Update 12/5/11

Q.  Are transfers this week? 

A.  This sunday well find out.  

Q.  Are you staying or leaving? 

A.  Ummmm theres some weird things going on soo i might stay or might go. id like to stay but either option i like soo its cool.

Q.  Is it getting hotter? 

A.  ohhh yea. Like way hotter but random rain storms. they said the weather has never been like this.

Q.  Are you still on bikes? 

A.  yea the area im in is a biking area.  

Q.  Did you get the stuff from Grandpa to try to fix the tires? 

A.  Yes.  If so, did it help? and yes it did. thank you gpa!

Q.  Are you still getting fed on a regular basis? 

A.  Every night. i kinda miss cooking a little. 

Q.  Are you having fun opening one gift a day and finding the scripture so you can figure out what is inside? 

A.  Yes i am. soo far ive opened a Yoyo(guessed that), candy canes(guessed that), Floss(guessed that), and Now and laters( that was a suprise) haha  

Q.  What kind of experiences have you had this week? 

A.  Well we did exchanges 2 times this week and it was fun. When i went with elder Puso To interveiw a person for baptism. We tracted into one family and the whole family sat down and listend and they had good questions and they got some answers. the spirit was there. and he took me to a a family that never sits down and they arnt normaly sserious. We watched the restoration and we had gotten the whole family there and everyone felt the spirit in that room. very powerfull lesson. and i teassingly told them that id see them soon so i could interveiw them for baptism. and they laughed. soo yea.

Rain with a chance of baptisms

This week was good. It rained most of the week buutttt we some how still got the work done... maybe cause of me telling my companion i was either riding in the rain or we would take the week off. sooooo we rode in the rain. Soooo when we went to one of our investigators the first thing she said, Ok sooo ive decieded i want to be a member. We have never asked or pushed or anything. just taught her about the church. it was way nice. and she went to general confrence this last sunday as well so it was power. ANNNDDDD i loved general confrence..... well the first session on sat. thats all ive seen. And it gave me some personal revelation which was nice. everything tied together.

How are you doing? Great.
How is your weather? Fantastic.
Any new contacts this week? 38 contacts, 2 new investigators.
Did you go into Richards Bay this week? everyweek.
Have you had transfers yet?  NO.
Did you get the instructions for your gifts yet? ummm the email. but no other mail.
How was your Thanksgiving? it was fine. We had a special dinner at the nuzmands. i was gonna put pics up but this computer wont allow me to. sorry.

Do you need anything? ummmmmm nope. but im trying to set up maybe using skype.... on christmas.... maybe sooo if thats possible id need you and the jones cooperation. maybe.

love

shipp

Families are Forever

Q.  How are things in your part of the world? 

A.  Good. they are having a Climate change meeting like 2 hours from our flat. Tooo bad none of the families in the gov so i could see them hahaha. but yea.

Q.  Are you in good health? 

A.  Seem to be fine. im a solid 80 kg's. I'm taking a multi vitamin for general well being and a few other supliments to help with other things. and i feel healthy. ha

Q.  Are you happy?

A.  For the most part yea. i wont lie and say everyday is a dream day. but its more highs than lows.

Q.  How is your teaching pool going?

A.  Pretty solid.

Q.  Do you know if you will have a new comp. before Christmas? 

A.  ummm ill probably have a new comp on december like 12th. but its cool ill just send the stocking with the comp that i have.

Sooooo spiritual experience: Ummmmm we were being harrased by a large group of drunk guys. They wanted a prayer(weird enough.) so Finally they had all bowed their heads and said that i would say it. but i had already blown my temper so i was at a loss for words. but i said the prayer and most definitly was helped alot by the spirit. and i basically taught a lessson in the prayer and alll of them(except one) were quiet and humble after the prayer. they looked sad. and we left. weird. maybe i helped one of them get over their drinking problems.

Side note. I was thinking about Family alot this week(dont worry) not like getting trunky thinking like just thinking about the importance of family. Because in our lifes there are only 2 constant things that wont change. 1 The gospel. no brainer. the gospel doesnt change. if it changes then god changes and i dont beleive in a changing god. and 2 Family. Regardless of dead or alive or being born, freinds or enemies, close or far. they are always your family. youll be stuck with them forever. Soooo that should be the foundation of our lifes. if those are the biggest part in our lifes then life will be stable. constantly. So what are we doing to make those loved ones in our life feel loved? Im really lagging on it. i have like 8 letters to send. and i just havent gotten to the post office. sorry im the worst. but hope i will get better.

Love you guys

Scooter.

The Big Shipp in High Tides

This week we received a welcome surprise!  For Elder Shipp's birthday he received money and with that money he bought himself an e-reader.  He has loved it because there are so many church books that he can upload for free!  Being the tech savy guy he is he also figured out to record his voice on it and send a recorded letter to us!  Yes, we got to hear his voice!!!  It was so great to hear the joy in his voice and know that he is truly happy serving in the area he is in right now.  As a matter of fact it almost sounded like he was having too much fun :)! 

The unfortunate part of having a recorded message is that all I can rely on are my notes...so here goes my attempt to translate his voice onto paper:

He is still having problems with his bike.  There are so many thorns from plants that his tires keep getting holes in them.  The weather has been extreme...90 degrees with 90% humidity and then out of no where cold, windy with heavy rains. 

His companion is Elder Tidwell from Vegas.  His companion is a Zone leader and Elder Shipp is a District leader so Elder Shipp gets to go along on baptism interviews which he enjoys. 

They seem to be having a good time together as he explained their "War with the Wasp".  One night there were many wasps in their flat so to get rid of them they torched them, smacked them with a broom and shot them with pellet guns.  Elder Shipp said that Elder Tidwell is a sharp shooter!  They are also going to visit a game park with water buffalo, giraffes and elephants.  For Halloween they dressed up by wearing eachothers name tags!

Unfortunately they still have not had the opportunity to listen to conference.  That bums him out.

He signed off with:

 "The Big Shipp (Elder Shipp) in High Tides (Tidwell) signing off....PEACE"

This Week in the Bay!

SOOOOOOOOOOO THIS WEEK WAS HOT!!! EISH. AnD HUMID!!! wow. I went from the coldest area in the coldest season to the hottest area in the hottest season in my mission.

But We did the work. Had some trials tho. My area is a biking area and we had tons of bike problems this week. but regardless of the bike problems we continued to work.

So that got me thinking. Why the heck do we face sooo many problems. especially when were doing the right things. Why?? thats like doing what mom says then having her ground you anyways. What the heck! So i started to analyse these trial and figure out what caused them and what was happening casue of them and what the outcome looked like becasue of the trials. And i came to a conclusion. Every trial that we face weather our fault or some other person or things fault is there to help us grow. We walked most of the week but on the days we rode we faced flat tires. and we bonded. i could only pump a tire up so many times till i was finished in the heat. but my companions gladly stepped in and helped with my burden. Instead of getting angry that my bike had problems we worked thru it as a team. and because of it we are alot more like friends then co workers. also the walking this week has helped me bond with them and get to know them. its not easy going into a 3some when the companions your joining have already been together for 2 transfers. eish i was definitly alienated and the bording has been the same for 2 transfers so im the new guy. but now im part of the family. all cause the bikes gave out. But you can apply this principal to all of you life trials. What are we Faceing now in our life? What caused it?? Whats happening cause of it??? These trials could easily be looked at as blessings. and oppertunities to grow.

Thats about all i got for this week.

Love elder shipp

Elder Shipp almost lost it....

I GOT AN EBOOK READER!!!! So i can get rid of all these books i have and just have them digital. sorry haha

Q. Did you get a couple of packages and a letter from us?

A. one from you and one from jenifer! sweet thank you guys.

Q. So, how have you been?

A.  Weelllll ive beeen pretty drained. like the bikes are broke so were walking and its 80 percent humididy soooo im just tan and super spent but enjoying it. im learning the area alot better. soo thats cool.

Q.  How is the weather there?

A.  ummmmm not too hot persay but humidity is pretty bad. haha but yea. like hawaii.

Q.  You said that you have dinner appointments every night, so what have you been eating?

A.  umm the usual foods. chicken beef rice pap. not very crazy cool of a meal plan buuuttt its food.

Q.  Are the people friendly?

A.   yea for the most part. toooonnnssss of drunks and im the only white guy again sooo its a cause of minor bumps in the day but not too bad.

Q.  Had any spiritual experiences this week?

A.  We had 4 baptisms yesterday. that was cool and one of the boys went to bear his testimony and just started crying so i helped him to the side and he said all he could think about was his mom. he said she was smiling down on him. and yea elder shipp almost lost it .... but i was tough and kept a stone face. haha

Q.  Had any fun experiences this week?

A.  Ummm No, we taught a 14 year old pastor.... that was funny.

Q.  How is it being a District Leader?

A.   Hectic. stressful and fun. but yea. its weird being in the decision making process since ive just been a grunt this whole time. kinda have the option to choose my fate.

Q.  Do you drive or walk when you go out?

A.  Walking/ biking. 

Q.   Are you the driver?

A.  i would be tho. neither of them have license.

Q.  How long have your companions been out?

A.  Ummmm one is new on mission 3 months and the other goes home at the end of this month.

Q.  Do you like them?

A.  yea there cool.

Q.  Do you have a new missionary couple there?

A.   ummm yea. hevent seen them much but will tell you when i do.

Q.  Do you have any sister missionaries in your area?

A.  No durban mission doesnt have any cause of a rape thing in like 2000 or something.  

Q.  Are you still eating alot?

A.  Tooo much. but no real weight gain.

Q.  How was your leadership training?

A.  Ummmmmmmm Intresting. but cool to see my old friends.

Q.  Are you closer to the Mission home now?

A.  Yea just about 2 hours. Closest ive been all mission.

Q.  Will you get packages and letters quicker?

A.  Ummmmmmm im not sure. i think the same speed as newcasle my first zone. but well see.

Q.  What are you doing different being a leader, than just being a missionary?

A.  Ummmm alot more stress and responsibility. if some thing goes wrong i get in trouble and have to punish those lower than me.

Q.  Have you noticed a different spirit in the people in this new area?

A.  Ummm back to the zulus. soo little more stubbor group but cool.

Q.  Are  you close to Ladysmith?

A.  about 2 hours.  

Q.  Richards Bay sounds like you are near a beach or harbor, can you see the ocean?

A.  yea on mondays. :( i miss the beach.

Elder shipp

Love you

Happy Birthday Elder Shipp!!!

Today is Elder Shipp's actual birthday.  He is a bit down today, so if you would like to send him an email or letter he would love it!!! His email is clinton.shipp@myldsmail.net.  The address is on the side bar.

He was transferred to Eiskawine by Richards Bay and is serving as District Leader in a threesome.  The transfer took him thirteen hours by bus...he did not like it :)!  The people speak Zulu in this new area  and he his able to see the ocean.  His companions are native South Africans.  Their names are Elder Nkambule and Elder Karabonanya.  

District Leader

Ive been great. But still i eat way to much. hahah im just chowing like 5/6 meals a day. and yea. idk im not getting fatter tho just eating. haha sorry thats why the card usage has been up. i just get starving in the area and need food. thats after i eat the food i packed.

The weather is HOTT!! and its getting hotter.

I am being transferred to esikelwini(or something like that).   ill be in a 3some......... weird. I will travel to the new area via Greyhound...for a long time!


Last week we did exchanges with the zone leaders and me and elder webster( hes my zone leader now, not companion haha) were walking allll day. we ran in to this drunk guy and his Rasta friend. soooo the drunk guy kinda pulled me aside and was trying to take my phone and talk to me and stuff. wierd. and the rasta guy was just telling elder webster that were satan followers that were bringing satan to the blacks. that it needs to stay with the whites hahahahaha. then the drunk guy grabbed my phone so i snatched it back and told him in the most serious voice i could that he needs to watch himself. So the drunk guy kinda left and the rasta guy was just blabbering on so i walked over to webster and asked him "rasta baba, so you respect ppl?" he said "too much" so i responded " kk We are respecting you and your opinon right now. will you respect us and our job?" so he said "sorry sorry. go then." and yea. so that was the fun experience of the week. nothing exciting. sorry.

Elder Shipp

P.s.- Elder Shipp sent Uncle Ryan an email today asking for advise on running a Distrct because he is now a District Leader....so we can only assume he is now a district leader!

Membership in the Church

Soooooo i was thinking this week alot about membership in the church and what it means. When your baptised we promise our heavenly father that we will allways keep his commandments and that we will always stand as a witness of him and his son. So that would entail that we need to be dedicated to the lord and his teachings. So lets take a look at dedication. it means to give your best effort till the end right? And how many members do we see leaving the church today???

But the question comes up.... Why? What makes people go back on there promises with god? As a missionary i work with these "less actives" and its my job to help reactivate them. so i hear plenty of lame excuses sutch as:
1. Work
2. Offended
3. Doesnt feel right
4. Cant wake up on time
5. To busy

But accually ive come to realize that these members have hidden problems. And its up to us members to help them make it thru these hidden trials. Since ive been on mission i have not met a member that is inactive that does not have a sin weighing them down. Due to peer pressure and fear of confession they hide these sins and with hold the blessing that are rightfully theres. BUT there not just to blame for this. We as mebers cause these saints to struggle due to our gossiping and judgmental attitudes. We need to take care of our brothers and sisters and help them. Never judge someone that does wrong. no reason to alienate them. We all sin. Regardless of how major the sin is, it will still withhold us from reaching exaltation. so We as members should start to look at how we can help others. How can missionaries bring in souls when the souls that have already been attained arent staying in the church? Its close to impossible.

So the challege for the week is "Making corrections through love, and helping others to return to christ". I promise if we work at this that our blessings will pour in without number.

I love you all.

Elder Shipp

P.s.- It is almost my birthday and I would love some Reese's peanut butter cups!!!

South Africa Geography Lesson

The South Africa Durban mission covers three countries:
1.  South Africa
2.  Lesotho
3. Swaziland

In South Africa we cover three provinces (similar to countries back home):
1. Zulu Land
2. Kazulu Natal
3. Free State

Let me explain those places...
1. Lesotho (le-sew-two) the people are the Basutis.  They speak sutu and Engligh there.  It's the only country in the world that is inside another country.  It's ruled by a king.  Very mountainous and very old in winter.

2.  Swaziland- It's a small country on the north east of South Africa.  Ruled by a corrupt king.  Known for their Reed Dances.  The people there are the Seswaties.  They speak seswati and Engligh.

3.  Free State- The people here are Xhosas, Sutus, Afrikans and Swana's. Languages that are spoke are all of the above races plus English.  Climate is cold and hot..extremes.  Just depends on the climate. Located in basically the middle of South Africa.

4.  Kwazulu Natal (ka-zulu-natel).  The people are Zulu and Afrikans.  They speak Zulu, Afrikans and English.  Its climate is nice.  Warm, tropical, but not very humid, just right.  Located east of Freestate.

5.  Zulu Land- The people are Zulu, Afrikans and English.  They speak those three languages.  Climate is hot and humid.  Summer year around.  Located on the east coast.

Now let me explain what the area's are like.  There are two types of areas in this mission:
1.  town
2.  townships

Towns are taken by Zone leaders generally. Are basically small cities.  You generally find Afrikans and wealthy people.  99% of the missionaries stay in towns not townships.  Every town as one or more township.

Townships are equivelent to our "ghetto's".  Townships were made during the apartate times (like our segregated times).  Government (whites), kicked the blacks out of their homes in town and stuck them in the  townships.  They look like planned hoovervilles...lots of government housing, shacks with an occational nice home (usually belonging to a pastor).  They have few paved roads.  They are filled will everyone except Afrikans.  They are normally the biggest branches. 

Now let me tell you about the races.

1.  Zulu- very traditional. Strong belief in ancestors.  Strong people, but generally lacking in the smarts. Black.

2.  BaSutus- more westernized.  Tend to be prideful.  Affected alot by the apartate times.  Very intelligent people. Black.

3.  Xhosas- the brothes of the Zulus.  Very similar to the Zulus just a little less traditional and more westernized. Black

4.  Swana- the swana are the more traditional brother to the Basutus. Black

5.  Afrikans- conformed of Dutch people.  Generally have money.  Very pridefull.  Most refuse to speak English with a whiteperson. White

So we deal with four groups of Languages:

1.  English- everyone can speak it, just depends on if they want to.
2.  Zulu, Xhosas & Seswati- all can understand eachother just with a slight pronunciation differences.
3.  Afrikans- reformed Dutch.  Language of the apartite.  Considered the racist language.
4.  Sutu, Swana, and Pedi- All understand eachother just with a slight pronunciation differences.

Here is some of RSA's history:

They had a government of white people until Nelson Mandella.  The times of the white government are referred to as the "Apartite" times.  During the apartite times blacks had few rights.  They also enforced the learning of Afrikans as the primary language.  Blacks were kicked out of towns by military forces to townships.  People still have bad feelings about whites. 

They have had a black government since 1991.  A race called coloreds (found everywhere) was formed cause of Afrikans military raping the black women as they kicked them out of towns. 

RSA uses the metric system.

Driving is backwards form America.

The currency is called the Rand (zar).  The rand ranges from 6.5 to 7.8 to the American dollar.

South Africa is the most developed country in Africa.

Hope this helps everyone understand a bit more about the Durban South African Mission!

Love to you all!!!
Elder Shipp

Pictures!!!

Elder Magoffin, Elder Jenks, Elder Shipp, Elder Tennant, Elder Curgara and Elder Howard after the Game drive in Bloemfontein:

Chef Shipp and his burgers he made from scratch...Delicious!!

Elder Shipp and his pet lion cub:

Some girls from Australia and London that wanted a picture with a local.  They thought Elder Shipp was South African!

Elder Shipp and Elder Jenks:

A drink he mixed...very delicious...Pineapple Fanta and Rasberry!

Pictures

Today I hijacked some pictures from Elder Shipp's friend Ariel.  There are no explanations with any of them, but I thought I would share them anyway!  We all know that Elder Shipp is not an "explanation" kind of guy anyway!  So here goes...

Playing with fire....boys will be boys....even on their mission~!

This is a South African stamp...it is huge!!

He is becoming a chef and made some cheesecake...

Fasting to feed the Elders

This week I had a spiritual experience I want to share.  On Sunday this member was feeding us(every sunday after church.) and it was good(the ususal). and I asked her if she was gonna eat with us(sometimes they sit and just watch us... not fun) but she said no shes fasting. so puzzled i asked why, and if there was anything i could do to help her. She said no that she was fasting for us, and i thought awww cute. Little old lady. hope it helps the work. then i asked a few more questions and found out that she didnt have money to feed us so she has been praying and she finaly got enough money to feed us and its just enough for us so she was fasting for sunday and would eat tomarrow...... wow that food was alot harder to eat. very humbling.

Love,
Elder Shipp

He can cook!

Here is the most recent update we have had from Scooter.  As you can tell he has not gotten any better and sharing details!  Thought everyone might enjoy some news even if it is very limited!

Q:  How are you doing?

A:  Pretty fair. how bout your self? hahah

Q:  Shouldn't transfers be coming up pretty soon?

A:  yea in 2 weeks.

Q:  Do you know if you will be transfered?
A:  no idea. could go either way.

Q:  Have you had any special occasions this week?
A:  Yea. this family let us in and they asked the perfect questions. well see how it pans out.

Q:  Are they still feeding you some of the time?
A:  yea. im really good at cooking from scratch now so its fine. i whip up some tortias and make some     beans with some taco beef or make steamed bread and stew. just stuff so im fine.

Q:  Thought of any scriptures for me yet?
A:  What type of scriptures you want? im studying the life and ministry of jesus. so Matt mark luke and john.

Q:  When you are at Church, do you have to teach still or is this Ward big enough that you just get to be a missionary?
A:   little of both. prides an issue with ppl.

Q:  Are you still in a car or do you have to walk sometimes?
A:  half and half. 

Q:  Staying in shape?
A:  yes maam

New Mission Home Address

Q:  Well, how was your week? 

A:  It was cold. it just keeps getting colder. but its good. we had to do a couple days of walking so the other elders could use the car.

Q:  Did you get to teach many discussions?

A:  Nope. loads of bunks tho haha

Q:  Did you have any spiritual experiences this week? 

A:  Hmmmmm. not really. Sunday i guess. we were teaching a girl manana and her bother joined us and he definitly felt the spirit.

Q:  How were transfers?

A:  They are fine. 

Q:  Did you stay the same or did one of you go somewhere else?

A:  Im staying here. im getting a new comp(idk his name). and hes younger on mission than me, so im a senior companion..... eish.

Q:  Still as cold?

A:  Like a freezer haha

Q:  How are the people treating you?

A:  ALOT better as far as members. investigators are still bums but im dropping most of them and getting some fresh ppl.

Q:  Anyone as nice as MaZuane?

A:  NO WAYS. LOVE HER.

Q:  What are your plans for this next week?

A:  Introduce my new comp to the area and then tract/find.  Other than teaching?  Not much. probably have to go shopping for my comp. doubt he has clothes for the weather.

Q:  Do you have any fun plans for your P-day?

A:  Basketball. maybe some football or rugby.

Q:  What kind of food are you eating now?

A:  Same.... 

Q:  Still mainly chicken, rice and fruit?

A:   i think thats just all the africans eat.

Q:  Is this area any safer?

A:  HAHAHA ill be safe regardless haha. so its all good.

The Mission Home has a new address so please send any mail (which Scooter LOVES) to:

PO Box 1741

Wandsbeck

Durban

South Africa

3631

Mission Experiences

Soooooo this week i have my thoughts together slightly. Crazy i know.

Weekly update:

-this week was Lame.

-We have 2 Baptisms lined up for next sunday. ill send pics.

-OOOHHHHH there was an end of the world prediction for May 21 and that was fun. ppl were freakin out and were walking around talking about how dumb the prediction was. haha one of our investigators dug a hole big enough for his whole family. i asked if he was planning to use it as a grave or a bbq pit. hahah he didnt think that was funny ha. and yea.

Sooo i also thought maybe id give you some crazy things that have happened to me since on mission sooo yea, like maybe you'll get what this mission is about.

Last area

-I've had drunk guys throw beer bottles at me and my companion. Gift of tounges i chewed one of them out in zulu and that whole street loved me after that.

-I've prayed for the rain to stop so i could ride to my next appointment and right after I said amen it stopped till we got to ma zwanes then it started again.

-I've had a car roll while im in it and walked out virtually unharmed.

-I walked thru streets at night that the next day we find out some chick or guy had been mugged or killed. haha

-I had a fully automatic weapon pulled on me and held at my nose.(funny story, I started laughing and told the guy he needs to smile more and kept walking. my comp almost wet his pants haha I'll tell you the rest when I'm home)

- I've had lighting strike within feet of me and my comp.

-I've also taught powerfull lessons that ppl can feel the spirit.

-One lady asked me if I was a prophet hahahaha NO WAYS MAN.

-Guys have said that me and my comp walk with angels.

-Its been amazing.

LOve

elder shipp

Pictures

Elder Shipp has not been very good about sending pictures so I took these from his current companion Elder Magoffin.  Looks like the two So. Cali Elders are having a good time together!

It is REAALLLY cold!!

My  area is reaaallllyyyyy cold, but no snow yet. It is freakin cold!!!  The area is flat, dry and cold…more like tundra.  The people speak Sutu Or Xhosa. I speak neither.... haahahaha and the language and area is soooo hard to learn because it all looks the same and the roads are windy. Foods the same.  I do most of the cooking. My specialty is BBQ and my companions is steamed bread!  The church buildings look similar to the ones in the State’s but smaller.  I’m getting to know the members. They like Cali boys.  The YSA ladies are great for referrals.  Weird enough,.   Annnnd yea I’m really tired of RSA and there stupid holidays. There like always on a Monday and I haven’t gotten a good email day in like 3 weeks because of it.  I’m like out of groceries too because of it. eish.

I had an experience this past week where I was teaching a lady, whom I thought was a member, a lesson, but it turns out she was not and know she wants to be baptized!  Weird, but great experience. 


Love
Elder Scoot./ Elder Shipp

Feed us please!

We have had weather in the 90's the last couple of days.  It is suppose to go down to the upper 60's this week.  It will get cold eventually, very cold, might snow.

My companion is Elder Magoffin from San Diego.  We are the only two Elder's in Rocklands. Our apartment is like a small house.  It is very nice with 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, kitchen and dining/sitting room.  We have a car (White Chevrolet Aveo). 

This area is more Westernized and there are enough members to have a church building.  The people speak Basutu so I am learning another new language!  The members do not have us over for dinner much...no invite for Easter dinner yet. 

Elder Shipp

On a side note...Elder Shipp was asked this question by someone in an email...here is the dialogue:

Q- Do they celebrate Easter over there?  
A- I don't know...is Jesus' resurrection just an American thing??? Hahaha  yes of course!

Love that he still has his fun/sarcastic personality!!

College town and So. Cal Companion

How is your new area? 

Pretty flippin sweet. It's a college town so tons of young people. Easy to get along with.

Who is your new companion and what is his name?

Elder Magoffin 

Where is he from?

San Diego, Cali :)

Does the area look the same or is it greener or browner?

 Ummmm browner and theres actually like sky scrapers. Kinda like LA.

Have you met very members yet?

Ummmmm a few. There's like 143 that come to church so idk if i'll know them all.

Do they feed you?

No not much...

Have you found any one to teach?

Yea. hahaha theres investigators from before hahaha

How far away from Ladysmith is it?

Ummm well I took a 7 hour bus ride to here... idk the distance tho.

How do you get from one place to another?

A car, and some gas.

Do you have the same kind of food in your new area?

Yea very similar. A little more westernized here tho.

Is the weather the same as it was in Ladysmith?

No wayyyyy colder hahahaha

Do you need anything? 

-hahahahahahaha my 6 month/ easter package :)

-Pics of fam friends and such                                    -

-Anything you feel like sending. ha love you guys!

Transfers!!! Rockland, Bloemfontein, RSA

Sooooooooo lets start with the good news. haha Last Sunday we baptised 2 people. Was supposed to be 3 but unfortunaly baba is a jdub and doesnt like the bible..... idk haha and that was the one that I was going to be performing. but I was a witness for the other 2. It was a good day.

Now the bad news. I'm leaving the cozy home I've know and loved to go to Rocklands. Thats right my first transfer. I'm going to be serving in rockland. new Zone new companion. new people even. I've been with zulu's my entire mission and now im going to a sutho. New language and new customs hahaha fuuuunnnn....

So this transfer has been fun. Loads of work but loads of good times and joking around. We doubled the states from my transfer before and we expanded the area about 50% and also got the branch large enough for a chapel which is coming soon. Sooo I'm really bummed that im leaving but life goes on.

Thanks for all the support and mail. I'm really trying to get back to everyone. Just haven't had any free time. Hopefully next area. :)


Elder Shipp

Here are some recent pictures:

My comp and Nozibosiso before he baptised her:

Molio and his future wife before he baptised her:

Me eating Amasi. Wiki it if you want to know my expressions meaning or what it is.

Elder Kekana and I holding a kudu head.... or whats left hahaha:

Elder Mokena and I at the quagma senior primary school covering books. haha I was tired:

News from Elandslaagte!

Hello!

My husband and I are living in Elandslaagte, South Africa, about 30 minutes outside of LadySmith and invited the LadySmith District out to the farm for some fun!  We met your son and had a lot of fun getting to know him.  We're from Utah.  My husband is out here doing an internship until the end of April.  We loved having him over and thought you'd enjoy this photo we took of our Braai.  Happy Day!

Tyler and Leilani Westhoff

Lots of families to teach!

Here is an update on some of the work Elder Shipp has been doing.  He did not put it in paragraph form, he just answered specific questions so I will put in in the Question and Answer format!

Question:  Tell us about some of the families you are teaching.

Answer:

(the number behind the families indicates how many people are in their family)

 Ndlozis-(5) Baba is a Soldier and Ma's a teacher. They have 3 kids. They are like my favorite family to teach. I love them to bits and they've been taught just about everything. Just waiting for them to asked to be baptized since they dont want to be pressured.

Dlala's(3)- Baba is a Pastor and a Medical equipment transporter. Ma's a nurse. They have been taught like everything just waiting for there marrige to finalize. Then they'll enter the waters.

Bhenga's(5)- just tracked into them and they have bad history with missionaries but they love me and elder webster so feels positive.

Baba Sobosiso(1)- He's a Zionist. (traditionalist mixed with christianity) and his fam is mormon so were converting him. He's reading the BOM like crazy so it's looking positve.

The Sinikiwe Family(3)- there Zionist but they always have good questions and they are progressing thru the lessons.

Those are the Families were teaching and there the most significant investigators.

Question:  What type of food do the members feed you?

Answer:  Too many different things but primarily Chicken... hahaha

Question:  What foods are you missing?

Answer:  MEXICAN!!!!! So far I've made tacos 2 times and I've been bbqing burgers like everyother night.

Question:  Have the people been talking about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan?

Answer:  Tooo much. its intresting but they don't know details they just say they need prayers and floating houses and stuff. a Tsunami.

 Tell the fam I said hi and I miss them.

New Companion

So this week has been new and fun. I got Elder Webster From Swaziland. He's originally From Idaho. He is very cool and we get along great. The work is good. We just found out Baba Mshengu is getting deployed to sudan so there goes a one of my favorite families in the area. I got my v day package from the fam, thank you for that. Thank you Jen for the Package. Love the food:). Thank you Kayla for the letter, its nice to hear from people. Thank you mom for the letters you sent and I will be responding to all the mail asap. schedules been extra busy. lots of finding and lots of teaching. the good life. Have to zionist in our teaching pool, hahaha. and we have an intense Seventh day advantist. But life's good.


Take care,
Elder Shipp

Tansfers

Hello,

Sooooooo Transfer News Came last night... My baba is getting transfered to Swaziland. Im getting a new comp and a car tomarrow at 1 oclock. elder Webster. Hes from the states so yea this will be fun.... 2 white guys in a zulu african town"shipp". At least i get a car. other wise this week was uneventfull. played soccer in dundee and we shired them 6-3. Yea. lifes intresting.


Love,
Elder Shipp

Losing weight and growing spiritually

Hello.

This week I think I've felt more like a saint than anytime of my life. Lessons were power and our acomplishments were great. Opposition was at its best. Trials have been the hardest yet but I've learned a great deal on patience and tolerance. Stats are at a continual high and im learning tons. I'm definitly getting in the groove of mission life. P-days are me days. Just for the record. I have lost roughly 8kgs and my body has like 0% body fat. Weathers been 30 C on average. If I'm not drenched with water or rain before a lesson I'm not working hard enough. Zulu is getting less difficult to learn. I've also picked up some repair tricks and ummmm people handling skills. Made some huge desicions this week. and yea. love you all and miss you.


yininbaba umbala wesikhumba ubalulekile??
   -answer: it doesnt baba.

Elder Shipp.

Earth Shattering News....

This is a note I (Danielle) received this week from Scooter (The headline was "Earth Shattering News". I guess he wanted to get my attention!):

Hahahahahaha not so earth shattering. yea we had to memorize that scripture. and a ton more. hahaha

Im doing the work. i dont focus on the work i focus on the families im teaching. i focus on their needs and wants and what prinsiple will bless them the most. The mission here isn't a good area for most because they recently changed presidents and this guy doesnt like everything so he's introducing "change" and insists that with "change" there will be "hope" so i ignore him and just do the work. and you cant forget home. theres so many times thinking of home has saved a lesson. ppl think were robots. so being a little homesick softens them and makes me human. hahaha


Love you,
Scooter

(Sounds like they have a president just like ours- haha!)

Pictures!!

 Elder Harrity and Elder Shipp

 Remember the post about the car accident Scooter was in?  Here is the "aftermath" of the car....

 Here are some missionaries serving in the Durban Mission.  The couple on the far left are the Mission President and his wife.

Heita Hola

Hello,
    All is well here in RSA. I have 10 in our teaching pool of progressing investigators. just yesterday we confirmed my first investigator as a member. Got my first flat tire. and yea. my companions dieing(like wants to go home) but we still work on and lifes accually took a turn for the better. for some odd reason this week ive been picking up a lot of zulu, usually i just listen but i have acculaly been able to speak a little. good stuff. Thanx for the offer gerry but i'm pretty sure that this race crap is just a test. ill be fine. thank you bro spellman, encoragement is always welcome. im serving with a Joeburg kid and he really fun. sorry about that edna. hope all is well. tell betty i said hi. and everyone at the cookie store too. hope all stays good at each of your homes. stay safe. enjoy life its good.

 Sincerly,

Elder Shipp

 Elder Shipp and his companion:

 A girl he baptised:

 Sunset in Ladysmith, South Africa