Gujerati, English at motel. Wed, Nov 12, 2008.

11/12/2008. 1086. I had stayed overnight in a motel at my destination city. The night clerk last night was from the state of Gujerat in India. The clerk on duty this morning was also from Gujerat. After checking out, I went back to my car and got a Gujerati Bible, and went back in and offered it to him. He hadn't seen one before. He could still read Gujerati and was very upbeat and postive about receiving it. He wanted another one, but I only had the one, so I gave him the website where I bought mine. I mentioned the Book of Mormon too, and he seemed interested, so I went out to the car and retrieved an English Book of Mormon which he also accepted.

Hindi, Gujerati at gas station. Thu, Feb 1, 2007.

02/01/2007. 788. On the way home from a friends house I stopped at a gas station I hadn't been to before to buy a newspaper. (This was the first time I'd been to this friend's house since moving, so this was a new route for me to travel.) The cashier seemed middle eastern. I asked him if spoke Hindi, and he said yes. I asked if he spoke any other languages, and he said Gujerati.

I said I'd like to give him a free book in Hindi from my church, and a free Bible in Gujerati. He indicated okay. So I went out to the car and retrieved Hindi and English copies of the Book of Mormon, and a Gujerati Bible.

I went back in and presented them, and he accepted them. He was at first reluctant to accept the English Book of Mormon as he didn't read English very well. But when I illustrated the parallel concept, reading and pointing to 1 Nephi 1:1 from both editions, he seemed to catch on to the ESL aspect.

Moment #606. Hindi/Gujerati at Mall. Sat, Jun 17, 2006.

06/17/2006. After leaving McDonald's I got the shopping bug. I cruised the strip mall behind the McDonald's and stopped at a used CD/DVD store and bought a Clannad CD. Then I remembered a Dollar General store across the street, and needed some stuff from there, so I shopped there.

By then I needed to use a restroom again, so I headed for a large department store attached to a mall where I could use a relatively clean public restroom.

After making a pit stop, I cruised the inside of the mall. I forget if I was looking for a lunch spot, or just browsing.

There were lots of jewelry kiosks in the center hallways of the mall. Most of them were staffed by middle-eastern-looking people.

On my way out, I passed one jewelry kiosk staffed by a mother and daughter who looked like they were from India.

I had decided not to approach any of the kiosk vendors, but the mother daughter pair set off some kind of alarm, and I turned around and did a classic double-take. The intensity of the impression did not cross into "obvious territory" but the feeling was recognizable. I've had that feeling before, and knew from experience what it meant. I also thought I perceived them "giving off light." Yes, they did "shine" more than the other vendors. That usually indicates someone willing to receive material.

I went back to their kiosk, and asked if they were from India. They said yes. I asked what languages they spoke, and they said Gujerati and Hindi.

I offered a free church book in Hindi, and said I might also have a Gujerati Bible in the car, and they agreed to see them. I went out to my car, and brought back in Hindi and English copies of the Book of Mormon, and Gujerati and English New Testaments.

They were excited about seeing them, and enthusiastically received them. We chatted a bit, and they warmly thanked me for the gifts. I remembered to say "you're welcome" in Hindi. I had to pronounce it a couple times before they recognized it, but I got it close enough.