Sunday, May 31, 2015

05/25/2015

Hey,                                             May, 25th, 2015

Another week has come and gone here in SA. The weather has been quite cool at night but it still gets warm during the day. 

This last week has been wonderful for missionary work. Elder Brown and I made the decision to fast and pray every single Sunday for the branch and for missionary work. The results have been nothing short of inspiring.

We have been teaching this one family for awhile. But up until now they haven't really taken the missionaries seriously. But, this last week every single lesson that we taught was powerful and spiritual. This family came to churchon Sunday and now are on the fast track towards being baptized. 

We have also had similar experiences with in-active members of the church who have decided that now is the time to return to the fold. I have a firm testimony of testing God's promises through fasting and praying. So the work is improving here. 

The members are finally catching the wave and stepping up to help this branch. We have a long way to go still and some big obstacles to overcome. But, I know that things are going to work out. 

The Assistants to the president are coming down this week to go on exchanges with us for about 3 days. Transfers are coming up soon here and the chances of me being transferred are high. So we'll see what happens.

The Kjar's fed us last night with a delicious meal of ostrich steak and gravy plus mashed potatoes. The local cuisine is really starting to grow on me.

The work is still hard but we are making small steps in the right direction. We are planning on doing a ton of finding this week with the Assistants. Hopefully, our teaching pool will be a lot better by the end of this week.

I can't believe how fast time has gone. At this time a year ago, I had just graduated from high school. Now I am serving a mission in a foreign country on the far side of the world. It is truly amazing how much can change over the course of just one year. 

I am so grateful to be out serving a mission and for the change that I have brought about in my life and in the lives of others.

Love,

Elder Sean Patrick Herrick

05/20/2015

Hey,                                                                                                               May 20, 2015

Well this last week has been pretty busy. We have been working very hard to increase our teaching pool. Two weeks ago, a member of the seventy came to our zone conference and he gave a really powerful talk. It has motivated Elder Brown and I a lot. So we made a covenant that to always be diligent and to not get discouraged when times are hard.

We have been praying and fasting as a companionship for the branch here in George. For less actives to return to church and that we can find some people that can help strengthen the church here. 

So we did some finding last week and we've had some success.  We found a really wonderful family that lives in town. We had a super powerful lesson with them.
This last Sunday was branch conference. Our mission president,  President Merrill spoke,  it was truly amazing. He radiated with the spirit when he was talking.  I know that the message that he gave was inspired. 

The weather here continues to be very mild.  A South African winter is approaching soon. Which means the nights are getting a bit chilly. So last Monday was a real blast. We went up to Oudsthoorn to tour this very famous cave system called Cango Caves. It is a very popular tourist destination. We were led by a guide through the cave system. There were some parts of the caves that had stone age drawings on the walls that were made by bushmen long ago.

The tour was pretty awesome and we had a fun time. After we visted the caves, we went to tour an ostrich farm. We got to see and handle ostrich eggs and see how ostrich leather was made. We then walked around the farm and got to handle the ostriches. And finally,  I got to ride on of them. The pictures are priceless. 

So overall it was a good week. We stayed busy and taught some very powerful lessons.  Transfers are coming up soon and there is a big chance that I am going to be transferred somewhere else.  Which is going to be very difficult because I have been here for nearly four months now and I have really grown to love the people here and I have made some good friends in George.  

Serving a mission goes by very fast and right when you really start loving an area you get transferred to another area. However, I am so grateful to be here and for work that I've done. 

Love,

Elder Sean Patrick Herrick

Thursday, May 14, 2015

05/11/2015





                                                                                                                 


Hey,                                                                                                May 11,2015

So It has been a pretty awesome last week.On Thursday we drove down to Port Elizabeth for a zone conference. The next morning we had a meeting with  Elder David Evans of the first quorum of the seventy.

He spoke to us about what we need to do as missionaries to build up the church here in South Africa. He laid out goals for us to meet and then took questions from missionaries about how we could implement these goals.

We were then addressed by President Merrill. He was just as powerful and spiritual as always. Following the meeting, we drove the long road back to George.

I have to admit that the zone conference had a real impact on Elder Brown and I. We have decided that we need to be more diligent and powerful missionaries. Which means we are going to hit the pavement this week and do a lot of finding. 

Our teaching pool as actually gotten better this last week. We have had several people referred to us by people and members so it has really gotten better and hopefully we will be a lot busier.

Sunday was mothers day which meant that we could Skype our families. Which was awesome. It was so wonderful to talk to my family and to see their faces and feel their love. Answering their questions about SA was a real blast. 

After talking with them, it felt like I was jolted back in to reality. 

The weather here continues to be fair and mild. Though it rains a lot more frequently now.

Attendance at sacrament meeting has gotten better steadily over the course of time. We have been trying very hard to work with less actives and help them have the desire to return to the fold.

The members of the branch are really starting to trust us now. It has taken awhile but they are really starting to lean on us and value our advice and council.

We have been working with the branch president often. We meet with him once a week at his house to discuss ways we can help out the members here.

The work is moving forward. Slowly but surely. 

Love,

Elder Sean Patrick Herrick

05/04/2015



                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                         


Hey,                                                                                         May 4th,2015

Well next Sunday is mother's day. Which means I am allowed to Skype my family! I am really looking forward to it. Well this last week went by very quickly. 

The weather this week has been pretty mild. Not very hot and not very cold.

Last Monday Elder Brown and I drove up to Oudtshoorn just to explore and check things out. It is a very popular tourist destination. Mainly because of the many game reserves in the area. Activities include, tours through caves, crocodile cage diving and game drives. 

The drive there was very nice as we drove through the Outeniqua mountains. Oudtshoorn is a lot hotter and drier than George and so the landscape is very different. Oudtshoorn also boasts the world largest ostrich population so during the drive there, we saw large numbers of ostriches. 

Last Saturday, some very wealthy members of the branch invited us and the senior couples to visit this massive farm that they own near Misgund Eastern Cape. It was a long drive but it was worth it. Why? Because the farm is gorgeous!  People often rent the farm for weddings and functions so everything there is very nice and scenic. 

We walked around and took a lot of pictures. After we walked around, we were fed a delicious South Africa meal. Overall, it was a cool experience.

We devoted a lot of our missionary work last week to visiting members and trying to uplift and encourage them. 

We are really struggling when it comes to finding solid investigators at the moment, we really don't have any.We have had investigators. Many of them have dropped us though. It is frustrating at times because we have worked so very hard to find people and yet we aren't getting the results that we want.

However, these things take time. I won't allow it to discourage me doing my very best.I know that we mostly planting seeds in peoples hearts and minds. And one day, those seeds will grow and be harvested by future missionaries.

Although the work is tough, I am still grateful for the lessons learned. Even when times are hard.

Love,

Elder Sean Patrick Herrick

4/27/2015






Hey,                                                                                                        April 27th,2015

So we got transfer news Saturday night. I am staying in George for another transfer. Which I am fine with because I really love this place and the people here. The work has been slow recently, but Elder Brown and I are determined to crank it up this next six weeks and make this place a boom town for missionary work.

Last P-day we didn't do anything incredibly exciting. Elder Brown was feeling ill so we just hung out the Kjar's flat and ate pizza for awhile. 

We had a fun service project on Saturday though. A member of the branch needed to have his mother in-laws roof power washed and stuff so he asked us if we could do it. 

We agreed and spent like four hours spraying and respraying the roof. It was kind of dirty work, by the end of the job, we were covered in all the paint and grime that we had power hosed from the roof. We were well rewarded for our efforts though. Afterwords, we had a nice braai with lamb chops and boerewors. 

The weather has been very mild recently. Our teaching pool is still small. It is rather difficult to find people who are actually serious about our message. But, we just need to stay patience and exercise some faith.

The Branch of the church here still has its unique struggles and challenges but we are working with the members and striving to strengthen their testimonies. 

Well that is about it. Not a whole lot to report on this week. It has been somewhat slow. But, I will make up for it by the pictures of George that I am sending.

Love,

Elder Sean Patrick Herrick