Elder Herrick's Mission Blog

Monday, March 23, 2015

Pics-George, South Africa

Township Houses

Elder Herrick and Elder Brown George, South Africa

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

Friday, March 20, 2015

03/16/2015

March 16th, 2015

Hey,

So the weather is getting progressively cooler here and it is raining almost every other day. So I think that Summer here is drawing to a close.

Transfers are this week and on Saturday the Zone Leaders called us and said that Elder Moliki is going to be transferred to Fish Hoek in Cape Town and my new companion is Elder Brown who is in my transfer. We know each other from the MTC.

Something scary happened in one of the townships that we work in. Apparently, a young man fell out of favor with the gang that he was part of so about 30 of them stabbed him to death in the middle of the street. We heard about it from one of the people that we see and we were warned not to go into that area. So I think that we will definitely steer clear of it.

On the bright side, We have been teaching some truly amazing people. Last week, I mentioned a guy who walked a very long distance to our church because he felt it was the true church. His name is Ernest. He is really humble and wants to seek to find a church that will strengthen his family.

On Friday, George held an international food festival which featured food from U.S Germany U.K S.A Japan etc. Some of the food there looked good. I went to the America booth and I wasn't surprised when they were serving hamburgers and brownies. Stereotypes never die.

It is true that serving a mission is difficult. But, it is so worth it. I know that I go through these trials for a reason. There is always a lesson to be learned. My faith grows each time.

I am really looking forward to continuing on as I learn more and grow as a person. Every day.

Love,

Elder Sean Patrick Herrick

03/09/2015

March 9th 2015

Hey,

So we had zone conference in Port Elizabeth last week. It was a very long drive from George to Port Elizabeth. But, it was also a beautiful drive. There is a lot of scenic stuff on the way there. The drive is by the sea. We arrived in PE in the evening. We spent like an hour just driving around the city and just exploring the area. After that, we met up with the zone leaders at their flat and our whole zone gathered for a zone finding activity. It was pretty cool to see all the other missionaries.

The finding activity was pretty fun. We spent some time tracting in a very prosperous area. But, we were actually quite successful in talking to people. We spent the night with some of the missionaries at their flat and we had a pretty good time. We bought some South African KFC talked for awhile.

The next morning was zone conference. Our mission president, President Merrill gave a really power training on how to be better teachers as missionaries. We then were fed with some really good lunch from a South African fast food place known as Wimpy's.

After the conference, we said farewell to everyone in Port Elizabeth and started the long journey back to George. We have been teaching a lot more people recently. Some of them have set really powerful examples to me of detected people.

This one guy walked all the way from his home in another town to our branch in George. He did this because he felt that his life was empty and he was looking for the true church. My faith has been definitely strengthened by the example of this man. My testimony of the this restored gospel has also been increased by the examples of others. I am so grateful for this opportunity that I have to serve the Lord for two years.

Love,

Elder Sean Patrick Herrick

03/02/2015

03/02/2015
Hey,

We have been doing a lot of finding these week. We talked to some pretty cool people. It will take some time to gauge how interested they are. There was this guy who insisted that we teach him a lesson at McDonald's. It was definitely a new experience.

We have devoted a lot of our time working in the Xhosa township here. The people are a lot more open to our message there. We met this older guy who believes in ancestor worship so he prays to his ancestors when he is in trouble. Xhosa people have some really unique traditional beliefs.

There a lot of places here to eat sea food. So I have spent the last week sampling some places. The fish here taste much better than the ones back home. Probably because they come from the sea and not the river. I can honestly say that my diet has changed since when I first arrived.

There are some really cool game parks in the area that I would like to visit some time. There is a place where someone can race ostriches. There is also a interesting cave complex in the mountains that I want to see in the near future.

Missionary work has been very dry here recently. But I know that there is a lesson to be learned through all of the adversity that we may face in life. I am so grateful for the all the trials that I have gone through. I know that as work through them, we can grow as people. I have testimony of the work that I am doing and I know that it is true.

Love,

Elder Sean Patrick Herrick

Monday, February 23, 2015

02/23/2015

Feb.23rd, 2015
Hey Everyone,

Last Monday drove to Knysna to check things out there. It is a incredibly scenic place. There is a huge cove there where the Indian Ocean meets the coast. So we went down to see it for ourselves and take some pictures. It was incredible! Driving down the N2 along the coast is always rewarding because we get to see such breathtaking nature. I can see why they call it the Garden Route.

The work here has been slow. On Tuesday night the zone leaders came down for exchanges with us. They are both pretty chill guys. We spent the whole day finding. We talked to a few cool people so I hope that we can start teaching someone. It rains a lot here so all the plants and trees are very green. The mountains are constantly shrouded in clouds.

The weather has been cooler lately it got down to 60 degrees Fahrenheit. So everyone was complaining on how cold it was. The branch here is small but it has some really cool members. Elder Moliki and I ate a ton of fast food last week because we were to lazy to cook. We have been to Nandos so much that the employees there recognize us.

The senior couple assigned here. The Kjars have been really good to us. They feed us every Sunday night and sometimes during the week. They are super chilled and funny to talk to. It can be discouraging when we spend most of the day finding people and they aren't interested and push us away. But I know that if we push forward and continue to do our very best. Miracles will happen.

Love,

Elder Sean Herrick Pictures of the Indian Ocean at Knysna

Sea cave that we came across.

Sunday, February 22, 2015

02/16/2015

Feb. 16th 2015
Hey Everyone,

So Its been a busy week here in George South Africa. The work has been rather tough though. We are currently not teaching anyone at the moment. The branch here is kind of small and its members are struggling. The branch president is this cool guy from Zimbabwe.

So I'm starting to get more familiar with my new area. I don't think that I have ever made so many u-turns in my entire life. I found out that we cover the largest area in the mission and its just the two of us. Its been really tough. We don't have any people that we are teaching so that means we have to spend our days tracting. People here are very prosperous in some places so finding someone is going to be an uphill battle.

The weather down here has cooled down considerably. It rains often here so George is very green. On the bright side, we have been eating out a lot lately so I have gotten to sample a lot of South Africa's food.

These next few weeks are going to be tough but I have full faith that the work here in George will move forward.

Love,

Elder Sean Herrick