October 26, 2010
Dear Family, Friends, & Loved Ones,
Well today is Tuesday. Our letter this week will be primarily about our wonderful 5 day weekend. We left last Wednesday morning to go to a leadership training in Capetown. What an experience! On the way we stopped to see and visit our Africa son George. He is so strong and wants to go on a mission so bad along with his friend and partner Charles. The big problem is that they live & work in South Africa but they are from Malawi. It deals with paper work etc. We will work on it and try and help all we can so they will be able to go. Then we went on into the town of George to see and visit some dear friends there. We visited with Gary & JohnOlean, the Pangles, Mitsobilies, Hein Adendorf, the new Senior Couple the Ladles. We spent a lot of time visiting and talking with Desiree & Gerard. We spent 2 nights with them in their home. They have 2 rooms like a B&B that was really nice and comfortable. We left George and went through the Outeniqua pass which is really beautiful. The Plateros were following us in their car and had never been there. Then on to Oudtshorn and to Capetown by a different route. The mission would have paid for us to fly etc. "BUT" I know that Sister O wanted to visit in George so we elected to drive. We stayed Friday & Saturday night in a B&B that the Mission provided for us.
On Saturday we drove to the Bellview Stake Center for our meeting at 9am that lasted until 12:30pm. We had elder Holland of the Quorum of the 12, Bishop Burton (the Presiding Bishop) Elder Rineland, Elder Watson & Elder Cebala (sp) all of the 70's. What a wonderful meeting. Pres Platero, Pres Matsaluka and I were on the front row right under the pulpit & probably 5 feet from Elder Holland. Then he came down to the floor and talked most of the time about a foot & a half away. What a treat! After it was over we all got to shake hands and talk with each of the General Authorities. I got a hug from Elder Holland and Bishop Burton. WHAT A PLEASURE THAT WAS FOR ME.
That evening at the mission office we had a get together with some of the Senior Couples. There were 16 of us and we really enjoyed our visits and dinner. Sunday morning we wanted to go to the conference being held at the same location. It started at 10am and we were told that if we wanted a good seat that we should be there by 7:30am. We skipped breakfast and left early as it was close to a half hours drives away. We got there at 7:15 and had our pick of where we wanted to sit.
We got to hear from Elder Cabela, Elder Burton and his Wife, Pres. Armstrong, the Jo Berg Temple President, & Elder Holland and his wife. Plus they had 4 people bear their testimonies from the audience. They had the most beautiful choir that we had ever heard. Almost as good as the Tabernacle Choir. It was so good and enjoyable, that Elder Holland asked them to sing one of their songs over again. Sister O and I felt that this was the best and most enjoyable and most spiritual meeting that we had ever had the opportunity to attend. There were over 2,000 in attendance plus it was video broadcast to 4 & 5 other chapel locations. After the Conference session, Elder Holland & Bishop Burton and their Wife's met with all the missionaries (Young & Old) for another meeting. It was so special for us all. Elder Holland is so powerful to hear and spiritual to be with. I was asked to say the closing prayer. What a privilege to do so. Elder Holland was so kind as he cane up to me and said what a beautiful prayer. Then we got to shake hands and talk to them again. The week-end meetings were worth the whole mission. All the other blessings and experiences are also a once in a lifetime experience.
We left to go back to George & spend the night with Desirees. We had a good rain all the way and a lot during the night. On Monday we met the Robinsons and the La Prays for lunch and then we picked up Elder Dodoo at the air port to bring to PA to finish the last 2 weeks of his mission & see if he can help our 2 Elders get along better. He was and AP earlier (Assistant to the President). What a great 5 days week end experience we had! We wish everyone could experience the same. It has really strengthened our testimonies along with many other experiences!Well it is time to close. We want to thank our families for the experience and opportunity of being here in South Africa to serve our Heavenly Father. What wonderful experiences and opportunities we are having. Please know how much we love and miss you all. You are simply the BEST!
We love you so much and are
grateful for being your parents.
All Our Love
President & Sister O'Dell
Mom & Dad (Linda & Woody)
Grandma & Grandpa Woody
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
October 18th Letter 2010
1. Elders at Lunch after Zone Conference
2. Golfing with the Elders & WIND!!
3. PA Elders & Zone Leaders "Having Fun"
4. Leaving Grahnstown on transfer day with Elders, Pres, & Sister Platero
5. All the Elders at Airport on transfer day
6. Our new Elder Grobler
October 18, 2010
Dear Family, Friends & Loved Ones,
A few weeks ago Sister O & I had the opportunity to take 3 of our youth to a youth camp at a place called Hobbiton at Hogsback. There were 305 youth there. It was about a 2 hour drive and up on a large mountain where it is much cooler & more rain and we got both while we were there. It was a great experience for us and the youth had a great time. We have some great youth in our branch. The camp was for Port Elizabeth Stake, East London Stake and our Branch and the Grahamstown Branch They had 2 fun days of activities and a dance and church with our area President, 2 Stake President and a few Bishops and Branch Presidency. The area President was Elder Hill of the 70's . Olawathe of our Branch was asked to bear her testimony along with 6 others. She is such a spiritual giant for a young women of 17. We sent you lots of pictures with our last letter, it was a fun time for all
We have really had a lot of wind the last few weeks with an occasional beautiful day now & then. A lot of people here are having a lot of allergy problems. Sister O and I have had our share along with a lot of coughing. It has been getting much better the last few days. Sister O has really been in a good mood lately as her sister Bonnie & her husband Bob will be here on October 31 to visit us for a few weeks. We are really looking forward to this. It will be so nice to see family again from home.
The Robinson came by at about 10:30 PM on Friday a couple of weeks ago. They were on there way home to PE, after doing a seminar. We went to Fish River Sun for a great breakfast and to play a round of golf. The Platero's also joined us and we had a great time on the golf course. Elder Platero doesn't have any golf balls so he uses mine. He usually loses a few, Well when I went thru them, I realized he lost 13 balls. We had a really great time. The wives were with us the 1st nine holes and then they decided to do something more fun for them, like shopping,
Sunday was Fast Sunday and we had a great testimony meeting. Back in America you were having General Conference. You are so lucky. We are supposed to see conference on the 30th & 31st of Oct. when we receive the DVD's of it. We can't wait to hear the words of our Prophet and the Q of the 12 and all the general authority. It is so great to hear their words and the counsel they give us. Sister O and I will be going to Capetown on the 23 & 24 of Oct. We are having a leadership training on Saturday and Conference on Sunday. Needless to say we are excited!
For transfers last week we had to go to East London instead of Port Elizabeth, the problem was that we had to go to Grahamstown first to pick up and Elder there. This made for an hour longer drive and we had to leave our flat at 6 am. We lost Elder Marlor and our new Elder is Elder Grobler. He seems nice BUT we understand he has not gotten along with his previous 2 companions at all and so he will have his 3rd companion already on only his second 6 weeks. We are hoping it will work.
We have some of our members of our Branch from Zimbabwe. There is a lot all across South Africa. The problem is that they have to have new visas & passports etc. by December 31st or they will be deported. We have known of people waiting at the embassy in Jo Burg in line for over 2 weeks 24/7 and still haven't been able to be seen. It could be a real problem. Some of our strongest members and families are from Zimbabwe. We have one couple we are trying to get to the Temple to be married and family sealed in the Temple. They are from Zimbabwe. Most of the people from there have been tribally married which is permitted for baptism. However to be married in the Temple they have to be civilly married. We are working on this and it will happen we are sure.
We had some friends from George visit us which was really nice. They had been working in the Temple in Jo Burg for 6 weeks. He used to be in the Temple Presidency in Jo Burg.
Well last Saturday was my birthday. Sister O was so nice to me that I almost want to have a birthday everyday except I would get too old to fast and it is fast enough already. Sister O gave me the nicest wood carved elephant I have ever seen and I really love it. We went to Grahamstown and I had a great steak dinner at a Spur Restaurant. One of the best things about my birthday was that I got to talk to all my family including my sister Norma and my brother Wayne. Also most of Linda's family told me happy birthday which meant a lot to me. We both have such wonderful families.
After Church we had a couple at our flat for lunch, they are from Alexandria. They sang happy birthday to me and had me blow out the candles on my cake. It is a good thing there were only 10 candles instead of 73 or they probably would have to take me to the hospital emergency room.
The zone leaders came on Monday and Elder La Pray and I took the Elders golfing. It was like hurricane wind but they really enjoyed the day. Elder Moorcroft said it was one of the 2 most fun P-Days he has had and they were both with senior couples. (sure because we pay)HA!
We went to East London last Wednesday and spent the night with the Jones. We had an all day workshop training meeting on Thursday. It rained most of the day on Wednesday and Thursday afternoon. When we got back to Port Alfred we found out we had a 4 inch rain which has been so needed. The re-modeling on our new meeting place for church has started and we are so excited about this as we will have room for all of our classes. One of our classes has to be outside most of the time. (in the building we are in now) We originally were supposed to be in by the end of the month but it will probably be the middle of November.
Well it is time to close before we bore you too much and put you to sleep. Please everyone know how much we love all of you. We miss you and want to see you but please know that we are having experience here that we will treasure and remember for the rest of our lives. We have 6 months to go before coming home and time seems to be going by pretty fast. Until we talk again all our love to you always.
President & Sister O'Dell
Mom & Dad (Linda & Woody)
Grandma & Papa Woody
2. Golfing with the Elders & WIND!!
3. PA Elders & Zone Leaders "Having Fun"
4. Leaving Grahnstown on transfer day with Elders, Pres, & Sister Platero
5. All the Elders at Airport on transfer day
6. Our new Elder Grobler
October 18, 2010
Dear Family, Friends & Loved Ones,
A few weeks ago Sister O & I had the opportunity to take 3 of our youth to a youth camp at a place called Hobbiton at Hogsback. There were 305 youth there. It was about a 2 hour drive and up on a large mountain where it is much cooler & more rain and we got both while we were there. It was a great experience for us and the youth had a great time. We have some great youth in our branch. The camp was for Port Elizabeth Stake, East London Stake and our Branch and the Grahamstown Branch They had 2 fun days of activities and a dance and church with our area President, 2 Stake President and a few Bishops and Branch Presidency. The area President was Elder Hill of the 70's . Olawathe of our Branch was asked to bear her testimony along with 6 others. She is such a spiritual giant for a young women of 17. We sent you lots of pictures with our last letter, it was a fun time for all
We have really had a lot of wind the last few weeks with an occasional beautiful day now & then. A lot of people here are having a lot of allergy problems. Sister O and I have had our share along with a lot of coughing. It has been getting much better the last few days. Sister O has really been in a good mood lately as her sister Bonnie & her husband Bob will be here on October 31 to visit us for a few weeks. We are really looking forward to this. It will be so nice to see family again from home.
The Robinson came by at about 10:30 PM on Friday a couple of weeks ago. They were on there way home to PE, after doing a seminar. We went to Fish River Sun for a great breakfast and to play a round of golf. The Platero's also joined us and we had a great time on the golf course. Elder Platero doesn't have any golf balls so he uses mine. He usually loses a few, Well when I went thru them, I realized he lost 13 balls. We had a really great time. The wives were with us the 1st nine holes and then they decided to do something more fun for them, like shopping,
Sunday was Fast Sunday and we had a great testimony meeting. Back in America you were having General Conference. You are so lucky. We are supposed to see conference on the 30th & 31st of Oct. when we receive the DVD's of it. We can't wait to hear the words of our Prophet and the Q of the 12 and all the general authority. It is so great to hear their words and the counsel they give us. Sister O and I will be going to Capetown on the 23 & 24 of Oct. We are having a leadership training on Saturday and Conference on Sunday. Needless to say we are excited!
For transfers last week we had to go to East London instead of Port Elizabeth, the problem was that we had to go to Grahamstown first to pick up and Elder there. This made for an hour longer drive and we had to leave our flat at 6 am. We lost Elder Marlor and our new Elder is Elder Grobler. He seems nice BUT we understand he has not gotten along with his previous 2 companions at all and so he will have his 3rd companion already on only his second 6 weeks. We are hoping it will work.
We have some of our members of our Branch from Zimbabwe. There is a lot all across South Africa. The problem is that they have to have new visas & passports etc. by December 31st or they will be deported. We have known of people waiting at the embassy in Jo Burg in line for over 2 weeks 24/7 and still haven't been able to be seen. It could be a real problem. Some of our strongest members and families are from Zimbabwe. We have one couple we are trying to get to the Temple to be married and family sealed in the Temple. They are from Zimbabwe. Most of the people from there have been tribally married which is permitted for baptism. However to be married in the Temple they have to be civilly married. We are working on this and it will happen we are sure.
We had some friends from George visit us which was really nice. They had been working in the Temple in Jo Burg for 6 weeks. He used to be in the Temple Presidency in Jo Burg.
Well last Saturday was my birthday. Sister O was so nice to me that I almost want to have a birthday everyday except I would get too old to fast and it is fast enough already. Sister O gave me the nicest wood carved elephant I have ever seen and I really love it. We went to Grahamstown and I had a great steak dinner at a Spur Restaurant. One of the best things about my birthday was that I got to talk to all my family including my sister Norma and my brother Wayne. Also most of Linda's family told me happy birthday which meant a lot to me. We both have such wonderful families.
After Church we had a couple at our flat for lunch, they are from Alexandria. They sang happy birthday to me and had me blow out the candles on my cake. It is a good thing there were only 10 candles instead of 73 or they probably would have to take me to the hospital emergency room.
The zone leaders came on Monday and Elder La Pray and I took the Elders golfing. It was like hurricane wind but they really enjoyed the day. Elder Moorcroft said it was one of the 2 most fun P-Days he has had and they were both with senior couples. (sure because we pay)HA!
We went to East London last Wednesday and spent the night with the Jones. We had an all day workshop training meeting on Thursday. It rained most of the day on Wednesday and Thursday afternoon. When we got back to Port Alfred we found out we had a 4 inch rain which has been so needed. The re-modeling on our new meeting place for church has started and we are so excited about this as we will have room for all of our classes. One of our classes has to be outside most of the time. (in the building we are in now) We originally were supposed to be in by the end of the month but it will probably be the middle of November.
Well it is time to close before we bore you too much and put you to sleep. Please everyone know how much we love all of you. We miss you and want to see you but please know that we are having experience here that we will treasure and remember for the rest of our lives. We have 6 months to go before coming home and time seems to be going by pretty fast. Until we talk again all our love to you always.
President & Sister O'Dell
Mom & Dad (Linda & Woody)
Grandma & Papa Woody
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