands]. And you have a Spain colored bracelet.
Now I know it might not seem like much, the bracelet I mean, but I'll explain
why I decided to get it for you.
The
bracelet is for one something that I want to have. But I also know that all the show out, fancy fancy, Ms. "Look at Me", isn't someone who you are. At least
that's what I'm guessing. The bracelet is something that you can always have
and wear with you and it will be a little reminder that you have a part of me
with you. That I am always there with you Mommy. And that if you ever feel a
little bit alone or that I am a little bit farther away, well, you have the
bracelet to remind you that I'm right there in it with you. I Love you
Mom!
Answers
to questions...
What were your thoughts
on the picture of gma I sent you?
I did get
the picture of grandma and I think that she looks beautiful!
Have you found a suit to
buy yet?
I did
not. I'll go to Zara where they have the whole gray suit and not just the suit
itself.
I am going to send you
some sheet music. Any selections?
I can't
remember a lot of the English hymns, Hahaha! Ummm, Master the Tempest is
Raging, Brightly Beams Our Fathers Mercy, Praise to the Man, Some Poor
Wayfaring Man of Grief, As now we take the Sacrament, and of course, the
Christmas songs!
Did you get a picture of
you jumping in the air on the 4th?
I do have
the picture, not very good but you should get a good laugh out of it.
What do you do on Sundays
at church? Do you teach?
We have
to set up and prepare the Sacrament. The chairs as well if when we get there
they are not done. We also teach gospel principles. One week it's me, the other
is my companion.
Do you know how much I
love you?
Always,
but sometimes it's more than I can comprehend.
Oh and
Nefi is leaving for work. He found something better for him and his current
status. It was hard for him to leave after knowing all the missionaries and
being the youth leader there for his branch. Sniff, I'm crying now. 😔😢
Our zone
is doing a challenge now. We receive a challenge, we do it, and then we make up
one and give it to another companionship in the Zone. The challenge given to us was to
sing in a park and get two investigators from it. It was straight miracles
with what happened. This is also my miracle of the week. We went to the park,
and as we sat down, we noticed an old investigator and we sang to him. We got
his number and set up a visit for him this Wednesday at 20:00. Then we went to
go find other people and we could have gone to another park, but I felt the
Spirit to go talk to these two men who were sitting on a bench. I was really nervous,
so we said a prayer. Then we went up asked to sing to them and they told us no.
So, we did a circle in the park and before we left, we talked to a couple from
Colombia and we sang to them and got their number! By the way, I was playing
the ukulele during these two times. Such a powerful experience for me.
So, the
mission is kind of killing me. I just lost my left small toe nail. Yep, it came
off finally. Gross. The life of a missionary, right? Lol.
Also, I
should receive my packages this week since the elders are going to the office
this Thursday for concillio. So, I will get it soon enough. I promise. I don't
know if you have already it sent it, but I could use some tooth paste soon. I'm
using it a lot now and here's Why. (Sigh) I have a kind of big cavity on the
outside of my back-left tooth. Don't know how it got there. I hate my teeth
sometimes. I really do.
Question
for you mom...
1. How do
I get rid of bed bugs. I'm getting bit everywhere.
I did
read the back part of Isabella’s card. I found it about a day later. Lol. And I
can't believe I didn't make a reaction to your card. I'm sorry. I'll do better
next time. I really enjoyed it though. I LOVED IT!!!
Also, I
know I still have a year left. But a huge group front my mission, my trainers
group all went home so naturally there are videos of missionaries returning
home. When I come back, I want a video like the one of Elder [Fulano] has. Its
super good. But that’s still a while away ya know. Hahaha.
Well,
that's about it for this week. I love you all and I hope you enjoy the
pictures. Keep the faith!
Love
Elder Maybury
Jumping on the 4th!
(2 out of 7 attempts)
This was when I was on exchanges with Elder Holbrook in Manacor
(Yes, my 3 Stooges hair here makes me look like I did when I was 12 years old)
P-Day fun in Valledemossa
(With Elder Rodriguez)
(With Elder Hughes)
(Elder Gomez, Maybury, Salazar, and Hughes)
(It's the Gun Show...LOL)
From a P-day a while ago - Riding Skateboards (sorry mommy)
A birthday party at church (for a kid) - notice the juice boxes *LOL*
Just Me Being Me
Contemplating Life like I did as a Child
Yummy Food
Pistachio Ice Cream (5 scoops!) and Sushi
Me and My Companion - He cracks me up!
Well
this week sure was fun! I enjoyed
reading about Elder Maybury’s adventures.
He definitely knows how to keep a stiff upper lip even in difficult
times. That’s one of the things that I
truly love about him. He doesn’t let
things keep him down for too long at all.
He has learned to roll with the punches, so-to-speak.
When he wrote to me of the item he chose for me and is sending to me, it truly touched my heart. My son knows how much I miss him. Yes, on a daily basis, but mostly on Sundays (the day I write to him) and for him to think of me in this way, just shows how much he thinks with his heart. I love it. It brought tears to my eyes to know that he was thinking of me in this way and sending something for me to carry with me to keep him close. I was touched.
Now, learning
of his thwarting of the robbery made me smile because I can hear him saying all
of the things he said. I can see him
being willing to offer to buy someone a sandwich and then speaking up when they
tried to steal a phone. He has a good
heart. My children have learned well, I
think, how to be kind to others but also how to speak up when needed. I am proud of him because there was a time
when he would never rock the boat. He
was often too embarrassed. But, over
time and with some maturity, he is learning to speak up. And in this instance, he spoke up to a
stranger about something that could have become more volatile. I am proud of him.
The
pictures of his attempts to jump in the air are from my request for him to do
so on the 4th of July. It looks
like they have fun trying. He said they
tried about 7 times to get it right but couldn’t. The “failed” attempts actually make me laugh
all the more. I love seeing him have fun. As I have said many times, a mission is never
easy, but it is always worth it. And
when you can find moments for fun and enjoyment in the daily work, that makes
it even better.
My son
has just 10 ½ months left on his mission.
I have been amazed and overjoyed at the progress and growth that has
taken place in him over time and I am excited to see how he will continue to
grow in these next 10 months. He has
become more confident, more mature, more introspective, more responsible, and
more connected to the Spirit. Yet, he
has maintained his funny and goofy personality.
He has maintained, if not increased, his capacity to love his family. And, he has maintained his love of singing
and bringing joy to others. What an
amazing thing. I am so proud of his
decision to serve and to be obedient. It
is a daily choice. For those who do not
know, it does require DAILY commitment to serve and to work. We have seen that the sacrifice required to
leave your family and to go and serve other people bears a priceless reward
system of blessings from our Father in Heaven.
There is no way to value the ever-flowing blessings that one receives
for serving, or that one’s family receives.
It is, quite literally, priceless, precious, and yet – perceptible.
We
thank our son, Elder Maybury, for his dedicated service to the Lord. And we thank all of your for supporting him
in his journey. He loves you and he
feels your love and prayers for him.
If you
would like to send him a card of encouragement, you may do so at the following
address:
Elder
Alexander J. Maybury
Spain Barcelona Mission
C/ Calatrava 10-12, bajos
08017 Barcelona
Spain
All mail will require one international stamp = $1.15 /
up to one ounce
Emailed: July 9th
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