Moment #572. Beautiful East-African women at the laundromat. Mon, May 8, 2006.

05/08/2006. East Africa produces some of the most beautiful women in the world. Supermodels Iman and Waris Dirie are from Somalia. Liya Kebede and Esti Mamo are from Ethiopia.

There are many people in Indianapolis from Ethiopia and Eritrea. Eritrea is North of Ethiopia, and used to be part of it at one time.

Tonight was a late-nighter at the all-night laundromat down the street. When I started my wash there was a lady to whom I think I had given material before. But she was busy with her laundry and three highly energetic small children. I didn't talk to her tonight.

After I put my wash in the dryers, two young-adult women came in. They looked like they were from East Africa. They were very busy using different sized washers and running between them. But they ended up using dryers close to mine. That was perfect. I could start a conversation without leaving my space or encroaching on their space.

I spoke to the girl using the dryer near me. They were from Eritrea and spoke Tigrinya as their main language, but they also spoke and read Amharic. I said my church has books in Amharic, that they're free, and I had some in my car. She agreed to see them. I brought in two Amharic and two English copies of the Book of Mormon, and one Amharic and one English copy of Gospel Fundamentals. (I only had one Amharic Gospel Fundamentals in the car, but had more back home.) On seeing the title, she said she was Catholic, but she still accepted them. She accepted the other pair of Books of Mormon for her friend. She liked the idea that you could cross reference them with chapter and verse. Her friend came over, and I got to practice a couple of words in Amharic.

I forgot that I had two copies of the Amharic New Testament in my car.

After I got home, I pondered whether to go back and give the other girl a pair of Amharic and English Gospel Fundamentals. I debated a little bit, and decided to go for it, and also give them the Amharic New Testaments.

I went back and they were still there, and I presented the other books, so they each now had an Amharic New Testament, English and Amharic Books of Mormon, and English and Amharic Gospel Fundamentals.

They asked what the Book of Mormon was about, so I gave the 30 second synopsis using the pictures in the front.