Mid-November

Hello beloved family!!

Happy Belated and Early Birthdays to Aup, Ethan, Rachel, Grandma Turtle, and Joy! I´m thankful to have each of you as a member in my family, and I hope you had a great birthday!

This week went well. I´m learning more and more about how we shouldn´t worry about things we can´t control, because we can´t do anything about them! Therefore, we should do the very best we can and focus on what our part is, and leave the rest to the Lord! Unfortunately the investigators we were hoping on baptizing soon have been dropping off the face of the earth. Busy schedules, and not answering our calls. But hey, ´some will, some won´t, stop whining and start working!´, right? They might not be the ones who are prepared right now, so we´ll focus on finding the ones who are ready. But we are still working with and excited to be working with a less active named Carlos and his not-yet-member wife (YES, THEY ARE MARRIED!!). There´s also another couple who were a reference from the wife´s aunt, who is a member who lives somewhere else, and they have two little boys. So life is great!

Well I love all of you! Thanks for the updates, emails, pictures, etc. Have a great week and I will hear from you next week! Much love,

--Elder Ellis V
CM SBF FDP S&H

Hello!

Hello beloved family!

Wow, congratulations to Rob and Christa for the Marathon! That sounds intense! Parabéns! Elder Rich and I went runnning a couple of times this week and one morning we were going up this gradual hill which didn´t seem so bad looking at it but it proved to be quite the challenge when we were actually running up it! Congradz again, that´s one huge accomplishment!

Well, this week was awesome. Last Monday I successfully retreived my box and nothing was lost or damaged. Woohoo! This week we´ve had our times working with recent converts along with everything else. There is an Indian family (the parents have legitimate Dalmuti accents, it´s always a pleasure to listen to them) with 3 kids (they´re accents are not near as strong), two Brazilian young women Cirleide (she turns 19 next Monday) and Jessica (17), and a Portuguese mother and daughter Maria and Vânia (22). It´s great working with them and doing what we can to help them be constant in living the gospel!

We´re also excited to be working with a man named Jorge who is quiet but has enjoyed our lessons and feels good when he´s read and prayed. And yesterday we contacted a member referral from outside our area which turned out great. When we came to their floor the husband opened the door and asked if we were looking for 2ºA (their apartment) and I had gotten mixed up during the walk up the stairs and thought we were looking for 2ºB so I told him ´No, we´re looking for 2ºB´. Then we talked to the lady at 2ºB and she said there was no Rhaissa (spelling uncertain) who lived there. We were kind of bummed but then I remembered that we wanted 2ºA, NOT B, and the husband opened the door again and said `I think you talked to my wife yesterday on the phone, we´re right here, come on in.´ What a blessing we get to work with people smarter than ourselves! And that lesson went great! Fernando (the husband) and Rhaissa have to little boys ages 7 and 5 and one more due on November 27 (comind up soon!). They were happy to visit with us and excited to keep going. YAY!!

Thursday was absolutely awesome! We had zone conference and were blessed with the company of Elder Erich Kopischke, president of the Europe Area. It was an amazing conference and I learned a ton and was corrected likewise, all by the Spirit. After the leadership meeting Elder Kopischke interviewed me and one of the office elders, which was a great boost. I don´t know if he contacted you Dad, but he said he was gonna say hi and all is well, which it is! :D

Well life is great. Keep on keepin on everybody! I love you and I hope ya´ll have a great week! Tchau!

--Elder Ellis V

Stop the press!

Hello beloved family!!

Well, there´s been quite the bit of changes and surprises this week! Last Monday, after my internet time was up and while I was getting one more haircut from Sorene, President Torgan called and informed me that I was being transferred to the area of Linda-A-Velha (Beauty the Old) to be district leader. And on top of that, I had to leave Tuesday, the following day, instead of Thursday as transfers normally run. So it was a bit of shock, but luckily I was able to have the last family night with Ivan and Sorene and also Adriana, Brenda, and Samuel. I packed Tuesday morning and Elder Sagebin and I went to mail off some stuff and it turns out the post office (here at least) doesn´t accept credit card so I was unable to mail off a package with surplus stuff that I wanted to send home (in a box). We headed off, and en route while we were on a metro I forgot to pick up said box and left it at the metro station. So today I will recover that box...

Linda-A-Velha (LAV) is a big area with huge potential. My new companion is Elder Matthew Sterling Rich, a good hard working Elder getting the language down. We have a lot of recent converts to work with, and we´re trying to help some other investigators push through and overcome whatever barriers are holding them back from being baptized, be it smoking, getting married, or recognizing a testimony that the restored gospel is TRUE!

So yeah, life is great here at the Pretty Old Lady! Just in case anyone´s interested, the apartment address here is:
Avenida Bombeiros Voluntários de Algés
1495-019 Algés
PORTUGAL

Thanks everyone again for the emails. John and Mark, I found your blogs especially amusing. Rock on Johnboy! Anyways. I love all ya´ll, keep on keepin on! Tchau!
--Elder Ellis V
CM SBF FDP S&H

Um... less than two months til Christmas!

Hey everybody! We had another great week here in Carregado! Fábio is doing great - yesterday he was ordained a priest in the Aaronic Priesthood and will bless the sacrament this coming Sunday!

So last week we stayed in Santarém and did divisions there, so that we´d be ready to go for interviews with President Torgan on Tuesday. Before we split up Monday night all 8 of us Elders were singing hymns to people we contacted, and unfortunately my voice/throat got a bit strained, and then I caught a widdle code (a little cold) but I´m all better now. I was really happy with interviews seeing that the Spirit was guiding President Torgan in what to ask, and we both were guided in looking for ways I can do better, including praying more frequently for the Lord´s guidance. Great stuff!

Well I love all of you! Thanks again for the news and emails! I don´t know who those ´long lost relatives´ were that Darrell sent the youtube video about, but we are ALL family, right? Haha, have a great week everybody! Tchau!

--Elder Ellis V
CM SBF FDP S&H

Yipikiyay!

Helloooo greatest family!! I LOVE LIFE!!

So, this week went fantastically! (Please forgive the spelling errors.) Mom, I got the package you sent, which included the cd Kit, Kev, and their girls sent on Tuesday October 13. Boy oh boy, the shoes are FABULOUS!! Thank you thank you thank you! And thanks Kit & Kevin, and Rob and Christa for the video-picture clips. It is so great to see ya´ll! And thanks again to all who have sent personalized emails. They´re amazing.

Fábio Ferreira Santos was baptized on Saturday and confirmed yesterday at sacrament meeting. We had a great turnout at the baptism - practically the whole branch was there, as well as two friends of Fábio, Jenaeína (the married 17 year old young woman) and a 23 year old guy, I can´t remember his name. And Ivan and Sorene and André and Manuela came. Splendid! Haha, we started late mainly because we had trouble fitting Jaimir Olivi into the clothes so he could baptize Fábio. Poor guy. He´s big, and even if he lost some weight he´s still just super thick. But it went well! The only downside was Lucas, Ivan and Sorene´s adorable 1 and 1/2 year old, ran outside and fell down the stairs and had a nasty scrape on his forhead. But what doesn´t kill him only makes him stronger, right?

Well everything is going well. I´m low on time from checking out photos and stuff, but I wanna let ya´ll know that I love you and am praying for all of you! Thanks for your emails, updates, prayers, and everything else! Have a great week! Love,

--Elder Ellis V
CM SBF FDP S&H

Happy Family!

Hello wonderful family!!

Natalie, I loved that recent blog. Subject - my jeans fit! Whole of message - that is all. Brilliant! Reminds me of that one quote from Cats and Dogs, but I´ll quote that after the mission.

So good to hear from everybody! I´m so grateful for such great examples! Haha, just before Elder Sagebin and I came to do internet, we stopped by a drycleaning place that we normally go to whenever we need stuff done, and the owners are a Brazilian couple. Elder Sagebin wanted a pair of suit slacks to be tailored, and while I was waiting the man asked if I was married and had kids. I said ´not yet, but in a couple of years, probably´ which scared the heck out of me, but also made me think of the great examples of siblings and siblings in law that I have of being awesome parents, not to mention the incredible duo Mama KK and Papa Stan!

Anyways. Life is great in Carregado! Unfortunately due to beaurecratic paperwork André´s baptism is postponed until he and Manuela finish up all that stuff to be married first. But Fábio is taking everything in stride and we have the plans and most everything ready for his baptism this Saturday! It is quite exciting.

This weekend we did a group fast with Ivan and Sorene to ask for God´s help in speeding up the paperwork stuff so they can get married. It was Ivan´s first fast and he didn´t make the whole 24 hours but I´ll still give him an A for effort. We even proposed them/him taking a smaller amount of time to try first but he said he´d try. We´ve also been really blessed with steadily finding more people. We met and had a first lesson with a couple who seem very prepared. Our follow up appointment with them yesterday evening fell though partly because they had been taking so much time and effort to get her legalized (she´s Brazilian) and the both of them married, all on their own! And leaving their house a lady in her ´back yard´ (the closest thing to one) just started talking to us, and we´re gonna teach her and her husband tonight. Life is great!!

Thanks again everyone for the news and updates. Keep ´em coming! Have a great week! Much love,
--Elder Ellis V
CM SBF FDP S&H

I love life!

Hello wonderful family!

First off I would like to put Elder David A. Bednar´s counsel to practice and let all of you know I LOVE YOU! Mom, Dad, Joy, Darrell, Warren, Jared, Cameron, Nolan, Kit, Kevin, Ryn, Elle, Eden, Matt, Natalie, Sam, Ethan, Mia, Mark, Aup, Tea, John, Laura, Brian, Caity, Anne-Lorenne, Nora Jane, Cosette, Rob, Christa, Rachel, Emily, Grandma Turtle, Uncle Bob, Clay, Uncle Kelly.... EVERYBODY! Thank you for being such wonderful examples and influences in my life! I know by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus Christ is our Savior, that His Church was restored through Joseph Smith the Prophet, and that we can have all the blessings of God´s love if we comply with His eternal laws!

This has been a great week. Last Tuesday we had zone conference in Lisbon, and we were invited to increase our faith so we can better do the Lord´s work His way. And we prayed many times to set meaningful goals, which brought `pray always´ to my mind several times throughout the day. We set a goal for 5 baptisms for the month of October. We had a lot of searching to do throughout the week, but we´ve also been very blessed. Conference alone, even missing a session or two and only watching in Portuguese, was still a tremendous privilege since we could watch it in our own chapel. And the Spirit can testify to us no matter what language we´re speaking/listening to! And along with that we were blessed in marking a date for Fábio to be baptized! Which is a big step since he´s been an investigator for a long time (at least several months) and has always shied away from baptismal invites. Now he feels sure about it, and he will be baptized on October 17, along with André! I´m super happy for them! And that´s two of our goal of 5!

So yeah, life is great! Thanks everyone for the updates. Always a pleasure to hear from you! Have a great week!

--Elder Ellis V
CM SBF FDP S&H