1/19/2015

 January 19th 2015


Hey,

So another awesome week has flown by! Last Monday we went into Cape Town and met up with some of the other Elders. We drove into downtown Cape Town and went to the Eastern food Bazaar. It is such a cool place!  South Africa has a large population of Indian/Persian people so it was like stepping into different part of the world. They had middle eastern music blasting and people from all over were shouting for food and stuff. There was some REALLY foreign food for sale there. But, I just settled for some chicken curry.

After that, we went to place called green market square. It is basically a massive market where people from all over Africa have set up little shops to sell stuff that you couldn't get anywhere else. Stuff like lion/crocodile hides, traditional Zulu weapons, and so much more! The flip side of the coin is that it is also a very dangerous and if you aren't smart you may lose all your money. It is very crowded and people will steal your wallet and try to rip you off. You have to barter for everything that you want to buy. For example, I bought a huge South African flag. The guy wanted 300 rand for it. I told him heck no and I negotiated the price down to 100 rand. I felt really superior when I saw a bunch of dumb tourists get completely conned on stuff that they bought. I am really starting to fall in love with Cape Town though. It is such an amazing city!

The weather is still ridiculously hot here in Paarl. I have to bring a huge jug of water with me everywhere I go so that I can stay hydrated. We have been teaching a few new people and are earnestly striving to find some more to teach. I know that as we continue to love and serve these people that we will be successful.

Sincerely,

Elder Sean Herrick



Cape Town Ocean front


Baptism- Elder Sean Herrick, Robert Arendse, Elder Dangerfield

1/12/2015

Hello everyone,                                                                                                     January 12th 2015

So I had a pretty good last week. Last Monday we went down to the waterfront in Cape Town and took some pictures by the sea. The ocean is so beautiful as the waves crash against the rocks. There are some really amazing things to see in the city. Yesterday was my first baptism. It was this guy that we have been teaching. His name is Robert Arendse and he was a detective during Apartheid. So he has a very troubled past and he spent some time in a mental institution because of what he saw and did. When we met him for the first time he expressed a desire to forget the past and change his life. I can tell that when I baptized him he was very happy and it was an amazing experience for me. 

Last Friday was a Elder Dangerfield's birthday so I bought him a cake as a birthday present for him. We had a braai (barbecue) with the YSA at a members home it was a lot of fun. We played some SA board games and the food was delicious especially the meat. They really like to eat pork down here. 

Saturday was exchanges with the Zone leaders so it was me and my companion plus one of the ZLs working in the area the whole day. Imagine three tall white guys walking around in a crowded all black township. As we are walking around this township a group of  Xhosa girls approached us and begged us for our phone numbers and for us to marry them. We politely declined. After we left we laughed about it for awhile afterwards. 

We are have been teaching this really awesome couple from Ghana for awhile and they have been making some huge progress. Their names are Chris and Naomi. They are super friendly people and they live in extremely humble conditions. Their home is literally a few tin walls nailed together with the roof held down by some cinder blocks. Poor people back in the U.S are quite rich compared to the poor people here. It makes me think of how blessed to have been born back in Nebraska where things like clean clothes and running water are taken for granted. 

Everyday here is a new adventure and its a adventure that I know that will change me forever. I know that the church is true. I wouldn't travel to the far side of the world for something that wasn't true. I am so happy that I am here and I can make a difference in the lives of others.

Sincerely,

Elder Sean Herrick,

1/05/ 2015

Happy new year!                                                                                              01/05/2015

So I have just experienced my first New years living overseas. People like to really party for New years down here in South Africa.  We were told by the mission president that we had to be back at our flat by 6:00pm. On New years eve a lot of people were setting off fireworks. So the whole night we kept hearing explosions all around us. We may have "accidentally" found some fireworks ourselves. So of course we had to let them off. On New years day we were invited to go to watch a parade in a town called Wellington. It was definitely an interesting cultural experience. There was a large amount of elaborately dressed people playing instruments and celebrating the new year. Overall, it was a cool time.  South Africa is beautiful this time of the year. Paarl is located in a valley surrounded by mountains and huge grape vineyards so every morning I wake up and get to see the mountains shrouded by mist and take in the whole scene. My language skills are definitely improving. I no longer give people a blank stare when they ask me something like, how your day been going? when I am buying groceries. Now that the festive season is drawing to a close, missionary work is stepping up. On Sunday, I am going to have my first baptism. It is this guy named Robert. He is retired SA army plus retired SA detective. So yeah, he is a cool guy. We have been teaching him for like the last 4 weeks and he has progressed amazingly. I am so excited for him! I am sorry to say that nothing incredibly crazy has happened this last week! I hope that everyone back home is doing well. 2014 has come and gone. I wish everyone the best of luck for 2015!

God bless,

Elder Sean Herrick



2015 New Year's Day Parade in Wellington South Africa


New Year's Day 2015 Wellington, South Africa




Elder Dangerfield with some parade participant's.



Picture of the mountains and grove of tree's around Paarl, South Africa

MTC Pictures

Pictures sent to us from the MTC in Johannesburg South Africa

12/29/2014

Hello,                                                                                                          12/29/2014

So I just I had my first Christmas in South Africa! So last Monday we went into Cape Town to stay with the other elders. I love driving through Cape Town! It is such a cool city. Of course it has its scary parts. We driving around and one of the elders wanted to go through a township that he had previously served in. It was during the evening so as we drove through, people were heavily liquored up so it was a pretty crazy sight to see! One thing about South Africa is that when ever you are stopped in traffic also keep your windows rolled up. Because people will approach your car and try to sell you stuff and/or ask you for money. So we stayed the night on Tuesday in Cape Town. The next morning we had a Christmas themed zone conference. Missionaries form three different zones were there. It was a really amazing experience! The departing missionaries all bore their testimonies on the how they had changed and how much they loved their mission. President Merrill gave a talk on testing the promises of God. It was a general conference worthy talk!  After that, we where fed and we were invited to do a skit or share Christmas traditions as a district or as a zone.  The Cape Town south zone did a really cool skit that involved a guy dressed as Father Christmas. Some other elders sang and played instruments. People celebrate Christmas down here by braaing (barbecuing) lots of different kinds of meat. Sometimes you have no idea what kind of meat it is. So we spent most of Christmas day eating and visiting with members of the ward. In the evening I got to Skype my family. It is amazing how fast two hours can fly by! I felt like our conversation lasted like 10 minutes. Anyways I hope that everyone back in the Sates had a wonderful Christmas and I hope that you have a happy new year!

Love,

Elder Sean Herrick

12/22/2014

Hey,                                                                                              12/22/2014

So It has been an awesome week! Last Monday we decided to go for a drive in the Klein Drakenstien mountains. As we reached the top I pulled the car over and we jumped out and took pictures. The view was amazing we could even see Table Mountain in the distance. As we drove around up there we came across a large pack of baboons! They were crossing the road. So we then followed them in the car. It was so cool to watch them interact with each other. We didn't dare leave the car because some of the males in the pack were huge! We had a really crazy experience last Sunday as we were walking one of our investigators to church. She lives in the most violent part of Paarl. It is a place that the locals call Chicago, because there are murders happening all the time there. It is not a township. It is a massive crumbling apartment complex with small tin shacks where people live all over the place. All the residents fear that place. So as we were walking we noticed a large group of guys start to approach us. They started shouting at us in Afrikaans. They had a dangerous look to them. One of them was carrying a hatchet that he was trying to hide behind his back. For a moment, I thought that we were dead. But, my companion decided to smile and wave at them and so did I. We kept walking and tried to act as calm as ever. When they got close we tried to be friendly and appear harmless. Somehow, It worked. And they left us alone. I know that we were protected from harm. And that the Lord is watching over us.The Christmas season is in full swing down here people are partying left and right. So missionary work has slowed to a halt. Next Monday we are going to Cape Town to hang out and spend the night at the other Elders flat. On Tuesday we have Zone Conference and its Christmas themed so that's cool. Literally everyday I spend in South Africa is an adventure. It is so odd that I am going to spend Christmas so far from home. But, I know these people need us and that by serving them I am going to be tremendously blessed for the rest of my life.

Love,

Elder Sean Herrick

 Service work at a members home.

Mountains near Paarl South Africa

Baboons along the road side.

12/15/2014

Hey everyone,                                                                                                         12/15/2014

So nothing super crazy has happened this week down here in Paarl South Africa! I ate some fish and chips last for the first time, it was actually quite good! Buying stuff here is still super awkward because the accent is difficult to understand. Also English isn't widely spoken in this part of the Western Cape. The native language of most of the people here is Afrikaans. Though there is a minority of people who speak Xhosa. (AKA the tongue clicking language) The weather continues to get hotter because summer is just starting. December is a big holiday/party month here so missionary work is difficult. On Saturday night we got back to our flat and I noticed a small cockroach running along the fridge. So Dangerfield and I decided to move the fridge. As we did that, literally tons of cockroaches came scurrying from the behind the fridge! It was so disgusting! So we got some chemical spray and completely sprayed down the kitchen. On Monday as we were driving to Cape Town, we were going through a somewhat rural area I saw my first ostriches walking around through the bush. It was so cool! Apparently to the north of Paarl is this area that where there are a herd of giraffes just hanging out. I really want to go there sometime. Anyways, I am enjoying the work that I am doing here and the experiences that I've had.

Sincerely,

Elder Sean Herrick 

12/08/2014

Hey everyone,                                                                                                     12/08/2014

So I have had another crazy week here in Paarl South Africa! The weather here is soooo hot! I have heard that it can get up to 45 degrees Celsius here. That is really really warm! So this week was somewhat difficult. On Saturday we had 6 dropped appointments in a row. My companion and I felt sad so we went to a store in a town called Wellington and bought some donuts and chocolate milk. We then drove to this really cool wooded area and ate the donuts and planned better goals for next week. Last Monday we went to Cape Town to have a big football (soccer) match against the missionaries from the other zone. It was really interesting because there are so many missionaries from around the world here. The British were complaining that the Americans play way too rough. So I felt very patriotic. After that, we went to a American style restaurant in Bellville. They had some really good hamburgers there. For dessert I ordered this thing that they call the kitchen sink. It is literally a huge bowl of ice cream mixed with fruit and other good stuff. I shared it with three other guys. I have noticed that I am slowly losing my American accent. I have started calling things by there South African term. I still haven't gotten used to being in township where everyone is gawking at us the whole time because we are white. Teaching people is always fun because it is so different than how you would teach an American. Anyways, I am having a lot of fun serving these people and making their lives better.

Love,

Elder Sean Patrick Herrick

Bad sunburn!!!

11/24/2014 Driving up the Mountains on P-Day

"It honestly feels like something out of Lion King"

Finally feels like Africa!!!

I am pretty sure something died here.

11/24/2014

Hey everyone,                                                                                            11/24/2014

So it has been a crazy week! Last Monday we went to Paarl Mountain Reserve. It was awesome! We drove up in the car part of the way then hiked the rest. The whole time we were blasting African folk music it is actually starting to feel like I'm actually in Africa! Before I came out here basically knew nothing about cooking, but, my trainer has helped me and now I can make some really good chicken pasta! We have had rolling blackouts every evening for the past few days so that's cool. Going to townships on weekends is insane because everyone is ether drunk, stoned, or a combination of both. When they see me they shout "Boer" "Boer" because that's what they call Afrikaners (white people) and they think that we are them. So they always speak Afrikaans to us and then we tell them that we are English and American and they are shocked. The weather here is hot. REALLY HOT! It is like an oven. I am constantly told that this is nothing and next month its going to get hotter. Paarl is a tourist city so the center of town is really clean, prosperous, and modern. All you have do is drive like twenty minutes and it is like entering a third world country. The driving here is probably the worst in the world. Nobody obeys traffic laws and the police don't enforce them. I think that I am going to bring some very interesting driving habits home with me. Anyways life is good and I am happy. I know that what I am doing is right and I know that the church is true.

Love,

Elder Sean Patrick Herrick

 11/6/2014


Hey Everyone!  
                                                                                                         

So life at the MTC keeps one very busy. The classes start early in the morning and extend all the way into the evening. Wake up time is 6:30 every morning. My companion and I have been getting up every day at 5:30 to go run around the MTC grounds. After that, we go the MTC gym and lift weights for like 10 mins. Breakfast is at 7:00 am. The food here is okay. Everything has a very different taste and smell than to what I am used to. We went to the Johannesburg temple on Tuesday. It was like an hour away so we had drive across Joberg. The streets are very narrow and everyone drives like a maniac. It's common for people to sell you stuff while your stopped at a red light. I think that I have heard like 14 different languages since I left home. The white people speak Afrikaans and the blacks speak Zulu. And everyone speaks a very British sounding English. The weather here is very fair, the sun shines often here. It is obvious the crime is a big deal here because the MTC is patrolled by armed security. There are 23 missionaries here. 10 from the US. And the rest are from various parts of Africa. The teachers here are all RMs. The instruction that I have received here as been very valuable. My companion's name is Elder Monyo from Tanzania. I can only understand him like 60% of the time. So teaching can be a real challenge. I am really looking forward to leaving the MTC and going to Cape Town. Cabin fever sets in really quick here. I hope that I can write more interesting things in the future. I love you guys so much!

Elder Sean Patrick Herrick