April 27, 2010 Letter From SA

1. Our Farewell party in George

2. Sonja & family in George

3. Lunch with the Senior Couples

4. First Sunday in Port Alfred Branch

5.Sister O  being funny at the farewell party 

6. Elder O with the Young Elders having fun for the World Cup

7. Alvin  this one is for you alone. 

8. The Pineapple Farm we went to (Fun Fun! )

April 27, 2010

Hi from Port Alfred South Africa,

Dear Family, Friends & Loved Ones,

Well it has been too long since we have written, but it seems like time is so busy that it often is hard to fine the time plus a lot has happened since our last letter. We won't try to catch up on everything but just  in general. Before our leaving George we were quite busy with missionary work and also trying to say good by to so many people. On Sunday at General Conference Sister O and I said our goodbye to everyone that was there and we were both ask to bear our testimonies. We did get to listen to conference as usual because of the time difference. Our area Presidency though it best to receive DVD later so that we could show the conference to everyone a lot better and easier.

All of the last week was primarily spent visiting people and saying good-by.  Sister O is really having a hard time with this as she has come to love so many people and they love her dearly and there were really a lot of tears shed.  She really doesn't want to leave George but we also know that we need to serve where and how that our Father in heaven wants us too.  She has touched so many lives and they have also really touched ours as well.  I know that the Lord is sending us to Port Alfred for a reason. Hopefully we can be an influence and touch peoples lives.

On our last P-Day in George the Elders wanted to go golfing which we did. Also for dinner on Sunday the Elders felt and said "This is the last summer" It will be hard to leave them.  After Golf Sonia Family fixed us and the 6 Elders a wonderful Braai. We also went by as we left and everyone was in tears.  On the way to PE ( about a 6 hour drive from George) We stopped at Tsitsikamma to say good by to Georges cousin and her mom.  Then we stopped at Storms River Village to visit George and his friend and we were excited to see how happy he was and how well he is doing. He is such a great young man and has such a strong testimony of the gospel and is doing really good.  He is so excited to go On a mission to serve his Heavenly Father and we are so proud of him.  We then went on to PE and had lunch with two senior couples the Robinsons & the R. Millers and said our good by to them and set of to Port Alfred where we met up with the Godfreys who we are replacing. We have met them several times before. On Saturday they took us around the town and help us get acquainted. On Sunday we went to church and there we 42 people there which is really good for here. There was no more room in the chapel part of the meeting house. We were very impressed with the Branch and especially the reverence that the small children showed. Sister O and I each gave a short talk and bore our testimonies. I know that we will love the people here. PA is a small town  of 8,000 + .  George had 203,000.  Sister O is still struggling but I know she will come to love it and be a great influence. She relates so well with everyone.

The Godfrey's lift early Tuesday morning. One thing that has been so stressful for Sister O is getting inter net service,  the Vonage Phone working, our land line to work etc. We were told we had service but it took almost a week before we received service.  We went to Grahamstown and visited the Fullmers (a senior couple) and had lunch with them. Elder Fullmer is Branch Pres. There.  There we got to meet 2 of our former George Missionaries Elder Schamel & Elder Rateolalahy and they was exciting.  On Thursday we took Elder Mfaladi to  East London and pick up our new Elder which is Elder Buthelezi.  We not have him and Elder Mc Greggor from Sandy Utah.  It took us several days to get moved into our new apartment. Sister O is really disappointed as it is much smaller. A very small kitchen with a dining and living area down stairs and two bedrooms and a bath upstairs. We have a very small bathroom downstairs with a toilet and sink but it is hard to get in and you can't close the door because out washing machine is in the door way. The Frig. doesn't keep things very cold, only one and a half burners on the stove work, the counter around the sink is rotten and likes, and you hold up the shelf under the sink with water bottles. Sister O is in LOVE with the Kitchen.  I have talked with the rental agency about this and told them that we would not live there under those conditions and would move if the owners didn't fix it.  They are trying to sell the place so we were not sure, but we got word that it would be taken care of in about 2 weeks.

The roads in PA are really bad with solid potholes on every road.  It took me nearly a week to organize the paper work that Elder Godfrey left behind but I have it pretty well the way I need it.  Now I need to learn more about all the reports I need to do and the welfare system for needy families.

On our last P-Day I took Sister O for a ride to a small town called Denton on the Sea. It is only clean and a very nice town on the beach. The Elders never get to do any thing exciting here so in the afternoon we took them to a place called Bathurst about 20 mines a way and sew some interesting and neat things.  We went to a pineapple farm, then to a place called horseshoe bend or where waters meet. A place where a rive forms a large horseshoe (almost a complete circle).  You view from a high look out pace and it is really a beautiful spot.  We then went to an old Mill that was open in the early 1800. It is on a creek an was run by a large water paddle wheel. It burned down and then was re-built into a grain mill. It was 3 stories  and really neat and interesting to see. There was a lot of other things to do but we ran out of time.

Everything here really rust and fast I'm sure it is because of the ocean air. You can wash the windows in your car in a day or so you can hardly see through the windows.  On Wed. evening we left to go to East London to Zone Conference about hour and 45 min away.  We stayed in a B&B. The conference was really great conference and very spiritual. Pres. Probst had Sister O and I bear our Testimonies. I guess it was because of our new calling.  We were Elder to meet up with Elders Cooney, Wilson, Moyo, Schamel & Mwenda that we had in George and that was really a treat. We had a Baptism on Saturday the second since we have been here. Today for Church we had Sacrament, the conformation of the new member. We then had him bear his testimony, he did a great job and I was really impressed. We then showed the Saturday am session  of General Conference and it was so good and I talked to our branch members for about 5 to 10 min.  I know that we are going to love the people here and that they will touch our lives. I know that we will love our new calling and will be blessed.  We can already feel the love of the people here.

Well I have rambled on long enough and it is time to close. We love all of you at home.  Not only family but all our friends as well. We feel bad that we didn't leave from our Gilbert Ward as we hear from our friends there. We haven't heard any thing from the ward in Pinetop. We LOVE getting news from home. Please all of you keep sending your e-mails.  We Love and miss you so!

PS. Desiree's daughter Elizabeth was baptized on April 17th we so much wanted to be there as she wanted Elder O'Dell to baptize and confirm her.  We are so thrilled and excited for her an Desiree they are such wonderful people. 

We Love you all.  Please e-mail us
Elder & Sister O'Dell (Mom & Dad) Grandpa Woody & Linda & Grandma

Letter From SA April 2010

1. Elder & Sister O'Dell at a senior conference in Port Alfred in Sept 09 It was a beautiful Golf Course where we had breakfast

2. Elder O'Dell taking pictures of the Ostrich on our way to Cango Caves

3. The Young Women in the George Branch that Sister O works with

4.  The O'Dells Bedroom in George

April 1st 2010

Dear Family, Friends & Loved Ones,

I will start off by saying that Sister O and I have really enjoyed our mission so far and have had some truly remarkable and memorable experiences. Lately we have been contemplating what we could do more to help the people in SA and to help bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ into the lives of more people. We came to the conclusion that we needed to spend more time in seeking out less active members of the church and work with and fellowship them more to bring them back to activity to the gospel.  We have a lot of inactive and felt a great need for this to spend more of our time doing this and especially in the outlying areas as Mossel Baai, Great Brak River & Oudtshoorn.

Well our plans came to and end on Saturday when we received a call from Pres. Probst.  It was something we had no thought about and was rather surprised!  Pres. Probst asked me to be the Branch President in a small town call Port Alfred  about 185K from here and about 2 hours east and north of PE.  About a 6 hour drive from George. I told him that if that was what the Lord wanted me to do then that is what we would do. We will be leaving George on April the 9th. Sister O is really sad about leaving as she loves it here and has really gotten so involved and has made so many friends here and she is really needed here. There are many people that will be hard to leave and it will be hard for some of them.  But we can't put our personal feelings first.  We need to serve where we are called and serve with all our hearts. Hopefully we will be able to fulfill our callings and be able to touch some of the peoples hearts where ever we will be and serve. Because we love our Savior with all our hearts.

Well yesterday we finished our SS class (marriage & family relations) and it was really and enjoyable class to teach, and I feel the class enjoyed and learned from it.  On Monday P-day we went golfing and it might be my last opportunity because I am not sure what I will be doing or what my schedule will be from here on out. I know the Elders Really did enjoyed this and so I just HAD TO DO IT!  I will spend a lot of time going through cupboards, books & paper work trying to get organized and ready to move to Port Alfred.

Well a week ago today Sister O and I Celebrated our 3rd Anniversary. It has been a wonderful 3 years and she is such a wonderful person to be with. Beautiful, Fun, Happy, Loving & Spiritual. (If she could only spell) We had things we needed in the am and then we went to a movie call "The Blind Side" with Sandra Bullock it was a fabulous movie and I would tell every one to see it. It is a true story!  Then we went to dinner to a new restaurant in Wilderness. It was all glass on the sides and back with large decks and you looked right out over the ocean and saw the beautiful beaches of Wilderness.  We saw a beautiful sunset while we were eating over the ocean front.  What a wonderful way to spend and Anniversary! It was unbelievable!!

Last night ((on Friday )we had 2 appointments and tonight we have 3. One is with the maid of Desiree who we recently baptized and is so strong in the Gospel. Part of her family was there also.  The home was very nice and furnished nice. They came out to church and seemed to enjoy it and some of them said they want to come next Sunday and hear the conference talks. We then visited a single older lady who was quite funny to talk with but was really nice and seemed really interested in learning more about the Book of Mormon. It was quite funny because it was obvious she really liked Elder Hanson  and she is old enough to be his grandmother.




Well today is Saturday and we just finished a service project of weeding some flower and plant beds for our RS Pres. Sister Sonja.  We have to leave in a few minutes because we have a baptism of George Chabalala. It turned out to be a great service and of course Sister O made lots of cookies for everyone and a punch drink.

We had a senior couple (Spear's) come by and we went to dinner with them. They are staying at a
B & B tonight,  they will be at church tomorrow and spend  Sunday night and Monday night with us. For Dinner on Sunday we had a Braai for the Elders and the Spears which was very good  We had steak, potatoes, corn on the cob & salad which was very good.

On Monday for P-Day Pres. Probst gave us the OK to go to the Cango Caves. Normally he doesn't do this but I think it is because we will be leaving in a few weeks. I forgot to mention that we had a visitor at church on Sunday. Gary Player's Wife is a member of the church and she came out Sunday as they were having a senior PGA tournament hear this week-end. She also came out to Knysna earlier when they played at Plett. Baai.

The Elders really had a great time at the caves except for Elder Maja as he found out he was claustrophobic like Sister O but not quite as bad. We then went to an Ostrich farm and all 6 of the Elders rode an Ostrich. They also let and Ostrich take food from there lips.  I got some really good movies of all this.

Last night we had a very good visit with John O and Gary, we talked about Temples. We showed the Movie "Between Heaven and Earth" which was really good and went over well.

Well it is time to close,  we want you to know that we love you all so much and are so home sick to see all of you and  also just to be home.  We are loving it here and the great and spiritual blessings and experiences, BUT there is still no better place then being home around family. We Love You So.

Please send us your e-mails because we really love to hear from everyone at home.

Until next time Love Sister & Elder O'Dell

2nd March Letter from SA

1. Elder & Sister O'Dell at Storms River

2. The Elders at Storms River

3. Elder & Sister Miller

4. The O'Dells Flat on Sunday Night

March 21, 2010

Dear Family, Friends & Loved Ones,

Well we are 2 weeks into the new transfers.  We lost Elder Caine, he went the Cape Town area. His Grandmother lives in the stake that he will be serving in, and he was quite happy to go so he could see her. The Bishop of the ward he will be in is a good friend of his parents, he was really happy about leaving.  Elder Hansen who is our new District Leader transferred from Windhoek, Namibia. It took him several days to get here as flights were changed or canceled.

We had the Millers (a senior couple) come on Friday from PE on there way to Cape Town and spend the night with us. Saturday morning Sister O & Sister Miller HAD to go shopping before they left for Cape Town. I don't understand why women like to shop so much. I'm like most men, I know what I want, and go buy it then go home. It is done, so done. Ha!

We have been visiting a family ( the Meyers) in Great Brok River about 25 miles away. They are trying to be active again the best they can. They have the same problem as most people here----NO transportation and they live far away(25 miles) from the church. They are really showing interest in the Temple and wanting to be sealed to each other. We then visited Gary & John O, they are doing so good and she loves being in Primary and working with the little children.  She really loves little babies!

We had a great fast and testimony meeting on the first Sunday of March.  The testimonies seem so spiritual here. I had the opportunity to bless the Meyers baby girl in Sacrament meeting,  they named her Electra  and there 4 year old little boy. I have really been blessed with many opportunities to give blessings to people while here in Africa.  Our SS class still seems to be going good. We have one or two more classes then it will be over. 

For Sunday Dinner the Elders wanted to try lasagna. Sister O didn't want to make it from scratch,  so we went to the store to get frozen lasagna to fix and they don't have Big ones so we bought 11 single serving and combined them into 2 pans.  It was OK but not my or Sister O favorite. But we did have a good pineapple up side down cake, salad and garlic bread.

We really haven't had to much HOT weather BUT Sunday & Monday of that week it was really HOT, about 38' and not one ounce of a breeze. All we have for cooling is a floor fan. In PE it was in the low 40' and 44' in Oudtshoorn. It is always hot there. It is supposed to cool down to about 28' & 22' for then next week or so.  The Millers came back by on Monday when it was so HOT. They were on there way back to PE and you guessed it the Girls went shopping again.

We had a great meeting with Desiree & her daughter Elizabeth on Tuesday evening. Gerard was still in France.  The Elders committed Elizabeth to baptism, but I'm not sure she is quite ready so we have to give her a few extra weeks. Desiree is so strong in the gospel, she will really be a big help to both her daughter and husband Gerard.

On Wednesday we went to Zone Conference in PE, we left about 10:30 in the morning. We will have Elder Koellicker of the 70's speaking to us. It was a combined Zone Conference with 2 Zones. Elder Koellicker is also the area president and it is always a privilege to have a general authority here and give us instructions.  On the way we stopped at Tsitsikamma to see the bungy jump bridge as all Elders haven't seen it. While there we taught Elizabeth (Georges cousin) a lesson. I'm sure  it is only a matter of time before she is baptized. We also said hello to his Aunt.
                                                                                -2-

We then stopped at Storms River Mouth to see and walk over the 3 swinging suspension bridges. It is a rather long hike and very steep in a lot of places but it is a wood planked walkway all the way. I was worried about Sister O making it but she did really well. The Elders really enjoyed it.

Our African Son George has moved and is now living in Storms River Village and it was getting late so we didn't get to visit him. We felt bad about this as we like to visit him and I know he likes us to visit him also. When we got to PE we went to dinner with 2 other senior couples. The Millers & the Spears who replaced the Stones. We spent the night with the Spears. Conference started at 9:45am and went to 1:30pm with no breaks except to stand for a minute a couple of times. The Senior couples provide lunch ( after conference is over) and only have R 60 to spend which isn't a lot so the couples furnish salads & deserts. We got home to George at 9pm that night.

On Friday morning and after District Meeting we met the Tenney's who stopped by on there way home from Cape Town to PE and we had lunch with them. They will be going home from their mission in about 9 days. They live in Denver Co. So we just wanted to say Good By.

We had a great Sacrament Meeting on Sunday.  We will be through with our SS class and Pres Matsaluka wants to start a genealogy class that is needed. We also need a Temple prep class which will start shortly. Either  Brother Hogben or I will be teaching this class I'm sure. Brother Hogben has been on a 71/2 month vacation and tour of the U.S. And will be home next week. He taught the last Temple prep class. He served in the Temple Presidency in Jo Burg a few years earlier.

Well on March 15th  I called my Brother Wayne to visit with him as it was his Birthday. On Tuesday Sister O and I visited with the Elders, a man named George (seems to be a very popular name in SA) He has been coming out for about a month. He has been reading, studying & praying about the gospel and is committed to baptism in a few weeks. We then visited a strong member of our branch named Deanna with the Elders. Her husband is a member but has not been to church since we have been here. She also has a son about 19 who is inactive as well. We had a great visit with them and her husband seemed to really like us as he talked a lot. He seems like a great person. I hope we can get them coming out more and become active.

We continue to visit John O and Gary regularly to continue teaching them and fellow shipping them. We had a great visit with Elizabeth (Desiree's daughter) and she is really progressing. After our lesson, Desiree had a wonderful dinner for us. We had filet mignon steak, potato pie, vege dish, calamari, and a really good mussel soup, fruit plate and 2 good deserts. We really enjoyed this and she really went to a lot of work fixing the dinner. She gave Sister O a present to open. It was a really nice jacket that Sister O had seen with Desiree at a favorite store at the mall. Sister O  told her that she loved the jacket and really wanted it. So Desiree bought it for her.  It is a very nice jacket and looks nice on Sister O. That is the kind of person she is. Her husband Gerard is now home from France.

Well I guess I have rambled on enough and time to close. We just had our 10 mo. Day on the 18th. Time seems to be flying by. We want all of you to know how much we love and miss you. Our grand kids will be so grown up we won't recognize them. Yes we are homesick to see all of you. Above all we want both our families to know how proud we are of you. We have been blessed to have such wonderful children and grandchildren.


Please know that we love all of you so much and miss you more!

Always Yours
Elder & Sister O'Dell
Mom & Dad (Linda & Woody)
Grandma (Linda) & Grandpa Woody

First March Letter from SA 2010

1. Baptisms at the River Elder Maja, Yolanda, Desiree, Elder O'Dell Elder Caine & Niko

2. Our Train Ride through the Pass with the Millers

3. We have the baptisms at the Beach. Everyone that was there.

4. The Pass with the Millers

March 4th, 2010

Dear family, Friends & Loved Ones,

Well it is pass time to write again.  Week before last we had Elder & Sister Tenney here with us for 3 days as they were doing a career work shop in our Branch. There was a total of 10 hours of classroom work. We had a great time enjoying their company and classes. We played a little golf, went out to eat, played some cards etc.  They were here Thursday, Friday and Saturday. They went with us to sing Happy Birthday to Desiree on Friday the 19th. She really enjoyed this and actually shed a few tears. We took her a nice bouquet of  flowers and she had a lot of great delicious treats for us.

Saturday February 20th was a GREAT DAY! For us. We had 3 baptisms that day.  Being baptized was Desiree Danjean (the people with the farm from France), Yolanda and Niko (her son) Addendorf. Sister O gave the BEST talk on the Holy Ghost I have heard for a baptismal service. Making and giving beautiful pillows as a comfort to them as is the Holy Ghost a comfort to each of us when we live righteously and let the Holy Ghost into our lives.

I was privileged to baptize Yolanda and Desiree. This is always such a wonderful experience and especially to see the joy and happiness that comes into the lives of these wonderful people and their families.  Desiree had a family friend come with his family, he is studying to be a minister  and wanted to see how our church did this. He and his family also came to the conformation on Sunday.  Elder Maja baptized Niko. We had our Baptisms at the river in the regular place and there was plenty of water. The Baptisms went a lot easier there than in the ocean.  The Tenney's stayed for the baptisms before going home to P.E.

On Sunday we had a wonderful service. I confirmed Yolando, and was going to confirm Desiree also  but Pres. Matsaluka wanted to and did so that was great. Elder Caine confirmed Niko. Sister O had tacos, burritos & spanish rice for Sunday Dinner. It is a real treat to have spanish food as you don't find it here.  It started a light rain on Sunday morning and rained all day and night. Monday all day and night and even some on Tuesday. I feel we are being blessed for the special fast and prayers we had for rain. It was a slow rain that soaked in and had some good run off. Now we need some hard rain to get a good run off. We did get some heavy rain at times on Tuesday & Wednesday. I believe that the rain brought up the water supply by about 2% so you can see we need much more.

We met with Desiree and her husband Gerard on Wednesday as he couldn't be here on Tuesday. He is leaving on Thursday to go to France for 3 weeks. We feel he will be baptized but it will take a little more time. Sister O and I tried to order him a quad in French BUT couldn't get one, so we had to  ordered a triple combo in French.  This will help him if he has his own scriptures in French, he will understand better than English.

On Friday the 26th of February we met another senior couple (the Spears) they came by to visit and go to dinner with us. They live in PE and had a presentation for the Seminary & Institute teachers in our branch in George on Saturday morning. They are from SA but have lived a lot of there lives in Ireland. Also the Millers came on Saturday morning and stayed with us on Saturday, Sunday and went home on Monday. We went on a 2 car train ride up through the Outenique Mountain Pass and back. It was called the Outenique Power Van. We tried to get reservations for the Spears but it was filled. Both the Millers and the Spears had presentations to give in Knysna on Sunday.


It was another great week-end and a wonderful Sunday Our SS class went really good. The RS room was pretty well filled. We have about 4 weeks of this class left. For dinner we had a great roast beef and also a great roast lamb that Desiree fixed for us. I think I like lamb better than beef most of the time.

We got an e-mail from some friends in Jo Berg telling us that a senior couple they know, he was just made Mission President in Ghana told them that they need 50 senior couples here in the southern part of Africa. I hope many of you that are thinking about serving your Heavenly Father will seriously consider going on a mission and enjoy the blessings that can be given you and your family. Sister O and I are really enjoying our service here. Yes, it is hard being away from family & friends, but the rewards and blessings are worth it.

Well I guess I should close for now but we want you all to know that we truly love and miss you. It is such a treat when we can hear from our family and our friends from home. Please don't forget us while we are away.  We just talked to Scott & Suzanne on Ichat and we played with Tessa she is so cute and is walking. We got to see her walk she will be a year old next month. They are all growing up. Kim sent me pictures of Forest & Brayden and the Birthday party they are so cute.  It is great to see pictures so soon after the party it makes me feel as if I were there. Thanks for all you do for us!!! We are grateful for our Children and all the Grandchildren & the Great Grandchild Tessa (she is so cute and what a personality she has) Thanks for sharing take care. We will write again soon. 

Love Elder & Sister O'Dell
Mom (Linda) & Dad (Papa Woody)
Grandma & Grandpa
Linda & Woody

February 20,Letter from South Africa

1. Pres. & Sister Probst  at the Beach for the Baptism

2. Sister Probst & Desiree at the Baptism at the Beach

3. Sister O Desiree & Sonja in the BMW

4. Family Home Evening with the Kibido

February 22, 2010

Dear Family, Friends & Loved Ones

On Monday Feb. 1 we had the Millers, another Senior Couple here to visit with us and go to dinner, which is always nice and so enjoyable to spend time with another senior couple.  Sister O. usually fixes them a large breakfast before they leave.  This time we didn't have time for breakfast.  We had to leave at 7:50 AM to go to a wedding.  Brother and sister Bongo, who we had gotten close to from our class, called us to be to the wedding of her brother Thando and Khongelies Kibido.  He forgot his ID papers so we had to wait about an hour for him to get them.  It was a justice of the peace wedding and it is so lacking in feeling as a church or temple wedding.

    After the wedding they wanted to go to the church for me to give them both a blessing.  I was happy for the opportunity and thought what a wonderful way to start a marriage and they were both really grateful and in tears.  We then made Sister O. happy as she had time to make her hair and nail appointment.  Then after lunch, Sister O. and I went to Great Braak River to visit the Meyer family.  Sister Meyer is struggling a little with faith but seems much better.  I asked her to read Moroni 7 to help her better understand faith.  I also wanted to give them a framed "The Family: a Proclamation to the World."  We will visit them again on Saturday with Elders Caine and Maja.

    We then visited John O for a few hours.  Helping her to get information and started on trying to get a loan for school.  Sister O and I go home at 7:15 and very tired.  We laid down for a rest and woke up at 10, just in time for bed.

    The couple that Sister O and I gave the blessing to wants to teach them but we probably can't do all of it as it isn't a safe area to got to.  The elders will have to do most of it for safety reasons.  Elder Whiting was stabbed in the arm in that area, but he made a bad mistake of allowing several young men into their car to find an area for them.  No. No. No.

    Last night (Tues) was a wonderful night.  Desiree committed to baptism and her daughter, but her daughter is not quite ready, nor is Gerard.  I suggested that we wait for Gerard to be baptized and let him receive the priesthood so that he could baptize his daughter Elizabeth.  Also Douglas' wife, Yolanda, and their son Niko, committed to baptism.  What a wonderful day.

    On Friday after our district meeting, we had lunch with the elders at a chicken place called Nandos.  Then Sister O and I needed to go grocery shopping, and a lot of reading and studying as we had Sunday school lessons, a priesthood lesson, and a young women's lesson to give.  I have had the opportunity to read and study a lot since being in Africa and my testimony has really grown and been strengthened. 

    On Saturday February 6 at 12 noon, to Sunday noon we had a special fast and prayer for rain.  Hopefully if we are humble and sincere enough we will be blessed.  I have seen much power in fasting and prayer while on our mission and we have also been commanded to do so.  We visited and taught Douglas' family and his dad Hein and finalized their baptism date on February 20.  Then we went to Great Braak River  to visit the Meyer's family.  They are a great young family and seem so interested to have the gospel back in their lives. 

   

We really had a great and spiritual fast and testimony meeting on fast Sunday.  President Mason was here.  He is first counselor to President Probst.  We received an email from the Chamberlains serving in Joburg, and they told us they had received 13 inches of rain in January.  I wish we had part of it here in George. 

    Our African son, George, hitch hiked from Tsitsikamma (two and a half hours by car) to George.  He came to church and visited us.  We were so busy with our lessons that we didn't have time to visit with him and he was able to ride clear back to Plettenburg bay with President Mason.  He is such and amazing young man I wish we could have received some support to help him go on a mission but I'm sure the lord will bless him and make it happen.

    For Sunday dinner we had a real treat.  Sister O fixed tacos and burritos.  She was planning a Spanish rice but forgot about it until the next morning.  You're not going to believe this one, Elder Maja wanted Mayonnaise on his tacos and burritos.  Can you even imagine it?  Yuk!  On February 8, P-day, we were busy until about three thirty and then went golfing for nine holes.  We had family home evening with the mother of Sister Bongo and Bro. Kibido.  They are a big family and a very close and loving family, which is wonderful to see.  We had 22 people in all with five missionaries.  In 1980, the mother had a dream.  She was sick and in a coma.  She dreamed that Christ's church was brought back to earth in America by a young white boy.  Do we recognize this?  Wow, how exciting is that?  She has looked for this event since but has never been able to find it until now.

    We visited with Desiree on Tuesday.  I was going to teach the law of chastity to her daughter, but she couldn't be there, so we went over the word of wisdom and her baptismal plans.  Before the meeting with Sister Desiree, she took Sister O and Sonja in a ride in her BMW convertible.  Sister O is now spoiled.  We did get some good pictures.  We'll try to email them to you.

    On Friday after our district meeting, we went to Tsitsikamma with the Knysna elders to teach George and his cousin Elizabeth.  When we got home, we went with the Thembalethu elders to teach the family that we had family home evening with.  It was great. 

    On Saturday February 13, we had two baptisms.  I had a feeling that we needed to check out where we usually baptize people.  I did and it was nearly out of water.  So the search began for another area.  We found a place in the ocean below Pacalsdorp.  This was a different experience of baptizing in the ocean for me.  We had a large turnout.  I baptized Stefaans Pieterse and Elder Caine baptized Dominic.  It took me three times to get him under the water before we got a wave deep enough for complete immersion.  Well the wave kind of baptized me also, as I went under as well.  Desiree came as she is getting baptized the following Saturday. 

    We then went to Great Braak to teach the Meyers.  This time we took the Pangels with us.  We taught them about the temple and the three degrees of glory.  They were very, very interested and I told them to read D&C 76 and we would talk more about it the next time we saw them. 

    President and Sister Probst were at the baptism on Saturday, and also at church on Sunday.  I missed the opportunity to be with Gary when he received the priesthood.  I really wanted to be there and he wanted us there, but we were in a meeting with President and Sister Probst.  He was so excited to receive the priesthood and we were excited also.  What a wonderful blessing. 

   

Well, it is time to close as we have a lot to do today.  Please know that we love and miss you all so much, but we feel that we are doing what we need to do.  We are enjoying the experience that we have been given and blessed with and we know that our lives have and will be blessed.  We really love the grandchildren and are anxious and excited to see them all again. 
 
Love to all from Elder & Sister O'Dell Mom & Dad
                          Grandpa & Linda Grandma & Grandpa Woody



PS The big family that we had the family home evening with got robbed the other night, and one of the sons got stabbed but was OK.  I'm glad Sister O and I were not there alone teaching.  Satan really works hard to keep people from the gospel.  I feel this is how he works sometimes.

First Letter for February 2010

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

January Letter

January 21, 2010


Dear Family, Friends & Loved Ones.

On our P-Day  Sister O and I went to a large train museum with our RS Pres. Sonja and her daughter Sonika and her baby. It took about 3 hours and was really interesting. It was mainly all about the history of the steam engine etc. with a lot of old trains. They also had a lot of old antique cars and some old buggies and stage coaches. They also had a large display of small electric trains that you could run. That was really worth seeing.  Bonnie and Bob will love seeing the Train Museum.

I got sick with a flue bug and then Sister O got it but we are fine now. There are a lot of people around and some of the Elders don't and have not felt to well. Sister O couldn't get out of bed one morning her neck hurt so bad. It had been bothering her for some time. I finally talked her into going to a Chiropractor and after a couple of treatments she is doing good now.

We are seeing Clifton & Elizabeth again as they called us and want us to come and visit again. I think he has his problems worked out and they seem to be good now. We are so anxious for Clifton to get his divorce finalized so that he can marry Elizabeth and they can get baptized. I guess it is one step at a time and in the Lords Way. We are still making a lot of visits and fellow shipping but I won't go into all of that unless something special happens.

We have had a few fairly warm days but nothing very bad. There has been some really hot days in Cape Town, between 40 & 44' C. Our nights have always cooled off nice though.  It is good!  If only it would rain a LOT so we could have more water. I guess you can say we are in Africa and have only a little water. taking a bath is out of the question for a while I guess. Oh well we do what we have too.

Another Senior couple came by a stayed to night on the way to Cape Town and back It is always fun to have them as we can go out to dinner, and play some games with them. We played pollock rummy and a Golf cards game. We really enjoy that a LOT.  It is so nice to be able to do something fun once in a while.

We visited a new investigator last week referred by a new member friend the Olivier's. She seems very interested and I think she will be really good in time. She only has a 2 room house. The Kitchen, Living room and Bathroom combination. We had to sit on the corners of the bed and on a small chest of drawers. There was only one stool in the Kitchen and there wasn't room to bring it into the Bedroom.

On Saturday Jan 16 the Elders & I did a service project. We were going to help an investigator Sister move. We thought this would be very simple, she has a small place and not a lot of furnishings. We were moving it to her daughters place which was right behind the lot she was on and over one.  The corners of the lots connected. Well after that she wanted the whole house dissembled and moved. We took the roof off which was a tin roof. Then we took what paneling etc off that she had and room separators. Then we took down all the walls. We had to separate the walls in ½ and then carry the walls over to the other lot. We put everything on the ground as there was no cement slab, no footing or anything. That took us about 4 hr. Then this lady wanted us to assemble it all back together on bare ground. This is impossible with no foundation or any thing. No nails or anything. All we had was 2 hammers to work with. I think she was disappointed that we couldn't
>  do that all in one day.
Anyway that was quite an experience and we were really tired. (well I was any way) Ha!! She couldn't believe I was 72 :)

On Sunday we  had our YM Pres. by the name of Shephard to be confirmed to the Mel. PH and to be ordained to an Elder and he wanted me to do it from him I was happy for the opportunity to do this for him. I do this as Pres Matsaluka was there an is such a good man as was our Mission Pres. Pres. Probst. Shephard asked me about a month ago when he knew that he would receive the Mel. PH.  It took that long to get it done. Then Sister Day in our branch asked Sister O if I would come over on Sunday afternoon and give her a blessing and  I was grateful for this opportunity as well. We receive blessings in so many ways when we give them. I know there are many struggles on a mission but  it comes back two fold.

On one morning last week our RS Pres. Sister Sonja & Sister O asked me to take them to play Golf for 9 holes and let them try it. I was skeptical about this but it turned our OK and quite fun. They did much better then I thought and they had a lot of fun. Sister O asked me if she was to old to learn and I told her NO, so I think she wants to try some more. I will probably end up being a golf widower.

We also had a young couple that was recently baptized ask us Sunday after our SS class if  we could teach a couple that are friends of theirs about the gospel. We said we would be happy to.  They live in Oudtshoorn which is about an hour drive away. That is a little out of our area but being a senior couple we are allowed to do this. They want to contact them first and make sure they are interested in seeing us and hearing about the gospel and he will let us know. But he is sure they will want to hear about the gospel.

Well I guess it is time to close but first we want all of you to know how much Sister O and I LOVE the gospel of Jesus Christ. It brings so much love into our lives and helps us to love each of you even more with the knowledge that we all can be an eternal family and that is so important. There is only 2 things in life that really matter, and that is the gospel of Jesus Christ and ones family and the knowing that we can be sealed together for ever. This is so comforting and it makes one want to live life to be worthy of the blessings. We must be forgiving of each others and the weaknesses just as our Savior did and has are we will come up short. This is a commandment from our Heavenly Father. Sister O and I Love all of you so much and are so grateful for such a wonderful family. Thank you all for your LOVE and your prayers for us.

I wrote earlier if any of you would be willing and able to donate a little each month to be put into an account for our African Son George to go on a mission. We only receive one response from on person. "THANKS JACK" 
If you can please let me know so I can set up an account with someone in American to take care of this for us. I promise that your lives will be blessed and we all need the blessings of our Father in Heaven.

Remember we love hearing from you at any time. Don't for get us in Africa PLEASE let us hear from you often.

Love to all from the O'Dell