August 30, 2019 Home 4 Days Early!

Hey Everyone! So this will be my last letter from my mission. Some crazy things happened this last week. We had the wonderful opportunity to go to the temple with everyone that's was going home. It was such a blessing to go to the temple and feel the strong spirit there. When we were heading home, we got a call from the mission assistant saying we were all going home the next morning due to the hurricane. So we headed back to our areas, packed our stuff and headed to Jacksonville. The next morning we met and had breakfast at the mission home and then we were off. It was awesome on the flight home for our first stretch me and 3 other missionaries got first class. Elder Jacklin and I had the front row which was awesome. We weren't as fortunate or spoiled the last half because we were 1 row from the very back of the plane. It was still good. When we landed in Salt Lake, there was a fight that happened on the back of our plane and it was interesting. Some lady had gotten on the plane and was demanding to see the manager and was yelling at one of the workers. It was very special. After, we grabbed our bags and headed off to see our families which was so awesome! It was so good to be home and see the beautiful mountains and my amazing family. Life since has been crazy and has been going fast. I learned so much from my mission and know that it changed me into a better person. Sunday the 8th at 10:30 am I will be speaking in church. Everyone is welcome to come and join and there just might be food after. The address is 1289 300 S, Provo, UT 84606. Hope to see you there! 

SLC Airport 

Grandpa Mike Bartholomew, Shawn Elgaaen, Jacob Elgaaen, Christine Elgaaen, Katelyn, Elgaaen, Zachary Elgaaen, Grandma Barbara Bartholomew  Ashley Elgaaen in front

August 19,2019 Where are the Gold Plates?

This week came and went way to fast! We had a really good week and got a lot done. We found 3 awesome people that seem really to be seeking truth. Monday we had a pday with our district and went disc golfing and fishing again. This time it was not good weather to fish because it was so hot. I just got super burnt and caught 1 tiny bass. It wasn't worth it. Disc Golf was fun although it takes a long time with 8 people. On Friday, we had a lesson with a guy named Keith. Some other missionaires referred him to us and so we set up a time to go by. On the phone he seemed super elect and excited. We went over and things didn't turn out that way. Haha. So he sat us down and invited us in. He was super nice and said he was super excited. Then he told us he had some questions. We told him we love questions. He then proceeded to ask his questions which were hardly questions. He said he wanted proof that the golden plates existed because he didn't believe they could. He thought Joseph Smith made them and he said there was no way he could find that much gold. He also said that there should be other references to the book of Mormon other than the book itself. We told him that there was reference to it in the bible and he said we needed to show him something not in the bible. It was a hour of him yelling at us how we were wrong and his God doesnt work that way. He told us that he would not open the Book of Mormon or pray about it until we proved to him that it was real. It was so dumb. His Fiance was super elect though and seemed to want to listen and learn so we gave her a Book of Mormon and offered to come back. One of the members in our area has a music studio and we got to go over and spend some time there again this week and it was super fun. Besides that it was a quick week but a great one.

I want everyone to know I have a testimony of the Book of Mormon and its role in the restoring of Christs church. Joseph Smith was called of God as a prophet to do his work here on earth. Because of the Book of Mormon we can come to know of the fulness of the gospel of Jesus christ and receive eternal happiness. I have come to know this to be true by praying and study as well as living the gospel each day. It is one of the greatest blessings ever. I hope and pray that we will all fill our lives with the fulness of the gospel and receive the blessings God desires to give us. Love you all and hope your weeks are awesome! 

Ford Truck with band aide on it

Springs

Service with a tiny saw

Jacob with tiny pony after doing service

Elder Elgaaen & Miller at Sister's Cafe

Elder Jacklin with horses in field

Jacob cutting up wood with tiny saw for service

Turkey BLT

August 12, 2019 Feather's and Hope

This week was a special week. We had zone conference which was super good but lasted a super long time. It went from 10-4:30pm. Last transfer at zone conference they didn't have the departing missionaires speak but I guess they started doing it again which I wasn't expecting. It went smoothly though. It is unreal that it was my last zone conference. After, we didn't have dinner so we went with Elder Josse, Elder Plumb and Elder Lamb to dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings. I usually get boneless wings but they changed up the prices so they were more and they did a buy one get one free deal for boned wings. I got some and one of my wings had feathers still on it. Everyone was telling me to tell the waiter but I had no idea how to so I just let it slide by. 

I went on 2 tradeoffs and so it was a busy one. My first tradeoff was with Elder Elzinga one of the zone leaders. I went to his area and we ended up going to a peanut boil. If you haven't had boiled peanuts, you honestly aren't missing out on much besides soggy salty peanuts. They had a person they were teaching there and a returning member so it was fun to meet them. For some odd reason a lot of the members there were "picking on me." For instance one member walked up to me and asked, "who are you and where are you from." I told him and he turned around and walked away... Then a few minutes later someone kicked me in the back of the knee. I turned around and it was the same guy wanting help. I helped him and then some other member threw boiled peanuts at my back. Haha it was a experience. Elder Elzinga and I destroyed a bunch of people in corn hole and had a fun time all around.

After we traded back we went to a baptism of some Elders which was super good. It was very spiritual. A dad and his son joined the church and you could see how much the gospel means to them. The spirit was so strong. It also reminded me of how important missionary work is and how big of a blessing it is. 

Sunday I got the blessed opertunity to speak again in church! I do not enjoy speaking. Haha my subject was hope. Here's a small part of my talk... 

A few years ago in a church meeting far away there was a humble ward. One Sunday they were singing the Sacrament hymn praise to the man. The chorister was a lady named hope. Hope was soon to be a new mother and was roughly 9 months pregnant. During the song they came to the line that says, There is Hope smiling brightly before us, and we know that deliverance is nigh. Everyone erupted in laughter.

I ended up talking about how hope isn't a hollow want of something but a expectation of things to come. We obtain hope through exercising faith, studying and prayer. Hope is possible because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It was a good opertunity to study and I really learned a lot. 

My second tradeoff was Sunday after church and I spent it in Live Oak which was fun. It was fun being back in a area I previously served in. Time keeps flying by! 3 weeks is going to go by fast. Love yall and see you soon! 

August 12, 2019 Jacob's Itinerary for flight home from Jacksonville

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Your trip

Booking ref:

OUKHJ7

CheckMyTrip

Document Issue Date:

12 August 2019

Baggage Info

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Traveler

Jacob Allen Elgaaen (635480-R)

Agency

CHURCH TRAVEL CWT

50 East North Temple St

SALT LAKE CITY UT 84150

Telephone

801 240-5111

Fax

801-240-5115

Agent initial

TD

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Tuesday 03 September 2019

Delta Air Lines DL 858

Departure

03 September 09:37 AM

Jacksonville, (Jacksonville Intl) (+)

Arrival

03 September 10:49 AM

Atlanta, (Hartsfield-Jackson Int) (+)

Terminal: S - Terminal South

Check-in

Duration

01:12 (Non stop)

Distance

270 Miles

Booking status

Confirmed

Class

Economy (Q)

Baggage allowance

2 Piece(s) for Jacob Allen Elgaaen

Seat

28D (No smoking seat) confirmed for Jacob Allen Elgaaen

Equipment

BOEING 737-900

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Tuesday 03 September 2019

Delta Air Lines DL 1089

Departure

03 September 02:04 PM

Atlanta, (Hartsfield-Jackson Int) (+)

Terminal: S - Terminal South

Arrival

03 September 03:58 PM

Salt Lake City, (Salt Lake City Intl) (+)

Terminal: 2 - Terminal Unit 2

Check-in

Duration

03:54 (Non stop)

Distance

1,586 Miles

Booking status

Confirmed

Class

Economy (Q)

Baggage allowance

2 Piece(s) for Jacob Allen Elgaaen

Seat

38D (No smoking seat) confirmed for Jacob Allen Elgaaen

Equipment

BOEING 757-300

Flight meal

Food for purchase

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Ticket details

E-ticket DL 006-7328673460 for  Jacob Allen Elgaaen

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General Information FLORIDA JACKSONVILLE MISSION PRESIDENT BRENT I. LEE B/904 636-0604 H/904 642-4054 C/904-352-3240 2012197@CHURCHOFJESUSCHRIST.ORG *** PLEASE CHECK YOUR ITINERARY TO ENSURE THAT YOUR RESERVATIONS ARE BOOKED AS REQUESTED *** . *** THANK YOU FOR CALLING CHURCH TRAVEL-801-240-5149***

August 5, 2019 Smoking, Killing, and Magic

This week was super great! So first off the bad and ugly.... On Friday we were playing Frisbee before we did service for Catholic Charities a food donation organization. Someone threw me or Elder Miller my comp the Frisbee and we were on opposite teams. I jumped up to grab it and Elder Miller did something. He is a smaller guy (doesn't have a lot of meat on him) and so I outsized him. We hit in the air and I was completely fine but Elder Miller wasn't! I knocked the air out of him really good I thought I had broken ribs or collapsed one of his lungs. He was gasping really weardly and so it was pretty awkward because I couldn't really do anything to help and so I asked if he was okay. Haha After 15 seconds or so he was back to normal and was fine. I guess I can check almost killing my companion off my bucket list.

On Tuesday we had a District Council and Elder Welsh and I went on a tradeoff after. It was the very end of the month so we had very few miles to use so we tryed to use them sparingly. We ended up using a ton and on Wednesday ended up going over and having to finish that months miles and start early onto the next month's. On our tradeoff the Tyre family fed us and made some massive burgers. I took a picture of one that I ate which was leftover. They were probably and inch thick. So good! He smoked them and also had a fryer and fried up frys, onion rings, and corn nuggets (corn in dough ball). It was super good. The next day we helped him set up a water slide at the church for mutual and he smoked hotdogs and they were super good! 

We had a referral we were given. She lived on Scrubtown Road and so we thought it was suspicious because one of the zone leaders favorite works is scrub. We couldn't find it on the map but eventually figured out where she lived. We went by and were able to share a message with her about how The Book of Mormon can bring her comfort that she seeks because of babysitting 4 grandkids who live to push her buttons. She was very accepting and so hopefully we can meet with her this next week.

On Sunday Torry (convert baptized in Jax Beach when I served there) came out and spent the day with us. He came to church and it was pretty funny! Everyone was saying how they wanted him to come back. Lots of them said they better see him every week. Haha it was so good to see him. We also had Pam in Church and she was super excited and enjoyed being there. She also knew some of the members and met a lot of the other members. After our day of missionary work, Torry had brought me a gift of Magic the Gathering cards. It's a card game that Elder Miller had gotten into when serving around Torry and he wanted me to get into it. He brought me a deck and so we played a game and it was super fun. Torry also cooked us dinner and made sturfry. Super good!

We talked about how important it is to have the spirit with us. In Preach My Gospel, it talks about learning a language. This relates to a physical language but can also relate very well to the language of the spirit. Something President Monson said stuck out to me about the common language we need to all learn. 

“There is one language … that is common to each missionary—the language of the Spirit. It is not learned from textbooks written by men of letters, nor is it acquired through reading and memorization. The language of the Spirit comes to him who seeks with all his heart to know God and keep His divine commandments. Proficiency in this language permits one to breach barriers, overcome obstacles, and touch the human heart”

- Thomas S. Monson

The spirit is so important to have in our lives and we obtain it through seeking and study. We receive through obedience to commandments. I love the blessing the spirit can be as we do the things that bring it into full force in our lives. We can become our best selves. Hope everyone had and has a great week! Love you all!!!  

Brother Tyre Preparing Smoker

Elder Elgaaen & Miller

Elder Miller preparing the slip and slide

Florida Clouds

Meal made by Brother Tyre Huge Burgers 

Member's Yard

Elder Elgaaen, Miller and Torri Martin

July 29,2019 The Fire Within

This week was fun. So a few crazy things that happened before the more spiritual... On Tuesday night we stayed over at the Cannon Creek Elders Apartment. We got there later and stayed the night so we didn't have to wake up early and we also were in the area so it would save us on miles. The Elders had a ghost pepper that they dared me to eat a small piece of. I ate a super tiny piece and it wasn't even hot. I said it wasn't hot and they chopped off a little bigger piece about the size of a peanut. I ate it and it wasn't bad so I decided to eat the whole thing! It was hot for about 15 minutes but I didn't even need milk or anything. I thought the pain was over but I was so wrong! I went to sleep around midnight because we were talking and woke up about an hour later with a super bad burning pain in my chest. For a second I thought it was the spirit really burning in my bosoms but remembered the pepper. It was so painful! I probably got 1 hour of sleep over the next 4 hours until around 5 when it finally stopped burning. When I woke up the next day, my stomach was upset for most of the day and I knew I needed to excrete the fire within. Throughout the next day which was transfers, I would get burning pain in my stomach and head off to suffer in the  lavatory. It was a experience I will never forget and never repeat.

Elder Miller is my new companion and he is pretty awesome. He is very kind and funny. He is allergic to most foods but he isn't picky and doesn't make a big problem of it. We also are enjoying the work a lot. There is a lot of people due to lack of planning we didn't meet with much last transfer. We have been having a lot more success this transfer. 

Sunday a family spoke because their son Wyatt is leaving on his mission. He gave a really good talk and will make a great missionary. He is leaving next Monday and will be serving on Idaho Falls. They also had really good food after. It was a great week. I also started my plan which is for missionaries going home. It seems so unreal they I have 5 weeks. Love you all and hope your weeks are great. 

Dinner

Ghost Pepper

Elder Elgaaen Driving

Last Supper Elder Birch and the Lawrences

Protein Powder

Pig

July 22, 2019 Transfers

This past week flew by again. We had our transfer call this week. Usually we would get on a mission wide conference call and announce where everyone is going. Now the Mission President and his assistants call the Zone Leaders and they call up the members of the zone and tell them each where they are going. I will be staying in Branford for my last transfer and Elder Birch is going to Alma Georgia. My new companion will be Elder Miller. I am excited!

On another note, the teaching highlight of the week was for sure Pam. Pam is a mother of a bishop and said she wanted to meet with us so her son (the bishop of another ward) referred her to us. She seemed pretty interested when we called her and set up an appointment for this last week. We went by and had a super good lesson. Pam told us she isn't finding true joy in her church and sees that joy in her family members. She called her sister and mom right before we came and found out that they were both members too. She is super elect and loved everything we shared with her. She also had a bunch of veggies and fruit that she grew that she gave us. She is super awesome!

There was also a Regional Family History Day they had at our stake building. We went to help people set up accounts for familysearch.org as well as recover passwords... It was super fun. One lady came in and she didn't think she had an account. We started making one and put in her Member Record Number and it said she already had one. We tried everything and it took a long time to finally make it work. We had to figure out her church account. She was super appreciative and it was fun getting to know her. There was another lady and her grandaughter who both wanted to sign up. The older lady couldn't figure anything out and the 9 year old was done in seconds. The older lady made her account and forgot the password before she could log in again. Haha it was a mess but it was super fun. 

We also had interviews this last week and the new mission president is so awesome! He demonstrates such Christ like love for everyone! It's so crazy how I will be starting my last transfer in 2 days! It doesn't seem real. When I had my interview with the mission president, I did a temple recomend interview and probably for the first time ever really understood the interview questions. I am so greatful for my growth and testimony. I know it comes through living the gospel outwardly as well as on a inward personal level. Love you all and hope your weeks great! 

Elder Birch & Elgaaen driving to fish fry

Elder Birch Burning Something

Fish Fry

Elder Elgaaen & Birch at Five Guys Restaurant 

Justin's Car

Salmon Ladder we built

July 15, 2019 Weekly

This week was a pretty exciting week. On Monday I went on the trade off with elder Crandall and it was pretty fun. We found somebody named Tyler who's super awesome and willing to listen to are message. He had a lot of super deep questions about the plan of salvation and about where we go after we die. We were able to share the plan of salvation with him very briefly and give him a pamphlet to read. On Wednesday we went to district Council to trade back and I had another trade off with the zone leaders. I went to white Springs with elder Brimhall. One of the members took us to a small town about a half hour outside of town & told us that somebody would pick us up at 9 p.m.. They said they do this every week because it's saves in miles. When we got there about 10 minutes after we were walking around is started to rain super hard. We continue to walk around in the rain. We were walking to one of our appointments and walks past 3 police officers. They asked us where we were going and we told them down the street to meet with somebody. They told us that the further we went down that Street the more dangerous it gets. We told them we had been down there before and met with some people. After we walked around the corner and had a 30 minute lesson we were walking to our next appointment and the police officers had arrested a bunch of people. Haha later that day we met with somebody who had given the elders a ride the week before and said he would like to meet with missionaries. We met him at Hardee's and had a super good lesson with him and taught him about the restoration and invited him to read the Book of Mormon. He was super excited to read he started reading right then and there. We also had dinner with a family who had a English bulldog puppy who was super cute. The next day we traded back and Grandpa Girard met us for lunch. The rest of the week consisted of finding in the hot some with little success but lots of good moments to share testimony. In church on Sunday we talked about a conference talk by Elder Ballard. We talked about how happiness is a choice that we make each day. We also talked about how the gospel can bring that happiness as we live it each day through loving God and loving our neighbors. That about sums up my week. I realize that each day we get to make the choice to be happy and to grow are testimonies of Jesus Christ. I know as we search and ponder and pray everyday for those experiences that'll help us grow, we will be able to become our best selves. 

Deer in the yard

Shirt designed by the District

Elder Brimhall & Grandpa Girard

Old Hospital equipment at the Jail 

Old Jail

Old Jail Sign

Tiny Kitten

July 8, 2019 Week 1 of July

Jacob Allen Elgaaen	6:01 AM (15 hours ago)
to me

Happy late 4th of July to everyone! This week was a really good one and also another busy (chicken with head cut off) week. On Wednesday we had a lot of lessons scheduled. We went to the area Bell and spend most of the day there running to appointments. All of our lessons had fallen through and we needed to use the restroom and get some dinner so we stopped by a gas station with a chicken restaurant. We ordered some food and the lady who got it for us was a member who hasn't been in years. We invited her to come join us and she said she would think about it. When we went to pay, she bought our food for us. It really made the 99 degree temperature (with humidity said to feel 110) worth it. Haha After we went by Elias who is a young 12 year old who wants to be baptized but needs to come to church. We talked to him and his dad (who is a member) and made a plan to get them in church within the next 2 weeks and set a baptismal date with him! When we were heading home, we were going to take a little shortcut on a sand road. When we got there, there was a stuck van. The guy had dug himself in so his car was sitting on the sand and his tires were spinning. We tried to help pull him out from the front but he wasn't budging. Another guy pulled up in a jeep and pulled him out backwards. 

Thursday was a crazy one too! We went to a family we're teachings house for lunch. They had over 10 different meats and more food than a normal Thanksgiving. We had a good time there and then rushed off to zone conference. Our new mission president, President Wood is super awesome! He is short but loves to teach for understanding and focus on the pure Doctrine. We talked about the combining of the missions and how each rule should come from a principle and each principle should come from Doctrine. Joseph Smith said concerning the saints being hard working and prosperous something along the lines of, "Teach them correct principles and they will govern themselves." President wood said that when we go home, we will loose the rule aspect and need to rely on the principles we learn so we avoid becoming like the pharisies. After zone conference, I went with Elder Rasmusen back to my area to do a tradeoff. We went to the church to do parkinglot security and keep people from smoking and drinking in the parkinglot because people would come to watch fireworks. There was a huge storm right before the fireworks and some awesome lightning that added to the show.

Friday, we went to Lake city at 6am to play Frisbee and do service. After we traded back and Elder Birch and I did some weekly planning. We had a referral we stopped by close to lake city and we were able to share a brief message with her and her family who seem super awesome and were excited to go back next week and teach them. After we had a correlation meeting with our ward mission leader and talked about what we want to do to help the ward. We discussed reaching out to less active families and help strengthen their testimonies. It was a good meeting and hopefully we can implament what we discussed!

I finished the Book of Mormon on Saturday from the 2 week challenge and what stuck out to me most was the spirit that I felt as I read. It helped strengthen my testimony of the powerful influence the Book of Mormon can and does have on our lives. It also really strengthened my testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel is so much larger and a bigger part then we sometimes think it to be in our lives. The people in the Book of Mormon understood the importance of the gospel by devoting their whole lives to putting God first. It has really helped me see how great a blessing the gospel can be to us as we make it a priority and focus in our daily lives. I love the gospel and love learning through the influence of the Spirit.

Sunday was a great fast and testimony meeting. There was a focus on the love and blessings that come into our lives as we live the gospel. We also studied from the Book of Acts and read about how we can be changed through the gospel and the Holy Ghost. Super powerful stuff! 

That about sums up my week. I am greatful for the gospel and  the Saviors love for us. I hope we can feel the saviors love in our lives each day. If you don't get on your knees and pray and I promise you will feel that love. Have a great one! Love to all! 

Correlation Planning Meeting

Jacob at Correlation Meeting

Elder Rasmussen

Fireworks

Lightening After Fireworks Storm