December 17th
Hey
everyone! How has the week been for you all?!
Well this
week has not been that bad. Getting used to another area can sometimes take
time but I think that this week will just roll on by. We had district meeting
this past Thursday. I was nervous because it was my first time as district leader,
but my companion really helped me be calm. And it all turned out well! I recognize the sustaining hand of the Lord
that helped me during time and that He blessed me with an understanding and
loving companion who is Elder Clarke for those of you who didn't know it
yet.
We have
been visiting members which has been nice. There are some really good members
here and I will have fun. They take care of us and you can definitely tell it
as well.
We had
the Ward Christmas party and it was fun. We did a little Nativity presentation
and sang a song after it as well on behalf of the missionaries. It was really
good too. We played Soccer on Saturday and my body is just killing me still. I
guess I played too hard.
Sunday
was good. We are in the choir now and we practiced for the special sacrament
meeting on the 23rd. The chorister asked what I sang, and I said bass and tenor,
so she had me go to sing bass. My companion sings bass and two other people who
arrived who also sing bass. There was only one tenor and they were freaking out
because there was a giant difference. I wanted to slam my palm to my forehead
and say, "I TOLD YOU I CAN SING TENOR!" Maybe they just didn't
understand my Spanish then. Hahaha. So, I switched, and it sounded nice.
Elder
Clarke bought a harmonica because his old companion left one and a Disney book
of songs to play. We went to the music store and he bought one and some other
books as well. He figured out how to play a small part of Stevie Wonders
"Isn't She Lovely" Hahaha. Cracks me up.
Well
there's not a whole lot to do in Lledia but we are servicing some how. Lol. I
love you all. Keep the faith and have great week!
Love Elder
Maybury
Me
and Elder Clarke
I somehow
dropped my ring into my water bottle
It was so
cold that I covered my face
Out in the
open plains
A castle
picture with me in it
The
nativity scene that we put on
We also had Zone Conference in Barcelona
This is me teaching with Elder Lyman about involving the youth.
December 26th
Hello everyone! How are you all doing today?!
Well it has been interesting this past week, especially with
Christmas and all.
We have been working with members for most of the time, trying to
present myself to them and form good relationships with them as always. But
some of them left for the holidays so that's understandable. We did an activity
where we go visit members and ask them what's does Christ mean to them. We took
photos and made it into a video and posted it on Facebook. It was really nice
to do and I loved seeing their responses!
Christmas Eve was fun. We got to eat with members, and it was
really great to feel the Christmas spirit in everyone's lives. I opened a
letter for my Christmas Eve gift. Then in the morning we did our exercise and
opened our gifts. I had a really good time and I am glad that I spent it with
Elder Clarke. He is a good elder.
For preparation Day, we played some soccer again. It was good but
we got our buns handed to us. I am sooooo tired now. We are just chilling in a
bakery right now using the Wi-Fi during P-day to email home.
But I'll go to the best part. My
Christmas call home!!!! It was so good to talk to the family and see that
they are still my family. I played a song for them as well. I wrote the lyrics
and an hermana in my district put the ukulele chords together so shout out to
her. I am always happy to talk to my family but a face to face call is even
better ya know.
We went to eat with a family on Christmas eve and they had us do
Caga Tio. It's a Catalan tradition and basically you get a log with a face and
a Christmas hat on it. You feed it nasty things and then it gets stuffed. Then
you beat it with a stick, and it pops out candy and things like that. And it
surprisingly doesn't smell. Lol!
We had Zone Conference last week and I gave a teaching on working with
youth and I had Elder Lyman with me as well, because in Andorra it works really
well there. We did a white elephant gift exchange, I also sang "What child is this?" with other
missionaries for the musical number and then sang with Elder Gomez
"Homeward" for the talent show. It was all a fun day.
We will have District meeting tomorrow and the Zone leaders are
gonna come to our area as well. We will also do an intercambio with them. Sigh,
so many things to do, but I would rather be doing the Lord's work than doing
nothing.
Well that's about it for this week. I like it here in Lleida, it's
just cold, lol. I love you all! Have a great week and keep the faith!
Love
Elder Maybury
My companion and I wearing doo rags, not sure why :o)
A cathedral here
Eating with a family for Sunday night
High up in Lleida
Got whipped in soccer today pose
Beating the Caga Tio
December 31st
Hey everybody, how are you all doing?
Well it's been a quick week with some interesting things and
others not so but that's not important because one must be fully focused on the
work! Which is always my goal.
Tonight we have a New Years party at the church. Its going to be
fun and we are going to do the tradition of when the bell strikes, we eat a
grape. And so in until the bell stops striking.
I don't know how much I'll be able to write because me hands are
super cold bit I'll give it a go. You k nkw the song where it says,
"Jackfrost nipping at your nose"? Well jackfrost is beating up my
entire body right now but I'm still fighting.
We spent the day with a youth member called Brandon. Its been
really fun and he helped me pick out a pair of jeans to wear. We went shopping
some more and the discounts are alot more attracting since everything is
actually in price range, lol.
We went to the bishops house to teach them to make cookies. It was
really fun and the cookies were so good! It reminded me of home actually. The
members had there temple trip this Friday and Saturday so there were hardly any
members in Lledia. We had district meeting that Friday and the Zone leaders
came so we could do an intercambio with them. I stayed in Lledia with Elder
Gomez who also served here. We had fun. We were able to give some blessings
that were asked for so I was really glad that I was able to participate in that.
Answers
to questions...
How many
missionaries are in your district?
We are 6 missionaries in the district
What is
the hardest thing about the area of Lleida?
Not a whole lot of people at some points of the time
What is
your favorite thing about the area of Lledia?
I love waking up in the morning, looking out the window and seeing
Lleida.
What has
been your favorite area to serve in thus far?
I think my favorite area was Pamplona. They call it Pamplona
Paradise for a reason.
What is
the best thing about your companion, Elder Clarke?
He blesses my life by always giving me courage in the day and
helps me smile all the time.
After the
mission plans…
Going back to Spain
Getting back to the gym
Working to earn money
Going to school
I am excited for the New Year to start. It’s basically the wind
down of the mission I guess you could say for me. So, I am giving it more than
ever before. The work is still work but it is what I enjoy. I love you all so
much! Keep the faith!
Love
Elder Maybury
Intercambio with Elder Gomez in Lleida
At the train station
Eating cereal in a restaurant that only sells American cereal
Eating arroz y carne (rice and meat)
Me and Elder Clarke
Lovely Lleida
Selfie Time
Eating with members who have really taken care of us during the holidays
(Note: these are all pictures that these members posted online on Facebook)
(Note: these are all pictures that these members posted online on Facebook)
Well, as you all
know, the holidays have kept us busy and so I literally found no time to update
Elder Maybury’s blog page. Please
forgive! The most important thing is
that he still writes to me once a week!
Kidding J The most important
thing is that he is healthy and happy and working hard. Yes, he still has tummy troubles and I have
asked him to cut out all dairy for a while.
The milk/dairy in Spain is different than here and so it may just be
that he needs a break from it. It will
be hard for him to give up his beloved cereal and ice cream.
He is happy but
contemplative, as well. As the district
leader, he says that he tries to always be in a position wherein he can receive
needed inspiration. A district leader is
one who is the lead for all the missionaries in that area. In his case, there are 6 total missionaries
in Lleida. He leads their weekly
meetings, keeps track of their stats (contacts, calls, lessons, etc), prepares
and sends reports up the chain on a weekly basis, conducts baptism interviews,
and deals with any issues that might arise in the district. It is much more than the daily work on
missionary work. He should also do his
best to help motivate the missionaries and inspire them, as needed. I still remember all of my District Leaders
from my time as a missionary and I would consider them to be my friends.
And, he is working
hard. Lleida is a difficult area. But one thing that he loves is working with
the members and the youth. So, to all of
us who are members, I would tell you to invite the missionaries into your
home. Allow them to connect with you and
work with them to find people would love to hear the beautiful message of the
gospel. The hardest days in the mission
are the ones where you feel like no one will talk to you. You have given up everything, including all
the comforts of home to come and serve the Lord and are so eager to share His message
and when no one wants to hear it or even talk to you, it feels like an icky
day. We all have them as missionaries
and so we have to learn to accept the challenge, change what we are doing, and
rely heavily upon the Lord. This is why
any missionary who puts in his/her full effort on the mission, cannot come home
the same person when they left. The
mission can be a refiner’s fire, if you allow the Lord to mold you as He needs
you. I smile when I see those changes in
my son. He has grown in so many
wonderful ways. Some are clear and
specific. Others are minute and I get
hints of in his letters or in the way he reacts to something. I am so proud of his desire and continued desire
to serve the Lord and the people of Spain.
Of note, he has not
yet received his Christmas packages from home.
He did receive one package from a very smart family member who sent it
early (shout out to MCS) and he loved it.
But because he is so far from the mission home, he will not receive his
packages until the next transfer (January 22nd). And the beautiful thing is that, it doesn’t
matter to him. He is learning to be
content with what IS instead of wanting and wishing for more. What a beautiful life lesson. Be happy with what you have, and you will always
have enough.
We had a WONDERFUL Christmas call from our son. He even got to talk to the family in California, which is a nice treat for them as well as him. It is so good to hear them all laugh together. For us, it was wonderful to talk with him and simply enjoy being a family, if that makes sense. We got a little extra time because of some logistics and we used it to include him in some fun family time. James and Joshua (and Daniel when he was here) enjoy slapping each other with a small towel. I know, I know, it's quite crude, but they are boys and they enjoy it. Hahaha. Anyway, Alexander really wanted to witness some of those shenanigans first hand. So, James and Joshua dutifully participated. There were a couple of decent hits, but one of them got James so good that we all died laughing. James, for his part, dropped to the ground and scooted on his back into a corner. LOL! This picture below is how Alexander responded.
I would encourage you
to write to him. As he said, he is in
the wind down time of his mission. He
has just 145 days left, or just less than 5 months. He could use all of the letters or emails that
you might want to send. Send something
uplifting and encourage him. Let him
know that his friends and family at home are cheering him on. He will have a lot of feelings as his time
winds down. While most missionary miss
home and certainly want to return, leaving the mission field is ALWAYS difficult
for those who immersed themselves in the work.
Please, write to him. It would brighten his day!
Mailing address:
Elder Alexander J. Maybury
Spain
Barcelona Mission
C/ Calatrava
10-12, bajos
08017
Barcelona
Spain
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