Elder Jacob Elgaaen in Jacksonville, Florida: December 10,2018 Cake!

This week was a good one! There was a lot going on but we had a really good time.

On Thursday we had the mission Christmas party. It was a 2 1/2 hr drive down and back but it was good to see other Missionaires that I knew and we had a good time. All the missionaries that came out with me are super awesome and I really love spending time with them. One highlight of that was President Lee and the assistants dressed up in costumes and sung a song that they edited to go along with missionary work and it was super funny.

On Friday, I had a good day. I turned 20 and Ray Girard came up from Gainesville and brought some presents and cake and took us to lunch. We had a really good time and it really made my week. I also got some presents from my family at the Christmas Party and was able to open them. One of our recent converts Tom has the same birthday as me too which was pretty cool.

Saturday was a crazy day! We had to build our float for the Christmas Parade which started around 5:30pm. We had a empty trailer and worked on it for 6 hours to get it to what it turned out. It looked okay and we were exhausted from all the work. We then drove it to the parade to line up and get ready. It was pretty cold and started raining. When we were driving over, some of the trees started tipping over because they weren't tied down well. Elder Gardner and I stood out on the trailer and held the trees up as we went 5 miles per hour for 2 miles. It was a long ride! haha we did make it and there was only one tree that fell off and got ran over by the trailer while we were driving. It still worked mostly and the float looked really good durring the parade and we had a great time. We got back late, and decided we would wait to clean it up because it was raining and we hadn't eaten and it was 8pm. It was a long day! Haha

The more spiritual aspect of my week relates to the Atonement. This past week I have been thinking a lot about things I wish I had done or things I need to do better at. I was wondering if I was at a good place right now on my mission and how I stand before the Lord. I had a similar experience that Alma had in the Book of mormon. I felt like I hadn't done as good as I could have and that I was falling short in so many ways. I spent a lot of time praying and asking for a fresh view of what I am and who I am becoming as well as poured out my soul of how I was feeling. I felt a super strong peace come into my heart and mind and felt that I was where I needed to be and that I am good enough. I am so grateful for the power of the Atonement and how it changes our very natures. It gives us a reason to try and to work hard. It motivates me to be better every day and give my all. I know prayer is a powerful tool that can bring us so much closer to our Savior and we can recieve specific answers to our prayers. I love the gospel and how it is a gospel for the imperfect. It truly has helped me become a little better every day!

I want to thank each one of you for the birthday wishes and the Christmas gifts and wishes too! I love each one of you and know that each one of you are in my life for a specific reason. You all mean so much to me and I appreciate all you do! Have a great week! Love ya!