Samoan at laundromat. Sat, Aug 11, 2012.

08/11/2012. 1313. Things have slowed down. I haven't been traveling as much, or going to as many restaurants. So I don't strike up as many conversations with strangers as before, and therefore have less chances to offer church material. There have been some other placements this year that I haven't bothered to log, so I've lost track of the exact number.

This evening I was doing laundry at a popular laundromat, I heard some folks speak a language that I did not recognize. We were within conversation distance, so I asked the lady who looked like the mom if they were Pacific Islanders (I just guessed). She said yes, and that they were from Samoa.

I then asked if they were Mormons, since Mormons make up a large percentage of Samoa. (I forget where I read that, so it might have been Tonga, or some other Pacific island nation.) She said they weren't. I asked if they'd like a free book in Samoan from the Mormon church. She was genuinely interested and said yes. I said I might have a copy in the car, and I asked if I could give it to them there. She said okay.

So I stopped what I was doing for a bit, and went out to the car and dug around the trunk and found a Samoan copy of the Book of Mormon. I also grabbed an English edition. I took them back in and presented them to her, and she still seemed genuinely interested.

I had a list of local chapels in the books, and I pointed out the nearest one. And I introduced myself with my calling card that I had in the books. I said that if they wanted more copies for the various members of her family, she could call one of the phone number for more free copies.

It was a very nice encounter. Nice folks.