Hey everybody!!

Thanks so much for all the news! It is great to hear from ya´ll!

Thanks Uncle Bob for the birthday well wishes! Just so you know, I´ll be using this current email while I am on my mission, and then I´ll be back to my old one (----@hotmail.com) when I am released from full time service. And I´ll try and send some pictures, but Mom / KK can probly email you some ones I´ve already sent home.

Mark and Aup -- whoa! That was one crazy story about Tearisa getting the flu! I was starting to get worried reading that email, but thanks be to God that she is all right. Whew!

Righteous Rae / Sister Ellis III -- thanks for the referral! I´ll be sure to pass it on to the mission office. The Church is true and it´s great to be a missionary!

Rob and Christa -- thanks for the package!! Man oh man, those brownies are DELICIOUS, and the honey bunches of oats and Reese´s are wonderful also! Thank you very much! I got the package last Thursday but opened it on Friday because I did a division with the zone leaders and was in their area (Alverca) and I figured it´d be easier to carry while still in the box. Thanks again!!

Well well, life is great. So I have reason to believe that Laura´s twins will be girls, is that correct? Congradulations!! Looks like the girl-boy ratio is swinging to the girls´ favor with the nieces and nephews. Anyways, life is great. Last Thursday (when I picked up said package) we had our interviews with President Torgan and I also met Elder Eduardo Molina Sagebin who will be serving with us for the rest of Elder Hansen´s stay and continue serving with me. Great stuff! (Oh yeah, and thanks Dad for the news about Scott Braithwaite´s mission call! Cool beans! Any idea when he´ll arrive in Portugal?)

Friday was a very fun birthday - and thanks again to everyone for all of the well wishes, love and support! 20 years old and feeling fit, fine, and fantastic!! In Alverca Elder Oram treated me to cake and ice cream (from the apartment) to celebrate. Haha, and I´m pretty glad we did the division, because the water was turned off in our apartment in Carregado because the dono hadn´t been keeping up with the water bills. But we got the water back on that same day, so no worries. Davíd (the dono, who is French by the way, random fact) felt bad that we went the whole morning without running water so he bought us pizzas for lunch. He´s got a big heart. Friday evening President and Irmã Torgan called to wish me a happy birthday. Aw, shucks!

Anyways, life is great! Yesterday I got my haircut by the Brazilian lady who is being taught by us, while her husband got a mini lesson on the side by Elders Hansen and Sagebin. Good lesson and good haircut! Before that we had gone to another town in our area a ten minute bus ride away called Alenquer, which is a really pretty town. We searched around for people to talk to, and in our exploration accidentally walked in on a woman in her early 20s sunbathing by her pool -- it was very akward to say the least, but Elder Hansen still gave her a pass-along card. Later Elder Sagebin and I were able to talk to a nice lady in a park and left her with a Restoration pamphlet. We had a really nice conversation with her and as we were leaving she looked like she was reading the pamphlet we left her. Great day!

Well thanks again everyone for your love, support, and emails. Keep ´em coming! Tchau!!

--Elder Ellis V

PS -- thanks Em for passing on Sacha´s birthday wishes for me.