Arabic at restaurant. Sat, Oct 20, 2012.

10/20/2012. 1315. The owner of a restaurant where I was eating spoke Arabic.  I offered him a Book of Mormon in Arabic, and he accepted.  I gave him both an Arabic and an English copy that I had in the car.

Swahili and Arabic at restaurant. Fri, Mar 4, 2011.

03/04/2011. 1275. I was at a restaurant for a buffet lunch. There was only one other customer at the time. We were both at the food table. I forget what we initially talked about, but I noticed that he spoke with a slight accent, and his name tag showed a non-Anglo name. I asked where he was originally from, and he said Kenya. In addition to perfect English, he spoke Swahili and Arabic. He was rather chatty himself, so he told me some of his life story. I brought up the Book of Mormon being available in Swahili and Arabic, and he was very interested in getting something to read. I was all out of English copies of the Book of Mormon, but I was pretty sure I still had Arabic and Swahili in the car.

After I filled my plate and put it on my table, I went outside and retrieved Arabic and Swahili copies from my car. I went over to where he was sitting to present them, and he enthusiastically received them. I explained that I was out of English copies, but I showed him the phone number that he could call to get a free English copy.

Because he was wearing his name tag, I might be able to contact him through his employer for a follow-up.

Arabic, gas station, road trip. Thu, Nov 19, 2009.

On a road-trip from Indiana to Florida.

11/19/2009. 1203. While in Ohio, not long after dinner, I recognized an Interstate exit where I had made two placements during a previous trip. I felt inspired to stop at one of the two gas stations I had previously been to. I bought a soft drink, and it seemed to me that the cashier was not the same guy as before. He spoke with an accent, so I asked where his family was from. He knew English, but wasn't quite fluent, so I guessed he's only been here a little while. He was from a country in the Middle East, spoke Arabic and had only been in the United States a few months. I jokingly told him he was a Buckeye now, and he got the joke.

I offered him "a free book in Arabic from my church" and he agreed to see it. I made sure he knew it was Christian material and he was fine with that, and said I could give it to him. So I retrieved an Arabic copy and an English copy of the Book of Mormon from my car and went back in and presented them. He enthusiastically and gratefully received them because he was very eager for bilingual Arabic/English material, and he had no problem with it being Christian material.

Punjabi, Hindi, Arabic, Chinese. Road trip. Wed, Jul 8, 2009.

07/08/2009. 1162. I took a day trip to visit relatives. Around lunch-time I came across an Interstate exit where I had noticed an Indian restaurant during a nearby fuel stop on a previous trip, so I decided to eat there. The cashier spoke Punjabi, and accepted my offer of Punjabi and English copies of the Gospel Fundamentals manual, and Punjabi and English copies of the Joseph Smith Testimony pamphlets.

1163. Later, that evening, after visiting with relatives I was on my way home, but still in the metropolitan area where they lived. As I was about to pass a certain exit, I felt a spiritual prompting to take that exit, but I was in the wrong lane to quickly act upon it. I was pretty sure it was a spiritual prompting, as opposed to my own thought, because I was not looking for opportunities or thinking about stopping anywhere at the time, but I had planned to look for a Chinese restaurant later on.

The next exit was only a mile away, so I took it, got back on the Interstate and took the previous exit. As I observed the sign containing the logos of the gas stations at that exit, I felt prompted to visit a certain one. However, when I reached the stop-light at the end of the exit ramp, I received a prompting to turn in the opposite direction from that gas station. I figured there must be another opportunity or "assignment" in that direction too, and could then come back and get that other gas station on the way back.

So I turned in that direction, looking for an opportunity, and hoping for further directions. It was about time for a late dinner anyway, so I thought there might be an opportunity at a restaurant. (My relatives eat late, so waiting around to eat with them would have caused me to arrive home too late at night.) Within a couple blocks there was a gas station, and I felt an impression that that was where the assignment was.

I went in and bought something, and as I paid I asked the cashier where he was from. India. And what languages he spoke. Punjabi and Hindi. I was out of Punjabi Gospel Fundamentals, but he also read Hindi. Many Punjabis who speak both Punjabi and Hindi, read Punjabi, but don't read Hindi; as Hindi is their second language, and is not taught in many of their schools. But this guy did read Hindi, so I offered him a Hindi Book of Mormon, and he accepted. After paying I went to the car and brought back Hindi and English copies of the Book of Mormon, and a Hindi Liahona. He gratefully and enthusiastically accepted them. Yup, it was worth the side-trip, and very convenient to the Interstate, to boot.

1164. I headed to the other side of the Interstate to one of the other gas stations, the one that I thought was my "assignment", and bought something there. Based on the cashier's accent, I asked him if he spoke Arabic, which he did. I offered him a free book in Arabic from church, and he heartily agreed to receive it. So after paying, I retrieved an Arabic and an English Book of Mormon from the car, went back in and presented them. He was also grateful and enthusiastic in accepting them. In both cases I made sure they realized it was Christian material before I retrieved the items from the car.

And I went on my way rejoicing, as missionaries used to say. Defintely worth the stop, and even backtracking the mile. The Lord knew they were there.

1165. Further towards home, just outside of that metro area, was another town that seemed like a good spot to look for a Chinese restaurant. It didn't feel like an assignment this time, but as I drove, I prayed if I should take that exit, and the answer seemed to be "you can if you want." So I took the exit, and headed towards the town. I went about three blocks without seeing a shopping center or strip mall, and then took the turn indicated by the "Business District" sign, and within that next block was a strip mall type shopping plaza. I turned in there and at the other end was a Chinese restaurant.

It was a typical mom-and-pop place, mainly carry-out, but also with tables for dining in. I ordered, paid, sat down, put the Chinese Simplified and English copies of the Book of Mormon, and the Asian "Finding Happiness" DVD on my table, and read the paper that I had bought at the last gas station.

Their son noticed the material when he brought out my food, but he didn't read Chinese, he just spoke it. As I ate, I needed another can of soda, so I went back to the counter to buy another, and there made the offer of material. The cashier agreed to see it, so I went back to my table and brought both copies back to the counter. The cashier accepted the Chinese copy, but declined the English, and declined the "Finding Happiness" DVD.

Later on, as I left, their son was outside on the sidewalk talking to another teen who looked like he could have been the son of the Indian couple who owned the sandwich shop next door. I struck up a conversation with the young man, and he ended up accepting the English Book of Mormon that his mom turned down.

1166. I also offered the other young man a Book of Mormon in Hindi for his parents, but he politely declined. I thought of going in to offer it to them directly, but I had already eaten. Maybe I can remember to stop at the sandwich shop on the next trip.

French, Arabic at restaurant. Thu, Jun 4, 2009

06/04/2009. 1156. I took our African investigator to a local restaurant. I wasn't sure what languages they spoke at the restaurant, so I only took in a couple copies of the French Liahona magazine. They weren't too busy, so the owner had time to chat with us. He was from a country near where the investigator is from, and spoke English, French, Arabic, and a local/regional dialect.

He seemed enthusiastic about the magazines, so I offered him more stuff. He agreed, so I went out to the car and retrieved an Arabic copy and a French copy of the Book of Mormon, and a French video of "Finding Faith in Christ", which he graciously accepted.

The food was very good, so I'm sure I'll be back to follow up.

Arabic, Yoruba at a store. Thu, Apr 23, 2009.

04/23/2009. 1134. I stopped by a store that is run by a former client of mine. It was just a social call. He invited me to come back behind the counter. We socialized a bit in between the time he was serving his customers. One of the customers there spoke with a cool accent. My guess was that he was French speaking, and he was. We started to talk about languages, and he spoke many. I eventually offered him some books from church in whatever languages he wanted. I made sure he knew they were Christian religious books. He requested Arabic and Yoruba. I also asked if he wanted the English translation, and he said okay. So I went out to my car and retreieved an Arabic, a Yoruba, and an English Book of Mormon. I didn't have all my boxes of stuff in there, or I would have offered him a Gospel Fundamentals in one of his other primary languages. I did have a "Together Forever" DVD that has a French audio track, so I threw that in for a bonus. He politely accepted all of them, and quickly flipped through the Arabic and Yoruba.

Arabic at grocery store. Tue, Mar 31, 2009.

03/31/2009. 1128. I was just starting to check out at the self-serve check-out registers at a grocery store. Two men in the next self-serve check-out aisle were just leaving, and were speaking a foreign language. As they passed by, I asked one of them what language they were speaking. He said Arabic, and they were from Sudan. I asked if he still liked to read in Arabic and he said yes. I offered a church book in Arabic, making mention that it was Christian material (since most Arabic-speakers are Muslim). He agreed to wait for me outside while I checked out, and then would get it for him.

I finished, paid, and went outside and got Arabic and English copies of the Book of Mormon from my car. I didn't even bother to put my stuff in the car, just leaving it sit in the cart. I walked around looking for them, and when someone honked their car horn at me, I turned around and it was them. They were very grateful for the books. I asked if they were Muslim, but he said they were Christian. I pointed out my name and the info flyer inside, and invited him to visit.

Fante, Twi, Arabic at restaurant. Mon, Feb 23, 2009.

02/23/2009. 1115. After I left the Chinese restaurant, I needed to make a left turn from the parking lot onto the street to get to the Big Lots store that I wanted to go to. But there was too much traffic to turn left, so I turned right, hoping to circle back.

At the first stop-light I turned right again, hoping to later make a third right, but the Spirit indicated that I should keep going on this street to have another encounter.

Just a block or two down the street, there was a fast-food restaurant on the left. It was a brand that I don't normally go to, and I don't think I've ever been to that chain. But the Spirit indicated I should go there for another book placement opportunity. I had just eaten, so I knew it wasn't my own desire to go there, and that was a clue that it was a real prompting.

I figured I could order something to go, save it and just eat it later.

Well, the cashier who took my order was a young black man with an accent. He was from a country in West Africa, and learned Twi and Fante while he was in Ghana. I offered him free books from church and he agreed to accept them. After paying and receiving my order, I took it out to the car and brought back in Twi, Fante, and English copies of the Book of Mormon. I presented them, and he graciously accepted them.

The manager joined the conversation, and I learned he spoke Arabic. I offered him an Arabic book, and he said okay. I made sure he knew it was a Christian book, and he said that was okay. So I went out to the car and retrieved Arabic and English copies of the Book of Mormon. He graciously accepted both.

Wow.

Arabic at gas station. French declined. Thu, Aug 14, 2008

08/14/2008. 1047. After eating I stopped at a gas station for a newspaper. The two employees were from the Middle East. One spoke Arabic, and he accepted my offer of Arabic and English copies of the Book of Mormon. The other spoke Arabic and French, and he politely declined to receive material. I had the Arabic and English copies in my car, so I gave them to him there.

Arabic, Spanish at gas station. Sat, Apr 12, 2008.

04/12/2008. 1013. Driving home from shopping I passed a gas station that I don't remember being to before. I felt a tug/impression to go there, but wasn't in the right lane, so I had to go on a bit and turn around.

I needed to buy some gas anyway, so I went in and prepaid. One cashier was getting off duty, and another starting. One was Hispanic, and the other looked as if he might have been from Africa, so I checked out his name tag, and his name had an Arabic spelling.

He was from Sudan and spoke Arabic. He agreed to receive an Arabic Book of Mormon, so I got out Arabic and English copies while I put gas in the car. He gratefully accepted them. The other cashier showed interest, and picked up the English copy, so I asked him if he'd like a Spanish copy. He said okay. I offered a Spanish Bible too, and he agreed to receive one. I went out and brought back Spanish and English copies of the Book of Mormon for him. I thought I had the Spanish Bible in my car, but didn't. He gratefully accepted them and flipped through them.

I went home and retrieved a Spanish Bible, and an English NIV bible for him, and went back. He was still there, and gratefully accepted those too.

Various. Road Trip Day 2. Tue, Jan 15, 2008

01/15/2008. Hopefully, I'll get around to fleshing this out when I get more time.

Since I flew down, and drove back, I could only take so many books in my checked baggage, and I didn't have the normal complement of inventory in my car.

952. Hindi Book of Mormon to lady at desk at motel. She declined to receive the English.

953. German declined at book store.

954. Pass-along card, Hindi, at convenience store across street from book store.

955. Simplified Chinese and English copies of Book of Mormon at Chinese restaurant near book store. DVD too, probably Finding Happiness.

956. Urdu Book of Mormon. No English. At convenience store/gas station. Man was from Pakistan. Bought item made in Mexico.

957. English KJV New Testament to cashier lady at gas station. She declined Book of Mormon and DVD.

958. Inspired exit. Urdu at gas station to cashier from Pakistan. He declined to receive the English copy.

959. Inspired exit. Cashier lady at gas station accepted NIV Bible and English Book of Mormon.

960. Gas station/truck stop. I thought I was out of Bengali Book of Mormon so gave the Bengali cashier just a pass-along card. Second cashier who spoke English only wanted an English Book of Mormon, so gave him a pass-along card too. A customer came along, an American guy who was stationed in Germany with US Army, and he spoke German, he accepted a German Book of Mormon. I asked about other employees, and they said one of the night shift cashiers spoke Urdu, so I left an Urdu Book of Mormon for him.

961. Macon, Georgia. Gas station. Hindi-speaking cashier accepted pass-along card.

962. Tug to shopping center. International store. Owner was from Sri Lanka, and she spoke Sinhala, but I didn't have any so gave her info flyer with list of languages and toll-free number to call. She also asked for Arabic, and I had that Book of Mormon so I gave that one to her. Nigerian customer wanted Igbo, but didn't have any, so gave her an info flyer. Also gave her the cell phone number of an Igbo-speaking member in the US (had his permission to give out his number to other Nigerians.) Also left a Telugu Book of Mormon with the store owner, since she knew Teulgu-speakers. Also gave NKJV (New King James Version) paperback Bibles, and KJV pocket sized New Testaments to owner and three customers. I had bought those real cheap at the book store. I had a small gospel conversation with one of the customers who is a part-time pastor.

963. Supper at a Greek restaurant. Left an info flyer with the employees to give their Greek boss. I had a Greek Book of Mormon with me, but didn't feel bold enough to leave it with them.

964. Telugu cashier at gas station. Didn't have any Telugu copies of Book of Mormon left, so gave him an info flyer with list of languages and toll free number.

965. Ethiopian cashier at gas station. Gave him an Amharic Book of Mormon, and encouraged him to call the toll free number on the flyer/pass-along card for a free English copy.

966. Pakistani cashier at gas station. Gave him Urdu Book of Mormon. He searched info flyer for his other language, and he said he was originally from Afghanistan. I asked "Pashto?". He said yes. I retrieved Pashto and English copies of Gospel Fundamentals from car and he was delighted to receive them.

967. Pakistani/Urdu cashier at gas station. I thought I was out of Urdu, but later learned I had one. I gave him a pass-along card and suggested he call for free Urdu Book of Mormon.

968. Same exit, other side of Interstate. Bengali cashier, gave pass-along card to him. Later realized I had one more Bengali Book of Mormon in car, and went back and gave it to him.

969. Gas station about a mile from exit, pass-along card for either Hindi or Bengali, forget which one.

970. Second gas station across street from previous stop, still about a mile from exit. Hindi-speaking cashier. Gave pass-along card.

971. Chinese restaurant. Simplified script Chinese and English Book of Mormon, and bilingual Simplified script Chinese/English New Testament.

Journal Entry. Should have stayed at this exit to check into a motel, but I disobeyed the Spirit and drove on.

972. Gas station. Pass-along card to Bengali-speaking owner. Other cashier from Ecuador.

973. At motel, gave Vietnamese Book of Mormon to man ahead of me in line. He said he'd give it to his father. Didn't have any more English. Stayed at this motel overnight.

Arabic at store. Mon, Nov 26, 2007.

11/26/2007. 921. I met an employee at a large store who spoke with an accent. He was very friendly to everyone, and he had a job where he could chat with me a while and also do his work.

He spoke with a cool accent, so I asked him where he was from. He was from the Middle East and spoke Arabic.

I offered him a free bilingual Arabic/English Bible, and he said he was interested, but he already had a New Testament and wanted a full Bible. I had a bilingual Arabic/English New Testament in my car, but had to go home to get the bilingual Arabic/English full Bible.

By the time I got back to the store, he was still on duty, and accepted the bilingual Bible. He also accepted the Arabic Book of Mormon when I offered it, but declined the English Book of Mormon saying he already had one.

Arabic at grocery store. Tue, Oct 16, 2007.

10/16/2007. 904. On my way home from the Chinese restaurant I passed a large grocery/department store. As I passed by, I believed I was prompted of the Spirit to go there. (For those who believe that Mormons make up their "prompted of the Spirit" stories, I would refer you to this story by Beth Moore, in which she recounts that she was urged of the Lord's Spirit to brush the hair of an elderly man in a wheelchair at an airport. It's very touching. Beth Moore has an organization called Living Proof Ministries.)

As soon as I went in, there was a couple with another lady speaking a foreign language. I chickened out of approaching them, and just went on to buy some produce.

However, when I checked out, the one couple was waiting up front for the other lady to finish checking out.

I approached the couple and asked what languages they spoke. I addressed the man, but the lady was the one who responded to my questions, so I then addressed her. They were from Egypt and spoke Arabic. I offered them a free copy of a bilingual Arabic/English Bible that I had bought from International Bible Society. They agreed to see it, so I asked them to wait while I retrieved it from my car.

I got it and also Arabic and English copies of the Book of Mormon. When I went back they had just come out of the store and were waiting outside. The lady to whom I had already spoken accepted the bilingual Bible, but when I presented the Arabic Book of Mormon, she politely declined. At that point the other lady came out, and she accepted the Arabic Book of Mormon. At first she declined the English Book of Mormon, saying she didn't read English well. But when I suggested that it could be used to learn more English, she accepted it.

Day trip. 5 people, 9 languages. Sat, Aug 11, 2007.

Some repeated spiritual impressions over the past year or more led me to take this day trip to a major city East of Indianapolis. First it was the city that came to mind. As I browsed the chapel locator at www.lds.org for chapels in that city, I received an impression for a certain ward. I then went to the online maps, and to www.anywho.com to look up Asian restaurants (Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese) near there. I found a particular Thai restaurant online, not far from that chapel, and that seemed to be my intended destination.

The feeling that I needed to make the trip persisted for at least a year, but I never "got around to it." Yesterday (Friday) I got a "go" signal, and knew that today was the day I had to make the trip. Looking back, I should have gone sooner on my own volition instead of waiting for a sense or urgency to hit.

08/11/2007. 862. After leaving Indianapolis and going a few miles down the Interstate I needed to make a stop for gas. As I drove down the exit, a store's sign on the side of their building caught me eye, and I felt drawn to it. So I went to that little shopping center first. I didn't see any stores that caught my attention, so I went to the store that had the sign. It's the kind of store that I would normally browse at because I'm interested in that sort of merchandise anyway. So I was wondering if the attention the sign generated was my own interest for that kind of stuff, or a spiritual tug.

Anyway, I bought something at that store, and started to leave that shopping center. However, one of the other stores in that shopping center now stood out, and now I felt an attaction to go there. It was the nail salon. I had seen it going in, but I don't normally make cold-calls at nail salons unless there's a spiritual prompting. I thought of leaving again, but the spiritual attraction to that store was clear.

I took Vietnamese and English Liahonas (of same issue) and went in. They didn't have any customers, so it was a good time. A teenage girl greeted me, and I offered the magazines. She called to an adult male in back, and he came out, and I offered the magazines to him. The man and the girl were very humble. The man didn't seem very Americanized. He showed genuine interest and gratitude for the reading material.

08/11/2007. Journal entry. A few exits down the road. I forget why I took this exit. I bought a pocket voice-recorder/note-taker, but I need to learn to keep it at the ready to record notes on the fly. I think I just bought some soda pop here. However, on my way back to the highway, I felt tugged to take a side road to another strip mall, and found a Chinese buffet at the end of it. If you go to the furthest gas station at the exit, you still wouldn't have seen it, you'd have to go down the road past all the gas stations to see it. This exit is still within driving distance for a lunch or dinner from Indy, so it's on my list of places to visit.

08/11/2007. 863. The Thai restaurant was really nice. The hostess was Chinese, and the waiter was Thai. I gave a Thai and an English Book of Mormon, and Thai and English copies of the Liahona to the waiter. He gratefully accepted them, and put them aside. However, a little later another family member came along and browsed them. The other family member indicated she had a Mormon friend and had seen the English Book of Mormon before, but not the Thai translation. After I finished eating and paid, I went out to the car and brought back in Traditional Chinese and English copies of the Book of Mormon for the waitress.

In addition to the Indianapolis information flyer in the material, I made a 4x6 card with the name, address, and phone number of the LDS mission office in that city, and put it in the material.

08/11/2007. 864. After leaving the restaurant I saw a nail salon. I'm not sure if it was a prompting or not, but decided to make a cold-call there. The man at the front desk graciously accepted Vietnamese and English copies of the Book of Mormon.

I saw a couple Chinese buffet restaurants in that shopping complex, and made note for possible future visits. This city is a possible way-point for further trips East, so it's likely I'll have opportunity to stop here again.

08/11/2007. 865. After leaving the nail salon, the idea of finding an Indian/Pakistani or Asian grocery store came to mind. This was not a prompting, but just an idea that presented itself. Since this was not a short distance from home, I was hoping there'd be more than just the one restaurant opportunity.

I drove down the main road, away from the Interstate looking to see if such a place were visible from the road. I went a comfortable distance and didn't see any. On the way back to the Interstate I pulled into a couple of strip malls looking for an Asian or Indian store, but didn't find any.

I got back onto the main road, and took it across the Interstate in the opposite direction to see what was over there. I saw the sign for one of my favorite gas stations, for which I have a pre-paid card, so I pulled off the main road to a side street. And just beyond a little rise, there it was, an Indian/Pakistani store.

Sometimes the Spirit works that way, not actually telling you something, and not making it obvious that the message is from him, but just putting an idea or concept in your head to see what you'll do with it. Joseph Smith called it "sudden strokes of ideas" on page 151 in "Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith" (or at amazon.com).

This guy was really cool, and helped me out in selecting some Indian music. I previously purchased a couple cds of classical Indian music, and liked it. I had even listened to one of the Indian cds on the trip over. I bought some food staples here that I needed anyway (including some sugary snacks that I like, but really didn't need the calories).

There were no other customers so we had a chance to chat and sample some of the music cds he had for sale. He spoke and read a bunch of languages, including Spanish, so we switched to Spanish for a little bit, and he was conversant in it. He told me what languages he spoke/read, so I went out to the car to get him some books, but he followed me out anyway.

It was getting close to closing time, and while we were standing outside some customers came into his store, so we said our goodbyes, and he took his stack of books inside.

He was very excited to get all that reading material.

He has some really interesting stories and life experiences. I hope I can continue in contact with him.

Books and referrals to mission office. Wed, Aug 1, 2007.

08/01/2007. Journal entry. I took the sheets we used at the Festival on Saturday to record contacts, material delivered, and follow-up requests to the Mission Office. I gave it to the office missionary in charge of referrals. And gave her a Russian Book of Mormon for the person who requested one. She then asked for an Arabic Book of Mormon, and I retreived one from my car for her.

Arabic at gas station. Wed, Jun 20, 2007

06/20/2007. 839. (Road trip to visit family, continued. 2nd day of driving.) It was still prior to lunch-time. I don't remember why I stopped at this exit, I forgot to write it down on the notes I kept in the car. As far as I remember, I did not stop at this exit on last year's trip. If I did stop here last year, I took the exit in the other direction.

I went into one gas station to buy a newspaper. The cashier spoke with a very slight accent. He was from the Middle East and spoke Arabic. He was very amenable to receiving a Book of Mormon in Arabic, so I went out to the car and brought one back in. There was no one else in line, so I didn't have to wait any. He immediately started flipping through it. He also accepted the English edition to go along with it. It was a very pleasant encounter.

Chinese at restaurant, Arabic at gas station, Ukrainian at store. Thu, Jun 14, 2007.

06/14/2007. 829. I had supper at a small mom-and-pop type Chinese restaurant on the NE side of town. I hadn't been here before. I put out the books on my table before my food arrived, but I couldn't tell if the owner noticed them when he brought my food. He was rather quick, and I didn't have a chance to strike up a conversation.

After I finished eating, I went to the counter and offered the Chinese Book of Mormon, and they accepted a Simplified Chinese copy and an English copy.

06/14/2007. Journal Entry. After eating, I stopped to buy a newspaper a gas station that I hadn't been to before. I talked to one of the cashiers, and he spoke Arabic in addition to English, but didn't read it. I don't think I offered him a Book of Mormon, but I suppose I could have offered one to him for any of his relatives that might be interested in reading something that's in both Arabic and English.

06/14/2007. 830. I stopped at one of those mega-stores on the way home. I didn't really need anything, but bought some stuff to build up my year's supply of consumables. I picked up some items, then I scanned the check-out lines looking for either the shortest line, or someone to talk to. I ended up picking the shortest line, which was the self-checkout lanes.

Within a minute or two, I heard someone speaking a foreign language behind me. I asked what languages they spoke, and one said they spoke Ukrainian and Russian. I offered them the Book of Mormon, and they agreed to see it. I asked them to wait near the exit door after they checked out, and I thought they said okay. I got through the checkout lane first, and when I got outside, I ran to my car. I had a Ukrainian, but not a Russian Book of Mormon in the car. By the time I got back to the exit, they weren't there. So the offer was made and the offer was accepted, but the books just didn't get delivered.

I then realized they may have been suspicious of my motives in asking them to wait for me. Or else, they just weren't interested, but were too polite to say 'no.' They had some difficulty understanding me in the first part of our conversation, so the third possibility is that they just didn't understand my offer of free books. I should have just left my shopping cart in the store, and retrieved the books before checking out, and made the presentation in the store so that they wouldn't have cause to suspect I was going to mug them. When people actually see the books in both their native language and in English, hear the word "free", then they usually catch the idea of what I'm offering, and the idea of reading them in parallel.

Arabic to elders. Thu, May 3, 2007.

05/03/2007. Journal entry. Last night the elders (missionaries) in our ward called to ask for an Arabic Book of Mormon for an investigator. So this morning I took over an Arabic Book of Mormon, a hard-cover English copy, an Arabic Gospel Principles, an English Gospel Principles, and an Arabic Joseph Smith Testimony pamphlet.

Arabic, Persian, Turkish at gas station. Sun, Feb 11, 2007.

02/11/2007. 792. I was on the way home from a late session at the laundromat. I stopped to get gas and buy an early edition of the Sunday paper. It was Saturday night, but it was slightly past midnight, so it was Sunday morning.

I bought gas, paid at the pump, and went inside to get the newspaper. I had to look around to find them, and another customer pointed them out to me. He spoke with an accent, so I struck up a conversation and asked where he was from and what languages he spoke. I offered him some free copies of the Book of Mormon in his languages and he agreed to see them. After I brought them in and gave them to him, he said his car had broken down, and he needed a ride to get his other car at a house just a few minutes away. He seemed like a professional type person, so I felt safe in giving him a ride.

We chatted some more on the ride over, and while waiting for his other car to warm up. He told me about his business and invited me to stop by to talk more. He mentioned that he knows some Mormons and that they're nice people. I plan on stopping by his business soon.

Moment #679. Arabic at ATM. Sat, July 29, 2006.

07/29/2006. I was the only one waiting in line at the ATM machine. The man ahead of me finished up, and as he came by I asked him where he was from. I think he said Sudan, and he spoke Arabic and English. I offered him an Arabic Book of Mormon, and he enthusiastically received it and the English copy too. I said it was Christian and asked if he were Muslim, and he replied that he was Christian. He asked where our church was, so I showed him the address on the info flyer.

When we finished talking I was so excited that I forgot about going to the ATM and got in the car and drove off. On the way home I remembered, and went back to the ATM.