Crotone Transfer 6 Week 3

Hey Everybody! This has been kind of a short week since the last time I emailed, but it has been a week of miracles! Crotone is growing fast and we are so excited to be a part of it!

So since Wednesday we have been pretty busy, that night we went to Salvatore and Eleanora's house and did a little Family Home Evening with them, we talked about the importance of reading the Book of Mormon as a family and even though sometimes it can feel like a three ring circus to get it to happen it is so worth it and the blessings will come! (This is the family that I spent Christmas with) They have a 15 month old son named Giuseppe and Salvatore always calls me Zio Bellucci which is Uncle! Haha, I think Giuseppe just loves us because we will siut on the floor and play with him for a minute! Oh to be little...

Thursday we passed by some contacts that Anziano Allen and Anziano Friedman found on their exchange a couple weeks ago and we got to teach the Restoration a couple times. We walked along the beach/board walk and did some finding before English Course and then taught English Course, nothing too eventful! 

Friday was weekly planning, always one of my least favorite days but it helps us so much to be ready for the next week. So I have an excuse to get up and walk around we usually make a ragu and let it cook all morning long so we have to get up and stir it. Planning went really well and we were done just in time for lunch! We recieved a referral from Bari, actually from a missionary that I knew from Sardegna and it was for a man named Giuseppe, he moved about 45 minutes away by train and he has a baptismal date and everything. SO we went to the Church to download all his info and give him a call. Well he moved here for work and he had to work on Sunday, but we are hoping to go and find him this next week! I found an old Teaching Record in the Area Book for a guy named Giovanni and we gave him a call and he said "Sure, come on over!" So he told us where he lived and we went over. I was looking up the stairs and I saw one of our English Course Students whose Dad's name is GIOVANNI! Everyone and their Brother in this country is named Giovanni, Antonio, Giuseppe, or Salvatore... Anyway it was a nice surprise! They invited us in and it was Giovanni, his wife, and their two kids. They made us some Herbal fennel drink and we kind of began to scope out their interest on the church... They said that they had talked with the Anziani in the past but never really understood everything. We shared a message about the Book of Mormon and about how Jesus Christ established a Church, a perfect Church and how the Book of Mormon testifies of Jesus Christ. We want to keep teaching them as a family, it went really well! 

As we were walking home someone yelled over to us in perfect English with no accent "Hey, are you guys the Mormons?!" We both turned and saw this group of people talking "I was actually just talking about you, my friend here needs to study English and I've heard about your English Course" Well I don't know how to Missionary in English, honestly I feel kind of handicapped when I try to talk to people about the Church or English Course actually in English, I feel like the words just don't come. So Anziano Allen came in clutch and started explaining it to him in English and then to the group of people in Italian. (Proud Mission Dad moment) Apparently he has been studying English since he was 10 and then went to America and taught there for two years so he speaks perfectly. Anziano Allen and I walked away and he said to me "I think his friend is going to come to English Course, and I think she's going to get baptized!" I felt the same way too, it was too perfect to be a coincidence! 

Saturday we had ward council and went and sang some hymns to a Sister in the branch who is pretty sick. We sang "I know that my Redeemer Lives" and "Joseph Smith's First Prayer" and the spirit was so strong! There is a scripture I think I have shared before but "The song of the righteous is a prayer unto me." Its true! Then we went to Centro and did a Gesso (The chalk and sheet thing!) Then of course Pizza after...

Sunday was my favorite that I have had here in Crotone! We got to the Church early and had everything set up and I had my iPad plugged in playing hymns on the sound system, and the spirit was already coming in as the members walked in. I gave a talk on Faith and Testimonies and the importance on relying on our testimonies in time of doubt and fear. I think it went really well and then our Branch President spoke as well. After my talk Oriana and Antonio walked in! Our investigators with the Baptismal date! They came to Church! We were some Happy Anziani! They stayed for all three hours of Church and Sister Bonzo went to Gospel Principles and said they had a great experience, and Antonio said the prayer! 

On top of that Antonio's Aunt who is a less-active member came to church and then invited us to lunch! Turns out she is a dang good cook! She made us pasta with a homemade white sauce and broccoli and clams and then chicken and potatoes, we were so stuffed! 

Then we went to pass by a bunch of less active members in the afternoon and none of them were home... we passed by a member's house and shared part of the Fourth Floor Last Door talk which is one of my favorites and he talks about relying on God because he can always see more than we can. 

Thats pretty much the week so far! It was obviously a short one but it went well! I hope you all had a great week! I want to leave you all with my testimony that I know this church is true, Heavenly Father is in the details and he loves each one of you. 

Love,

Anziano Jacob Bellucci

Crotone Transfer 6 Week 2... Traveling, Zone Conference, and more Traveling!

As you can tell we did a lot of traveling this week! On Monday night we went over to Vincenzo's house, we're working on getting him to pray... we talked about it for a minute and then he forgot to say the prayer before we ate... it's a work in progress! We played Uno and ate dinner with him. This time no weird fish or eggplant or spicy peppers or anything weird! His sister made a red sauce and so we had spaghetti  and bread and cheese and it was really good! So good in fact that we lost track of time and had to run home! 

Tuesday was Valentines Day! I spent the morning listening to people's voice mails because they didn't want to answer... I made about a million phone calls and I don't think we ended up with a single appointment set... Anziani Allen made a dang good stir fry, he's getting pretty handy in the kitchen! Then in the afternoon it was Valentines Day and so there was no one outside, we tried to go see Sorella Siniscalchi but she wasn't home, she lives next to the marina though so we took some cool pictures of boats and a video too! English Course was all the single people and us which was interesting, we had a good handful of people it went pretty well! 

Wednesday started early! The Zone Leaders went to Rome for MLC last week so we all met in Cosenza for District Meeting on Wednesday. The bus leaves at 6:15 and it's about a 20 minute walk from the house so we were up at 5! It's about 2 and a half hours to Cosenza on a bus..  the District meeting went really well and we talked about how we can use our mouths for both good and bad. We can uplift, teach, pray, eat, and so many other good things but we can also lie, cheat, swear, and do all sorts of bad things. Anziano Haws explained that just as we don't eat in the bathroom, we can't do the bad things with our mouths and expect to also do the good things when that time comes. It was a good DDM and I think we all got a lot from it. After DDM we went and got Kebab 🥙 from this really good place that the missionaries I guess have gone for years, he gave us a plate of free food to go with our Kebab and then it was time for the bus ride back to the good old Crotone! When we got back we went and gave one of the Sisters in the ward a priesthood blessing as she's been really sick for a while now. Anziano Allen got his new tablet in the mail so we went and set that up and he was really sick so we headed home for the night and tried to go to bed early! 

Thursday we had quite a few plans but not so many successes... ya know when you have a problem with the cable and they say "We'll come on Tuesday between 8 A.M. And 5 P.M.?" Well they need to come and change our gas meter and so they sent us a letter that said someone needed to be at the house between 8-1 so we moved our weekly planning to Thursday and decided we would just stay home in the morning and do that. Anziano Allen was still sick so we didn't get a whole lot done but THE GAS PEOPLE NEVER CAME! So frustrating... in the afternoon we tried to contact a few referrals and less actives... no one was home so we walked all over the city trying to contact these people but to no avail! It's ok though, we needed the exercise and we talked to come cool people! English Course went really well, there's an "I'm a Mormon" profile that I really like, it's about a woman named Lisa McBride and she is a Pediatric Flight Nurse, it talks about her life experiences and her family and then at the end she shares an experience about losing a child on one of her flights and how as hard as that is she finds peace and joy in the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. We read her profile in English for he advanced a Course and then watched the video and then for our spiritual thought at the end we showed it in Italian and then testified of the power of the Plan of Salvation and the peace and joy that comes from knowing there is something more than just this life, that families are eternal and that Heavenly Father has a plan for each one of us. The spirit was so strong at the end, you can tell how powerful personal experiences are even if it was shared by reading subtitles of an English video, the spirit testifies of small and simple truths! It also shows how powerful those member testimonies are! So get out there and share your testimony with someone even if it's just a small and simple truth, get out there and share it!

Friday was off to Catanzaro after morning studies to do an exchange with them, I think Anziano Haws is trying to get a jump start so we don't have to do both exchanges in the last week of the transfer. I got to work with Anziano Gunnell again and we had a great time, we spent the evening finding and then at the end of the night we met up at this "American Burger Place" it was sooo good! Usually Italy tries to do America but they mess it up by putting French fries and hot dogs on a pizza and calling it American but this time it was really American! And they had a special with buffalo meat so I got a huge burger and they had homemade fries and everything. Finished off the night well! Anziani Allen and I realized that American food is way more filling than Italian food... we can eat tons of pasta and pizza and all this stuff and it either takes a lot to make you full or you are hungry pretty soon after, well American food filled us up and kept us full! It was definitely a success. 

Saturday we worked together in the morning we followed up on some house to house that said they could come back another day, none of them were home so we kept on doing some house to house and we found a really nice older lady that was open to hearing our message. She is pretty "stonata" which means deaf... and so I was basically yelling the restoration to her, anyway we got them a new investigator which was our scambio goal! Anziano Gunnell did a great job, his Italian is getting better every day! I'm realizing I talk too much and kind of overshadow my companions so it's something I'm working on! 

We met up with the other Anziani and if you remember from a couple weeks ago the "World's best Hazelnut Ice Cream" we had to get another one! This time I got a brioche  which is like a sweet bun and they cut it open and fill it with ice cream... so good. I got Nutella and Hazelnut ice cream inside. I was real happy... one of the best things I've gotten in Italy! Right next to those grafe I was talking about a couple weeks ago! We ate lunch with them and then back to Crotone to finally visit Sister Siniscalchi! She was home this time and we got to have a great chat with her. She has been in Verona since Mid-December and I have for sure missed her! She is 82 years old I like my little Italian Grandma in Crotone! It was nice to catch up with her and to hear her testimony again, it's so strong! 

Sunday... all went pretty normal in church! We had the Primary Program and there are 3 Primary kids and not a one of them is Italian so that was interesting... it went well though! Oriana and Antonio and Luigi were supposed to come to church but they called us and said that Luigi had a soccer game and so they couldn't come! We were super sad but we're still hoping for them! Keep them in your prayers! After church it was home for lunch and then a 3:50 train to Taranto! We got to go with the Zone Leaders to give an Elderly Sister the Sacrament and it was a really special experience. She has some health problems so she can't leave the house but she's such a faithful sister. We blessed and passed her the Sacrament and the spirit was so strong! It testified to me how important the Sacrament is for each one of us. Heavenly Father wants each one of us to receive it so we can use the Atonement each week and grow closer to him. We went to the Church and had interviews with President and Sister Pickerd and I got some new name tags that I ordered a few weeks ago! 

Monday! Obviously we had Zone Conference Monday so we are having P-Day today... the Zone Conference was awesome as always! We talked a lot about the Worldwide Broadcast from January 25th where they changed the schedule but in the end the schedule was the last 20 minutes of the two hour broadcast, for the rest of it they talked a lot about the doctrine of Christ and the importance of teaching by the spirit and teaching people not lessons. As missionaries we face quite a bit of rejection and it can be kind of disheartening and President Anderson of the 12 talks about how hard it is to serve in Europe and see families baptized in South America everyday... but there was a quote at the end I really liked and this is really something I've tried to think about and it says "When we get rejected we follow a long line of witnesses of the Savior including the Savior himself, who testified of his divine nature and was still rejected by many." They're not rejecting Anziano Bellucci and Anziano Allen, they're rejecting the message and it shouldn't be a personal rejection, they said "Don't get disheartened, go find those that the Lord has prepared!" We talked about the importance of working with the younger generation and raising up future missionaries and church leaders! It's a cool thought that our next Baptism could become the next Branch President of the Crotone Branch, who knows! Anyways, Zone Conference was great! We took a bus right after and headed back to Crotone! I for one am ready to be done traveling for a little while! We'll see how long it lasts! 

Yesterday we had to get pictures taken for Anziano Allen's permesso and then print out all his legal documents and get him ready for his appointment in the afternoon. His appointment was at 4:30 so we decided to be early showed up at 4. They brought us right up and we ended up leaving at 4:36,  it we have to go back in like a week and a half to get his fingerprints done! I hope everything goes well! 

The Sisters were still in Taranto on their exchange so we taught English Course by ourselves, Anziano Allen taught Advanced and I taught basic. It went really well! Basic course takes a lot of energy, you have to get them excited and you speak in Italian most of the time and it's a lot of fun but man is it exhausting! By the end I think the English Course loved me but I was mad tired! (I want to see who actually reads my emails, send me a smiley face if you see this!!!) We shared the Mormon Message "Earthly Father Heavenly Father" which is so powerful! It talks about the similarities between our father in Heaven and our father here on Earth. Both love us and want the best for us, we can talk and trust in both and find peace in the council that they bring. If you have a minute go and check it out! They're on YouTube or on Mormonchannel.org the spirit was really strong and we gave out a Book of Mormon to one of the new students! 

Today we've had a great P-Day! We went to "Le Castella" this morning and it was so fun! It's this beautiful little castle on the sea and it's connected to land by this little bridge. It was absolutely gorgeous. We didn't end up going in because it didn't open until 10 and we had to catch a bus back but it was beautiful outside and we took a lot of pictures! It was 65-70 and sunny and the sun was so bright! I love being in Italy, I love the people and I love being a missionary. I hope you all had a great week and I can't wait to hear all about it! 

Love,

Anziano Jake Bellucci

P.S. So this just happened... we got a call from an unknown number as we were walking back from the bus station and I assumed it was just someone asking for info about English Course and it said "Allen. Austin Allen? This is the Carabinieri" which is the police. "Where are you? We found your passport!" Apparently after the questura trip yesterday it fell out of his folder on the way home. We hadn't noticed but someone that works for the city found it and gave it to the police and they asked us where we were, they came and met us and just handed it over... Heavenly Father is in the details! He watches over us! 

Crotone Transfer 6 Week 1

I'm staying!  Beautiful Restaurants! Baptismal Dates! 

What a week we've had here in Crotone! Miracles are happening and the Lord's work is PROGRESSING! 

Monday night we had a HUGE Gesso which is the chalk thing where we draw on the sheet and everything... we had the whole District plus the Anziani from Cosenza so there was 8 missionaries on the street and we centered it on the church being Christ's restored Church. We wrote "Is Christ's Church still on the Earth today?" And we shared the story of the Restoration with so many people. I was talking to one guy and Anziano Saffer came over and I asked this guy if we could meet him another time and explain the full restoration. He said or you could explain it now... and so we did, we taught him the whole Restoration together and I noticed two things! Anziano Saffer and I have never worked together or taught anything but with the Spirit's guidance we were able to teach smoothly and work together to explain everything clearly. The second thing was how strong the spirit was, we both felt it and we know that he did too. Unfortunately he isn't ready to accept the Gospel right now, we offered him a copy of the Book of Mormon and he said he wasn't interested in learning more right now. So I actually learned a lot from this guy about missionary work. We can teach perfectly and with the spirit but if people aren't ready to receive it then they won't understand the message and they won't accept, but that's not our fault and we shouldn't get discouraged! We just have to get out there and find those who are ready! Then of course there is this Pizzeria here that on Mondays any kind of pizza you could want is just 3€ so we ordered a TON of pizza and w ent home to eat! While we were waiting for our pizza the phone rang! It was Cosenza's phone... they are staying together but ey found out that the Sorelle were being "blown out" so both of them were leaving and no sisters were coming back to the area for this next transfer and the Anziani were added to our District. So we get to see Anziano Saffer and Anziano Oswald every week for District Meeting! One by one we all got our transfer calls and found out that the whole District is staying the same for this transfer! I'm excited to do another 6 weeks with Anziano Allen! He's doing great and really picking up on the language quickly! 

Tuesday the Sorelle from Cosenza came down for District meeting so there were ten of us! We had a great District meeting and then I made lunch afterwards. Southern Italy has water problems... so the city water sometimes cuts out or goes down to a trickle. Well Tuesday was a trickle day. So I was making Pesto pasta with chicken and it took me 20 minutes to fill the pot for the water... and we made so much pasta that I couldn't stir it all and it burned to the bottom of the pot, there was no water to wash the dishes and it was a total mess! The Pesto turned out good though and everyone was happy!

After DDM we stayed in the Church for a while and then helped a member clean a little bit. There's like a patio thing behind the church and it's filthy so we helped her and her two kids clean it up so hopefully we can do a Branch activity out there eventually! We prepped for English Course and then taught about "Going to the Auto Parts Store" it was definitely more interesting than going to the Hair Salon last week! Afterwards we had an appointment set with Marco & Rita but they weren't able to come... 

Wednesday was a day of finding because we got cancelled on by literally everyone... even back up plans fell through... so we did a little finding, we ended up doing a quick grocery shopping run, we were out of bottled water so we had to get some of that and we needed some American food so I made roast chicken and mashed potatoes for lunch! We spent a good minute catching up on some training videos for Anziano Allen.

Thursday was a better day! Hair Salons in Italy are closed on Monday unless they're run by the Chinese so we got haircuts on Thursday and passed by some investigators in the morning. Then we went home and made some homemade chicken wings (our new tradition!) and then we taught English Course in the evening! We read the "I'm a Mormon" profile for Lindsey Sterling with them and they did a great job! It was really cool, if y'all know who Lindsey Stirling is you check out her profile on Mormon.org, there's a little video on there that explains a little about her story and it's really interesting!

Friday... let's just talk about Friday for a minute... we started off great, we spent the morning weekly planning and getting ready for this next week, we have lots of appointments set up so hopefully we'll be busier. While we planned I made a ragù pasta sauce and it was so good! We ate our weight in pasta and then we went to relax because we were about to explode. We both fell asleep but not for a little nap, we were both out which hardly ever happens, I usually wake up within half an hour if I fall asleep but we were gone. Two and a half hours later we woke up... we went and saw Sorella Grande, we visited with her and shared a message, we talked about how she felt when her daughter went on her mission to Temple Square and the blessings that she received as her daughter served. It was really cool! We taught English to our friend Samuel, he is moving to Canada with his wife in a few months, he was asking us about fast food in America and we started to explain the joys of Chic-fil-a and Carl's Jr. and Subway and Anziano Allen and I were about drooling haha The things ya miss! 

Saturday was great, we met with a few less active families in the morning and then went to meet our investigators Marco and Rita because they wanted to take us to lunch! They invited the Sisters as well! We went to "La figlia di Annibale" and WOW was it amazing! This place was way out of my league... we all felt a little out of place but it was so nice! I ate Clams for an appetizer and they were so good! Well seasoned and then they had a piece of Bread from Cutro which is amazing... then round two was a risotto with pumpkin and shrimp , it was heavenly. Round three I got some weird fish that came with a tomato, onion and fresh basil salad. All good. You guys should all go check out the restaurant on line! 

Then we taught seminary and Antonio stayed and we went and hung up English Course Posters with him and passed out about 500 English Course Cards with him! We  got a little competitive so we would talk to people and we ended up having a lot of fun. I was behind because they gave me a bigger stack and so I went up to a group of 15 high school kids and caught up real fast! We actually had some really good conversations. Working with members is where it's at! 

Sunday we had a great  Sacrament Meeting, we had a visitor from Taranto that spoke during the meeting and he talked about the promised blessings that come when we obey the commandments. It's so true! Afterwards we had a lesson with our investigators Antonio, Oriana, and Luigi at a member's house. It went so well! So last time we taught the Plan of Salvation to them and they understood it super well and this time we explained the Restoration! We gave them all copies of the Book of Mormon and at the end we both felt like they were ready for the baptismal invite. We invited them to be baptized and they all said yes! Their baptismal date is the 11th of March! So it's going to take a lot of work and a lot of preparation on both our part and theirs so we could use your prayers! 

That's the week for us, today we are at McDonalds and headed to the mall for a little bit! Should be a good day! 

Just FYI we have Zone Conference next Monday so we will have P-Day on Wednesday! So don't worry if no one hears from me from Monday, I'll be back! I love y'all and I hope you have a great week! 

Anziano Bellucci

Crotone! Transfer 5 Week 6!

Crotone Transfer 5 Week 6!

Wow I can't believe transfer calls are tonight and me and my "son" have done almost 6 whole weeks together! Ahhhhh It is so crazy! This last week has been a good one with two exchanges, lots of food eaten and a little sickness going around...

SO as always we start off at the beginning! Monday after emailing we did some finding and spent some time in "Centro" which is just downtown where all the shops are. We met the Anziani from Catanzaro at around 8:30, grabbed a pizza and walked home. So there is an on going joke in the house this transfer, our first week together I broke 3 if our six glass cups, I have been good since then except for last week. The black pepper shaker fell out of the cupboard and onto a plate and that shattered too. Well then Anziano Gunnell from Catanzaro swung his arm across the kitchen table while we were eating pizza and took out number 4 of our 6 glass cups... So now we're down to two! And I am only aloud to use plastic cups. 

At 9:30 the Zone Leaders got to the apartment from Taranto, they were here to sit in on our District meeting and then to do a scambio (Exchange) with us afterwards! We had a good night but we were all so tired!

Tuesday morning we went to see if we could figure out anything more with Anziano Allen's tablet... turns out Samsung Italia is different than Samsung United States so they don't make the same one... its a mess. Hopefully it will get worked out soon! (I think its stressing him out a little bit!) Then off to District Meeting, the Sisters from Taranto were here to do an exchange with the Crotone Sisters and so our DDM went from 6 to 10, it was pretty big! It reminded me of Cagliari! DDM went really well and we had a lot of fun. We decided to go out for lunch together, there is this place called Romana's which is where we usually go, it has Calzone for 1.20 so its pretty cheap. Well this other place has been under construction but it is also called Romana's that Anziano Allen and I may or may not have tried on Monday and it was dang good! So we decided to go back there instead of the usual! Well we got there and I asked them if they could make 22 calzones and they said they were out... what a let down! So back to the usual place! Still good but we were excited to show everyone the new place! 

After lunch we had language study and then started our exchange. I got to work with Anziano Bertoldo who is from Colorado, he is about 20 months into his mission... getting up there! But we don't mention it, I think he's in denial! He is a hard worker and a really nice guy, we both want to go into the medical field so we had quite a bit to talk about! We had 5 appointments set up for Tuesday evening to split between the two companionships and every single one of them bailed on us! So our scambio turned into some finding efforts! We did quite a bit of house to house and actually set up three appointments for this coming week with some families that we are pretty excited about! 

English course... I love English course but there are for sure things that I don't like to teach about... one of these things is "Going to the Hair Salon!" Haha probably one of the most boring lessons to teach but we made it through! 

Wednesday we decided to go to Cutro to see Antonio, the stud kid that just got back from the temple! We were just planning on sharing a message with him and then heading back to Crotone! But First we had to make a pit stop at Vittorio which is a "Pasticceria" (Bakery) in Cutro and they make the best Grafe (Pronounced Graw Fay) I have ever had... they are heavenly. Its like a little pastry with a thick cream inside that pours out the top and its rolled in sugar. Its a good thing that Cutro isn't super close because I would get one every day. Heaven. We got one for Antonio too and when we got there he was making lunch. He invited us to stay so we had a great chat with his family and ate lunch. His Grandma has been in the Hospital for a long time, she wasn't doing very well. We went and visited her in the hospital a few weeks ago and she is finally home now. She has some mad thrombosis in her left arm and so its obviously very swollen and she still isn't doing very well. We were able to give her a blessing and Anziano Allen was able to do the anointing for his first time in Italian. He did a great job! We ate and then went and looked at the mountains that are basically in his backyard. 

We came back and were waiting at the bus stop and saw some drunk guys absolutely beating the snot out of each other in the street... Antonio turns to Anziano Allen and says in English "Its Normal" haha Italy is never boring... they hugged it out afterwards and then got in their cars and drove away... 

Walking home on Wednesday from the bus station was definitely interesting... So I've told you about the hill by our house, its huge and at the bottom there is a ton of really tall grass there is like a little retaining wall there. We're walking home and just chatting like usual and all of a sudden Cujo hops out of this grass and starts tearing after us! Anziano Allen is closest and he looses it! It wouldn't be a mission if I wasn't chased by a dog at least once! We made it out alright but it was scary for a minute!

We went to Vincenzo's house for dinner that night, he's such a homie, probably one of my favorite people I have met on my mission. I think I've told you before he's not all there upstairs... but he's there enough! He loves to cook for us! Italians eat dinner really late like 8 or 9 or even later so we had to wait a little when we got there at 7... he said he had a game that the Anziani in the past had never heard of but they were always good at once he explained it. My first thought was darn this is going to be hard, I have to understand the directions in Italian so we can play and I said to Anziano Allen, "This better be matching!" And he started to lay the cards out and we were in luck, it was matching! Then he asked us to play UNO for a little bit so we said sure and we played for a little bit. We decided he's a little cheater... we all had draw two cards and they stacked up to draw 6 ♣️ and he was freaking out about having to draw six! It was so funny! We settled it as we would each take two... it was a lot of fun and it definitely helped him, he had a good time! He made us some good pasta too! He can't read so we read some scriptures to him and talked about them. He likes the scriptures but he can't read so it's kind of hard... but he has a desire and that's what is important! 

I had woken up with a sore throat on Wednesday and it had gone away but I woke up on Thursday with a crazy bad sore throat, cough, the whole 9 yards. We didn't have any plans set for the morning so we decided we would stay home for the morning and I could get some rest. Well being a missionary makes you incapable of sleeping in so I laid in bed for almost all the morning, Anziano Allen actually got some sleep lucky kid! I kept laying in bed and I got up at 11 and Anziani Allen had swept and mopped and cleaned the whole house, it was sparkling! He went house wife on me for a little bit! We stayed home the rest of the morning and then went and taught English Course that night and that was about all we did! We had a couple appointments but we got ditched which I was actually okay with because I just needed to go to bed.

Friday I was feeling a lot better but definitely not 100% but we had another exchange scheduled with Catanzaro so we shipped out to Catanzaro after our morning studies. We ate lunch with them and then I worked with Anziano Haws. I think I have told you guys a little about him but anyway he is one transfer ahead of me and he is our District Leader. He is from outside of Fresno California and his Mom is Italian, she is from Palermo. They wanted him to learn English so they never taught him Italian... He is a cool kid, loves Basketball and Mexican food! We went to visit a less-active older lady, we walked her dog and then read the Book of Mormon with her. It went really well and then she asked us to go pay her lawyer for her because she was too sick to leave the house... It was random but we did it! Then we went down by the beach and did some finding and talked to some really cool families! 

There is this really cool Gelateria that has the "World's best hazelnut Gelato" and let me tell ya they were on point... that stuff was dang good! I got a milkshake made with it and it was so good! 

Then Haws talked me into buying a 10 dollar burrito... he told me it was huge... lies. Haha it was good but I was still hungry and I blew $10 on a burrito. I miss mexican food for sure and I know I will get crap for calling Costa Vida mexican but I miss that for sure! 

The rest of the scambio went well, we spent some time doing house to house, ate at McDonalds and then we headed back to Crotone! Sat in on Branch Council, and we got a lot done for the branch and that was pretty much it for Saturday, I still was feeling pretty junky so we went home and I went to bed early... Sunday I was feeling much better but I still had a low grade fever and the cough was still lingering. It went really well, I bore my testimony on the power of testimonies which is something I have definitely felt lately. As missionaries if we don't know exactly what to say we are taught to always testify of Jesus Christ and I have definitely seen the power of it lately. I shared a scripture in Doctrine and Covenants section 62 verse 3 that says 

 3 Nevertheless, ye are blessed, for the testimony which ye have borne is recorded in heaven for the angels to look upon; and they rejoice over you, and your sins are forgiven you.

When we bare our testimony it gives an opportunity for the spirit to testify of the truthfulness of the things you say. SOooo get out there and share your testimony! There are people waiting to hear it and remember I want to hear about your missionary experiences! We made lasagna for lunch and it turned out really well! We had a good afternoon and then got a pile of cancellations and thats pretty much it! The week went by pretty fast with all the exchanges but it was a good one! We are pretty sure that Anziano Allen and I are staying together, we hope so but we will get the transfer calls tonight! It still makes me nervous, I am not ready to leave Crotone yet! But who knows, we'll let you know next week! 

Today we are having a huge P-day together today with the Anziani and Sorelle of Cosenza and then a District Meeting together tomorrow! This should be a good week! I hope you all have a great week and know that I am thinking about you and I love you all! 

Anziano Bellucci 

Crotone! Transfer 5 Week 5!

Hey everybody! This week is going to be a shorter weekly email so I have time to respond to all the other ones! 

This week has been great as usual! We have seen lots of success and are super excited for this week! On Monday night there was a cyclone that blew into Crotone apparently the first since 1992... well we were outside! We were on our way back from Catanzaro and we walk out of their apartment to head to the calabro which is like a little train that goes from their apartment to the actual train station. We almost got washed away, the streets were flooding, the old river that usually has no water in it was flowing like the Mississippi and my shoes were definitely soggy... as usual the train was late but at least there was a roof over top of us! We finally made it to Crotone and I called a member to come and take us home, it was a miracle!

Tuesday we had a great DDM, Anziani Haws has introduced a new assignment to the agenda, DDM snack, I had the snack this week so we brought cookies and milk! It all went well and then we made gnocchi and bacon pasta stuff together, it was way good! We did some "Family Photos" because Anziano Allen is my son and Sister Bonzo is his Mom... and then lots of other pictures too! 

Wednesday the highlight was definitely the worldwide Broadcast from the Missionary Council! It was an incredible experience, they had it set up as a tour of the Church Office Buildings where they brought us in "To sit in on" an "actual" Council! They discussed some really important parts of missionary work and made some really interesting changes to the schedule that we follow everyday. I was hoping wake up time would change to 8:30 but it's definitely still at 6:30... one can hope right! They changed around how we do our studies and our morning schedule so we have more time to exercise and get ready for the day and they moved around our companion study so that we can fit it in where it best fits us. They also changed our Preparation Day so that it begins at 8 AM it gives us more time to get our personal things done and be ready for the week! It was really interesting to see how inspired the church is as they change the different aspects of missionary work!

Thursday was a really good day with our investigator Antonio, he is the one that came to Church two weeks ago to find one of the members, we had a really great lesson to review the Restoration. Last time he kept saying hat he felt the Church seemed really new compared to all the other ones and that he didn't understand. We explained using cups how Jesus Christ established a Perfect church and then that with his death and the death of his apostles the authority to act in his name was taken from the Earth and fell into Apostasy. As we restored the church with the Prophet Joseph Smith it was like a light bulb went on in his eyes and he totally understood! He even said "So if you take out any principles of the Church the whole thing crumbles!" Ding ding ding! It was such a spiritual lesson and we both felt the spirit testifying so strongly to him! He came to Church on Sunday as well! We are hoping and praying that he will receive his answer! 

Friday! We had probably one of the most productive weekly planning sessions I've ever had, we got so much done and made some awesome plans for this next week. It's so true that when you take the time to plan and use that time wisely that Heavenly Father will help things to fall into place! That afternoon we went with Salvatore and his wife to buy some new pillows (we were in desperate need) and since we had a ride home we bought a few cases of water so we wouldn't have to carry them home... definitely worth it! The Sorelle also told us that they haven't had a toilet seat in their apartment for like 6 months... I know weird... so we bought them a new one, they were pretty excited! 

Saturday was pretty good and we got a lot done! Flashback to Wednesday Anziano Allen dropped his tablet and it broke the screen and doesn't turn on... so we were trying to find a repair place. I don't know the words for that so I probably sounded like a moron saying "It's broken, it fell" but we got the point across. Haha then in the afternoon it was pouring like its done all freaking week so we spent some time at home and looked through our Area Book, I made about a million phone calls and set up some appointments for this next week! We're still working on getting Anziano Allen to use the phone, he's getting there! I totally sympathize, it's still hard for me sometimes! 

Sunday, I gave a talk on Sunday and the topic was "Missionary Work" it went really well and I realized that I am tomorrow 8 months of the way through my mission! It's so crazy how fast it's gone but it also feels like I've been a missionary forever! I'm 1/3 done! The rest of Church went really well! I almost forgot, this week we sent Antonio to the temple for the first time! He is a New Convert of less than a year and he got to go to the Switzerland temple this week! It is so neat to see the success stories of these people and know that you've helped them in some way or another! I love Italians! We did a "Gesso" (Another one of those chalk things where you draw in the sheet) last night and it went really well! We talked to some really cool people and also some crazies! Turns out they're everywhere! Before the gesso we made brownies for that family I talked about last week, we did a "Family Home Evening" activity with them and taught them the Plan of Salvation which in Italian is one of the hardest things for me to teach but it went really well and Anziano Allen did a great job too! This family is so prepared for the Gospel and at the end she said "So what are we going to talk about next Sunday when you guys come over?" I could have fallen over... lets go!

This morning we have been super productive! We made a meal plan so we can be more organized and then went grocery shopping and then made burgers at home for lunch! We are emailing now and then we've got some plans for tonight after P-day! I hope you all have a great week! I miss you all and I can't wait to hear about your weeks! 

Love,

Jacob

Crotone! Transfer 5 Week 4!

Crotone Transfer 5 Week 4 

Exhaustion, morning runs, and oh yeah... an exorcism...  

Some interesting things happened this week in this beach side city! As always we'll start at the beginning! 

Monday was a dang good day, we did some shopping and bought some Italian pants (I might have mentioned that last week) so now we don't look so American! After Pday we went to one of my favorite member's house and he decided to fix us dinner. His name is Vincenzo and he has some mental disabilities but he is so loving and so kind! He started off by slicing some Italian bread and slapping on some fish spread stuff. I explained to Anziano Allen that it was fish and he asked me if it was raw or cooked so I asked Vincen and he said "Its not raw perse..." and explained that it was raw but theres so much salt in it that its basically cooked. I wasn't sold but you have to try it! So I took the smallest piece on the plate with the littlest amount of what we are going to call "Not raw, raw fish spread" and left my comp with the bigger one... ya know, always being generous! I made it through that one just in time for him to slap another one down. This time I took the bigger one and had mercy on my Greenie. I made it through mine and Anziano Allen made it through about 3/4 of his before a piece of fish slapped down on his chin... That was it, he was out! Well on to round two... Pasta with his homemade sauce made with sun dried tomatoes and some spicy peppers, it was actually pretty good! I was watching him make it and he cooked like 750 grams of spaghetti for the three of us... which is like a pound and a half. Ugh. Two plates of spaghetti later and I was stuffed! Well there was still some pasta left so that means it was time to make a  frittata... He scrambled about 6 eggs and poured it into the pasta and put it in a frying pan. It was like a spaghetti omlet... so strange. We made it through alright but we were both ready to heave on the way home. I'm sure other missionaries in other countries eat much worse but there is a reason I was called to Italy!

On Tuesday we had an awesome District Meeting! My assignment was the "Get to know you questions" so you just pick a question or two to get to know the other people in your district. So I started out with a pretty spiritual intense question, I asked "What is the strongest part of your testimony AND why?" It was so interesting to see how each one of us said something completely different and shared testified of some of the most basic tenants of the Gospel and where we have found that testimony. The answers spanned from Prayer to the Joseph Smith vision to the Plan of Salvation and all across the board. The second question was a little less heavy, we each had to give the person to our right a car that fit their personality. Just so y'all know Anziano Haws said I am a blacked out Cadillac Escalade. Hint hint everyone if you want to have a car ready for me when I get home ;))) I said Anziano Allen was a Ford Raptor... he was pleased with that! 

We finally got to teach a new investigator! On Sunday this guy came into church and was asking to see one of our members that wasn't there anymore, he had left early. He said "Ok" and was about to leave and I snagged him and asked him what he knew about the church and if he had studied with the missionaries before. He said that he had investigated the church years before but he wasn't in the right place in his life. We set up an appointment and we met with him on Tuesday! The lesson went really well and Anziano Allen invited him to be baptized. At first he said "Vediamo" which means "We'll see" and I asked him what he thought would be holding him back and he said he doesn't know enough yet to commit. Which is fair enough but we really want him to make that goal so it gives him something to work for! We would love some prayers for Antonio if y'all wouldn't mind helping us out! We got "Bidoned" by everyone else that day (My Mom says I put too many Italian words in me emails so if I notice I will try to translate them! A bidone is a dumpster so when we have appointments set and they don't call or show up we say that we got bidoned!) but we had English course so that was great! We teach the advanced course so a lot of the time we just try to talk to them and get them involved in conversation. Since this is the first week that most of them have come since the holidays they asked Anziano Allen to tell them about his life and his family so it was a good lesson and we had a lot of fun telling them about our selves. English Course students love to ask us for our first names and so we always have to say "Okay, but if I tell you, you still have to call me Anziano Bellucci!" They say yes every time and then by the end of the night I have been called Jacob 7 times. Italians really just do what they want... 

Wednesday started off great with a trip to the fish market down by the beach! Anziano Allen's Dad is a stud cook! He sent him a recipe for a shrimp and chicken pasta with a red pepper white sauce. So we had to hit up the fish market to grab some shrimp! We then had an awesome lesson with a less-active member. She was in the hospital a few weeks ago and was not doing well at all. Since she got out she has stopped smoking (She was a chain smoker) and is feeling so much better! We decided to share something from the Ensign of December 2016, by Henry B. Eyring called "Pace in questa vita" or "Peace in this life" and it talks about how we can remember the savior in everything we do and through partaking of the sacrament we can renew the covenants that we made at baptism. It is such a powerful article! People who are less active in the church know that they should be coming so telling them to come is not going to help but when you can help them to feel that spirit by sharing something so powerful and sacred such as your testimony of the importance of the sacrament it is so much more helpful and effective! Lunch turned out to be soooo good! Shout out to Darrin for the recipe! We got sort of bidoned by another investigator and so we decided to take a bus to the other side of town and visit this less active that just randomly showed up this last week in Church. I have taken a bus in Crotone like maybe twice in the two months that I have been here and so I asked the Autista (Bus Driver) if the bus went to the station and he said yes so I thought we were good! We get on and like 15 minutes later we are out in the boonies, theres no traffic lights and we are the only ones on the bus. I was on the phone with a member so I didn't really notice but then when I hung up I was like "Where the heck are we???" About 30 minutes later we finally made it to the station and it so it was kind of late to pass by this family, we should be heading home but I felt like we should go so we went! They opened the door and let us in and we excused ourselves for it being so late! They said no problem and we just had a nice little chat by the door and I learned so much about this family and their needs and the spirit was testifying so strong to her and her son about the need to come back to church. We talked about the blessings of the temple and how their lives will change as they prepare for the temple in Rome. The spirit is so cool... 

Member Present Lesson! Member present lessons are like Christmas morning for missionaries especially in foreign speaking missions! This was my first member present lesson here in Crotone. Our investigator Roby is such a homie, and we brought Salvatore who used to be a Catholic Priest before joining the church and he was a priest at the church that Roby attends. We were so grateful for Salvatore, we taught a lesson about faith and the principle of action, how faith leads to repentance and baptism and I botched part of it... So I gave Anziano Allen the signal to invite him to be baptized without explaining the importance of asking Heavenly Father for an answer. Salvatore did an incredible job of explaining that we make these goals to be baptized in the sense that we have the faith that we will receive an answer from Heavenly Father whether or not the church is true and then if we receive an answer by the date will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone holding the priesthood authority of God. We were really grateful for our Member present for sure! At the end he said "So what we are really asking you to do is ask Heavenly Father if what these two scemi (Idiots) are teaching you is true!"

We got bidoned twice that afternoon and so we went to pass by Giovanni at the furniture store he works at, turns out his whole family was there so we got to have a good chat with them! Also we got a pranzo (Lunch) appointment for next week so we are pretty stoked about that! And then English Course was actually pretty big! People are starting to come back after the holidays finally now that its almost February! We both got called fat and that we needed to start running in the mornings so we won't have pasta face. Well its the Italian's fault that we have pasta face so... I told them it was their fault! So we decided that if we just decided to go by ourselves that we would never get up, we would just talk each other out of it every morning. So we talked to the Sisters and decided to meet them at 6:30 and run to the pier. 6:10 the alarm went off and we both fell asleep and I woke back up at 6:22... I knew the Sorelle would judge us so hard if we didn't get up so we got ready super quick! The Sorelle were doing step-ups when we got there... over achievers... but that run was so worth it! As we ran down to the beach the sun was coming up over the sea and it was so beautiful, the sound of the waves breaking on the reef is something I could sit and listen to for hours. Key word sit... We took some cool pictures, I'll send those too! 

We were exhausted all day... we had weekly planning for the morning which usually takes the whole morning and I'll be honest it was pretty rough and we didn't get a whole lot done... it was 12 and we were sooo tired of eating pasta for lunch so we decided go out and do some finding on the way to the grocery store and get stuff to make tacos... definitely worth it! We actually talked to some really cool people on the way! 

That afternoon we decided to do a gesso with the Sisters! Gesso just means chalk and so we take a sheet and lay it on the ground and write a question or a principle on it but more than anything someone sitting on the ground in the middle of the city just draws attention and people stop. So while one person draws the rest of us talk it up! We found some great potentials so that was cool! I love doing Gessos because it just makes me feel like a missionary from the District, we talk to so many people and it is such a non threatening thing. My favorite is when kids come up, we ask them if they want to draw on the sheet and so we give them some chalk and then talk to their parents about the Gospel! 

Saturday... IT POURED ALL DAY LONG AND I WAS SO WET. 

We didn't have any appointments set because on Saturday mornings the outdoor markets are full of people so we try to do some finding, talk to the venders and the people and its usually really fun. Well... when its pouring the outdoor markets aren't a thing so we did some studies and then passed by an English Course referral from the Sisters. He works at a shop that buys gold and he is interested in learning English. So we stopped by and he told us that he loves to travel but its very difficult because he doesn't speak English which is basically the universal language for travel and he would love to go to 🇺🇸 America. The only problem is that he works until 8 every night so he can't come to the actual course. So we are going to teach him after English course, when we left Anziano Allen and I said "I think we might have a new investigator soon!" We are hoping to teach him the Gospel as well as English!" 

We met with another English course student that night too, he told us he wanted to bring us ice cream at the church so we were down! We went and I decided to ask him about the Gospel, what he had studied with the Anziani in the past and what his religious background is. We had a good chat and he said his problem is that he doesn't understand the rules. WE can work with that! He then started asking some questions about the plan of salvation and where we will go after this life and what we can expect. We love those questions! So we are super excited to start teaching him too!

Sunday Bloody Sunday! I just went to write Sunday and that song came into my head so I thought I would throw it in there! Sunday was good, we had some great talks on the temple and the Book of Mormon. We got invited to Pranzo (Lunch) with Sister Zarfino and Anziano Allen was stoked to get his first real Italian Pranzo! Sister Zarfino came in clutch, I don't think he was disappointed. We had homemade pasta with a sauce that was to die for with some homemade Calabrian meatballs. Heaven. She then made this chicken and potatoes for the "Il secondo" the second plate. It was like a pan fried chicken with a creamy sauce and then fried potatoes. She makes homemade mayonnaise and she was super excited to share it with us... I thought it tasted just like Hellman's, it was good! Oranges to finish it off! We brought Antonio with us and had such a good afternoon! 

Antonio is the man, he is a new convert of a year and he wants to go on a mission this fall, he is 17 and loves missionary work! So we took him with us to some appointments. We went and passed by a less active that I have passed by probably a hundred times and she is never home. We rang the citofono with little to no faith that she would let us in and all of a sudden I heard the door buzz and it swung open! We had a rest lesson with her and it was really nice! As we were about to leave her niece and her 9 year old son walked in and we showed him a little demo with the book of Mormon that kids love, you fold a piece of paper to explain the Book of Mormon and then when you unfold it, it makes a cross to show that in the end the purpose of the Book of Mormon is to testify of Jesus Christ. Afterwards his Mom started to ask us questions about what we believe about the afterlife and where we will go, just like our English Course Student! So I told them that we make a dang good American Dessert called brownies and we would love to come and share what we believe next Sunday, two new investigators!

This has been a week of Miracles! Today we are in Catanzaro with the other Anziani and the Sorelle, we are going to the mall with them to see what we can find for some good Saldi sales... Italy goes on sale in January and August so we will see what we can find! 

I want to hear about your missionary experiences, whether you live in Provo Utah or Potsdam New York, there is work to do! I want to invite you to make a goal to have a Gospel discussion with someone this week, have no fear 

D&C 84:85

Neither take ye thought beforehand what ye shall say; but treasure up in your minds continually the words of life, and it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man.

Heavenly Father likes to work miracles, he likes to bless his children especially in missionary work! So get out there and get some missionary work done! I hope you guys have a great week and know that I'm praying for you and I love you guys! 

Crotone! Transfer 5 Week 3!

Non ti preoccupare, sii felice! 

Don't worry, be happy!

This week feels like one of the fastest in my mission and it just goes to show how fast time flies when you're having fun! The message we're here to share is a message of happiness and joy! So we have to show people how happy we really are! I've been thinking a lot about that this week, we have seen a lot of rejection and doors shut in our face and sometimes I just get so frustrated but my companion said something really cool to me this week! We were knocking doors in a few buildings not far from our house and we had done three buildings with not even a smile or a thank you just some straight up rejection and I was getting bugged... Anziano Allen said "Heavenly Father is testing us to see if we will follow the spirit even when it doesn't seem like it's paying off." We didn't end up sharing our message with anyone that morning but we both knew that we followed the spirit in going where we needed to go and I thought it was interesting to think about how Heavenly Father might just be testing us sometimes to know if he can trust us with something bigger and better. 

We had a really great trip to Taranto this week but before we left the Catanzaro Anziani came to do a scambio with us. It felt so weird to let my Greenie go with someone else! It's like taking your kid to their Aunt and Uncle's house for the first time and leaving him there! Parenting is going to be traumatic... but I got to work with Anziano Gunnell! He is a great kid from Orem UT! He is one transfer behind me and he's a great worker, we put his Finding skills to the test and had a pretty good time! We ended up talking to some Jehova's Witnesses and for the first time it was a positive experience! He actually said at the end of our little chat: "One thing I've really taken from you Mormons is that we shouldn't be arguing or pushy with our message, I've met quite a few missionaries like you and I am always so impressed that you don't try to fight or argue, you just state what you know to be true!" It was really cool and definitely more positive that the usual "TJ encounters" 

Tuesday we headed for the big city and I was so excited for Zone Conference, they always just leave you feeling energized and ready to take on the work! The spirit is super strong and you can tell that everyone in attendance is well prepared. We took an Intercity train  which goes faster than the normal ones and is quite a bit nicer. It was like a Harry Potter train so the six of us had a little room all to ourselves. I was hoping someone would come by and say "Anything off the trolley dears?" Just so I would have the chance to say "We'll take the lot!" But apparently Italy isn't like platform 9 & 3/4. I have to throw Anziano Allen under the bus for this... We were almost to Taranto and the ticket checker guy came by and was checking our tickets and he was writing down the number but apparently he couldn't read the words so he pointed to a letter and said "Questo e un m?" (Is this an m?) to Anziano Allen who looked up at me with the biggest deer in the headlights look and said *in English* "You're gonna have to talk to him!" As he pointed at me... all 5 of us busted up laughing so hard, I couldn't even respond to the train guy. It was hilarious and I don't think we ever told him whether or not it was an M!

We made it safe and sound to the big city and I actually remembered which bus to take to get to the church. We made it a few minutes early and Anziano Allen and I actually had our interviews with President that night because we had to take a train back to Crotone right after the conference so we hung out with Sister Pickerd and waited for President. Interviews went well and I was super ready for the conference! We were the last ones so we got a ride back to the house and picked up some pizzas along the way! 

Wednesday was an early morning as we had a special training for all the trainers and trainees in the zone with President and Sorella Pickerd, the assistants, the Zone Leaders and the Sister Training Leader before Zone Conference. We talked a lot about the importance of sharing the work load in a 50/50 manner right from the start... which is kind of hard because you don't want to overwhelm your Greenie but they also have to take on new responsibilities every day! So I decided this week that the phone is Anziano Allen's! Starting today he is going to make phone calls! HE is not super stoked... 

Zone conference was so good! We talked about the importance of the spirit and how we can use the spirit in everything we do. The testimony of the spirit is so evident in the scriptures and it is mentioned so many times. Sister Pickerd gave us a great training on this and she shared one quote from Dallin H. Oaks that I really enjoyed. It goes something like this "If you teach something, even if you teach it correctly, if you teach without the spirit it is not of God." I thought that was really interesting from a missionary point of view but also from the point of view of a member whether we are teaching Primary, teaching Sunday School, Relief Society or any number of things. If we do not teach it by the spirit it is not of God. We also talked about exhorting people to commit themselves. We extend commitments to everyone everyday and it takes a lot of effort on their part to commit themselves and if we are gifting them this invitation to act and exhorting them to hold to it they will be much more likely to do it. So we are going to work on it this week and see how it goes! 

We had lunch and then President and Sister Pickerd went through a slide show of all the baptisms from the last transfer with the pictures and their stories. I got to see Ruth in there and explain to the Zone her story and what happened as she progressed to baptism. They also had another baptism in Cagliari, it was the zone leader's investigator Francesco. Its so cool to see how people change and get closer and closer to baptism and finally take the plunge! 

Right after the conference the assistants gave us a ride to the bus station, the Sorelle and the Anziani from Catanzaro were doing a scambio so we were alone for the bus ride home. It was a good trip and we both were feeling super energized to get to work!

My desk was held together by duct tape so after seminary on Saturday we had a member take us to Auchan to find a new one. We brought it home and I put it together. By the end of my mission I should be able to use IKEA as a reference I am getting so good at putting their stuff together! 

Church on Sunday was pretty great! People just kept coming in, there was so many people! We had to break a second piece of bread! It was great! The Gospel Principles teacher is Italian but all the people that go to Gospel Principles are African and don't speak Italian so I translated Gospel Principles which was really fun! I miss those lessons! It is so nice to go back and understand the basic doctrine of the Gospel. Those are the fundamental important parts. We finally got an Italian Pranzo for my boy Anziano Allen! The Corrado's invited us over after church and we had a great time! Anziano Allen said to me "Its so cool when you stop paying attention to the language and you just listen. Thats when you realize you're understanding without really trying. I remember my first appointment when I realized how much I was actually understanding and I was so surprised! He is doing great with the language and has nothing to worry about! 

Today has been a great day, we went and bought our American missionary some Italian pants this morning and he looks more Italian by the minute! Grocery shopping and now emailing at the church! Should be a great P-day!

I hope you know how much I love you all! 

Anziano Jacob Bellucci

Italy Rome Mission