Moment #522. Punjabi/Hindi at gas station. Wed. Feb 1, 2006.

02/01/2006. I left the laundromat and went to the bank branch and got some cash from the ATM. Leaving the bank I turned to go home, and then received what I thought was a clear prompting to take another just slightly longer route along the main road I had been on. So I turned around and went back to the main street and continued on.

Down the street there was a fast food restaurant on the left side of the street that caught my attention and I felt "tugged" there. However, it was too late to turn directly into their parking lot. The next business over was a convenience store gas station. I thought I'd get a newspaper at the convenience store and go back to the fast food restaurant and read it there while having a 99 cent sandwich.

It turned out the convenience store was an intended destination anyway.

The family running the store was from India.

I bought a newspaper, and asked the gentleman what languages he spoke. He said English and Punjabi, and then he asked me what languages I spoke. I said English and Spanish. He said "gracias."

I forget if he said Hindi too, but everyone from India speaks the national language of Hindi, and in addition to that speaks their state or regional language, such as Gujerati, Bengali, Punjabi, Telugu, etc.

The gentleman was very friendly and agreed to see the books I offered. He was not reluctant at all, but it seemed he agreed more out of a sense of customer relations than of genuine interest.

I went to the car and got Punjabi and English Gospel Fundamentals, and Hindi and English copies of the Book of Mormon.

The older gentleman had sat back down and a younger man who had overheard our conversation was now at the counter. He eagerly accepted the books and asked where our church was. I pointed out the info flyers in the books and my card. We chatted a bit and then I left.

To obey the original prompting, I then drove next door to the fast food place, but the door to the dining area was locked, and only their drive-through was open. That has happened before, being directed to a highly visible place in order to get to a nearby place that was not as visible. Or, of receiving generalized directions, and not having the details made known until I get there.

After I got home I felt a bit overwhelmed by it all and offered a prayer of thanksgiving and to ask blessings on those to whom I gave books. I've debated whether or not to include mentioning the promptings in this and the previous post, or just include the outward facts of where, when, and what. I may go back and edit those out later.

I don't feel particularly worthy of such divine guidance. But I'll risk belaboring a point that I'm not sure is obvious. The Lord knows where everyone is. He knows who is ready to have a seed planted. If a seed-planter with seeds is driving past someone who is ready to receive a seed, is not the Lord capable of prompting the seed-planter to make contact?

One of the purposes of this blog is to encourage people to go and do likewise. I encourage you to find out what languages are spoken in your town, and keep copies of the Book of Mormon in those languages in your car. Or use pass-along cards, and keep a list handy of Book of Mormon languages.