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The Ellis Page Braden's Websites: |
Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology ("MAC")
Our fourth son, Braden J. Ellis, is a truly amazing young man and only gets more amazing as the years pass. Before getting into his current activities
in Tahiti, in French Polynesia, I want to share this spectacular
photo of his birth, 20 years ago. The circumstances around this Imagine my joy at finding this picture. It totally froze the action despite bodies and arms everywhere. In fact, it looks as if it were posed, ...but it was taken in the middle of incredible chaos. It is one of my prized treasures.
Braden arrived in Tahiti in early Sept. of 1999 and he will stay there until August of 2001. When he first arrived, he was assigned to the island of Moorea, home of Bali Hai (of "South Pacific") fame. Moorea is considered to be one of the most beautiful islands in the world. (Click here for more photos of this paradise area!) On the right, you can see the handsome young Braden standing on a windy road on Moorea. In the background are some of the tourist cabins built on stilts above the beach.
Braden recently sent home a tape. His Tahitian sounded really great but it was very strange to hear him speaking French with a Tahitian accent! He is happy and doing very well. We miss him lots and look forward to him coming home. Before he left, Braden set up two websites, which you can visit. The first one, Elder Ellis has a cute animated cartoon of two missionaries that is likely to bring a smile. The second one, Ellis Photography, was developed while he was a photography major at Rochester Institute of Technology in New York. You can see many of his excellent photographs if you visit this site. It's well worth a look. More Photos
of Tahiti |
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For email contact use either: gellis@stmartin.edu or godfreymerry@home.com |
About
Braden J. Ellis
photo are quite interesting. He was born by C-section so you're
looking at him essentially being pulled out of the stomach. I was
standing behind a circle of rapidly moving nurses and could barely see,
let alone ask people to hold still for a photograph. So, I held the
camera far above my head, snapped the shutter, and hoped for the best.
Braden
is currently serving a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints. He was called to the Tahiti Papeete Mission in
incredibly beautiful French Polynesia in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
This LDS mission was one of the first established (back in 1840s) and is
the only area where young LDS missionaries have to learn two languages:
both French and Tahitian. Braden's French was already quite good but
he is now totally fluent in Tahitian, as well.
The
photo on the left is one of my favorites. He was reading some
scripture to the young French Polynesian young man you can just see in the
background. Just then, a chicken jumped up on his lap to join in the
fun. I love the look on Braden's face. I can read whole
dialogues into that expression.
Just
a little after
Christmas, Braden developed a parasitic
ulcer, probably from eating a lot of raw fish in oyster sauce. It was followed
by an appendicitis attack a couple of months later. He had an
appendectomy and was transferred to the island of
Tahiti to be nearer the head quarters and the larger hospital. On the
right is a photo of him in Papeete, the capital of Tahiti, holding an
unripe coconut. I call it, "One nut looking at another."