March 5th
Hey everyone, how has your week been? I hope that it treated you
well!
So this week was pretty interesting since we got transfer calls
this week, so here it is. I am staying in Lleida, but my companion Elder West
is leaving! I have never heard of that before so it was really crazy. He is
going to Tortosa where another Elder will finish up his training. I will be
receiving Elder Peck who was serving in Manacor out in the islands. He was
training another Elder from elder West’s group so we saw each other at the
training meeting, but other than that, I don't know him. He was from the Madrid
mission, so that's why. But I do know that he plays the ukulele.
We had a visit with a woman named Silvia, and it went really well.
All except for when this drunk African man interrupted us twice. But he said
that we preached about Christ so he was at least nice. The visit was good, and
she was asking questions about what we were teaching so she was paying
attention, haha.
On Sunday, Hermana Donahey and Elder West announced that they were
leaving. It was also fast and testimony meeting and they shared their
testimonies. On Sunday night, we went to go eat at a member’s house who's
family is close with the missionaries. Then at the end we all shared our
testimonies. It was a good spiritual moment.
On Monday, we went and did a couple of visits so Elder West could
say goodbye. At the end we went to the church for the Family Home Evening and
goodbye party of the two missionaries. Oh and Hermana Donahey is leaving as
well to go to Valencia to train, open the area and be a sister training leader.
But she is the perfect sister missionary for it.
Us four missionaries of Lleida grew really close together. We
called ourselves the PIÑA (pineapple), because in Spain it means a close group.
We came up with a PIÑA song, and at the very end I came up with a RAP, haha,
well more or less. Now it's just me and Hermana Delange here in Lleida, the
father and the daughter. I'll explain. When I came here, Hermana Donahey
started training Hermana Delange. So, Hermana Donahey is a mom and her daughter
is Hermana Delange. So since I was the oldest missionary in the district, I
became the father. And since I trained Elder West this past transfer, I am his
father and he is my son. Making Hermana Donahey his mom and Hermana Delange his
sister. It a mission lingo, lol.
It was hard to say goodbye to Elder West, I wanted another
transfer with him, but the Lord needs him in Tortosa. Sniff, the birdie is
leaving the nest. Haha! But I am excited for a new transfer. I am not the
District Leader anymore, but I'm not mad. I enjoyed the time that I had to lead
and to serve. It was a blessing from the Lord.
I went to Barcelona to get my now DNI, basically it's my ID to
stay in residence in Spain. It was good to finally get another one so I am
legal in Spain. The trip was fun and I got to see some elders from my group.
But I wanted to be back in Lleida again.
Now I am just relaxing with a member here in his house for now. My
companion doesn't get here until 7:00 at night. So, I'll do some shopping and
some cleaning up in piso when we get there. My birthday is week so I am excited to do
something neat. Some members are planning something so we will see what comes
of it. The big 21! Man, I sure don't feel 21. Then again, I've never been 21 so
I don't know what it feels like. Haha!
That's about it for this week. Lots of photos and hopefully those
well tell a story or two. Love you all so much. Thankyou for your love and
support! Stay strong and keep the faith!
And SHOUT OUT to my mom for her birthday!!!! (March 4th) You're the BEST MOM EVER! Thanks for all the support every week and every day of my life.
Love
Elder Maybury
Me and Elder West - My son!
(we try to have fun!)
(we try to have fun!)
Our Lleida Group
Tryin out some shades!
Trio with the Hermanas!
Just Kidding! I was with a member cause my companion
left for an intercambio
Me with the Sagrada Familia (a cathedral)
March 11th
Hey everyone, how has your week been? Mine has been enjoyable and
full of blessings and miracles!
So, this week I got my companion Elder Peck! He's a beast! His
motto is "Stress Free Zone." Haha. And it really has been stress free
with him here. We get along quite well. It took some warming up and getting
used to each other but now we are on a roll. He is from Logan Utah, but he says
he is originally from Providence. He is 21 years old and is 1 transfer behind
me.
Wednesday was pretty calm. Had a lesson with John Kennedy and we
have him doing the 21-day Book of Mormon challenge. We also call him at 9:30
every morning to say a prayer with him and help him do it the right way. We
also had English classes that day and it was pretty fun. I bought myself two
huge bags of candy but of course, I shared it with everyone. We talked with
Jhor for a bit as well at night.
Well
Thursday was a special day for me because it was my Birthday!!!! Yay!!! I
was able to get myself a new blue suit which was very nice. Rene and his family
invited me over to their house to celebrate my birthday. His wife Ximena made a
very delicious cake! We then went to the church for Ward Night and they threw
me a surprise party which was super nice. I had a fun time and it was a
blast!
On Friday we had District Meeting which was fun. The only problem
was that I found out that my dear, sweet, and beloved Aunt Evie passed away.
This was a real kick to me as I thought that I would see her again when I came
back from the mission. But God clearly has other plans in store which I am fine
with. I shed some tears after reading my
mom’s email about it and then went back into my district meeting. Later, we ate at Dominos Pizza and we all ate
A TON! Man, my stomach was in some pain, lol. We then played Soccer at night because we
couldn't do it Saturday and I'll explain soon. That was really fun. We also
helped set up for an activity for the Older Single Adults.
On Saturday we went back to the church to help finish set up the
activity. So, on Saturday, the seminary youth of the Lleida Stake had a Super
Saturday. That's why we couldn't play soccer. But what was great was that I was
able to see some youth from Sabadell because they are in the Lleida Stake, we
all had a great and fun time talking and chatting it up. We taught a friend of
ours named Silvia who now has plans to get baptized the 30th of March. She is
so nice and a good friend of ours. Then after that I called my parents to get
more details about my aunt's passing away.
Sunday was amazing! Church is always the best day of the week for
me. But we also had 6 friends come to church! Wow, that was a straight miracle
for us. Oh, and Roberlando and Marco Antonio were there because they were at
that Activity that we helped set up! (Reminder:
Roberlando was my first baptism in my first area of Mataró So it was good to see
them there! Later on in the day we ate with a member, and then planned for the next
Ward Night with the sister missionaries. Then to finish the night, we had a
Family Home Evening about Come, Follow Me and then played "Heads Up".
It’s a game in the mobile device where you act out things such has animals,
feelings, gestures, to actors, movies, T.V. shows, etc. There were some funny
moments including Elder Maybury (me) doing a belly flop. Hahahahaha! Anything
to get a point!
Then today we got our haircuts, which included a little argument
with some people about waiting in line. I'll never do that again. I bought a
forearm handgrip to work out my forearms. We ate at Burger King and are just
having a relaxing Preparation Day. My companion also wants to tan outside,
hahaha!
ANSWERS
TO QUESTIONS
#8. If the Savior stood beside you, what would he say? What would he do? What would he think of the things you do and
say? (from a song).
He would want me to be a good example. Work like I know how to.
Not to be afraid of anyone or anything. Don't be trunky and work as hard as you
possibly can. And He would say "I love you" more than anything. I think
He would say that a lot and then give me a hug. And cry with me because if the Lord was next
to me then I would be crying a whole lot!
Well that's about it for today. A super calm day with miracles all
around us. I love you all and I hope that you have a good week. Until next time
and keep the faith!
Love
Elder Maybury
My Birthday Fun!
(Yes, they shoved my face in the cake. It's tradition!)
They had a little celebration for me at the church
March 19th
Hello everyone, how are you all today? This week has gone by
pretty fast with notable things to tell so let’s get to it then.
This past Tuesday we met with some of the people that we are teaching and the important thing that kept coming to my head throughout the day was that this is real life. It's not a game nor should it be treated like one. (Thanks Mom) So, I loved that small amount of energy that it gave me to keep going along with another thing that I found on Facebook as I was online Proselyting. It was a quote from Joseph Smith that says, "When God commands, do it". It can't get more crystal clear than that folks. You can't doubt or not understand something like that.
We had a visit with a mother, her daughter, and the mother's friend. It was fun meeting with them. We ate fajitas and then talked about the gospel for a bit. What was brought up in casual conversation turned into a lesson of the truth for all.
We were invited to the Young Men’s activity this past Friday and we were asked to make pizzas. I was excited to teach them because it is right up my alley (as a former veteran of working at Little Caesars). But it has also been almost 2 years since I have made a pizza. So, I bought some pizza stuff and began to experiment, and it turned our pretty decent when I did it in piso. So, the real test would be with all the youth. Oh, and the Young Women were invited as well, so we are talking to about 16+ people all watching me do this. Talk about nerve racking. But it all went well. I wore my cooking apron that says, "You can call me Elder Cook". Everyone laughed at that. It was really funny. I gave the instructions to the youth to give to me while I was making the pizzas so that way, I had them involved. After our pizza activity, we had soccer to play. We usually play on Saturdays, but it was changed to Friday night again cause on Saturday, the Relief Society would be occupying the church for the stake activity. But we left our dishes there over night because we had to go home and didn't have time to clean them. So, they got there before us and cleaned our mess and were mad but didn't tell us about it. *Face Palm* Instead they took photos and sent it to the bishop and complained. Now yes, we should have cleaned up, but we came back to do it. They just happened to get there before us. Oh well, we love the Relief Society sisters and all the wonderful things they do!
On Thursday we had our Ward Night and it was okay. Few people and simple but always a good time.
This Sunday my companion gave a talk in church. He did not want to do it but he gave a great talk so it went well. The bishop told us about the mess but he did it in a good way. He understood about it. So, Monday was a regular day, not our preparation day because we all wanted to go to Barcelona and have our Zone Activity on Tuesday. I was a bit sick in the stomach on Monday but now I am better. We had a great FHE with Rene and his family about the Sabbath day. We went to piso at night, as Elder Peck opened to door and walked in, he went to go from the hall but ended up tripping on himself and ate the ground hard. It was so perfect that I thought he planned it! I was laughing so hard! Hahaha!!!
Answers to questions...
Did you get any of the birthday packages I sent you yet?
This past Tuesday we met with some of the people that we are teaching and the important thing that kept coming to my head throughout the day was that this is real life. It's not a game nor should it be treated like one. (Thanks Mom) So, I loved that small amount of energy that it gave me to keep going along with another thing that I found on Facebook as I was online Proselyting. It was a quote from Joseph Smith that says, "When God commands, do it". It can't get more crystal clear than that folks. You can't doubt or not understand something like that.
We had a visit with a mother, her daughter, and the mother's friend. It was fun meeting with them. We ate fajitas and then talked about the gospel for a bit. What was brought up in casual conversation turned into a lesson of the truth for all.
We were invited to the Young Men’s activity this past Friday and we were asked to make pizzas. I was excited to teach them because it is right up my alley (as a former veteran of working at Little Caesars). But it has also been almost 2 years since I have made a pizza. So, I bought some pizza stuff and began to experiment, and it turned our pretty decent when I did it in piso. So, the real test would be with all the youth. Oh, and the Young Women were invited as well, so we are talking to about 16+ people all watching me do this. Talk about nerve racking. But it all went well. I wore my cooking apron that says, "You can call me Elder Cook". Everyone laughed at that. It was really funny. I gave the instructions to the youth to give to me while I was making the pizzas so that way, I had them involved. After our pizza activity, we had soccer to play. We usually play on Saturdays, but it was changed to Friday night again cause on Saturday, the Relief Society would be occupying the church for the stake activity. But we left our dishes there over night because we had to go home and didn't have time to clean them. So, they got there before us and cleaned our mess and were mad but didn't tell us about it. *Face Palm* Instead they took photos and sent it to the bishop and complained. Now yes, we should have cleaned up, but we came back to do it. They just happened to get there before us. Oh well, we love the Relief Society sisters and all the wonderful things they do!
On Thursday we had our Ward Night and it was okay. Few people and simple but always a good time.
This Sunday my companion gave a talk in church. He did not want to do it but he gave a great talk so it went well. The bishop told us about the mess but he did it in a good way. He understood about it. So, Monday was a regular day, not our preparation day because we all wanted to go to Barcelona and have our Zone Activity on Tuesday. I was a bit sick in the stomach on Monday but now I am better. We had a great FHE with Rene and his family about the Sabbath day. We went to piso at night, as Elder Peck opened to door and walked in, he went to go from the hall but ended up tripping on himself and ate the ground hard. It was so perfect that I thought he planned it! I was laughing so hard! Hahaha!!!
Answers to questions...
Did you get any of the birthday packages I sent you yet?
I did get my packages and I loved them! Thank You so much!!!
What
the baptismal dates you have set so we can add them to our prayers?
“S” has a date for March 30th. Another young woman has one for the second week of April that is being taught by the hermanas. She is having her mom come who is out of the country right now.
Well that’s about it folks. I hope you all have a great week. I'll let you know how our preparation day goes on the beach playing volleyball!!!! Yay! Love you all and keep the faith!
Love Elder Maybury
“S” has a date for March 30th. Another young woman has one for the second week of April that is being taught by the hermanas. She is having her mom come who is out of the country right now.
Well that’s about it folks. I hope you all have a great week. I'll let you know how our preparation day goes on the beach playing volleyball!!!! Yay! Love you all and keep the faith!
Love Elder Maybury
Making pizzas and then brownies with the Andorra elders
Mmmm...brownies!
The Beach where we played Volleyball
(I promise that is the wind blowing up my shirt! It's not my stomach! LOL!)
(I love the clouds)
Tag Picture!
(this is my ukulele with the names of my friends that I have served with or done a musical number with)
This will always be a treasured memory.
Finally, Elder Maybury posted a video on Facebook of him and his companion singing "We'll Bring the World His Truth (Army of Helaman)" It was a wonderful treat to wake up in the morning and see this post. I love his face. I miss it always. I asked him who came up with the change up in the melody and he said it was him. I am so proud of him. I started teaching him a few years ago about harmonies and changing up the arrangement of songs. I love that he is continually using his gifts to bless the lives of others. 💕💕💕
(if the link does not automatically open, copy and paste this into YouTube: https://youtu.be/jC5ehCWhuHw)
Once again, thank you all for your the love and support that you give to my son and our family. We have felt your love and prayers, especially these past few weeks.
If you have a spare few minutes this week, please send Elder Maybury an email. He reports that he "is trunky, but not really". He further clarifies that he wants to be home with his family, but "not before it is [his] time." I can fully appreciate that. He is in the home stretch and he could really use your encouraging words. Please send him a little note.
(not this is a NEW email address)
If you would like, you can mail him an encouraging card. He would love to get some mail. Please send all cards and letters to:
Elder Alexander J. Maybury
Spain Barcelona Mission
C/Calatrava 10-12, bajos
08017 Barcelona
Spain
all cards and letters will require one international stamp = $1.15 (up to one ounce)
