Ingrid Odor & Family

Ingrid is Still the Winner

A valiant lady has returned to her Heavenly Father, Ingrid Odor passed away on July 10th from lukemia. She had been here in Rotterdam since January undergoing chemo therapy treatment. She responded well to the second chemo treatment and her loving brother donated some of his bone marrow to her thereafter. She was doing well and was looking forward to returning home to Aruba at the end of the year. God had another plan for her and she had an unexpected brain hemorage, which took her life. She was fortunate that her husband and second daughter had arrived a few days before. She was a great example of courage and determination. She had many struggles but remained strong under difficult circumstances. On Monday the 13th we held a memorial service at our church for her. The program was very nice, with several speakers, including Sister Servoss. One of the young elders spoke and three missionaries sang the beautiful song, "Till We Meet Again". The chapel was full of family, friends, and Ward and Stake members who knew her and came to love her. Ingrid was an example to us all and will be dearly missed. We will also miss her daughter Christine and grandson Jaydrick. They had all become family to us. We rejoice with the knowledge that we will see her again one day with a cancer free body. We are so grateful for the great plan of salvation and the atoneing sacrifice of Jesus Christ that makes it all possible. Ingrid's memory will always remain with us. She was our heroine and is still a big winner in our eyes.

Greens and Servosses

First Family Visitors

We have just had an enjoyable week with our cousins from Utah, Rod & Cathy Green. We were able to mix their visit into our missionary work. We had a great time visiting Brugge, Belgium. It is a quaint old medieval city, which is surrounded and criss crossed by canals. The old city has many wonderful Belgian lace shops. We enjoyed shopping in them and taking in the flavor of the city. We then drove to Brussels where we visited the Grand Place (the major square in the center of the city). We met the Green's niece and our cousin, Sister Jenny Orton and her companion Sister Rideout there, and enjoyed a great meal in a restaurant. It was a wonderful visit. We then drove the sisters to their apartment and delivered some packages from her mother. The next day we spent time visiting an elderly sister and preparing for the Young Adult dinner and Institute. It was the last meeting in the Rotterdam North building before its six months renovation starts. On Friday we visited Delft and enjoyed that old city and the ceramic shop. Saturday was very different because the ladies went to a Relief Society event and Rod and I went to clean out the YA things from the north building. In the afternoon we all got together again and drove to Moordrecht for a 4th of July BBQ with the Stake President's family. We had a great time. Over the next several days we visited some other members and places such as Arnhem, Hoek van Holland, Amsterdam, and Kinderdijk. It ended with a joint teaching experience that we went on. It was a grand experience and we hope others will come to visit too.

Battlefield Pictures (tank, monument,& hillsides)

WWII Battle of the Ardennes (Battle of the Bulge)

To celebrate and remember the feedom that we enjoy today, my wife and I took a trip on June 6th, 2009 to the former battlefields in Belgium where the Battles of the Ardennes were fought. We visited Bastogne with another American couple, Dave & Karen Pond. Bastogne was the city where the most intense fighting was and the place where the heroic American soldiers defied great odds and won a tremendous victory.

On June 6th, 1944 the Allied Forces landed at Normandy, beginning the liberation of France, and Belgium, and the defeat of the German army. The Allied commanders had determined that the winter conditions and the difficult terrain of the Ardennes hills of Belgium would deter the enemy from making an attack in that region. They decided to weaken the defensive forces there and concentrate on other areas.

However, the Germans saw a great opportunity to launch a counter offensive and attempt to break-through to re-seize the port of Antwerp. It started on December 16th, 1944 in the cold and fog. The attackers had about 250,000 men, 600 tanks and assault guns, and 1,900 big guns and howitizers. The American forces had about 80,000 men in the area. The attack was a complete surprise and the defenses were broken through in many places. But resistance was organized and the Americans fought back bravely. They were heavily out numbered and the German Panzer tanks seemed unstoppable. The battles were tremendous and there were many lives lost on both sides. On Dec. 22nd, the German General von Luttwitz sent a letter to the American General McAuliffe demanding the surrender of the Americans. That is when Gen. McAuliffe gave the famous response, "Nuts". The fierce fighting continued and it was not until the 26th that reinforcements arrived under General Patton. Thousands of American troops arrived to rescue the city and defeat the Germans. The Battle of the Ardennes is considered the greatest American battle of the 2nd World War. There were over 80,000 American casualties. It was the final decisive battle that really turned the tide of war, which finally ended in May, 1945.

We were grateful that we had the opportunity to experience some history. Dave Pond and I are both retired military, so we saw the battlefields with our knowledge of tactics and military planning. Dave and I walked through some of the woods where the fighting had taken place and found some of the old foxholes that had been used. We are so thankful for all of those who fought and died there to help preserve the freedom of the world.

Our Dutch Speaking Missionaries