Elissa Jacobsen of Glenbrook, Australia

By Julie Wardell

Seven-year-old Elissa Jacobsen lives at the edge of the Blue Mountains in Glenbrook, Australia, with her mother, Vickie, her father, Trevor, and her three brothers, Jared (9), Luke (5), and Daniel (3). She is a happy girl who enjoys doing things with her family. They often go to the Blue Mountains to picnic, four-wheel drive, and bush walk. On their walks, Elissa and her brothers are always on the lookout for cockatoos, kookaburras, and lizards. Luke is the best lizard catcher in the family.

Besides seeing animals in the mountains, the Jacobsen family know that they can always see more of Australia’s unusual animals when they visit the Koala Park Sanctuary. Everyone enjoys feeding and petting the kangaroos and koalas at the park as well as seeing the wombats, dingoes, cockatoos, and emus.

The Church is important to the Jacobsens. The children’s mother is the Stake Primary President. Jared is a Valiant A, Luke is a Star B, and Daniel is a Sunbeam. As a CTR B, Elissa is learning about the importance of baptism. Excited about her own upcoming baptism, she can’t wait to be interviewed by the bishop—her dad!

At family home evening, Elissa likes to give the lesson or listen to someone else give it. She’s always eager to play games with her brothers and to eat sweets (dessert) at the end of the evening. A favorite sweet is lemingtons, sponge cake cubes covered with chocolate icing and coconut.

There is a lot more to discover about Elissa. A good student, she recently received a reading award. Reading and writing stories are two of her favorite activities at school and home. When it’s storming outside, she likes to snuggle up at home and watch TV or read a book. Her favorite book is James and the Giant Peach.

Elissa is a caring, loving girl who likes to make things for other people, especially when they’re sick. Cards, teddy bears, mice, and puppets are just a few of the things she likes to make. She also helps around the house by vacuuming, doing the dishes with Jared and Luke, making her bed, and cleaning her room.

There is a great deal of love and togetherness in the Jacobsen family, and Elissa is glad to be a part of it. The Christmas season is a busy, fun time of the year for them. Twelve days before Christmas, they begin to secretly deliver food, gifts, or decorations to selected missionaries and families each morning until Christmas. Then, the day after Christmas, because school is out for summer vacation, the family goes camping at Pebbley Beach for four weeks.

Photos by Janet Thomas and Julie Wardell

1. Jared (top), Luke, Daniel, and Elissa enjoy jumping on the trampoline.

2. Elissa feeding a small kangaroo called a wallaby

3. Luke petting a koala as it eats eucalyptus leaves

4. The Jacobsen family standing on a ledge in the Blue Mountains

5. Jared talking to a sulfur-crested cockatoo