Lleida – Weeks 7, 8, and 9…My new “trainee” and an injury!

January 22, 2019

Wow, what a fast week it has been. And on top of that what a fast transfer (6-weeks) it has been. I literally feel like I have just gotten here. I wish I would have had another transfer with Elder Clarke. Well, that means that you all now know that Elder Clarke is leaving Lleida. Wow, it was so hard. I literally love this brother so much. One of my best friends for sure. I have been able to see him grow and watch him as a missionary. He is going to A Coruña to be a district leader and senior companion. And I am still staying in Lleida and my companion is going to be..... NEW!!!! Yep, I am training here in Lleida. I am excited and nervous and all of that. Not sure what to think really. I couldn’t sleep last night at all. I was tossing and turning all night and couldn't get comfortable. 

But now I am in Barcelona with Elder Chin Ah You and Elder Stout. We are all getting new companions. Hahaha. Yesterday, which was the last day of Elder Clarke, we did a rendition of Hotline Bling by Drake and made a little video for it today. He said goodbye to Jhor whom he baptized. It was sad to see him say goodbye. That night we all got together to say goodbye to Elder Clarke, well all the youth I mean. We went to burger king and that was some fun. Jhor y Elder Clarke were crying and the youth were looking at them. That's when I told them to stop and find something to talk about. Then I hit them hard with "You all needs to be friends with Jhor, not just when he is crying. He is with us every Sunday because none of the youth go up to him and say hi or give him a hug. They only acknowledge him when they are leaving and say goodbye." It was along those lines. 

After the burger king visit, we visited another family and took pictures with them. Wow, I am so sad that Elder Clarke is leaving! But we must all move on with new chapters in the mission life, as hard as it may be. I know that whatever changes have been made, it has all been according to the will of the Lord so for that I am content. Oh, before we all meet up with the youth at the church, after we finished our rap, we played some basketball, 1v1. I did as terrible as I thought I did or more, hahaha. But it was fun. I'm definitely picking it back up again afterwards. I gotta let all those that play church ball that Elder Maybury is coming back to the court. Hahaha!!!! 

We played Soccer this past Saturday and there were a lot of people. It was fun, and we enjoyed ourselves. Some of the youth came as well because we guilt-tripped them into coming because it would be the last sports day for Elder Clarke. Haha. Gotta work smart! We then went with some members to their house in a pueblo (town) and man it was so cold!!!! We ate some grilled onions, like when you pull them up from ground. It was super good. We also hate sausage and chorizo, which is another type of meat. But we were so cold that when we were done, we went inside and slept, lol. They put blankets on us, and we tried to sleep while they watched the new Jurassic park movie. After about an hour or something like that, I get a call from President Galli. He calls me to be a trainer and then Elder Clarke to be a district leader. We thought that if he was going to call, he would have done it a while ago, so we weren’t anticipating any changes for us. But it didn't turn out like that. All well. 😁 

I did an exchange with Elder Lyman with Andorra and that was a lot of fun. I like him a lot, he is a good elder. We taught English class, got fired on... twice, and also tried to fix my mission area account. We also talked with people and passed by members. All good stuff. 

We have a leak in our piso, but we are getting it fixed. The owner came over with a plumber to look at it and next week someone should be coming over to fix it. Patience in the little things is key. 

We had a Zone Conference, well the whole zone was together for the activity, so we had a giant meeting the next day. We did a zone song and it was all so much fun. 

Answers to questions...

Are you avoiding dairy like I counseled you to try to deal with your tummy troubles?

Yes, I am, trying to at least. It's a little more difficult when the member's serve us food with cheese on it so I only have a little serving

How are you feeling about your Spanish skills?

Better and better. Someone told me that I don't have a gringo accent so that's a plus 💪👍

If you were told that you had to leave Spain that night, what would be the most important thing you would want to do?

Say goodbye to everyone and make sure that the members and the people we are teaching are...

a) fortified even more in the gospel 

b) know that Elder Maybury will never fall away from the gospel 

If you could choose, what would be the last areas you wanted to serve in?

I would like to serve in Valencia or Murcia 2 where my old companion Elder Salazar is. 

Well that's about it and all that I can remember, I hope you all have a great time and that we can talk again next week! 

Con amor, Elder Maybury 

Burning Pants! 

This is a tradition done in the mission field at the 18-month mark. 

It took a while to find a pair of pants that I was allowed to burn. 

 Front side: December 13, 2018

Back side: Almost Home

Goodbye Elder Clarke

Our final district picture

In Barcelona to get my new companion.

With Elder Chin Ah You and a member from Mataro

January 28, 2019

Hello everyone, how has this week gone by for you all?!!! 

It has been an interesting week, different than from what I would have expected, haha. Let me tell you all about it. 

So this past week I received my new companion! My son!!!! His name is Elder West. He is 18 and from Idaho. He already speaks pretty good Spanish, so I don't have to worry too much at all. He has a whole lot of desires to work and his energy really shows. I have already learned things from him. So, this last Wednesday I was in the training meeting and I learned a lot of stuff on how to be a good trainer and an even better companion. 

Then Thursday is when we were all together, trainers and trainees. We did some mission exercises together about situations and that sort of thing. Then the most exciting part, when President and Hermana Galli started to announce which new missionary was going with which trainer.  I absolutely loved it. I was the last trainer to be announced so we knew who was with who but it was still pretty fun. We had lunch there and then got on a train to go to our area..... just to return back to Lleida for my residency Thursday. Hahaha. It was alright. I have been waiting for that for so long! I saw an hermana from my old area, so it was good to catch up a bit on the area and how everything is going over there. 

We did a little contacting on Friday and the first lady we talked didn't speak Spanish, only English. What luck for my companion, hahahaha. It still has me laughing pretty good. This Saturday we played Soccer and it was so much fun. It was actually decently warm outside so I put on shorts instead of wearing sweats. We KILLED it there. I did as well. The very last game I was goalie for 5 goals against us. After I got scored on, I was done. I was angry and told my companion that he is goalie now, lol. Poor kid, I just made him go, but he was willing as well. We were down 0-5, we ended up winning 10-8. Wow, it and it was kinda funny to see the other team argue with each other as well. I don't like to lose. 

We had a couple visits with members. There is this one family that is having troubles because one of the kids doesn't dress how her mother thinks she should dress. Well, there’s conflicts of every type so we tried to calm them down. 

We are also working with another family on coming to church again. I love working with members returning to church. It's one of the best feelings to me. 

My companion has been keeping up well with me. He enjoys it and likes being a missionary. He asks lots of questions and so I am working on my patience. I'm just not used to it. Hahaha.

This preparation day, we walked around the city and later this afternoon we will be going bowling. We are going at 5pm and I am not so excited to go late, but I want my “son” to have a good experience here and make sure that he enjoys it. So, we will do that later. 

We met with John Kennedy this week and be are starting from scratch with him. The bishop was with us which really helped us a lot. So please pray for him so he can receive his answer even just a basic one so we can keep helping him progress. 

Answers to questions... 

What was your training like in Barcelona?

It was 1-2 days. We talked about how our trainers were to us, what we liked about them, and then received instructions on the guidelines for trainers.  They fed us and then we met our trainees. 

What were your thoughts on what I shared with you about gossiping in the mission and how it happens and how to deal with it?

I thought it was perfect. I have defiantly kept those thoughts with me this week. 

What are the details on your new companion?

Elder West is from Idaho, he is 18 and can speak good Spanish for his time. He plays lacrosse, football, and he used to wrestle.

Who would you like us to pray for this week? 

John Kennedy and Henry. And Rene and his family, 

Well that's about it friends and family. I love you all and I hope you have a good week! 

Love Elder Maybury 

All of the Trainers and the New Missionaries

Doing a role-play in the training meeting

Me and Elder West, pointing to our area in Lleida! 

Me and Elder West around town and during a visit

P-Day Activity - After Bowling! 

February 4, 2019

Hey everyone, how has the week been?! 

This week was a good one. Interesting and with an inquiry, so let's talk about it. 

Well, we went to Zaragoza for the Leadership meeting and District Council. We, as a zone, are going to focus on metas (goals). So that will be fun. We went to go eat at the Good Burger which was pretty fun. Oh, I realized that I the oldest missionary in the zone, along with Elder Cobbley which is from my group. Yep. I'm old. 

Answers to questions.... 

Did you have Zone Conference this week?

I did not.  Our Zone Conference is February 22^nd

What are your thoughts on the information I sent to you about housing, a major and classes?

I'm down to have housing on campus. I think it will be good. I am excited. 6 people sounds fine. 

The major that you sent me looks good. I'll have to look at the other majors. 

And I think I will want to just do general studies for now. 

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you like to live?

I would love to live in... France. 

Your birthday is in a month.  What is on your birthday wish list?

Money, a jacket. Well, I guess that would be hard. Oh, the Amazon food box that I got last year would be lit! I am hoping for that. 

We are visiting a lot more members this week so Elder West can get to know all of them.  It has been fun training him. I thought that it would be hard, but I am really enjoying it and having him as a companion. He is a good elder with lots of potential. 

But I do remember that at one moment I did think to myself that it was like having Joshua as my companion which was really funny. I am now always thinking of Joshua as 12 or 14-year-old Joshua, but now he is a lot older. I refuse for him to grow up! 

During soccer, I stepped on the ball while dribbling it away from people and my foot shot forward and I jammed it in the ground. It hurt so bad! I practically couldn't walk on it, but I still continued to play which was a bad idea. I stayed as goalie for more time than I usually do. Then Saturday night and Sunday I had to use a crutch and a brace. Now I am better, but I probably won't play sports for a bit. It's better this way although I hate it. 

The ward is doing well. There is a movie night this Saturday and although we can’t go, I still bought tickets from the youth because I want to help them out. This is a fundraiser for them so they can pay to go to EFY. And I want to help everyone of them. 

We have had some spiritual experiences where we have felt the need to talk or share something and it turned out to be exactly what that person or family needed. It's been such a blessing to me though to be able to be a part of that. Thank you to the Lord. 

Well that's about it friends. I love you all, keep the faith! 

Love Elder Maybury 

Playing some UNO after P-day and eating coconut ice cream

Me and Elder West

We had been fasting and we were tired.

Icing my foot/ankle.  Ouch! 

One of my Christmas presents that I asked for.  Thank you!!!

Well, it sure is exciting to see my boy enjoy new opportunities in the mission field.  As I have always said, it is most enjoyable to see him happy and healthy.  I did rib him a little bit about the injury to his ankle, as I told him that was a rookie injury, but since I knew he was healed I knew he could take it in fun, like I meant it.  It's always a bummer to see that your child is hurt, but I'm glad he knows how to put frozen peas on his injuries!  #ParentingWin!

For those who don't know, there are a lot of traditions in the mission field, and one of them is burning clothes at certain milestones in the mission.  For example, a tie at 6 months, a shirt at 1 year, and pants at the 18 month mark.  I believe you are supposed to burn a suit at the 2 year mark, but I don't have confirmation on that yet.  So, I encouraged my son to find a discount clothing store and buy an inexpensive pair of pants and burn those and not his nice pants.  He finally was able to do so and said he enjoyed accomplishing this feat...finally (a month after his actual 18 month mark).  When I read the words that he had written on the back of the pants..."almost home"...I teared up.  Sigh, this has been a long journey and I knew that if I could make it past Christmas, then it would be smooth sailing.  Well, these last few months seem even harder.  He has 3 1/2 months left and I can feel the energy in my stomach begin to churn as I think of my boy coming home!!!  But, I will continue to wait and be patient and cheer him on 5,200 miles away.  

109 Days = 3.6 months = 15 more Sundays = 15 more emails = 3 more transfers = 1 more phone call home

Thank you for all of your love and prayers for our son.  He NEEDS them.  Honest.  While he is happy and working hard, he has days where he really needs the love and support of so many back at home.  Your prayers keep him going.  Please, continue to add him and his companion to your prayers.  

Also, please feel free to write to him.  Believe it or not, he doesn't hear from many people and while he always understands that life goes on and people are busy, I know that he WOULD APPRECIATE IT.  So, if you feel like writing him an email, please do so.  

Email:  alexander.maybury@myldsmail.net

If you would like to send him a card or letter, you may do so at this address:
Elder Alexander J. Maybury
Spain Barcelona Mission
C/ Calatrava 10-12, bajos
08017 Barcelona
Spain

HIS BIRTHDAY IS ON MARCH 7th!  

He will be turning 21!!!!

This is a rare moment where he will be able to get mail the week of his birthday due to transfers, so send your cards by February 24th!!!

Especially everyone in the family should do this.  It's ONE card.  ONE stamp.  ONE time of year.