Anziano Friedman
Return With Honor
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Photos
  • Contact
week67-19

Week #67 – Many Small Miracles

Nov 28, 2016 Italy, Taranto blessings, miracles, problems, Thanksgiving

Hello Everyone!!

Okay I’m starting off with our Thanksgiving FEAST because it was incredible. Shout out to Sister Palazzo and Sister Duffy who sent me some awesome Thanksgiving recipes! Thank you!! Alrighty so we ordered a 7 kilo turkey from a butcher. Dressed it. Seasoned it. Baked it.

Came out perfect. Pulled off all the meat. Saved the bones and skin to make a concentrated broth. Poured that over the pulled meat. Let it sit in the fridge for a night. Then baked it again. Also made a delicious gravy from the original pan drippings. Then also made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (shout out to Yskes) and pumpkin pie.

The Sorelle made two different kinds of potatoes and stuffing with the turkey broth. It was incredible. We had SO MUCH FOOD. Definitely one of the most complete thanksgiving meals I have had in years.

Lesson learned: if you want something than you need to go out and make it happen.

In other news this week was full of many small miracles and a lot of what we Italian missionaries call “bidone” (meaning a no show or last minute cancellations of an appointment). When I say miracle it probably isn’t what most people would consider as a miracle but for me they were miracles. With all the no shows we kept having we hit the streets a bit more this week and it reminded me just how much I don’t like street finding in Italy but when there’s no other option you have to push through it. We had two cool experiences though. First was with a young man named gianmarco. We attempted stopping him on a corner to invite him to our free English course. In nice words he was not interested in the slightest. Strangely about 5 minutes later we run into him again even though we kept walking down the same street at an American walking speed so I have no idea how he caught up to us.

Anyway we didn’t really know what to do and we didn’t want to talk to him again but my comp just tried asking him what cross street we were about to come up to (because in Italy street signs are hard to come by) and this time he was completely different. Friendly. Helpful. Then as we were walking away he asked us again about our English course and if it was really free. That opened up a pretty cool conversation for why we were missionaries in Italy and by the end of it we exchanged numbers and agreed to meet when he comes to English course this week to teach more about it. Second experience: were walking and I tried to stop this couple to ask them a simple question based on the Christmas season in order to introduce the new Christmas service initiative that the church is rolling out. The woman was, again in nice words, not very happy we stopped her. The man seemed kinda indifferent. Oh well.

We kept walking. About two blocks later the man comes up from behind us and stops us to ask what it was that we wanted to ask him. We asked our simple Christmas question which turned into us basically teaching the restoration to our new friend (Ferdi) and setting up a time for us to meet with him again this coming week. We even said a prayer with him almost in the middle of the street.

Mixed into the week were other miracles like a man, named Giorgio, who met with the missionaries a year ago, and now all of a sudden shows up to church and says I have more time now I want to meet. Or a new older couple (Mimmo and Mariella) from English course agreeing to meet with us. Looking back this week I remember the hard days of walking the streets and not seeing much success but then all of that is overshadowed by the small miracles mixed in that help me along and remind me that God is our Heavenly Father and he does love us and he does provide small opportunities for us to see his hand in our lives if we are looking for it.

So that’s my invite this week. Focus on the positive no matter how small it may be. I would argue that the size of our problems and also our blessings, more often than not, depends on how much attention we give to each in our minds and in our hearts.

I love you all and hope you have an awesome week!

Anziano Friedman

week67-01
week67-02
week67-03
week67-04
week67-05
week67-06
weekt67-07
week67-08
week67-09
week67-10
week67-11
week67-12
week67-13
week67-14
week67-15
weekt67-16
week67-17
week67-18
week67-19
week67-20
week67-21
week67-22
week67-23
week67-24
week67-25
week67-26

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Week #66 – An Amazing Lesson On Faith Week #68 – Planted and Nourished

Related Posts

Bari, Battipaglia, Italy, Naples, Rome, Sardegna, Taranto/

Week #105 – Infinite Things

Hello Everyone,It’s likely that most would look at the length of this letter and skip over it, so I’ll put what’s important at the beginning. These last two years have taught me infinite things and while I am grateful for the people I have met, the relationships I have made, the lessons I have learned, the […]

Italy, Rome/

Week #104 – Please Desire It

Hello Everyone,I would say this week we are back in the swing of things. President Pickerd has returned and it is great to have him back because now we can look ahead and move forward with the upcoming week. I will dearly miss President Euvrard and all he was willing to sacrifice to come here […]

Italy, Rome/

Week #103 – Make All The Difference

Hello Everyone!This week was full of surprises! Last Monday we had a skype call with President Pickerd and Sorella Pickerd and President Euvrard. We talked about several things we needed to plan out and discuss further for the upcoming weeks. It was so great getting to see Sorella Pickerd! I love her. Then afterward President […]

About Me

Anziano Michael Friedman

Called to Serve
August 2015 - August 2017
michael.friedman@myldsmail.net

Recent Posts

  • Week105-47Week #105 – Infinite Things
    Hello Everyone,It's likely that most would look at the length of this
  • Week104-01Week #104 – Please Desire It
    Hello Everyone,I would say this week we are back in the swing of things.
  • Week103-06Week #103 – Make All The Difference
    Hello Everyone!This week was full of surprises! Last Monday we had a skype
  • Week102-15Week #102 – Fully Pour Out Your Heart
    Hello Everyone,As you may have already guessed it was in fact a very busy
  • Week101-06Week #101 – Prepared By The Lord
    Hi Everyone,On Saturday Daniel was baptized! It was such a wonderful
  • Week100-96Week #100 – How Wonderful A Mission
    Hello Everyone,This past week I had one of my favorite days that I have
  • Week99-97Week #99 – Unselfishly and Wholeheartedly
    It's been an interesting last 10 days. I think I have learned more of what
  • Week98-51-NapoliWeek #98 – Willing To Set Aside Time
    Hello Everyone!We had 4 conferences in 5 days. Bari, Taranto, Napoli, and
  • Week97-05Week #97 – I Count My Blessings
    Hello Everyone!So right now I'm sitting on a bus headed to Bari because
  • Week96-02Week #96 – Welcome to Roma
    Hey Everyone!!So this was basically the most busy, roller coaster ride

Search

Categories

Italy Rome Mission

LDS Resources

  • Italy Rome Temple
  • Free Book of Mormon
  • Mormon Beliefs
  • Articles of Faith
  • LDS Scriptures
  • Family History

Archives

  • August 2017 (3)
  • July 2017 (5)
  • June 2017 (4)
  • May 2017 (5)
  • April 2017 (1)
  • March 2017 (4)
  • December 2016 (5)
  • November 2016 (4)
  • October 2016 (5)
  • September 2016 (4)
  • August 2016 (5)
  • July 2016 (4)
  • June 2016 (4)
  • May 2016 (5)
  • April 2016 (4)
  • March 2016 (4)
  • February 2016 (5)
  • January 2016 (4)
  • December 2015 (4)
  • November 2015 (5)
  • October 2015 (5)
  • September 2015 (5)
  • August 2015 (6)

Stay Up To Date!

Receive Posts Immediately

Email address
©2015-2017 Michael Friedman. All Rights Reserved.
Home  |  Contact  |  Terms  |  Privacy Policy