September 14, 2009
Dear Family, Friends & Loved Ones,
Well it is that time again! Greetings from BEAUTIFUL SA again. We have really been busy and time is flying by so fast. We had a baptism on Sept. 5 (Sat). We had it at the river again. It is such a beautiful setting but the water is really cold. We went back to the church for refreshments & for them to get warm.
We met with Pres. Matsaluka about a week ago trying to set goals and branch goals for our missionary program. It was really a good meeting, and we accomplished a lot. We then had the elders over for a braai on Saturday. We had hamburgers, sausage & hot dogs before we had workshops and interviews with Pres Probst. It was supposed to be from 7 to 8:30pm, but it lasted almost until 10:30pm.
The next morning Pres Probst was at church and we had the confirmation. We had one of the most spiritual testimony meetings that we can remember. We had nearly all the people at church that we have been helping to teach. We had one lady that couldn't be there because of the death of her father. She has invited all the missionaries to their farm (where they buried her father) for dinner. We are hoping that we can make it but we are not sure as it is 150 k's away.
We have been visiting and teaching this lady for sometime and she has a pink Bible. You know how Sister O'Dell loves the color pink. Sister O has commented on how much she likes her pink Bible. Well we were at the mall and we saw her there; her name is Desiree. She went to the mall to get Sister O a pink Bible and she gave it to her while we were there. Sister O was nearly in tears as she was so touched by her kind & loving act. She is a large lady and her heart is large & kind also.
Last Sunday we had a senior couple come by and stay the night with us and they had dinner on Sunday with the elders & us. Then on Monday (P-day) we all went to Oudtshoorn to go to the Cango Caves and an ostrich farm. We couldn't leave until after 11:00am. We took 3 elders with us and the Millers took 3 elders with them. We went straight to the caves. I was able to get a discount for the missionary group. They have a standard tour and an adventure tour. The elders went on the adventure tour (about 11/2 hr.)
You have to crawl through a lot of cracks and crevices and can see a lot more rooms. Sister O and Elder Maseko get very claustrophobic and the Millers couldn't do it so we did the adventure tour.
When we finished the caves it was too late in the day to do the ostrich farm so we did another farm closer by. A couple of the Elders rode camels, and so did Sister O. I got a good video of it all. Sister O is so much fun to be with and the elders really love her (me too). Then we rode a zip line across a little lake. I guess you know who the star of this was. RIGHT! Sister O. I got a good video of this as well.
Then the elders did some bumper boats, but they were so slow that there wasn't much to it. We all had hamburgers, chips (fries) and a drink and then we needed to get started back home. It is such a beautiful drive there and back through Outeniqua pass. Everyone enjoyed this day a lot.
We were really busy Tuesday & Wednesday with teaching lessons etc. On Wed. Pres. Probst called and asked if we would like to come to Cape Town on Thursday & Friday. There is an orientation at the office that we didn't get that he thought we may enjoy. We met with him for about an hour and 2 other couples and then he let us go.
He said he mainly wanted to give us a few days away and enjoy ourselves. We thought that was so nice of Pres. Probst.
One of the couples there (the wife) was from Franklin, AZ like I was. Her dad was my Bishop at one time. Small world. Their names are Elder and Sister Harms.
The next day we went to the top of Table Mount on a cable car. Talk about vertical. It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! You don't always get good weather up there but it was a perfect day! After that we went to Cape Point which is the southernmost tip of Africa. On the way we stopped at one place and had lunch and then we went to see some penguins. The Cape Point is the point that separates the Atlantic & the Indian Oceans. Then on the way back we saw about 30 baboons with a lot of baby ones. They are quite cute when young. I guess they are like humans and then we grow up. We then had dinner with the other couples (3 couples in all).
We left to come home about 9am the next morning and Pres. Probst told us to go by Hermanus if we wanted and that we probably could see some whales and we did. It is probably about 100K round trip out of our way. We did see some whales, and I got some fair videos. About as good as possible. We also saw a few penguins. It was really a nice place to spend a little relaxing time. We got home about 6pm.
We had been told that we would have no power on Sunday from 6AM to 6PM. Sister O fixed a large potato salad & sandwiches for dinner and would've made cheese crisps if we had power- which we didn't. It wasn't her big Sunday dinner but it was still good.
Well it is getting long and Sister O has to type it and she doesn't like them this long. We want all of you to know of our love for you and for the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are really enjoying our time serving, even though it can get a little frustrating.
May you all be blessed in your lives and live as our Heavenly Father would have us do.
Love to All
Elder & Sister O'Dell
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
O'Dells Pictures from S.A.
September 2, 2009
Dear Family, Friends & Loved Ones;
Greetings again from beautiful South Africa. It has been an enjoyable but busy week. Tuesday was a great day. We met with a young sister, her mother and her 2 twin sisters and her boyfriend. It came about by this young sister (21yr) who had a dream about a book. The next day, 2 of our young elders knocked on her door. She saw the Book of Mormon in their hands and she told them that it was the book she saw in her dreams and knew immediately that she should invite them in and listen to their message. We went to see her 3 times last week. She has already read the introduction and the first 11 chapters in 1st Nephi. She wants to be taught everyday. She seems like such a great lady and family.
We also had a very good visit with the lady whose husband is in France. He will be home tomorrow. Last night we had a wonderful thing happen. We received an e-mail from our friend George form Tsitsikamma. It said “It was agreatiful time that i have neva had in my life u guyz u have really rocked my life i will alwez love u even in death u have printed amark in my heart i will alwez cherish u as my MAM & DAD .Linda-Elwood i will be ur true son of africa.i love u.”
We know it is a simple letter but it really touched our hearts. Things like this makes going on a mission worth your time and so fulfilling.
Well we e-mailed him later to see if he was planning on going to church in Knysna as it is so much closer to him. He said he was. We told him that we would come see him and go to church with him in Knysna. Then he e-mailed us back “Dear mam & dad.
It will b great 2cu again tomorol i cant wait 2see u, i just wish u a lovely drive,and 4mam pliz do not forgert 2b at left front sit 2give all the signs 2 dad! Joke! have alovely night ever love u.”
He said this because Sister O put him in the front seat to back seat drive for me.
Well Sister O couldn't make it to church. She had a tooth that had a root canal on it, maybe 30 years ago. Well it flared up on her just before we came on our mission, and again on Saturday. She was crying with pain most of the night. I gave her a blessing and I got a dentist to come to his office at 3am Sunday morning. It was so bad, we had no choice but to extract the tooth. I got her to bed about 4:30am. She didn't feel like getting up Sunday so I went to church in Knysna alone, about an hour away.
Monday on our P-day we had to meet with a clinical psychologist from 10am to 12 noon with the elders. Then we went to Victoria Baai with the elders for a few hours. Then we had to leave about 4pm to take some Primary children to Great Break River (about 30 kilometers away) for a surprise birthday party for their teacher. Well we got there and she wasn't home. The bad news is that we had 11 people in our small car in the back seat (never again!) Even worse news was that we had 2 little girls throw-up bad. Even worse was the smell. Brother O washed and shampooed the inside of the car the next day. Well it is about noon and we have a very busy afternoon so we are going to say goodbye for this week and sign off.
We finally got pictures from all our families. Thank you so much. We love you all so much and miss all of you, family & friends. We pray for all of you every day and ask the same of each of you. Thank you for your e-mails to us. Please keep them coming. We love to receive them and get news from home.
Here are pictures of
George Chancy, our one contact so far.
The Branch at Mormon Helping Hands Day
The elders having fun at the beach on P-Day
Love to All
Elder & Sister O'Dell
PS.
Chuck, have you been in contact with the lady renting our house in Trilogy. Has
she got anything yet for this winter? Let me know what you find out please
Dear Family, Friends & Loved Ones;
Greetings again from beautiful South Africa. It has been an enjoyable but busy week. Tuesday was a great day. We met with a young sister, her mother and her 2 twin sisters and her boyfriend. It came about by this young sister (21yr) who had a dream about a book. The next day, 2 of our young elders knocked on her door. She saw the Book of Mormon in their hands and she told them that it was the book she saw in her dreams and knew immediately that she should invite them in and listen to their message. We went to see her 3 times last week. She has already read the introduction and the first 11 chapters in 1st Nephi. She wants to be taught everyday. She seems like such a great lady and family.
We also had a very good visit with the lady whose husband is in France. He will be home tomorrow. Last night we had a wonderful thing happen. We received an e-mail from our friend George form Tsitsikamma. It said “It was agreatiful time that i have neva had in my life u guyz u have really rocked my life i will alwez love u even in death u have printed amark in my heart i will alwez cherish u as my MAM & DAD .Linda-Elwood i will be ur true son of africa.i love u.”
We know it is a simple letter but it really touched our hearts. Things like this makes going on a mission worth your time and so fulfilling.
Well we e-mailed him later to see if he was planning on going to church in Knysna as it is so much closer to him. He said he was. We told him that we would come see him and go to church with him in Knysna. Then he e-mailed us back “Dear mam & dad.
It will b great 2cu again tomorol i cant wait 2see u, i just wish u a lovely drive,and 4mam pliz do not forgert 2b at left front sit 2give all the signs 2 dad! Joke! have alovely night ever love u.”
He said this because Sister O put him in the front seat to back seat drive for me.
Well Sister O couldn't make it to church. She had a tooth that had a root canal on it, maybe 30 years ago. Well it flared up on her just before we came on our mission, and again on Saturday. She was crying with pain most of the night. I gave her a blessing and I got a dentist to come to his office at 3am Sunday morning. It was so bad, we had no choice but to extract the tooth. I got her to bed about 4:30am. She didn't feel like getting up Sunday so I went to church in Knysna alone, about an hour away.
Monday on our P-day we had to meet with a clinical psychologist from 10am to 12 noon with the elders. Then we went to Victoria Baai with the elders for a few hours. Then we had to leave about 4pm to take some Primary children to Great Break River (about 30 kilometers away) for a surprise birthday party for their teacher. Well we got there and she wasn't home. The bad news is that we had 11 people in our small car in the back seat (never again!) Even worse news was that we had 2 little girls throw-up bad. Even worse was the smell. Brother O washed and shampooed the inside of the car the next day. Well it is about noon and we have a very busy afternoon so we are going to say goodbye for this week and sign off.
We finally got pictures from all our families. Thank you so much. We love you all so much and miss all of you, family & friends. We pray for all of you every day and ask the same of each of you. Thank you for your e-mails to us. Please keep them coming. We love to receive them and get news from home.
Here are pictures of
George Chancy, our one contact so far.
The Branch at Mormon Helping Hands Day
The elders having fun at the beach on P-Day
Love to All
Elder & Sister O'Dell
PS.
Chuck, have you been in contact with the lady renting our house in Trilogy. Has
she got anything yet for this winter? Let me know what you find out please
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
August Update from South Africa
Dear Family, Friends & Loved Ones;
Greetings from South Africa! We had a great zone conference in Port Elizabeth a week ago. We want to share a wonderful experience we had on our way. First, we will back up some to bring you up to speed. Six weeks earlier when we went to zone conference Elder O'Dell met a young black man at Tsitsikamma. He started talking to him about the Gospel and told him of the Book of Mormon. He was very interested in it and asked if he could have a Book of Mormon. We didn't have one with us at the time. Elder O told him if he would be there Saturday morning, he would bring one to him. Well we had to come back from PE on Friday night later so we didn't get to see him and give him the book.
Well, when we went last Thursday, we stopped there again with the Elders to see the bridge & the bungy jumping area. This young man saw us and came running over to Elder O (did I say that he works at the bridge?). He had tried to reach us via e-mail but Sister O might have deleted his e-mails thinking it wasn't anyone we knew. He really wanted the book and asked Elder O again for it. We had one so we gave it to him. He lives about a 1 1/2 hour drive from George, but said he wanted to come to church the next Sunday. Elder O was really excited about it and was sure hoping he would come. He seemed so nice & sincere and seemed like he really wanted to know more. Elder O talked to Pres Probst and he said it would be fine for us to visit him at times.
We got back to George about 10:30am Saturday morning. The Elders had an open house that was starting at 11:00am; it went until about 1:30pm. Then we had to get ready for baptisms at 2:00pm. We normally do the baptisms in Sister Day's Pool, but we couldn't use it this time, so we went to the river about 10 minues away from the church. It was so pretty with such a beautiful setting. After the baptisms Elder O told Pres Matsaluka that our Stake Mission President stressed the importance of teaching people to pray more. He should not have said anything because he asked him to speak in church and wanted him to take about 20 minutes. But all said and done, it turned our very well. Remember he also had to teach the Priesthood lesson that day as well. He said he must be pretty wicked as they say “There is no rest for the wicked”
The Monday after this very busy weekend, which was our p-day, we didn't get to do anything fun :) We have a new member of a few months and he was asked to give a talk this last Sunday. The subject was faith. He was very nervous about it and asked if Elder O could help him. Well of course the answer was "sure", so he got up early Monday morning and prepared the talk for him. Then we spent about 4 hours helping a man that will be joining the church soon, working on getting him a drivers license. They are very hard to get in SA. Then on Monday night the brother that Elder O wrote the talk for came over with his wife and son to visit and have Elder O help him with his talk. They talked and Elder O told him to put in some personal experiences if he could, as everyone loves to hear about uplifting personal experiences.
We had a great lesson with an investigater on Tuesday night with the elders. She told us she would come to church on Sunday and she did come with her sister. Her husband is in France right now for a few more weeks. We sure hope she will be baptized. She would be a such a good and strong member. She seems really interested.
We are working with an older couple that the missionaries have been visiting for about 3 years. They believe in the Church and tell us that the Book of Mormon is true. He has read it several times. Right now they just don't see a need for a change but the last few weeks it has been somewhat better. We have also been visiting with an older man that has been inactive for some time and he is coming to church quite regularly right now. He always wants us to visit with him and wants to sit by us in church. We also go to a single sister's home (she is the RS Pres) each week. We often go with 2 of the elders. She has 2 children that are non-members. Her daughter is 16 and pregnant and the father of her son who is 12, won't let him join the church even though he would like to. Nothing in life is ever simple.
We had District Meeting Friday morning and tried to get the mail for the Elders but NO POST and that is BIG when the mail doesn't come. The Elders are never happy when the letters don't come.
Sunday was a very busy day for us. We got a call from the young man at the bridge (his name is George Chancy) saying he would be coming to church and would be hitchhiking to get there. Remember it is 1 1/2 hours by car. He came and was only 10 minutes late (Mormon standard time don't you think?) Also we had the investigator lady and her sister at church. There were quite a few others as well. We have a man and his girlfriend and their baby girl who want to join the church, but we first have to get him a driver's license, then get him a job, then get them married, and then we can baptize them. Oh the joys of missionary work. We pick them up for church, and bring them with us. So we have to start early. We had George with us all day Sunday and he ate with us and the elders Sunday night. He was taught a lot by Elder O and the elders. I'm sure it was a lot to talk about in one day. He stayed with us Sunday night. Today is Monday we took him back home to the bridge and picked up the 2 Elders in Knysna to meet him and set a time to start teaching him. Then we went to the Victoria Bay with the elders for the rest of p-day and watched them play frisbee in the grass wishing they could go in the water. It has been a busy day for us. It is now 12:30 TUESDAY morning and I need to get to bed. We are going to close this one for now.
Thanks Bryson for the pictures, we love them and are grateful for them. Keep the e-mails coming. We look forward to hearing from everyone. We love to see and hear from all the family! We understand it is really HOT at home. It is winter here. We get a little cold at night by the days are generally very nice and sometimes pretty warm.
Well in closing we want to tell everyone that we LOVE and MISS you always. Stay close to the Lord and keep up the good work. We pray everyone will stay close and help each other when there is a need. Love the Lord God with all our hearts, might, mind and strength. In doing so we can love each other as we should and our neighbors. For us there are 2 great things in life one is the Gospel of Jesus Christ and two is family. The beautiful thing is they go hand in hand as though they are one. As the Father and Son are separate beings but one in purpose so should our families be.
We Love & miss all of you
Elder & Sister O'Dell
Dad, Granpa Woody Mom & Linda
Greetings from South Africa! We had a great zone conference in Port Elizabeth a week ago. We want to share a wonderful experience we had on our way. First, we will back up some to bring you up to speed. Six weeks earlier when we went to zone conference Elder O'Dell met a young black man at Tsitsikamma. He started talking to him about the Gospel and told him of the Book of Mormon. He was very interested in it and asked if he could have a Book of Mormon. We didn't have one with us at the time. Elder O told him if he would be there Saturday morning, he would bring one to him. Well we had to come back from PE on Friday night later so we didn't get to see him and give him the book.
Well, when we went last Thursday, we stopped there again with the Elders to see the bridge & the bungy jumping area. This young man saw us and came running over to Elder O (did I say that he works at the bridge?). He had tried to reach us via e-mail but Sister O might have deleted his e-mails thinking it wasn't anyone we knew. He really wanted the book and asked Elder O again for it. We had one so we gave it to him. He lives about a 1 1/2 hour drive from George, but said he wanted to come to church the next Sunday. Elder O was really excited about it and was sure hoping he would come. He seemed so nice & sincere and seemed like he really wanted to know more. Elder O talked to Pres Probst and he said it would be fine for us to visit him at times.
We got back to George about 10:30am Saturday morning. The Elders had an open house that was starting at 11:00am; it went until about 1:30pm. Then we had to get ready for baptisms at 2:00pm. We normally do the baptisms in Sister Day's Pool, but we couldn't use it this time, so we went to the river about 10 minues away from the church. It was so pretty with such a beautiful setting. After the baptisms Elder O told Pres Matsaluka that our Stake Mission President stressed the importance of teaching people to pray more. He should not have said anything because he asked him to speak in church and wanted him to take about 20 minutes. But all said and done, it turned our very well. Remember he also had to teach the Priesthood lesson that day as well. He said he must be pretty wicked as they say “There is no rest for the wicked”
The Monday after this very busy weekend, which was our p-day, we didn't get to do anything fun :) We have a new member of a few months and he was asked to give a talk this last Sunday. The subject was faith. He was very nervous about it and asked if Elder O could help him. Well of course the answer was "sure", so he got up early Monday morning and prepared the talk for him. Then we spent about 4 hours helping a man that will be joining the church soon, working on getting him a drivers license. They are very hard to get in SA. Then on Monday night the brother that Elder O wrote the talk for came over with his wife and son to visit and have Elder O help him with his talk. They talked and Elder O told him to put in some personal experiences if he could, as everyone loves to hear about uplifting personal experiences.
We had a great lesson with an investigater on Tuesday night with the elders. She told us she would come to church on Sunday and she did come with her sister. Her husband is in France right now for a few more weeks. We sure hope she will be baptized. She would be a such a good and strong member. She seems really interested.
We are working with an older couple that the missionaries have been visiting for about 3 years. They believe in the Church and tell us that the Book of Mormon is true. He has read it several times. Right now they just don't see a need for a change but the last few weeks it has been somewhat better. We have also been visiting with an older man that has been inactive for some time and he is coming to church quite regularly right now. He always wants us to visit with him and wants to sit by us in church. We also go to a single sister's home (she is the RS Pres) each week. We often go with 2 of the elders. She has 2 children that are non-members. Her daughter is 16 and pregnant and the father of her son who is 12, won't let him join the church even though he would like to. Nothing in life is ever simple.
We had District Meeting Friday morning and tried to get the mail for the Elders but NO POST and that is BIG when the mail doesn't come. The Elders are never happy when the letters don't come.
Sunday was a very busy day for us. We got a call from the young man at the bridge (his name is George Chancy) saying he would be coming to church and would be hitchhiking to get there. Remember it is 1 1/2 hours by car. He came and was only 10 minutes late (Mormon standard time don't you think?) Also we had the investigator lady and her sister at church. There were quite a few others as well. We have a man and his girlfriend and their baby girl who want to join the church, but we first have to get him a driver's license, then get him a job, then get them married, and then we can baptize them. Oh the joys of missionary work. We pick them up for church, and bring them with us. So we have to start early. We had George with us all day Sunday and he ate with us and the elders Sunday night. He was taught a lot by Elder O and the elders. I'm sure it was a lot to talk about in one day. He stayed with us Sunday night. Today is Monday we took him back home to the bridge and picked up the 2 Elders in Knysna to meet him and set a time to start teaching him. Then we went to the Victoria Bay with the elders for the rest of p-day and watched them play frisbee in the grass wishing they could go in the water. It has been a busy day for us. It is now 12:30 TUESDAY morning and I need to get to bed. We are going to close this one for now.
Thanks Bryson for the pictures, we love them and are grateful for them. Keep the e-mails coming. We look forward to hearing from everyone. We love to see and hear from all the family! We understand it is really HOT at home. It is winter here. We get a little cold at night by the days are generally very nice and sometimes pretty warm.
Well in closing we want to tell everyone that we LOVE and MISS you always. Stay close to the Lord and keep up the good work. We pray everyone will stay close and help each other when there is a need. Love the Lord God with all our hearts, might, mind and strength. In doing so we can love each other as we should and our neighbors. For us there are 2 great things in life one is the Gospel of Jesus Christ and two is family. The beautiful thing is they go hand in hand as though they are one. As the Father and Son are separate beings but one in purpose so should our families be.
We Love & miss all of you
Elder & Sister O'Dell
Dad, Granpa Woody Mom & Linda
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
August Letter from South Africa
August 12, 2009
Dear Family, Friends & Loved Ones,
Well it has been several weeks since out last letter so we decided it was that time again. We are so busy it seems like you don't make the time like we should.
We have been doing a lot of teaching lessons with the young Elders. A lot of people they are teaching want us to come, that makes us feel really good. It is great to help people better understand the gospel of Jesus Christ. It can be so rewarding but can be frustrating at times also. It seems the more we get involved with the people and the more you can do to help them & teach them the greater is our joy and happiness to be here in SA and to serve our Heavenly Father. It is wonderful but at the same time it is sad to be away from everyone. We love the people and we know that they truly love us but we miss friends, family and loved ones at home. We pray for each of you every day and we feel of your prayers and ask of your continued prayers for us. We can feel the love of each of you and of our Savior & Heavenly Father with us. Being here has really strengthened our love for the gospel, for each of you and for each other.
Sister O is such a wonderful sweetheart and missionary and everyone loves her dearly.
She works so hard for the people and the missionaries. The Young Elders think because Elder O was a Dentist that he know everything about medicine. But they do love to ask him questions about what they should do in life. He is really good with the Elders and they can learn a lot from him. He studies hard all the time and is getting good at talking to others about the Gospel. He enjoys it and is learning a lot. He really seems to love it.
A few weeks ago Elder O got to go golfing for the first time in ages. The course was absolutely beautiful. It was really fun for him. They have a number of pro tournaments there. He played with an Elder Tenny who stopped by from Cape Town on his way to PE and spent Sunday night with us. They played golf on our P-Day. Sister O and I went to Victor is Bay and Harold's Bay(Baa) as they are very close by and they are breath taking beautiful. Also a place called Wilderness that is absolutely beautiful. We saw a whale swimming although we were on a mountain at a place called “ Map of Africa” It is a place formed by some canyons and rivers that have formed a place that looks like the African continent.
Last Monday on our P-Day Sister O and I went to a place about an hour away called Outdshoorn. It is probably the Ostrich capital of the world. We probly sew 200.000 to 300,000 Ostrich while we were just driving. It is on the other side of the Outeniqua mountains where we went one time before. It is beautiful. We saw some beautiful caves called “Cango Caves” We went to and Ostrich farm where Sister O rode and Ostrich. Ha! It was so funny! It was a lot of fun and she did a great job and didn't fall off. In fact they had to pull her off as she wasn't going to let go. I got a good video of this. We have another senior couple coming by in a few weeks and they want to go again with us. We also went to a place where they have some crocodiles, with lions, leopards & cheetahs etc. It is so fun to do things together.
We have to go to PE tomorrow (Thursday)for Zone Conference and will have to leave early Saturday morning about AM ( it is a 4 hour drive) as we have an open house at the church from 11:00am to 1:00pm Then we have 2 baptisms at 2:00pm. It will be busy but a very good weekend.
Well we had better be closing as Sister O has to type this. Buy the way, we have a vonage phone that Sister O's Family sent to us and anyone can call us at no charge. It is a local number. The number is 480-626-XXXX [e-mail the O'Dells for the number] It comes through the computer. Just remember that we are 9 hours a head of you if you live in AZ we are sleeping when you are awake and when we are awake you are a sleep. HA!
We want you to know that we love the gospel and hope that your love of the gospel will be strong as well. Prayer often and love one another be forgiving of each others weaknesses as we all have weaknesses.
We Love you always
Elder & Sister O'Dell
Mom & Dad Grandma & Papa Woody
And Friends
Dear Family, Friends & Loved Ones,
Well it has been several weeks since out last letter so we decided it was that time again. We are so busy it seems like you don't make the time like we should.
We have been doing a lot of teaching lessons with the young Elders. A lot of people they are teaching want us to come, that makes us feel really good. It is great to help people better understand the gospel of Jesus Christ. It can be so rewarding but can be frustrating at times also. It seems the more we get involved with the people and the more you can do to help them & teach them the greater is our joy and happiness to be here in SA and to serve our Heavenly Father. It is wonderful but at the same time it is sad to be away from everyone. We love the people and we know that they truly love us but we miss friends, family and loved ones at home. We pray for each of you every day and we feel of your prayers and ask of your continued prayers for us. We can feel the love of each of you and of our Savior & Heavenly Father with us. Being here has really strengthened our love for the gospel, for each of you and for each other.
Sister O is such a wonderful sweetheart and missionary and everyone loves her dearly.
She works so hard for the people and the missionaries. The Young Elders think because Elder O was a Dentist that he know everything about medicine. But they do love to ask him questions about what they should do in life. He is really good with the Elders and they can learn a lot from him. He studies hard all the time and is getting good at talking to others about the Gospel. He enjoys it and is learning a lot. He really seems to love it.
A few weeks ago Elder O got to go golfing for the first time in ages. The course was absolutely beautiful. It was really fun for him. They have a number of pro tournaments there. He played with an Elder Tenny who stopped by from Cape Town on his way to PE and spent Sunday night with us. They played golf on our P-Day. Sister O and I went to Victor is Bay and Harold's Bay(Baa) as they are very close by and they are breath taking beautiful. Also a place called Wilderness that is absolutely beautiful. We saw a whale swimming although we were on a mountain at a place called “ Map of Africa” It is a place formed by some canyons and rivers that have formed a place that looks like the African continent.
Last Monday on our P-Day Sister O and I went to a place about an hour away called Outdshoorn. It is probably the Ostrich capital of the world. We probly sew 200.000 to 300,000 Ostrich while we were just driving. It is on the other side of the Outeniqua mountains where we went one time before. It is beautiful. We saw some beautiful caves called “Cango Caves” We went to and Ostrich farm where Sister O rode and Ostrich. Ha! It was so funny! It was a lot of fun and she did a great job and didn't fall off. In fact they had to pull her off as she wasn't going to let go. I got a good video of this. We have another senior couple coming by in a few weeks and they want to go again with us. We also went to a place where they have some crocodiles, with lions, leopards & cheetahs etc. It is so fun to do things together.
We have to go to PE tomorrow (Thursday)for Zone Conference and will have to leave early Saturday morning about AM ( it is a 4 hour drive) as we have an open house at the church from 11:00am to 1:00pm Then we have 2 baptisms at 2:00pm. It will be busy but a very good weekend.
Well we had better be closing as Sister O has to type this. Buy the way, we have a vonage phone that Sister O's Family sent to us and anyone can call us at no charge. It is a local number. The number is 480-626-XXXX [e-mail the O'Dells for the number] It comes through the computer. Just remember that we are 9 hours a head of you if you live in AZ we are sleeping when you are awake and when we are awake you are a sleep. HA!
We want you to know that we love the gospel and hope that your love of the gospel will be strong as well. Prayer often and love one another be forgiving of each others weaknesses as we all have weaknesses.
We Love you always
Elder & Sister O'Dell
Mom & Dad Grandma & Papa Woody
And Friends
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Hello Again from Africa!
Dear Family, Friends & Loved ones, July 27,2009
We thought it was time to write and give everyone and update. We are still enjoying being in this BEAUTIFUL area of George, South Africa. We have had a lot of rain the past few days. It is about noon on Sunday th 26th and the sun is starting to shine through. It looks like it is going to be another beautiful day. We just got home from church. We had a change in our little Branch today, one of the counselors is leaving for a 6 month trip around the world. They put a new member (only been in the church a little over a year) in his place. We are sure he will be fine and learn much.
We stay busy but not doing some of the things we would like to or as much as we would like to in the way of missionary work. It is hard to fined the time to take care of the 8 missionaries, feed them run them to there appointments, which is about 25 to 30 minutes from where we live. Sometimes we go with them to the appointment. This we really enjoy, but some time we just sit in the car and wait for them to teach and then take them to another one and then it is home for the night. We try and keep some of our appointments as well.
Right now Elder O is teaching the gospel principals class & the Priesthood class. Sister O is 1st counselor in Young Women. She likes it and the young girls really Love her as well. Brother O spends most of his time studying through the week. He says he thinks it is really good. He learns much more by teaching than the class learns, and he is liking it quite a bit. It is going well.
We are working with an older couple right now, the Elders started visiting them some 3 years ago. The husband has read the Bool of Mormon several times and says he believes it is true and a very good book. He says he knows that Joseph Smith was a prophet and did receive the Gold Plates and translate them. They love us to come once a week and see them and read the B of M with them. They belong to the Dutch Reform Church as do all their children. This makes it hard for them to change an go to another church. They are in there 80's and we think they just feel it will be to hard on the family and them to change what they have been doing for so many years. We will still visit them each week but I'm not so sure they are willing to change there life for the true church. The wife has told us that her husband is much kinder to her since the missionaries have been coming to see them and she still wants us to come. So we will.
We received a name of a lady who lost her husband about 3 months ago and she asked the Elders to please come to see her but they can't go to a single ladies home so they have given us her name and information for us to go see her. We hope we can get there this next week. Exciting! We will be spending time in Mossel Bay with people who are less actives as well as Wilderness. Two very beautiful areas in SA.
We have a Single Sister who we have Family Home Evening and Study with at her home once a week. She has 2 children who are not members of the Church. The Father says NO, but we really think in time they will be. Sister O and this sister really like each other and are some what alike in personality. They really have clicked and we think it is going to help her a lot. She was just made the RSP in the Branch.
We have other Families we go to with the Elders to teach as well. One Family, Elder O has met with and spent time with. He is sure they will be members soon. Sister O has been with them in church. They have a new baby girl so cute. As soon as we can get them married then we will get them into the church and we both feel they will be geat members of the kingdom.
We have a family, Father Son & Mother baptized about 2 weeks ago and they are very nice people Brother O has spent time with them an feels they will be a great help to the Branch. They have a son 10, who loves to play Golf and has been asking Elder O to take him to play Golf. He says “When are you going to come pick me up so we can go and play Golf? He is really cute. He asked the Elders if Elder O would be upset if he beat him ? Funny and cute. Elder O told the Elders he wouldn't be up set with the little boy if he beat him BUT he would be up set with himself. Ha!!
We spent all day Saturday the 25 at the church. There was a workshop and Interviews for the Missionaries with President Probst. He is a Good Man and is respected by all the young Elders and the Senior as well. Sister O had a great lunch for everyone. She works really hard to get her great salsa chopped which they all LOVE. She didn't get to bed until about 2am the night before the meeting.
We had a Senior Couple come and stay with us on Sunday night, They got in about 4pm and we fed all the Elders around 6:30 So we were all together for dinner. The Senior couples name is Elder & Sister Tenney. He really likes to play Golf so Elder O and Elder T went to playing Golf on Monday for P-Day. It is the first time for Elder O but Elder Tenney has been out about a year and has played several other times. Sister O and Sister T went shopping ! Both Elders & Both Sisters had a great time golfing & shopping. Elder O says they really have some nice and beautiful courses over here.
It is so nice where we are and we both love being in George SA BUT somethings are strange and a little hard to get use to. Like driving on the other side of the road. Elder O does a great job but from time to time he kind of forgets which side he is to be on. We have to buy our electricity so we go to the service station to buy gas and get electricity or go to get food at the store and buy electricity then go home and program it into the box. The trunk of a car is called the boot, stop lights are called robots. speed bumps are everywhere so you really can't go to fast except when you are on the highway. They make it very hard for the blacks to get a drivers license over here and it takes a long time. Some times they wait until the are in their 20 before they can drive. There are three types of people here, Black, Colored & White (African) Blacks are really black and Colored are a little lighter skin, African are white. They all speak about 3 to 4 different languages but they all speak english, the accent is hard to understand. Elder O has a harder time because he has trouble hearing them. But it is getting better and soon it will be old hat for both of us.
There is no middle class in SA you are either poor or rich. The poor are so poor it is really hard to see, an you feel so sad for them. The rich live a very different life and really don't want to hear about religion at all. They all have there church they go to an don't want to change. They pay no attention to the poor people at all. Sad! You either live in a Mansion and drive a Mercedes, BMW or Audie or you live in a cardboard house and walk or take the taxi to and from town.
Sister O fixed a big Mexican dinner for every one Sunday night. You can't fine corn chips here except for one store. They are not that great but they are corn chips to eat with the salsa. Tomato sauce as we know it in American does not exist in SA. All the sauce that says Tomato sauce is very sweet and is like ketchup. So Mexican food doesn't taste the same as in America but the Elders seam to like it fine and they eat it.
Well this letter is getting long and Sister O still has to type it and get it sent so guess we had better sign off.
We want to thank all our children for the fine people they are, Chuck & Troy thanks so much for the pictures they are GREAT and we are so happy to have them. We look forward to getting Dee Ann's and Connie's soon.
Everyone stay close to the Lord and live the Teachings of the Gospel. We all very much want to be together for eternity with our Father in Heaven and we know this comes with righteous living and doing the things we have been asked and taught to do by our Father in Heaven.
We love and miss you all so much. If only we could share this beautiful experience with all of you it would be GREAT. Know that you are in our prayers always!
Elder & Sister O'Dell
Mom (Linda) & Dad (Grandpa Woody)
We thought it was time to write and give everyone and update. We are still enjoying being in this BEAUTIFUL area of George, South Africa. We have had a lot of rain the past few days. It is about noon on Sunday th 26th and the sun is starting to shine through. It looks like it is going to be another beautiful day. We just got home from church. We had a change in our little Branch today, one of the counselors is leaving for a 6 month trip around the world. They put a new member (only been in the church a little over a year) in his place. We are sure he will be fine and learn much.
We stay busy but not doing some of the things we would like to or as much as we would like to in the way of missionary work. It is hard to fined the time to take care of the 8 missionaries, feed them run them to there appointments, which is about 25 to 30 minutes from where we live. Sometimes we go with them to the appointment. This we really enjoy, but some time we just sit in the car and wait for them to teach and then take them to another one and then it is home for the night. We try and keep some of our appointments as well.
Right now Elder O is teaching the gospel principals class & the Priesthood class. Sister O is 1st counselor in Young Women. She likes it and the young girls really Love her as well. Brother O spends most of his time studying through the week. He says he thinks it is really good. He learns much more by teaching than the class learns, and he is liking it quite a bit. It is going well.
We are working with an older couple right now, the Elders started visiting them some 3 years ago. The husband has read the Bool of Mormon several times and says he believes it is true and a very good book. He says he knows that Joseph Smith was a prophet and did receive the Gold Plates and translate them. They love us to come once a week and see them and read the B of M with them. They belong to the Dutch Reform Church as do all their children. This makes it hard for them to change an go to another church. They are in there 80's and we think they just feel it will be to hard on the family and them to change what they have been doing for so many years. We will still visit them each week but I'm not so sure they are willing to change there life for the true church. The wife has told us that her husband is much kinder to her since the missionaries have been coming to see them and she still wants us to come. So we will.
We received a name of a lady who lost her husband about 3 months ago and she asked the Elders to please come to see her but they can't go to a single ladies home so they have given us her name and information for us to go see her. We hope we can get there this next week. Exciting! We will be spending time in Mossel Bay with people who are less actives as well as Wilderness. Two very beautiful areas in SA.
We have a Single Sister who we have Family Home Evening and Study with at her home once a week. She has 2 children who are not members of the Church. The Father says NO, but we really think in time they will be. Sister O and this sister really like each other and are some what alike in personality. They really have clicked and we think it is going to help her a lot. She was just made the RSP in the Branch.
We have other Families we go to with the Elders to teach as well. One Family, Elder O has met with and spent time with. He is sure they will be members soon. Sister O has been with them in church. They have a new baby girl so cute. As soon as we can get them married then we will get them into the church and we both feel they will be geat members of the kingdom.
We have a family, Father Son & Mother baptized about 2 weeks ago and they are very nice people Brother O has spent time with them an feels they will be a great help to the Branch. They have a son 10, who loves to play Golf and has been asking Elder O to take him to play Golf. He says “When are you going to come pick me up so we can go and play Golf? He is really cute. He asked the Elders if Elder O would be upset if he beat him ? Funny and cute. Elder O told the Elders he wouldn't be up set with the little boy if he beat him BUT he would be up set with himself. Ha!!
We spent all day Saturday the 25 at the church. There was a workshop and Interviews for the Missionaries with President Probst. He is a Good Man and is respected by all the young Elders and the Senior as well. Sister O had a great lunch for everyone. She works really hard to get her great salsa chopped which they all LOVE. She didn't get to bed until about 2am the night before the meeting.
We had a Senior Couple come and stay with us on Sunday night, They got in about 4pm and we fed all the Elders around 6:30 So we were all together for dinner. The Senior couples name is Elder & Sister Tenney. He really likes to play Golf so Elder O and Elder T went to playing Golf on Monday for P-Day. It is the first time for Elder O but Elder Tenney has been out about a year and has played several other times. Sister O and Sister T went shopping ! Both Elders & Both Sisters had a great time golfing & shopping. Elder O says they really have some nice and beautiful courses over here.
It is so nice where we are and we both love being in George SA BUT somethings are strange and a little hard to get use to. Like driving on the other side of the road. Elder O does a great job but from time to time he kind of forgets which side he is to be on. We have to buy our electricity so we go to the service station to buy gas and get electricity or go to get food at the store and buy electricity then go home and program it into the box. The trunk of a car is called the boot, stop lights are called robots. speed bumps are everywhere so you really can't go to fast except when you are on the highway. They make it very hard for the blacks to get a drivers license over here and it takes a long time. Some times they wait until the are in their 20 before they can drive. There are three types of people here, Black, Colored & White (African) Blacks are really black and Colored are a little lighter skin, African are white. They all speak about 3 to 4 different languages but they all speak english, the accent is hard to understand. Elder O has a harder time because he has trouble hearing them. But it is getting better and soon it will be old hat for both of us.
There is no middle class in SA you are either poor or rich. The poor are so poor it is really hard to see, an you feel so sad for them. The rich live a very different life and really don't want to hear about religion at all. They all have there church they go to an don't want to change. They pay no attention to the poor people at all. Sad! You either live in a Mansion and drive a Mercedes, BMW or Audie or you live in a cardboard house and walk or take the taxi to and from town.
Sister O fixed a big Mexican dinner for every one Sunday night. You can't fine corn chips here except for one store. They are not that great but they are corn chips to eat with the salsa. Tomato sauce as we know it in American does not exist in SA. All the sauce that says Tomato sauce is very sweet and is like ketchup. So Mexican food doesn't taste the same as in America but the Elders seam to like it fine and they eat it.
Well this letter is getting long and Sister O still has to type it and get it sent so guess we had better sign off.
We want to thank all our children for the fine people they are, Chuck & Troy thanks so much for the pictures they are GREAT and we are so happy to have them. We look forward to getting Dee Ann's and Connie's soon.
Everyone stay close to the Lord and live the Teachings of the Gospel. We all very much want to be together for eternity with our Father in Heaven and we know this comes with righteous living and doing the things we have been asked and taught to do by our Father in Heaven.
We love and miss you all so much. If only we could share this beautiful experience with all of you it would be GREAT. Know that you are in our prayers always!
Elder & Sister O'Dell
Mom (Linda) & Dad (Grandpa Woody)
Happy Birthday, Grandma!
Maija drew a picture for you on your birthday. She said that it's a picture of her with a rainbow mountain. We sure love and miss you and hope that you've had a great day!
Love,
Kent, Kim, Maija, Rebekah and Forest
Saturday, July 11, 2009
In Utah this week; the weather is GREAT!
Hi Mom, Hi Woody,
How are you doing? Well, this week, there have been a few things I wanted to share with you about our lives. Starting about Tuesday, Kennedy and Leo decided to role-play “Grandma.” I will try to get this on video, but it hardly ever seems to work when I turn on the video camera or any camera—the kids stop what they are doing! So to paint the picture, imagine Kennedy in her room as Grandma while Leo opens the door and says, “Grandma! Hi!” Kennedy says, “Hi Leo! Hi Kennedy! How are my grandkids? I have fruit snacks for you! I love you so much!” Leo jumps up and down, exclaiming, “Yaye!” They hug, and they pretend that they are eating fruit snacks. A few minutes later, they switch roles. It is the cutest little re-enactment to me. What an impression you have made in their little minds of the love you have for them!
Anyway, with all of that, and the shop not doing as well as we’d like, we’ve been praying and pondering a lot about our budget and finances. We have decided to pursue selling the ski house in Utah, and even though it really made me sad (and mad for a while, of course), right before bed last night, I was reminded to count my blessings. Things aren’t easy as I would like, or clean like I want, or even manageable it seems sometimes, but one thing that has been constant is that Owen and I genuinely love and respect each other and want the best for each other and our kids. Our family has had relatively good health and I have been so fortunate to be expecting our third and be at home with Kennedy and Leo for the last 2 years, and for these things, I am SO grateful. I love them so much, and I cherish the time I have with them. The other thing I feel so grateful for is to have married into such a great family—I have such stellar in-laws! But to let you know, we have been learning to be more self-sufficient more than ever before (I just got a Stake cookbook that Owen really likes a lot of the meals from, we are building up and using our food storage, my mom will come out and help with a winter garden), and to be more creative with date nights and time for each other.
Well, I probably won’t be writing until next week or a bit later. We are in Salt Lake and I’ll be working the long days all week. I’m excited to see a lot of my families this week because a lot of them are from 2 years ago and I always like seeing the growth and changes in these families when I have worked with them for so long. There are also supposed to be some big research advancements by the end of the year, so if I can get all these patients’ blood and data, we are hoping to make some new discoveries. Owen will get to spend more time with the kids than he usually does, and he will also get to relax, play some golf, and re-evaluate things with Mark. We are really so blessed to have such good people in our lives. I’m also excited to meet up with some of our other friends from Utah because we really did make some good friends up there. Anyway, take care, we love you, and we send you lots of hugs and kisses.
All is well on the home front (besides the 116 degree heat!).
Jeannie, Owen, Kennedy & Leo
P.S. Some names that have come to mind for the baby: Davis Wayne Farnsworth or Parker Wayne Farnsworth. Wayne is my dad’s English version of his middle name, which is actually Wing. I didn’t dislike Stan or Stanley but Wayne sounded good to me as a middle name. The first name has been a bit tougher and we aren’t settled on either of those yet, but they’re two that we have come up with; Kennedy thinks that his name should be Leo Joy Farnsworth for Leo and her instead. ☺
How are you doing? Well, this week, there have been a few things I wanted to share with you about our lives. Starting about Tuesday, Kennedy and Leo decided to role-play “Grandma.” I will try to get this on video, but it hardly ever seems to work when I turn on the video camera or any camera—the kids stop what they are doing! So to paint the picture, imagine Kennedy in her room as Grandma while Leo opens the door and says, “Grandma! Hi!” Kennedy says, “Hi Leo! Hi Kennedy! How are my grandkids? I have fruit snacks for you! I love you so much!” Leo jumps up and down, exclaiming, “Yaye!” They hug, and they pretend that they are eating fruit snacks. A few minutes later, they switch roles. It is the cutest little re-enactment to me. What an impression you have made in their little minds of the love you have for them!
Anyway, with all of that, and the shop not doing as well as we’d like, we’ve been praying and pondering a lot about our budget and finances. We have decided to pursue selling the ski house in Utah, and even though it really made me sad (and mad for a while, of course), right before bed last night, I was reminded to count my blessings. Things aren’t easy as I would like, or clean like I want, or even manageable it seems sometimes, but one thing that has been constant is that Owen and I genuinely love and respect each other and want the best for each other and our kids. Our family has had relatively good health and I have been so fortunate to be expecting our third and be at home with Kennedy and Leo for the last 2 years, and for these things, I am SO grateful. I love them so much, and I cherish the time I have with them. The other thing I feel so grateful for is to have married into such a great family—I have such stellar in-laws! But to let you know, we have been learning to be more self-sufficient more than ever before (I just got a Stake cookbook that Owen really likes a lot of the meals from, we are building up and using our food storage, my mom will come out and help with a winter garden), and to be more creative with date nights and time for each other.
Well, I probably won’t be writing until next week or a bit later. We are in Salt Lake and I’ll be working the long days all week. I’m excited to see a lot of my families this week because a lot of them are from 2 years ago and I always like seeing the growth and changes in these families when I have worked with them for so long. There are also supposed to be some big research advancements by the end of the year, so if I can get all these patients’ blood and data, we are hoping to make some new discoveries. Owen will get to spend more time with the kids than he usually does, and he will also get to relax, play some golf, and re-evaluate things with Mark. We are really so blessed to have such good people in our lives. I’m also excited to meet up with some of our other friends from Utah because we really did make some good friends up there. Anyway, take care, we love you, and we send you lots of hugs and kisses.
All is well on the home front (besides the 116 degree heat!).
Jeannie, Owen, Kennedy & Leo
P.S. Some names that have come to mind for the baby: Davis Wayne Farnsworth or Parker Wayne Farnsworth. Wayne is my dad’s English version of his middle name, which is actually Wing. I didn’t dislike Stan or Stanley but Wayne sounded good to me as a middle name. The first name has been a bit tougher and we aren’t settled on either of those yet, but they’re two that we have come up with; Kennedy thinks that his name should be Leo Joy Farnsworth for Leo and her instead. ☺
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