Bengali at laundromat. Mon, Oct 25, 2010.

10/25/2010. 1258. A couple from Bangladesh was using the washer next to mine, and I struck up a conversation with them. Later, I helped them use a dryer, as they seemed unfamiliar with the temperature setting, and how many dryer sheets to use.

Before I was done folding my laundry, they were sitting around waiting, so I offered them the Book of Mormon in Bengali. The husband agreed to receive it, and was enthusiastic about getting something to read in Bengali. I made him aware that it was Christian material from church, and he didn't have a problem with that. Almost all people from Bangladesh are Muslim.

I retrieved the Bengali copy and an English copy from my car and presented the books to them. They immediately started flipping through it, and they continued to read while I finished folding my laundry. We chatted some more and had a nice conversation. They helped me practice a few words and phrases in Bengali (aka "Bangla"), and I learned that there are regional differences in pronunciation.

Indianapolis to get a Temple.

It was announced at the last conference that the church will build a temple in the Indianapolis area. Other temples announced at the same time: Hartford, Connecticut; Tijuana, Mexico; Urdaneta, Philippines; and Lisbon, Portugal.

(Update, Jan 24, 2011: The location for the Indianapolis temple has been announced.)

The following is from the Indianapolis West Stake President. Carmel is the suburb directly North of and contiguous to Indianapolis.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

On Sunday I was privileged to meet with our Area Authority 70, Elder Lansing, and the other stake presidents in Indiana. We learned the following about the new Indianapolis Indiana Temple:

• It will be located in Carmel. The property has been identified, the purchase price agreed but the sale has not yet closed, so they will not disclose the exact location at this time.
  
• It is anticipated to be 50% larger than the Louisville Temple, near the scale of the recently-dedicated Gila Valley Temple in Arizona.
  
• It takes about three years from property purchase to temple dedication, so this might be anticipated in the Fall of 2013.
  
• Groundbreaking ceremonies typically occur one year from property purchase, so anticipate this in Fall of 2011.
  
• There are anticipated to be only three dedicatory sessions, with attendance by special invitation. All members will be invited to attend a closed-circuit broadcast in their meetinghouses. This will be for all baptized members 8 years and older who receive a special recommend from their bishop or branch president.

With this wonderful news, we feel blessed that the Lord sees Indiana Saints as a temple-worthy people, ready to sustain the work that will proceed in a House of the Lord. Our focus as individuals and families should now be to fulfill this expectation of our Father and His Son by becoming and remaining temple-worthy and engaging in preparation of names for temple work by indexing or direct ancestor research.

I bear you my testimony that the Savior Jesus Christ lives and that He will be in His temple in Indiana. Let us all prepare to come and rejoice in obtaining the blessings of the temple in our collective very near future.

Sincerely,

President Cowley

PS--you may pass this information along to your families and organization members.

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Related web sites:
temples.lds.org (official web site),
indianapolismormontemple.org (official web site),
ldschurchtemples.com (unofficial web site),
indianapolistemple.com (unofficial web site),
indianapolismormontemple.com (unofficial web site),
mormontemples.com (unofficial web site).

Missed opportunity. Wed, Oct 6, 2010.

10/06/2010. Journal entry. Missed opportunity. After eating supper I did some shopping at a couple stores in that shopping center. I eventually had to go to the restroom again, and it happened to be more convenient to stop at a fast-food restaurant (not the place I had just eaten at, but nearby) to use their restoom.

After using a business's restroom, I feel obligated to buy something, so I got in line to order. One of the two ladies in front of me was dressed in traditional clothing of India, so I struck up a conversation with them. But I chickened out, and didn't offer them any church material.

Bengali at restaurant. Wed, Oct 6, 2010.

10/06/2010. 1257. It was getting towards dinner-time, and I didn't want to fix supper at home so I tried to figure out which restaurant to go to. I was trying to decide between a sit-down Chinese restaurant and a Chinese buffet. I was leaning towards the buffet while I was out doing some errands prior to eating. However, before I turned down the street to go to the Chinese buffet, it seemed like the Spirit was tugging me to a different shopping center a few blocks away.

As I got there, I still wasn't sure which restaurant to go to. But as I looked at the signs in front of the shopping center, I saw the name of one restaurant, and it seemed like the Spirit was directing me there. I've been there before, it's a national chain (and non-ethnic), and I didn't remember any ethnic employees.

I haven't been as close to the Spirit lately, so I wasn't sure about the promptings, but it felt stronger than the normal "background noise" so I decided to give it a shot.

Several of the employees looked Hispanic, but the cashier looked South Asian (from India). As I got to the cashier, he obviously had an accent, but when I guessed he was from India, he corrected me and said he was from Bangladesh.

There was no one immediately behind me in line, so I ventured to offer him a free book in Bangla (Bengali) from my church and he was very interested, and accepted the offer. I said I'd go out to the car and get him one. I made sure he knew it was Christian religious material, and he was fine with that. I also asked if it was okay to give it to him while he was on duty, and he said that was okay too. In fact, he wanted it then, and was very positive when I said I had one in the car.

After paying, I took my food to a table, then went out and retrieved a Bengali copy and an English copy of the Book of Mormon from my car. When I went back in, no one else was at the cashier station, so I had the chance to go and present it. He was very grateful for it.

Yoruba at African grocery. Tue, Oct 5, 2010.

10/05/2010. 1256. After eating, I went to a nearby African grocery store to do a little shopping. The owners are from Nigeria and speak Yoruba. I've given copies of the Book of Mormon to the owners before, but they weren't there and some relatives were manning the store. I hadn't given anything to these folks, so after I made my purchases I offered them the Yoruba Book of Mormon. They were interested, so I took my stuff to the car and brought back in Yoruba and English copies of the Book of Mormon, which they enthusiastically received. They asked a few question and we chatted some more before I left.

Wolof at restaurant. Tue, Oct 5, 2010.

10/05/2010. 1255. I ate supper at an African restaurant. The owner speaks Wolof and French as well as English. She accepted my offer of a Wolof copy and an English copy of Gospel Fundamentals (aka Gospel Principles Simplified, or Gospel Principles Old Edition). And she was delighted to receive it. Another employee joined the conversation and wanted one too, so I went out to the car and got another set for her.

Next time I'm there I'll offer some French material.

Missed op at laundromat. Mon, Oct 4, 2010.

10/04/2010. Journal Entry. Missed opportunity. I was at one of my favorite laundromats. There was another customer there who spoke with a beautiful Caribbean accent. I was waiting for the perfect moment to casually strike up a conversation, when both of us were just waiting on the machines. But she was done and left before the moment came. If ya snooze, ya lose. And I missed the chance to create an opportunity.