Think to Thank

As we focus on gratitude this month, we are so thankful to be able to serve with people like Sorella Montrasio. She is an angel and the heart of the Muggio ward. She was baptized in 1985 and has been spreading the gospel and taking care of the missionaries ever since. Steve was one of those missionaries who benefited from her love and service over 30 years ago.

In The Book of Mormon as Amulek testifies of Christ he encourages us to, "live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you." (Alma 34:38) As President Monson reminds us, “Sincerely giving thanks not only helps us recognize our blessings, but it also unlocks the doors of heaven and helps us feel God’s love.”

Invitation: 

• Read Elder Uchtdorf's talk "Grateful in any Circumstance"
• Listen to some of our favorite songs on gratitude:
• "Count My Blessings" - Seph Shluleter
• "Gratitude" - I am they
• "I'm so Blessed" - Cain

In the Italy Milan Mission, the sister missionaries always eat first. These are just some of the 175-ish missionaries that we are thankful to feed. During this month of gratitude we are especially thankful for the Coppia Nelson for teaching, guiding, and putting up with us for these past 6 months. 

Sorella Gardanier was so thankful to gain some much needed freezer space in our apartment with this new box freezer. The small fridge/freezer in our kitchen is usually filled with food for upcoming events which forces us to make tough decisions like whether to store gelato or broccoli in the remaining space. Actually, that decision is pretty easy (always gelato) 

Halloween is not as big a deal here in Italy, so we get excited any time we see even subtle signs of it. We waxed nostalgic when we saw the pumpkin lights on this cute little balcony. The bigger holiday is All Saints Day on November 1st when people flock to the cemeteries to celebrate their ancestors. 

Gimme some Dim Sum: We briefly ventured off the celestial culinary path of Italian food to join the trendy Dim Sum craze. We thought they were delicious and also made us feel a little closer to our son serving a mission in Asia (the Philippines) 

Thanks to so many amazing mission couples who lived in our apartment before us, we have been blessed to have such great relationships with our neighbors. We celebrated the 78th birthday of the neighbor who lives above us with some homemade treats from Sorella Gardanier. 

Sorella Gardanier brought her haircutting supplies to District Council just in case any missionaries needed a haircut. She ended up doing 7 haircuts, including this sweet member Guido who happened to be at the church as well. I wonder how many members are going to be at the church this next week during District Council meeting.

As the weather begins to cool off, the gelateria's have added thick Italian hot chocolate to their menu.  Just take our money already.

There is nothing like welcoming new missionaries to the Lodi ward by cleaning the church together.  There really isn't any training needed to clean the floor, you just pick it up as you go along (wait for it...)

You know our days are busy when Sorella Gardanier resorts to 'innovative' ways to curl her hair while she sleeps. This dog-ear-sock approach actually worked pretty well if you can just get past how silly it looks. Fortunately the pink floral watercolor sheets distract attention from everything else.   

The delicious fresh fruit and vegetables this time of year almost make you forget about the pastries and gelato. Who knew there were so many types of persimmon? Steve didn't even know there was 1 type of something called persimmon