Ostia Transfer 14 Week 3

Ecuadorian Food, toe surgery number 5 and peanut butter pasta!

What a week, this one will actually be short because we had to stay home so stinking much! 

Monday was really good though, we had a good Monday night, we went and visited a family here in Ostia. They have a special needs son and they can’t come to Church because he has to be watched 24/7 , they are amazing people. A lot of people would find it easy to complain or to feel like God is unfair but instead they understand that they have been entrusted with a special son of God and they put their all into loving and taking care of him. 

Tuesday we had District Meeting here in Ostia and we set some goals for February and talked about the importance of us being truly converted to the Gospel as we share it. Whether or not we feel to sing the song of redeeming love everyday as we share the Gospel like it says in Alma 5:26. After DDM we came home, grabbed so,e lunch and headed to Rome for a Dr. Appointment... :( Everything went okay but they told me I had to have another surgery on Thursday for these dang toes! 

Wednesday we had my last day of freedom, Anziano Empey wanted to try out some finding on this train stop near the pier so we tried it out. Well... there wasn’t an person. We were bummed but we know now that it’s not worth it! Haha we had a good morning anyway! In the evening we got to visit the Cevallas Family who are from Ecuador. They’re awesome! I don’t speak Spanish to save my life anymore so I’m glad they speak Italian! Classic but so good rice and meat, buono!

Thursday unfortunately we had to leave a little early and get to the hospital in Rome around lunch time. Then we waited and waited and waited. The surgery went well, they couldn’t get my toe numb so they said “Sign here, we’re gonna knock you out” and that was the last thing I remember... 

Unfortunately Friday and Saturday were at home... I read a lot of scriptures, got laundry done, did some cooking, cleaning and drove myself crazy with my foot in the air! 

Sunday was finally time to escape! We got a ride to Church and the Sunday meetings were great as always! The Merx Family is American, the only ones in the ward and they have lived here for a few years. Brother Merx works for Ford as like an accountant or something with numbers... they invited us over for lunch after church. They’re probably the cutest little family and we had a great time together! Ecco the peanut butter pasta... it had chicken, bell peppers, peanuts and peanut butter! She sent me the recipe so one day when I’m in America and peanut butter doesn’t cost 5 bucks an ounce I might try it! 

Today was so good, we went to Rome and the Whitings, a Senior Couple that works in the YSA Institute, helped me with more family history! It was a lot of fun! It’s really cool to look at documents and stuff from your ancestors and it got me really excited to do their temple work! 

A spiritual thought that we shared a few times this week that I really like comes from Ether and the story of the Brother of Jared. They had made what they called barges to cross the sea and they were closed. The Brother of Jared asks three questions and Heavenly Father gives him three different answers. He asks how will they breathe? How will they steer? And how will they see? To respond to the first question God says to drill wholes in the boat and open them when they need air and close them during storms. He tells him what to do and he does it and it works. Then he says “don’t worry, I’ll steer you to the promised land with the wind” so he takes care of everything. The third question however he gives a little different response. He asks the Brother of Jared to come up with a solution on his own and try it. He trusts him and the Brother of Jared has so much faith that he carves out 16 stones and says that if God touches them they will be lit and light the boats. Elder Richard G Scott says this: 

“It is vitally important to recognize that the Lord also responds a third way to prayer by withholding an answer when the prayer is offered. Why would He do that?

He is our perfect Father. He loves us beyond our capacity to understand. He knows what is best for us. He sees the end from the beginning. He wants us to act to gain needed experience:

When He answers yes, it is to give us confidence.

When He answers no, it is to prevent error.

When He withholds an answer, it is to have us grow through faith in Him, obedience to His commandments, and a willingness to act on truth. We are expected to assume accountability by acting on a decision that is consistent with His teachings without prior confirmation. We are not to sit passively waiting or to murmur because the Lord has not spoken. We are to act.”

I know that God answers prayers, I know he’ll answer yours. Don’t be afraid if he withholds an answer for a time, he trusts you! 

Have a great week!

Love,

Anziano Jacob Bellucci

Missione Italiana di Roma