Book of Mormon Moment #452. Shona. Fri, Oct 28, 2005.

10/28/2005. Still at the laundromat. I had put my clothes in some dryers and was organizing some paperwork that I had brought with me at the folding table. There were three teenagers, two girls and boy, who were about to put their laundry in the dryers. I was too far away from them to tell whether they were speaking English or a foreign language. Their clothing and demeanor did not indicate immigrants, but I felt interested in them somehow.

They finally put their laundry in the dryers next to mine, and then I could tell they were speaking a foreign language.

I asked the boy "Parlez vous francais?" but he didn't speak French. I asked what they were speaking and he said it was their first language. I asked what it was and he said Shona. I asked "Are you from Zimbabwe?" He was pleasantly surprised and asked how I knew. I said there were lots of people from Zimbabwe in town, and I've met some before.

I then said my church has books in Shona, and that I had one in my car. I asked all three if they'd like to see it, and they enthusiastically agreed. I retrieved a Shona and an English Book of Mormon from the car, and present them. They all were very interested.

We talked some more, and I gave them Brother Earnest's name and phone number. He's a local member who is originally from South Africa, but lived in Zimbabwe before coming to the United States, and speaks Shona, Zulu, Ndebele and English. They asked where the church was, so I pointed out the list of chapels on the info flyer that I include with the books. I pointed out the chapel where I attend, and the one where Earnest attends.

We shook hands and exchanged names. I then said "Welcome to America." That really pleased one of the girls, and she said "That's the first time anyone has said that to me."

They went back to where they were sitting, and browsed the books for a while.

When our dryers were done, I engaged the boy in some more conversation. The two girls were his cousins. They had been in the country for 2 years, and he and his mother had been here a year and a half, and just moved to Indianapolis a couple months ago. His speech indicated he had picked up an inner-city type of accent. We talked a bit about adjusting to American culture. I gave him the name and phone number of a single sister in our stake who came to the United States from the Democratic Republic of the Congo over 30 years ago, and described similar culture and identity confusion during her teen years. I thought she may have some advice for this young man who has been teased and called a "sell-out" for studying and getting good grades instead of hanging out at the mall with his American peers. I tried to give him some uplifting encouragement too.

Book of Mormon Moment #451. Amharic. Fri, Oct 28, 2005.

10/28/2005. At the laundromat. I noticed a taxi parked out front, so I was hoping for a contact. There was a couple with cute little baby sitting at the table next to mine. Of all the people in the laundromat, I would have guessed him for the taxi driver.

After I got my washers started, the wife went to fold their laundry while the man sat and took care of the baby. I asked the man if that was his taxi outside. He said yes. I asked him what languages he spoke and he said Amharic. I offered to show him my Amharic Book of Mormon and New Testament, and he agreed to see them.

I went out to my car and brought back in Amharic and English copies of the Book of Mormon, and Amharic and English copies of the New Testament.

We spoke for a bit and talked about the Ethiopian lady who had been abandoned by her boyfriend whom I encountered a couple months ago. He gave me his name and number and said he'd be willing to help translate if I made contact with her again.

Book of Mormon Moment #450. English. Sat. Oct 22, 2005

10/22/2005. Still at the same Chinese restaurant from the previous moment, having supper while waiting on laundry.

This was such a cool segue from the previous moment. I had given a Simplified Chinese and an English Book of Mormon to the cashier/waitress. She enthusiastically received them, and took them behind the counter. The cook came back out with the Chinese copy, sat at the table next to mine, and started reading. I put out another English copy on his table and tried to explain they are the same translation, and might help in learning English.

He went back behind the counter to cook for the next customers, but left both books on the table next to mine.

Two ladies came in and placed an order at the counter, then sat at the table next to mine while waiting. One of them picked up the English Book of Mormon and was browsing it.

This was so cool. I was already there, they basically came to me, and one showed interest by picking up the Book of Mormon on their table on their own. If this wasn't the Lord dumping an opportunity in my lap, I don't know what is.

I forget how I started the conversation. I think I asked her if she'd like a free copy of that or of the Bible. She said she would like a copy. The other lady said she'd like a King James Bible, and that she already had a Book of Mormon. Then the first lady said she'd like a Bible too.

Wow.

I excused myself to go out to the car, and brought back in two LDS edition King James Bibles, the ones that are about 2" thick. One was a new soft-cover, and the other was a used bonded-leather one I got on Ebay. I also brought back in another English Book of Mormon just in case.

The English Books of Mormon had pieces of Post-It notes at 3rd Nephi Chapter 11, indicating it is the "best part", and another one at Moroni 10:3-5 indicating "How to know that this book is true."

The ladies graciously accepted the Bibles and the Book of Mormon. The one who wanted just the Bible also browsed through the extra Book of Mormon. We chatted a little bit. She asked me if I had memorized the books of the Book of Mormon. I said I thought so. So she turned to the index, and quized me. I passed! She also pointed out to the other lady and read the Post-It note that said "How to know that this book is true."

Book of Mormon Moment #449. Chinese. Sat, Oct 22, 2005.

10/22/2005. Laundry night, with just one load. I wanted to wash some stuff before my full laundry trip next Monday or Tuesday. Ok, you're probably thinking I'm a loser for doing laundry on a Saturday night (a fact I won't argue), but this turned into a very serendipitous "divine appointment". A double appointment even.

I went to the laundry down the street that's right next to a Chinese restaurant. I've placed Books of Mormon at this restaurant on at least two previous occasions, plus a third where I placed at least a DVD with a Chinese audio track, and maybe another Book of Mormon.

I was hungry and hadn't eaten supper, so I started the washing machine, got my computer case containing English and Chinese BoM's and a couple of DVD's from the car, and went over to the restaurant. Due to different shifts and employee turnover, you can often go back to restaurants and find diferent people working there.

The cashier and cook were just finishing their supper, and went behind the counter just as I arrived. I placed my order and sat down next to the table where they were sitting.

The cashier came back to clear the table where they had eaten, and I asked her if she liked to read in Chinese. She said yes, and I started to open my case. I asked if she was from Taiwan or China, and she said mainland China. I pulled out the Simplified Chinese Book of Mormon, said it was from my church, and free, and handed it to her. She immediately started flipping through it. I then offered the English and she accepted it too. She was very enthusiastic and was happy to receive them. The cook came out to look, they spoke a bit, and he went back behind the counter. I offered another set for him, but she declined, and I took it that they could share.

I noticed her reading the book back in the kitchen area when he had a few free seconds.

While I was eating, the cook came out front with the Chinese copy and started reading it at the table next to mine. He said he didn't read English, but I put out another English Book of Mormon on his table and tried to explain how they are the same translation and could be used together to learn some English.

He later went back behind the counter to cook when more customers came in, but he left both the English and the Chinese Books of Mormon on the table. This led right into the next moment.

Book of Mormon Moment #448. Tagalog. Wed, Oct 19, 2005.

10/19/2005. I stopped at a nearby Fed-Ex Kinko's copy center to check something at a public internet terminal. Upon leaving, there was a man in the parking lot getting out of his car, and he seemed to be African, but I did not make an approach. There was only a split second as he was about to go inside and I was headed in the opposite direction.

Anyway, I stopped at a gas station on the way home for some soda. I guess I didn't get enough caffeine at lunch.

I stopped and there were two clerks. One looked Asian, and I thought he could be Thai. But there was a lot of people so I got into the other line.

After I checked out and paid, there was a lot less people, so I got back in the line for the Asian guy, and when it was my turn with him (there were no other people behind me, so I didn't delay anyone) I asked if he was Thai. Oops, wrong. He was Filipino, and spoke Tagalog. I offered a free Book of Mormon, from my church, in Tagalog. He was pleasantly surprised and eagerly said yes. So I retrieved a Tagalog and English copy from the car, and presented them to him. Again, no one else was in his line, so I didn't disrupt things. He was very happy to receive them, and I suggested he could call me or the other numbers in the books if he wanted more information.

Book of Mormon Moment #447. French/Lingala. Wed, Oct 19, 2005.

10/19/2005. I went back to the African grocery store, where I had been Tuesday, October 11th. The owner had already given out a Shona Book of Mormon for me, and the recipient called me later that day, so I wanted to re-stock her with another Shona copy, and some more French copies.

Today I gave her 2 more French, 1 Shona, and 3 English copies of the Book of Mormon, a French New Testament, an English New Testament, and 3 copies of the multi-lingual "Together Forever" DVD that has a French audio track (catalog # 54411-090 at www.ldscatalog.com, only $1.18/each in cases of 50.)

There was a French-speaking man shopping at the same time, and both the owner and I engaged him in conversation about the books I had. I ended up giving him French and English copies of the Book of Mormon, and a "Together Forever" DVD.

When I got back to my car, and was re-arranging things, he came out in the parking lot going towards his car. I engaged him in conversation again, suggesting he call me or any of other phone numbers in the material I gave him.

I asked where he was from and he said Congo, in central Africa. I asked if he spoke Swahili, and he said no. I asked if he spoke Lingala and he said yes. So I offered him a Book of Mormon in Lingala, and he was pleasantly surprised and enthusiastic. I went back to my car's trunk, and he followed. I dug out a Lingala copy and gave it to him, and his face lit up. It made his day.

Book of Mormon Moment #446. Chinese. Wed, Oct 19, 2005.

10/19/2005. I had lunch today at a sit-down Chinese restaurant on West 38th Street. I had been there before, and placed books with someone, but this cashier was new.

The food there is pretty good, and identical to most other Chinese small restaurants in strip malls.

When the cashier brought out my order, he noticed the Chinese Books of Mormon on my table, so I offered them. He didn't speak English very well. His vocabulary seemed limited to restaurant-related items. But he got the jist of my offer.

He said he didn't read English, but I said he could read them together to help to learn English. I don't know if he understood or not, but he accepted the English one too.

I showed him the other copies I had with me and offered them for the others in the kitchen. The next time he was out to bring out my egg roll, he indicated the others were not interested.

Book of Mormon Moment #445. Amharic. Wed, Oct 19, 2005.

10/19/2005. After picking up a package at the counter at the Post Office, I headed out and met an Eritrean lady in the lobby. She spoke Tigrinya and Amharic, so I offered her an Amharic Book of Mormon. She accepted, so I went out to the car and retrieved Amharic and English copies, came back in, and presented them. She graciously accepted them.

The other lady she was with, her sister-in-law, was still at the counter. I asked if the other lady would like one, and she said she'd ask. I said I'd wait outside for them to finish their business.

When they came out, the other lady said I had already given her one. Oops. I have given out a lot in Amharic, and the encounters are so short, that I don't remember faces very well. They were very polite, and I excused myself.

Book of Mormon Moment #444. Chinese. Mon, Oct 17, 2005.

10/17/2005. I decided to go out of town for lunch today. There's a small town about 30 minutes Northwest of Indy. I looked online and found two Chinese restaurants there. I picked one, and made a mental note of the address, but when I got there it was closed, and a sign said it was closed every Monday.

I didn't remember what the address of the other one was, so I went to a nearby Kroger grocery store, asked to borrow a Yellow Pages, and looked up the other one. It was just one block up the street from the Kroger.

It was a nice buffet. When the server came to take my empty plate, she noticed the Chinese Books of Mormon on my table, so I asked her if she liked to read Chinese. She didn't really answer, so I asked if she was from China or Taiwan. She said China. I couldn't tell if she was just really shy, or if she didn't speak English very well.

I offered her the books, and she didn't really answer but went into the kitchen, and I could hear her asking the people back there something. She came back out and politely declined.

I couldn't tell whether she needed their permission to accept the books, or whether she wasn't interested and just went back to see if anyone else was. Anyway, I didn't press the issue.

When I finished eating, I did something I haven't done before. I was not inspired to do it, I just felt like it. I left a nice tip (as usual) but I also left the Simplified Chinese Book of Mormon and the English Book of Mormon on the table. I also left two multi-lingual DVD's of "Together Forever" which have Mandarin and Cantonese audio tracks. (The DVD's were in paper sleeves, not the plastic DVD cases.)

I hope that wasn't overbearing. I'm not sure how I feel about that.

As I write this, another thought came to mind. The next time a Mandarin-speaker declines like that, and I'm not sure they understand the offer, I could ask if they would like to speak to one of the Mandarin-speaking members that I know, and call him on my cell phone.

Book of Mormon Languages given out so far, as of April 2011.

Click here to see ALL the languages in which the Book of Mormon has been translated.

The following is a list of languages that I've given out so far in Indianapolis. Countries where the language is spoken are in parenthesis.

====================
Books of Mormon, placed one-on-one, face-to-face:

Afrikaans (South Africa), Albanian (Nov 2007), Amharic (Ethiopia), Arabic, Bengali (Bangladesh, India), Cambodian, Cebuano (Philippines), Croatian, Dutch, Chinese, English, Fante (Ghana), French, Greek, Haitian Creole, Hiligaynon (aka Ilonggo) (Philippines), Hindi (India), Hmong, Hungarian, Igbo (Nigeria), Ilokano (Philippines), Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Kisii (Kenya), Korean, Laotian, Latvian, Lingala (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Lithuanian, Mongolian, Navajo, Persian (aka Farsi) (Iran), Polish, Pohnpeian (Micronesia), Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Samoan, Shona (Zimbabwe), Sinhala (India), Slovenian, Spanish, Swahili (Tanzania, Kenya), Tagalog (Philippines), Tamil (Sri Lanka, India), Telugu (India), Thai, Tongan, Tswana (Botswana), Turkish, Twi (Ghana), Ukrainian, Urdu (Pakistan), Vietnamese, Xhosa (South Africa), Yoruba (Nigeria), Zulu (South Africa). (58 languages.)

===================
Books of Mormon, other languages placed through helpers, or outside of Indianapolis:

Czech, German.

===================
Languages in which there is no Book of Mormon yet, but I placed a copy of Gospel Fundamentals, or Gospel Principles Simplified, or the Joseph Smith Testimony pamphlet:

Bambara, Bemba, Burmese, Ewe, Fon, Fulani, Hausa, Kannada, Luganda (Jan 2011), Malayalam, Mandinka, Marathi, Ndebele, Pashto, Punjabi, Somali (Af-Maxaa dialect), Tshiluba, Wolof. (17)

==================

Languages which are represented in Indianapolis, and for which the church has material (Book of Mormon or other) but I haven't given out any yet.

Afar.

=================

Languages which I've encountered, for which I don't believe the church has any material.

Chichewa (Malawi), Gujerati (India), Isoko (Nigeria), Somali (Af-Maay dialect), Tigrinya (Eritrea).

Moment #443. Punjabi. Wed, Oct 12, 2005.

10/12/2005. I still felt like there was another opportunity, so I drove further East on the street. There was a strip mall that I felt drawn to, but all the stores were closed so I figured it was the gas station in front of the strip mall. I went in and bought a paper, and the cashier looked and sounded Hispanic. I asked "Habla usted Espanol?", but he said no. Ack! A big faux-pas on my part.

He was from India and spoke Punjabi and Hindi. He had been in Indiana only a few months, but had lived in New York for 9 years. So that explained his somewhat Hispanic accent.

I offered to show him free books from my church, and he readily agreed. I brought in Punjabi and English Gospel Fundamentals, and Hindi and English copies of the Book of Mormon. He eagerly accepted the Punjabi and English Gospel Fundamentals, and declined the Hindi Book of Mormon. Most of the Punjabis that I've met can speak Hindi, but don't read it, so I didn't push it. I suppose I could have offered just the English Book of Mormon, but I didn't. He started flipping through the Punjabi Gospel Fundamentals. We chit-chatted a bit before I left.

Book of Mormon Moment #442. Spanish. Wed, Oct 12, 2005.

10/12/2005. After getting gas at the Shell, I thought of what to do, go back home, go visit a friend on the East side, or go look for more opportunities. I felt inspired to go turn East and look for more opportunities. I passed another gas station, and felt drawn to it, but it was too late to turn so I had to go down the street and turn around and come back. I didn't fill up previously, so I could get some more gas.

As I went in to pre-pay there was an ethnic-looking young lady coming out. She spoke with an accent but I couldn't identify it. The cashier didn't seem to be my intended contact, so I went back out and put some more gas in the car.

The young lady was parked in a parking spot in front of me, standing outside of her car, and had just got off of her cell phone when I was done putting gas in the car. I asked her "Parlez vous francais?" but she didn't understand me. But she was from the Dominican Republic and spoke Spanish, and just a little French. I said I like to give out Bibles and asked if she needed or wanted a Bible in Spanish or French. She said she would like one in Spanish.

I got out a zip lock bag containing a Spanish Bible and a Spanish Book of Mormon. I presented the Bible first, then explained that we believe in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon. She accepted the Spanish Book of Mormon too. I asked if she'd like the English to go with it, and she said okay, but just the Book of Mormon. So I got out an English Book of Mormon from the car and gave it to her.

Another man who seemed to know her then arrived, and I offered him a Bible, and he politely declined. He didn't seem offended or bothered by my offer at all. But the young lady was genuinely interested in the books.

Book of Mormon Moment #441. Hindi. Wed, Oct 12, 2005.

10/12/2005. I stopped at a Shell station for gas, and prepaid. The cashier was from the Northern part of India and Spoke Hindi and Nepalese. I offered him a Hindi and English Book of Mormon and he accepted. As I drove away I looked back in and it seemed as if he was reading them.

Journal Entry. Wed, Oct 12, 2005.

10/12/2005. I had earlier called the Zionsville Sisters to follow up on some referrals, and one of them called me back.

1) They have a French-speaking investigator who committed to baptism, but hadn't set a date. He has received some opposition from his parents, and was postponing his decision to get baptized. This investigator was not my referral, but I had loaned the sisters some French-language church videos for him.

2) The baby-sitter and children of the sisters' Vietnamese neighbors had taken some lessons and were progressing. The parents weren't interested. When I dropped off the French videos with the Sisters, I noticed this family playing outside next door, and I pointed them out to the Sisters and encouraged them to approach that family and offer them a Book of Mormon in their language.

3) Earlier in the year, the Ward Mission Leader and I gave Twi and English copies of Gospel Fundamentals to a lady who called me after seeing one of my flyers at her place of work. The Twi Book of Mormon hadn't come out yet, but we gave her an English copy. After the Twi Book of Mormon became available, I ordered some, and gave one to our ward missionaries to pass along to the Zionsville Sisters during an exchange. During our phone conversation tonight, the Sister confirmed that they did give the Twi Book of Mormon to the lady, and had already had two discussions with her, and she expressed interest in visiting church !

Book of Mormon Moment #440. Vietnamese. Wed, Oct 12, 2005.

10/12/2005. It was about supper time. I planned on eating on the East side of town before going to a meeting in Lawrence that was scheduled for 7:30pm. I drove East on Washington Street hoping to find an ethnic restaurant I hadn't been to before. I was pretty sure I had previously seen some between where I was and Post Road. I passed a Chinese buffet where I had eaten and had placed a few books before, but didn't feel inspired to eat there tonight.

After a while I saw another Chinese buffet restaurant from the road, and felt inspired to turn in there. As I approached that Chinese restaurant, I then saw a Vietnamese restaurant next to it, whose sign was not visible from the road. It took me a while to figure out which place I was being drawn to, and I finally decided it was the Vietnamese restaurant. But first I went to a gas station next door to get a newspaper.

I went in, and sat down. The only other customers were a family. The waitress took my order. I got a noodle dish with chicken. It was great, one of the best Asian dishes I've ever had.

When I went to pay, I asked the waitress/cashier/owner if she liked to read Vietnamese. She did and I offered the Vietnamese Book of Mormon. She started flipping through it. She was not as enthusiastic about the English copy. But when I opened both and she read the Vietnamese as I read the English, the benefit of using it to improve her English dawned on her, and she accepted the English copy.

I offered her more copies for other employees but she turned them down. She tried to pay me, but I insisted they were free.

Book of Mormon Moment #439. Tagalog. Wed, Oct 12, 2005.

10/12/2005. I stopped by an Asian/Vietnamese/Filipino grocery store on the East side of town today while doing errands. I made some purchases, including some instant noodles for the missionaries.

The engaged the cashier/owner in a conversation. I thought I had offered the owners some Vietnamese Books of Mormon on a previous occasion, but I wasn't sure. I asked her, and she said that she had bought the store within the past few months. She is from the Philippines, and speaks Tagalog.

I offered to show her a Tagalog Bible and Book of Mormon and she enthusiastically said okay. I retrieved a Tagalog New Testament, a Tagalog Book of Mormon, and an English Book of Mormon from the car. She eagerly accepted them and asked how much she owed. I said they were free. We chit-chatted a while, and then I remembered that one of the Church's multi-lingual DVDs had a Tagalog sound track. So I went back to the car, checked the DVDs and brought back in a "Together Forever" DVD. She was even more excited about that.

We chit-chatted some more before I left.

A callback! From earlier today (#437). Shona. Tues, Oct 11, 2005.

10/11/2005. I received a call from a gentleman thanking me for the Shona Book of Mormon that the proprietress of the African grocery store gave him earlier in the day. This man is from Zimbabwe and speaks Shona and English.

I asked if he'd like to talk to a member of our church from Zimbabwe, and he said yes. So I gave him the name and number of Brother E in the Zionsville Ward. Brother E is originally from South Africa, but lived in Zimbabwe a while before coming to the United States. Brother E speaks Shona, English, and Zulu.

I then asked my caller if he knew the musical group Mushawaparara Mbira in Zimbabwe. He was surprised and said he did. I said that a member of that group, E, now lives in Indianapolis here on the West side. This gentleman's phone number (on my caller ID) indicated he also is on the West side of Indy. So I gave him E's name and number.

Book of Mormon Moment #437-438. Various African. Tue, Oct 11, 2005.

10/11/2005. I was on the NW side of town running errands. I decided to stop at an African grocery store. I wanted to get some Fufu flour and some ginger beer. They have real ginger beer, not artificially flavored, or merely American style ginger ale.

The proprietress recognized me from when I gave her English and French copies of the Book of Mormon on a previous visit. She's from Liberia. She said she recently gave her French Book of Mormon to someone else who couldn't speak English very well.

She was very enthusiastic about the Book of Mormon being in so many languages, and said many African immigrants are looking for churches here. Her husband is from Ghana and speaks Twi, and when I mentioned that the Book of Mormon is now in Twi since the last time I was there, she was enthusiastic about it.

I brought in the rest of my Arican language books, and gave her an additional copy in each of the following languages: Efik, Fante, French, Igbo, Lingala, Shona, Swahili, Twi, and Zulu. Plus four copies in English.

Another of her friends/customers came in and I practiced some of the French that I learned in French class with her, and gave this lady a copy of the Book of Mormon in French and one in English.

Someone who did the same thing with Bibles.

A friend sent me this story in email. It sounded like a "glurge" so I checked it out at the web site that debunks urban legends, http://www.snopes.com . It turns out to be true. Or at least they investigated it, found the author, talked with him, found that it was published in a newspaper (not that that makes it true in itself) and the folks at Snopes.com have given it credence.

http://www.snopes.com/glurge/daniel.asp

It's about a homeless man that travels the country, working for food and enough money to buy Bibles and give them out.

Moment #436. Missed opportunity. Wed, Oct 5, 2005.

10/05/2005. Dollar General store. Man from Algeria who spoke English, French, Arabic. My French class has been over for a few weeks, and I literally forgot I can speak enough French to offer a Book of Mormon. Doht! A real Homer Simpson moment. He wasn't in the check-out line, and I didn't want to bother him further while he was still shopping. I suppose I could have dilly-dallied a little more in the store until he was ready to check out, or waited for him outside. Or, I could have just spoken French while he was shopping (had I remembered I could speak a little French) and the employees wouldn't have even known I was proselyting. But I just didn't want to pester him beyond making small talk. However, the guilty feeling afterward let me know I messed up. That, and the fact I did feel motivated to initiate contact.

Book of Mormon Moment #435. Arabic. Wed, Oct 5,2005.

10/05/2005. As I pulled into a parking spot in front of the post office, a man was walking towards his taxi. The taxi company is one that employs many Africans. We made eye contact, and I asked him if he was Nigerian. He said no, he was from Sudan, and he spoke Arabic. I offered him a free book in Arabic from the church, and he said he was Muslim. I said the book was Christian, but he might want to see it, just to have something in Arabic. He thought that was okay, and I said I'd get it out of my car. He came over to my car, and I handed him an Arabic Book of Mormon from my trunk. I asked if he would like the English translation to go along with it, and he indicated he'd like it too. We shook hands, and exchanged names. As he was going back to his car, I remembered I knew a few words of Arabic, and said "shukran" (thank-you) and he said "afwan", (you're welcome.)

A lot of times, people come over to my car, but I never ask them to come over to the car. Usually, I say "please wait here" so they don't have to go out of their way.

Book of Mormon Moment #434. Chinese. Tues, Oct 4, 2005.

10/04/2005. I invited one of the singles from Avon to have dinner with me. We went to a small Chinese buffet restaurant. We set the two kinds of Chinese Books of Mormon, and an English copy on our table. When the employee came by she noticed them, and I offered her a free copy. She thought it was the Bible, and said that a student had given her a copy at school. I pointed out that we believe in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon. She accepted the Simplified Chinese version, but declined the English. She was very busy, so I didn't press her to take an English copy.

There were two other employees from the kitchen who were attending the buffet steam table. A couple of times I noticed her flipping through the book at the front counter. I thought of asking the main employee (who was the cashier and also busing tables) if we could give her books for the other employees, but she was busy and there didn't seem to be an opening. It may have been better to sit closer to the front counter. This place would be good to go back to for lunch.

Afterwards, when we got back to my car, I remembered that I had some of the church's multi-lingual DVDs with Chinese audio tracks. My date thought it okay to go back in and offer a free DVD. So we took a "Together Forever" DVD back in and waited at the counter, and she made the presentation. The employee was hesitant, but her little boy, about 5 years old, was excited at the prospect of a movie in Chinese, and he clinched the deal.

Moment #433. Arabic to elders. Sat Oct 1, 2005.

10/01/2005. One of the full time missionary elders asked for an Arabic Book of Mormon for an investigator, so I gave him one. He also asked about an audio Book of Mormon on CD or tape for an illiterate investigator, so I loaned him the Book of Mormon on CD (item 50023-000 from www.ldscatalog.com) that I keep in the car. Audio cassette version is 52047-000.