February 26, 2009

안 영 하 세 요!
Yesterday I was thrilled to receive a letter from Mac yeah muchas gracias Mac I really needed that. Also I got 2 packages from home, hands down the best thing was the card. I opened it on the bus and just sobbed it was so good to hear your voices. I've probably opened the card like 30 times or so. "She's some kind of wonderful" Do you really think so? Thanks! Yeah Briggs is going to BYU.
Hold on a second. There is a woman using this exercise machine next to us she just stands on it and its like this vibrating thing. Her entire body is shaking no one to relish in the hilarity of this moment. hahaaaa...wait you will see it.
Today Incheon smells like Chile. Well if I ever thought school was hard I obviously had never trained a new missionary. Its so stressful way to stressful but I can't like Sister Choi see the stress. I've never worked so hard before. I am giving my heart and my gallbladder, probably my liver kidneys. Okay that wasn't literal you know what I mean.

My companion is pretty homesick but we are working super hard, I think I'm wearing her out. We run from between appointments and if there's no body on the street to talk with I run. We are probably completely different people on a ways. She sleeps not on a yo but on the floor because it is hot 33 degrees. Thats like 90F. In the morning if I don't put on my flip flops my feet burn. If anyone ever thought I was shy they have not met Korean women. My companion is extremely shy, so a lot of aspects of missionary work are really hard. But those are the things we are working on hard. I talk with everyone and in one week she has improved so much. She's an angel really. When she was 14 she met the Sister Missionaries on the street and they gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon one of those sisters was from Incheon. She's 28 she is a high school english teacher, she received a one year leave from her job to come on a mission. She doesn't like american food, music has never heard of the office but our differences will make us stronger. I feel like a lot of mission experiences are preparing me for marriage.
Something that has hit me hard this week is Agency. People have their agency to choose to accept our message, members have agency to choose to help us. All that we have to do is do our best and maybe we even do more than our best because the Lord boosts us. We are seeing miracles as we work hard, slowly. Slow than I want but this isn't Paige Alsbury's timetable we are working on. 조 은 주 has a Baptismal date for 3/29 I've given her my heart and last night we had this very spiritual lesson the spirit was so strong I cried. I just pray for inspiration how to help those we teach and how to help my companion. I know that Jesus Christ is the only way to lasting happiness and that through a modern prophet the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ was restored. Anyway must go. I got a postcard from Elizabeth Lewis--감 사 해 요. If you guys see anyone I know tell them hello from me. 사 랑 해 요!
xoxo

Sister Paige McDede Alsbury

Brace yourself....I'm a trainer

Yes the subject line was not a typo. I'm training a new missionary. Wow crazy. Yes I feel nervous, stressed, inadequate, but confident, happy and extremely excited. So President called last Saturday and tells me that I am a trainer crazy. Sister Newby is now in Suwon. There were 9 new missionaries that came into our mission this transfer. Today was an amazing day. We got up at 5 am, went to 신 도 림 역 the subway station where all the missionaries meet on transfer day, I rode to the mission home with President Burton. Then we had some training from the Assistants and from President, a testimony meeting and then trainers were assigned. It was so spiritual. There is only one sister that came so it wasn't a surprise.

So who is my greenie? Her name is 최 민 희 romanized Choi Minhui (but pronounced like Chey Min Hee) AKA Sister Choi. Anyway she's a sweet angel! I'm serious! She is from 여 수 Korea which is the very southern part of Korea. She knows my MTC friend Sister Burgess who served there. She is 28ish and she is a high school english teacher--so she's pretty good at english but actually have only talked to her in Korean. Oh she's so cute. President talked about how he specifically felt a prompting that I needed to train, even though there are a lot of sisters how have been here longer than me. I have a testimony that he is inspired to lead this mission. I'm scared and I know its going to be hard. I love Korea. I feel like I grew up over night, now I have this confidence and this mantle--its weird. Anyway the other day I was studying relying on the Spirit in Preach my Gospel and one thing really stuck out to me. We just need to have confidence in the Lord. I really doubt my personal confidence but I have 110% confidence in the Lord. This is his work. I just have to keep working hard and being obedient and miracles will happen. I'm grateful that I was able to have such a wonderful trainer. Pray for me and my new missionary.

조 은 희 Jo eun hee was baptized on sunday it was amazing. This week she will receive the Holy Ghost. I'm so happy for her.

We have no time so here's some random thoughts for you:
-I saw the Ocean and went to China town. Both very cool.
-Apparently in my sleep I mumbled something and then said "Its a Preach my Gospel quote"
-I saw a giant statue of General McArthur--Incheon harbor was a huge victory in the Korean war.
I am domesticating myself. I need motherly skills. I decided I'm going to french braid my hair so I can someday do it to daughters--weirdo I know. But it actually looks pretty good.
-Also I am working on overcoming that irrational fear that I have had my whole life. (you know that one--it has to do with Jill's bed) starts with the letter S. Koreans love them.

I love you all no time. Must go. xoxoxo
사 랑 해 요!!
Alsbury 자 매

The biggest spider I have ever seen--but it was in my yo! Sick!

Yes my companion killed the world's largest non pet store spider today. I'm really greatful to her. I'm scared now to go to sleep but really grateful for a companion who saved my life from the evil spider.

So yeah as missionaries in Korea teach 30 minutes english and 30 minutes of the Gospel in Korean. It is the best finding tool here. But Sister Newby and I have now had a ingenious idea. We call it "the 30/30 Briggs program" We show the korean 학 생s the high school students pictures of Briggs, talk about his obsession with Korean ramen, he prefers jammers to briefs, maybe tell them that he will come and visit Korea someday yada yada. Then teach them about the Restoration of the Gospel. Sweet deal huh? I'm feeling pretty good about it. But I need more pictures of Briggs in order to do this please send some--paper copies also send some delicious treats.

Also on tuesday I ate death chicken for the first time. What's death chicken? Its chicken on a street in spicy sauce. I think you guys would like. The tears were flowing from my eyes amongst the death winds of Incheon. I did it. Afterwards I got an ice cream cone and stuck it on my lips. I'm in such a weird mood sorry this is a strange email.

So yeah last week I was super stressed about getting the standards of excellence. Very stressed but as lameo as it sounds I thurst in my sickle more than I ever had before. We accomplished every single standard that has been set for our mission. We blew them away. It was the most prideful I have felt as a missionary. We were able to find 4 new investigators. We talked to 145 people on the street about the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and invited them to learn more. We taught 6 lessons with members---I can't believe Mac does that in one day. Korea = not Brazil. Anyway I haven't seen Mac in 19 months weird but I dust still love him a lot. I have a testimony that this isn't our work but its the Lord's work. I love Incheon and I love my companion. We have seen so many miracles lately we really are blessed when we work hard and are obedient. This sunday 조 은 희 Jo eun hee will receive baptism, she had here interview and its kind of complicated but I know it will work out and she will receive a remission of her sins and when she receives the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Well I'm fine this is a bad email I got mail today I haven't opened Mom's package yet but I am excited to open it. I love you all. 사 랑 해 요 I'm happy. Thanks for giving me red hair so that Koreans can pet it. Its really hard for us to recognize the strengths in ourselves but I know that the Lord has given me some and I have also been given some from my super sweet parents and siblings. Lets all try and be better all the time
xoxoxo

알 스 베 리 자 매
Sister Paige McDede Alsbury

Delight?

So Delight? What is the origin of this subject line? Well it makes me very happy. We were talking to this lady in english and I told her that sometimes I wake up at the 새 벽 like 5:30 to study korean somedays. She was like "Delight?" I'm like no I don't delight in it anyway it was this whole awkward 10 minutes somehow it turned out to be really funny thing. I think she was looking for the word diligent. Mostly just her tone someday I show you how.

My life is now complete. I have seem probably the largest stamp collection ever in probably the smallest house ever. There's a member in 부 평 Bupyeong ward that we ate lunch with and the husband shows us his famous stamp collection. She had probably 50 Hitler stamps also saw a couple Marx and Stalin ones too.

I don't know how much time we are going to have today so this is going to be scrambled. Today we went to the temple. It was as always a special treat. I really do feel recharged after we go. Also some elders had a Costco card so we went to Costco for lunch. I've only been one other time. I had a salad it was amazing. I miss salad. It felt like America which is always happy.

We went and visited this inactive recent convert the other day and it took 2 hours to get there and we didn't even leave Incheon. I even saw a golf course. Yes Koreans love golf but there is no room. Too many peeps. I think its insanely expensive. That day we rode on this new subway right by the airport. It felt like we were going a rocket or something. Its sad that I get excited about how fancy the subway was but it was awesome.

I know I am a child of God in Korean sign language 수 화.

This past week we have dropped some investigators but I know that if we keep working we will be blessed to find prepared people. Sometimes I feel like I am on my own team. My companion hates talking with people and this creates stress. I am so so stressed right now. Stress from our leaders, standards of excellence, and stressed about our investigators. We don't have easy investigators they all have big concerns and its just very 복 잡 complicated. Can you get ulcers from stress? You know there are a lot of things that I wish I had google or wikipedia. Today I was talking to these girls and they were asking me if I knew all these famous korean singers and they were like "look it up on Naver" The Korean google equivelant.

Weird Korean I have discovered recently. So because they are obsessed with having students learn english they will do pretty much anything. So for $ 100 USD a month you can talk in english to someone in the Philippines for 5, 10 or 20 minutes. Wait the Philippines?? Yes. I thought they spoke Cebuano or Taglog--yes they do but apparently all of these Philipinos are making a killing asking Korean 학 생s about their favorite food. So they are all going to sound like Philipinos if they speak english. Weird. Anyway its really foggy here. I love you all so very much. I pray for you all everyday. I will pray harder for Missionaries in Brazil and for Briggsy to swim like a fish. 상 랑 해 요!!

알 스 베 리 자 매
Sister Paige McDede Alsbury