February 4, 2010,
Dear Family, Friends & Loved Ones,
Well week before last was rather a hard week as are all transfer weeks. You really get attached to the young elders that are here and it is hard to have them leave. We lost 3 of our elders, Elder Botes went to Queenstown, Elder Cooney went to East London (about a 7 hr. drive away) and Elder Mathipa went to an area around PE we are not sure what the area is called? We got 3 new Elders who seem really GREAT and fun to be around. They also seem like very good missionaries. It is so amazing to see these young men and the dedication they have in serving the Lord and to bring people to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They all have such strong testimonies and it is such a joy to be able to serve with them.
The new Elders didn't arrive until 11pm by car so we didn't get to meet them until Thursday AM. We have Elder Maja with Elder Cane in George Elder Wilson is with elder Moyo in George, and elder Owour is with Elder Bradshaw in Knysna. We have to do apartment inspections before the transfers so we did that to make sure they are taking care of the apartments and especially that they are clean. It seems so strange that Elder Cooney who is a germ freak always has the dirtiest apartment with the most cleaning to do. Sister O is really excited about having elder Wilson (who is from Utah) because he plays the piano very well and we really need him as man times we don't have anyone to play and when Sister O leading the music it makes it so much easier for her and especially since she doesn't have to try to hum thru the song first.
On the Tuesday before the Elders arrived, I told Sister O that I would like to see the ear doctor our pharmacy referred us too. I am having so much trouble hearing and understanding people talk. The Dr. told me that hearing aids would probably help, but not entirely as my hearing is so bad. They are going to make one for my left ear (experimental) to see how it works. She is going to let me wear it for a month as a free trial to see how much it will help me and how much I like it. It is hard to imagine how expensive they are but there is a big range in the price and I tried to get one that was less expensive and that will work.
On Friday, after our district meeting we took the post to the Knysna Elders and then we all went on to Plettenberg Bay so that we could teach George a lesson. He is such a great young man and really wants to go on a mission and hopefully we can fine a way for this to happen. We are sure that the Lord will provide a way. When we got back to George we visited Clifton & Elizabeth then Gary & John O Lene.
On Saturday am I spent most of the morning making repairs to the Elders flats. We had 2 baptisms on Saturday afternoon and that is always exciting. Except there is bad news. They are moving to PE as he has a good job there and you can't turn that down. He had a nice car for transportation also. There are so few people here that have cars. We also hate to see them leave as I'm sure he would grow into a great P.H. Leadership position. We need good men to serve) Then at 4pm another senior couple (the Stones) were here for a teacher training seminar.
On Sunday at Sacrament I confirmed the husband and conferred the Gift of the Holey Ghost. This is always such a privilege. We had a great SS Class and a really large one and was fun to teach as we are getting a lot of class participation. As usual Sister O had a large and delicious dinner of roast beef and about everything else you could think of with it. She really enjoys cooking for and taking care of the Elders.
Well on P-day the Elders twisted my arm to take them golfing. We always have fun together. Our new Elders wanted to play and really enjoyed it. They said they had played a "little" before, but it really didn't show. On Tuesday I got my hearing aid. It is hard getting used to BUT I think it is really going to help a lot. On Wednesday we were busy with a lot of appointments. We had Hein, Dougles (Hein's Son) Yolanda, Ben & Hester, Clifton & Elizabeth and Gary & John O. On yes I forgot on Tuesday we visited with Desiree as they are back from France and it was really great to see them again. Gerard was at the farm but will be back for next Tuesday. We will see them again next week.
On Thursday Sister O cut Elder Wilson's Hair before we left to go to PE for Zone Conference. When we got to Tsitsikamma, the bridge, we visited George and gave his cousin, Elizabeth a lesson. Three of the elders had never seen the bridge and the bungy jump and they really enjoyed it and thought it was awesome. (It is) There were people jumping and that is so neat to watch. We stayed with the Stones again another senior couple and we were responsible for feeding everyone at Zone Conference. For a morning snack we had cinnamon rolls (they make them very large over here) and call them Chelsea Buns. With a punch drink. For lunch we had pizza, a tossed salad, brownies and ice cream. We had to leave for home after conference and got home at about 9:30 that night.
On Saturday we had a busy day with 5 appointments. One was a new family called the Mayors and they live in Great Braak River which is about 25k away. They have a cute little boy almost 4 and he really took to Sister O. also a 2 month old baby girl. They were baptized 7 or 8 years ago, moved away and have been inactive and now want to learn about the church again and get active. They seem like a great couple, but again transportation may be a problem!
Sunday was a very good day. We had a lot of our investigator there and the new couple the Mayor's were there. We had a large and good SS class and Brother Mayor's participated a lot in class. The last hour was a joint RS & PH meeting and President Matsaluka gave a wonderful presentation, I have wanted this to happen for quite sometime. He talked on fasting, prayer and faith. We are having a special fast and prayer for rain next Sunday. Our Mission President and Stake President have given us full support on this and other units in the area are also fasting and praying for rain. We all know that there is great power in fasting and prayer if done with faith and deep humility. The fast will go from Saturday noon to Sunday noon. We just hope we have the proper faith and humility to make it happen. For Sunday dinner we had a simple dinner but Sister O made it fabulous. We were just doing hamburgers & hot dogs. We also ended up with potato salad, fruit salad, tossed salad, corn on the cob, chocolate cake & ice cream. Sister O just can ever make it simple or leave well enough a lone. I guess that is just part of why she is such a great lady.
Well I think I better close because Sister O doesn't like the letters to long as she has to type them.
Family please know that we love you all with all our hearts. Also know that we love the gospel of Jesus Christ with all our hearts and are so grateful for the opportunity that we have of serving our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ. We need and appreciate all your prayers that we will be blessed that we may serve as we desire. The hardest thing for us is not being able to see family for such a long period. We pray daily that each of you will be blessed and given thanks for the love and happiness you bring into our lives and especially for you our Grandchildren.
We Love you and Miss you always
Elder & Sister O'Dell, Mom & Dad, Grandma & Grandpa, Linda & Grandpa Woody
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