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

04/20/2015

Hey,                                                                                                                                           April 20th,2015

Another week has come and gone here in George, South Africa. We had zone training in Port Elizabeth last week. We arrived Tuesday evening after a three hour drive. The next morning we had the training which consisted of a lesson by the zone leaders and then an interview with President Merrill. 

After the interview, President Merrill got up and gave a powerful talk in how we need to press on and do our very best to endure to the end. At the conclusion of the training, we were fed lunch.

The interview went very well. President Merrill is a very spiritual guy and it is easy to see that he cares deeply for every missionary serving in our mission. Overall, the zone training was a an uplifting experience which motivated me to try my best to reach my full potential as a missionary.

After that, we drove back to George. The next evening we had a meal with a super friendly Xhosa family in the branch. Our meal consisted of rice, lamb, pap,( It's kind of like corn meal) and some orange, mushy stuff that I can't name. But, it was all delicious.

Winter is fast approaching here. For the first time in a long time, I woke up feeling cold. It gets down to like 50 degrees Fahrenheit at night now. Though from what I hear, the winters here are nothing like the winters back home.

The branch here had two baptisms last Sunday. It was these two ladies that the senior couple the Kjars, were teaching. A big portion of the branch turned up to watch the baptisms. Which was awesome. 

Our teaching pool right now isn't the best. A lot of people have dropped our appointments which is never fun. So the work is still rather difficult.

Last P-day was fun though. We drove down to Mossel Bay and went to the mall there. After that, we visited the light house and some very old caves that were apparently first inhabited in the Stone Age.

Transfers are coming up soon and I am wondering whether I am going to stay in George or not. There is a only a small chance that I am going to get transferred I think.

Overall, it was a powerful week. I have a sincere desire to change, grow and become the person that I have always aspired to be.

Love,

Elder Sean Patrick Herrick

Pics George South Africa

Zebras spotted during a drive on P-day.

Over looking Indian Ocean

Beautiful scene near George,S.A.

Elder Herrick and Elder Brown with Branch member?

4/13/2015

Hey,                                                                                                                                April 13th, 2015

I just want to open this post by apologizing for not posting anything last week. The only time we have to email is Monday morning and last Monday we got really busy and had next to zero time to email.

So a lot has happened recently. The work here is progressing forward. We have expanded our teaching pool considerably. Elder Brown and I have been working extra hard to strengthen the members of the branch. We have set a goal to visit every person on the branch list. Active or less-active.

I think we have been somewhat successful because attendance at sacrament is getting better and the members are really starting to trust us and rely on us. Hopefully, by the time I leave George, we will have sown enough seeds for future missionaries to harvest. So yeah we are staying busy.

General Conference was awesome and spiritual as always. I really appreciated Elder Jeffery R. Hollands talk as well as the really powerful talk that the church Relief Society general president gave. It is so weird listening to the talks and thinking how far away from home I am at this time.

The weather here is still pretty warm. It got up to 90 degrees Fahrenheit last Friday. The last few P-days here have been awesome. A couple of weeks ago, we went for a long drive in the mountains surrounding the George area. It is a thickly forested area with some spectacular views and scenic wildlife.

Apparently, there is a small leopard population that reside there so we kept looking for them. We actually saw some zebras and springboks for the first time. It was very cool. Going on a random driving adventure has been our primary source of entertainment recently.

There our a ton of cool places to see and take pictures of here. We see a lot of crazy stuff here on a daily basis. Ranging from witchdoctors walking around in the Xhosa township to the insane drivers here.

The members of the branch here really trust us. They keep us busy with all kinds of stuff. It is funny when we plan for the day as a companionship. Because nothing every go according to plan here.

Everyone here operates on African time which means there is no set time for anything and a lot of thing just randomly happen. For example, a random phone call asking for us to come instantly is rather commonplace here.  So there is never a dull moment while serving a mission in South Africa.

Yeah, it can get a bit hectic at times. But, I wouldn't have it any other way. I love serving the people here in George. I am so thankful for this gospel in my life and for the privledge of serving a mission for the Lord.

Cheers!

Elder Sean Patrick Herrick

Pics-George, South Africa

Township Houses



Elder Herrick and Elder Brown          George, South Africa

03/23/2015

Hey everyone,                                                                                                  March 23, 2015

A lot of the changes have happened over the course of this last week. Elder Moliki left and went for his next assignment in Fish Hoek in Cape Town. It was transfer week. My new companion flew in from Cape Town on Wednesday. His name is Elder Brown form West Jordan Utah. He is a pretty cool guy. We have been out on mission for the the same amount of time. Just under 5 months. So we were in the Joberg MTC together.

We spent the last few days working with less actives. Which isn't the most fun work in the world but it is still rewarding. We had a awesome dinner appointment with a familt last Friday in possibly one of the most scenic locations on the coastline.

The work is still slow here. We still haven't manged to find any progressing investigators. We decided as a companionship to work less in the township and focus on more prosperous areas to serve. Teaching and finding in a township is very easy. But finding really committed people who have transport to church is a real challenge. Since many people can't afford cars.

The weather has been pretty mild here. Not very hot and not that cold. Mornings here are always a real treat because you look up and see the mountains always covered in clouds and stuff. The birds here are also way cool. They sound and look quite different than the ones back home.

I haven't seen any major wildlife in awhile but it is rumored that leopards roam the mountain forests just above George. I would like to check it out some time in the near future.

My spiritual highlight for this week would be a lesson that we taught to a lady who was going through some really serious challenges in her life at the moment. She lives in such poverty that would be unimaginable back home. I could tell that she and her family were really struggling and that the message that we shared brought here to tears. She was so thankful for the comfort that we gave her and the spirit that she felt.

The most rewarding part of being a missionary is the when you get to see the joy that the gospel brings to their lives. It is so awesome when you get to bear your testimony to people and you can tell that the spirit has touched their hearts.

I am so grateful for the restored gospel in my life and all the joy and peace that it has given me.

Sincerely,

Elder Sean Patrick Herrick