Moment #228. Swahili in Ft. Collins. Wed, Mar 16, 2005.

03/16/2005. I left the __________, and headed for the Colorado State University Campus, looking for their library. I pulled into the parking lot of the first big building I found. There was a man walking towards the building, and I could tell that our paths were going to intersect, so I rolled down my window and pulled over. I don't think I felt any specific prompting, but he "stood out" spiritually. I also wondered if he were an African immigrant. (When I say that someone "stood out" in a spiritual sense, I mean that they radiated something extra, or somehow caught or drew my attention in a non-physical way. It's almost like a halo or spotlight is on them. In rare occasions it's a spiritual equivalent of the "angel effect" on the TV show "Touched by an Angel.")

I asked him where the main library was, and he indicated that it was on the other side of this big building.

He spoke with an accent, so I asked him what languages he spoke besides English. He said Swahili. I said I had a book in Swahili in the car, called the Book of Mormon, and asked if he'd like to see it.

He said okay. I got out, reached into the back seat, and got out the Swahili copy, and presented it to him. He was amazed. It was the first book in Swahili he had seen in the United States. He's been in the country 2 years. I then opened the trunk to get out a hard-cover English version because the Swahili is in hard-cover. He accepted the English version too.

We talked a bit. He's from Tanzania, and also speaks a tribal language, but it's a small tribe, so it's not known very much. I forgot the name of the language, but it wasn't one in which the church has material.

Here is where it gets cool. He asked where our church was. I took an info flyer from one of the books, and showed him the addresses of the four local chapels. He asked what time we pray, and I pointed out the times the services started. He said he usually goes to Catholic church to pray, but would visit. We chatted a bit more. Perhaps I should have asked his contact information and given it to the missionaries, but he seemed positive about visiting on his own.

We shook hands and I got back in the car and drove off. But before I left the parking lot, I had to pull over, and write down this and the previous two placements in my journal. I was shaking with excitement.