Ladispoli Transfer 16 Week 1

I got death transferred! I can’t believe this is the first week of my last Transfer! I’m kind of freaking out a little bit but we’re doing well! I really like Ladispoli and my companion is an absolute stud! 

Monday was a great day, we went and did that service all day and it was the first nice day of the year, the sun was out, a lot of people including myself got sun burnt. We picked up a ton of trash in the beach and we had a lot of fun! I saw all of the youth from Cagliari and Napoli which was sweet! It’s been so long since I’ve seen the youth in Cagliari so it was so nice to talk to them. One of them was like “Anziano Bellucci, you actually speak Italian now!” Which was pretty funny. Afterwards we got changed and then went to the Cevallos’ for dinner. It was pretty fun until we got the call. We found out that both Anziano Empey and I were leaving Ostia. I wasn’t super excited, it’s kind of a bummer to finish my last 6 weeks in a different city and ward where I don’t know anyone but I really like the ward and I think Anziano Huntsman and I are going to have a great time! Pictures, tears and I spiritual thought and then we left!

Tuesday was half a P-Day so we wrote some emails and then started packing... it was a process because the apartment is pretty small and we both had to pack! So we spent the afternoon packing before we went to dinner with the Bartolucci family. She made the best cheesy white lasagna I’ve ever had... anyway we had a great time with them and that was the day!

Wednesday we had our last District Meeting all together, it was a lot of fun and we talked a lot about the things that we learned from each other and throughout the Transfer. Followed by kebab and then finishing a little packing before going and visiting the other Cavallos family for a final salute. She made a pie and we had homemade Ecuadorian hot chocolate (really good). More tears, more pictures and plans to meet after the mission. Then we got to go to the Stake President’s house for dinner. They are such a wonderful family, President was working but we had dinner with his wife and four kids which was great. It was their daughter’s second birthday. I am really going to miss their family. They have a son named Ilario who is a few years younger than me but he’s a stud, we got along really well. 

Thursday was Transfer day! We had to have our apartment all clean and ready! Anziano Youngblood is training in Ostia so we wanted them to come into a nice and clean house! Finished cleaning, grabbed all of our suitcases and headed for Rome! We met all the other missionaries, handed off the keys and phone to Anziano Youngblood and I headed to Ladispoli with Anziano Huntsman! I think it was the fastest transfer I’ve ever had! 

So Anziano Huntsman mini biography... he’s 19, comes from “The Woodlands” Which is North of Houston Texas! He’s no cowboy 🤠 but we get along super well! He’s in the same group as Elder Empey, he speaks the language really well and he loves to ask me language questions. He is one of Elder Ballard’s grandsons. 

I got unpacked and Anziano Huntsman made lunch, we got all set up and went finding before English Course. Ladispoli is pretty small but it’s nice. It’s a wealthier part of Rome and the beaches are beautiful. The sand is “black” or so they say, I wouldn’t say it’s black but it’s pretty dark and it’s also magnetic. One of the sisters dropped their name tag in the sand and they’re still trying to get grains of sand out off the magnet. 

Friday was a lot of planning and studying, we did weekly planning in the morning trying to get me up to speed on all the Investigators in the area and planning out the Transfer. Then in the afternoon we taught a man named Mimo, he’s a great guy with a lot of faith. We watched the Bible video of Christ healing the woman of faith and how all she had to do was reach out and touch his robes and she was healed. We talked about how we can compare her faith to ours and what we can do to reach out to the Savior. It was a really good lesson... unfortunately he didn’t come to Church but we’re hoping for next week!

Saturday we went to visit some less-active members and we had the weirdest experience. I’m not even going to explain it. It was weird. But then we went to this new convert’s house Antonio. He’s a stud, he invited us in and we watch a video with him and he was really glad we stopped by. He also gave us some lemons off the tree in his yard. Then in the afternoon we did a gesso (The chalk thing) which I haven’t done since I was in Bari which was almost a year ago! We had some good success and got a few people’s numbers. 

Sunday was great, Ladispoli is like a Utah Family ward there are so many kids! It’s probably the loudest Sacrament Meeting I’ve been in for a while! The translation center for the Church is here so there are a lot of families that work there. Several of them one parent speaks English to the kids and the other speaks Italian which I think is so cool! They’re growing up bilingual! I really loved the ward and the members are really nice. 

We went and visited one of them last night, the Alicino Family. The Dad is the son of Sister Alicino in Ostia! They’re a great family and we shared a message with them that I think they really needed. We really felt like we had been able to minister to them. The spirit was definitely there when we left. 

This week was incredible, I finally got to see almost all of General Conference, the excitement for the temple is growing and I am loving every day. I hope you guys are loving everyday as well! Involve Jesus Christ in your life and I promise you will feel a difference. 

I also wanted to make a plug for General Conference! I loved all the talks, but there are always a few that really hit you! I loved President Nelson’s talk about Personal Revelation... I think it’s so clear how important it is to receive personal revelation and not just try to get through this on our own. I also really enjoyed Elder Bednar’s talk about meekness and what meekness really means. Study General Conference! We are so blessed to have inspired leaders!

Have a wonderful week!

Love,

Anziano Bellucci