Burmese and Hindi at gas station. Thu, Mar 3, 2011

03/03/2011. 1273. While on a shopping trip, I stopped by a gas station where my Marathi-speaking Indian friend works. He was recently transfered to this gas station when the owner closed the old gas station where he worked.

He wasn't there. I bought some soft-drinks and the cashier on duty spoke with a cool accent, so I asked where he was from. He said Burma. He was multi-lingual, speaking and reading Burmese, Nepali, Hindi, and English. I offered him some free books from church in Burmese and Hindi, and he agreed to receive them. I pointed out that they were Christian material, and he was okay with that.

After I paid for my stuff, I took it out to the car and retrieved a Burmese Gospel Fundamentals, a Hindi Book of Mormon and an English Book of Mormon.

I went back in and presented the Burmese Gospel Fundamentals and he read the title. Another customer came up to the cash register at that point, so I let him go ahead, since I didn't want to interrupt anyone's business. After the cashier took care of him, I presented the Hindi and English copies of the Book of Mormon. He seemed genuinely grateful and interested.

I also pointed out the flyers inside listing the local contact information, and gave him a personal calling card with my name and number

Hindi at restaurant. Fri, Aug 20, 2010.

08/20/2010. 1248. I had lunch at an Indian restaurant. I put a Hindi copy and an English copy of the Book of Mormon on the table as I ate and read my newspaper. The waitress noticed them and started a conversation about them. I offered them to her, and she enthusiastically accepted them. Later, she gave them to one of the other employees and appeared to make a brief explanation of them to him. The other employee was not fluent in English, so I gather that she suggested he use them to improve his English reading skills. That was really nice of her, so I'll have to follow up to see if they want any more

Punjabi at gas station. Thu, July 1, 2010.

07/01/2010. 1245. I stopped to get gas at the beginning of my trip back home. The cashier was from India, and spoke/read Hindi and Punjabi. He accepted my offer of a Hindi Book of Mormon, but said he already had the English edition that someone else had given him. I had one Punjabi copy of the Joseph Smith Testimony pamphlet left in the car, so I got that one and gave it to him too. He was very pleased to receive the material and indicated he would share it with another family member.

Hindi, Tagalog and Tongan at Stake Conference. Sun, Feb 7, 2010.

02/07/2010. Journal Entry. (These were to members, so I don't number them along with other contacts.) While walking from the parking lot to the auditorium where Stake Conference was going to be held, I met two sister missionaries. I asked where they were from. One said Hawaii, and the other Texas. We chatted a bit on the way in.

Inside, while a friend and I were standing looking for people from our ward to talk to, we again encountered the sister missionaries, and continued conversing. The sister from Hawaii was originally from Tonga and spoke Tongan. She's in our mission sort of "on loan" from the Temple Square Mission. Sister missionaries from the Temple Square mission go out to "regular" missions for a couple months to get some of the "regular" mission experience.

She didn't have a Tongan Book of Mormon, and she agreed to receive one. I suggested she might meet someone who is Tongan.

I asked her companion where her family was originally from, and she said her mother was from the Philippines and her father was Eastern Indian. She didn't speak any of those languages except for a few words, but she agreed to receive a couple copies of the Book of Mormon in Tagalog and Hindi.

We had arrived early enough that I had time to go out to my car and retrieve those copies and give them to the sisters. They were excited about them, and I told them the story of meeting the Filipina member of the church at a Chinese restaurant in Tennessee last November, (#1206).

Road Trip. Mon, Nov 23, 2009.

Road trip, on way back from Florida.

11/23/2009. 1220. Around 12:15pm. Thai declined at restaurant.

11/23/2009. 1221. Around 3:05 pm. I was driving North on the Florida Turnpike, and was inspired to take Route 528, then I was prompted to take Exit 8. Then I felt inspired to go to a certain gas station at that exit. There was a taxi parked there and I struck up a conversation with the driver. He accepted Spanish, English, and Urdu copies of the Book of Mormon.

11/23/2009. 1222. Joy to the World DVD, at another gas station to another customer who was very grateful. I'm not sure if I remember this correctly.

11/23/2009. 1223. Gainsville FL, Chinese Simplified and English Bom, plus ?? DVD. I forgot the deatils here.

11/23/2009. 1224. English declined in Lake City, FL.

11/23/2009. 1225. In Georgia. The cashier at a gas station/convenience store accepted Hindi and English copies of the Book of Mormon.

11/23/2009. 1226. Pass-along card to night clerk at motel, in or near Macon.

Road trip. Fri, Nov 20, 2009.

Road trip to Florida.

11/20/2009. 1204. I need to take better notes, or remember to use my mp3 recorder. I was in either Kentucky or Tennessee. I think I was inspired to take a certain exit, and go down the road for a while. After driving a few minutes, there was a yard sale going on, and I felt inspired to stop there. I bought some trinket. I offered a Joy to the World DVD and a Mr. Krueger's Christmas DVD to the two gentlemen there. I described them as Christmas videos from the Mormon church, so that they knew the source. They were just regular English-speaking Caucasian-American guys.

11/20/2009. 1205. At the next exit or shortly thereafter, I was prompted of the Spirit to take that exit and go to a particulat gas station. I bought some gas and something inside, like a beverage. Again, no obvious speakers of foreign languages. To the owner/cashier, I offered a Joy to the World DVD, describing it as a Christmas DVD or Nativity DVD with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and he accepted it.

11/20/2009. 1206. Around 3:15 pm, I saw a sign for a Chinese restaurant. It was one of the offical Interstate signs that shows the businesses for Food - Gas - Lodging at that exit. The Spirit indicated I should go to the Chinese restaurant featured on the sign. So It took that exit and drove the 2 miles to the restaurant.

The cashier/owner looked bright/shiny, so I figured she was my "intended contact." But while I was waiting for my food, and then eating, I also saw a lady who looked like she was from the Philippines. The Filipina lady ordered, left, and then came back later for her food. As she was leaving the second time, I asker her, in Tagalog, if she spoke Tagalog. She said "yes" in English. I offered her a free book in Tagalog from my church. I said it was "the Book of Mormon" and asked if she had heard about it. She said "Yes, I'm a member." But she didn't have a Tagalog copy, and she was willing to accept one. She also spoke Waray, and was willing to accept a Waray copy too.

I forget now if I had paid already by that time, but I had left enough "stuff" at my table to indicate that I'd be back if I hadn't paid, and we both went outside to get the books. It turned out she had parked next to my car anyway.

She asked if I was a missionary or ward missionary. I told her that this was her miracle, that I was from Indiana, headed to Florida on the Interstate, and the only reason I was there was due to a spiritual prompting to go to that restaurant when I saw the sign for it on the road.

She said she hadn't been to church since her mother died, and I replied that Heavenly Father must be looking out for her to send someone to meet her like that. She also accepted a "Together Forever" DVD. I suggested she go see her bishop or branch president and tell him what just happened.

By meeting another customer like that, it made me think that the two previously inspired stops may have been "timing loops" to keep me busy so that I arrived at the restaurant at just the right time to meet her.

1207. I went back in and finished my meal. When the cashier/owner took a breather, I offered her a Chinese Book of Mormon along with an English copy and a DVD, which she accepted.

11/20/2009. Later that evening, going through Atlanta during rush hour, I was in the wrong lane, and twice took wrong turns that delayed me.

11/20/2009. Follow-up. In Georgia, just south of Atlanta, I saw a Texaco gas station sign just beore an exit and I felt prompted to go there. When I got there, I realized it was the same place I had been prompted to stop at almost 2 years ago. I asked the cashier if he still had the books I had given him, and he said he gave them to someone else. I asked if he wanted more, and he said okay, so I gave him Urdu and English copies of the Book of Mormon, and Pashto and English copies of Gospel Fundamentals.

11/20/2009. 1208. At the same gas station, standing next to me in line was a man who seemed to be from Africa. I asked him where he was from, and he said Nigeria. He spoke Igbo, so I offered him an Igbo and an English Book of Mormon and he accepted. We talked for several minutes outside, and I realized I might have had an Igbo Bible in my car, so I asked him if he had one, and he said no. I looked for it, and found it, and offered it to him, and he accepted it. He was driving a very expensive car, so I said that instead of asking him to pay for it, I would like him to "pay it forward" and help someone else out, and it would eventually get back to me. He gave me his business card.

11/20/2009. 1209. I was so excited at that encounter with another customer, that I got back on the Interstate going wrong way. It occured to me that the wrong turns in Atlanta had served as "timing loops" again for this encounter with another customer.

I didn't realize I was going the wrong direction for about 10 miles. I got off the Interstate at next exit after I realized my mistake, and felt prompted to go to one of the gas stations there. I saw a guy dumpster-diving in the trash cans at the gas station and pulling out styrofoam clamshells with left-over food. I gave him some fresh fruit and bread that I had in the car, and encouraged him not to eat from trash cans as he could get sick.

I went inside and purchased something, and realized one of the cashiers was foreign-born. He was from Nigeria and accepted Igbo and English copies of the Book of Mormon. Again, an absent-minded mistake of going the wrong way led to another opportunity. But, due to the timing needed, I had to meet the guy at the Texaco first. What I thought were stupid mistakes actually generated more opportunities.

11/20/2009. 1210. I forget if this was prompted or not, but I got off at another exit and went to a Chinese restaurant. The owners accepted Chinese and English of the Book of Mormon, and an employee accepted Spanish and English copies of the Book of Mormon. I just had an egg roll.

11/20/2009. 1211. Next to the Chinese restaurant was a convenience store. I bought something, and the cashier accepted a Hindi Book of Mormon and Hindi Liahona.

I then went to a Taco Bell or something like that across the road. I thought that might have been inspired, but I did not recognize any opportunities. It's possible that I was supposed to just talk to English speakers.

11/20/2009. 1212. At the motel I stayed at that night, the night clerk accepted a Hindi and an English Book of Mormon.

Hindi, English @ restaurant. Korean @ grocery. Tue, Jul 28, 2009.

07/28/2009. 1171. I took a dinner break while volunteering at the storehouse, I went to a restaurant where two of the employees were from India, and they accepted Hindi and English copies of the Book of Mormon, and a Hindi edition of the Liahona magazine.

1172. Seated in the table next to mine, was a lady reading a Bible. As she left, I offered her some free paperback Bibles in case she knew anyone who needed or wanted any. She said she was a minister on her way to teach a Bible-study class, and would love to have some.

I went to the car and pulled out some paperback King James Bibles from the American Bible Society and the International Bible Society. (They were only about $2.15/each in case lots. The cheapest LDS KJV Bible is $8.20). I threw in a Chinese/English bilingual Bible as well.

I didn't bother to take them out of the zip-lock bags, and take out the LDS promotional materials such as pass-along cards and the list of local chapels that I had put in them. But I made sure she knew there was stuff from our church in there, and I suggested a couple times she take that stuff out before giving out the Bibles, since I didn't expect her to promote our church. I forgot to tell her the name of the church, and I felt a little guilty of that later.

1173. Later on in the evening, on my way home, I stopped at a grocery, and as soon as I walked in, I saw an Asian man bagging his purchases prior to leaving. He gave off a lot of spiritual light, enough that I stopped in my tracks, and it seemed obvious to me that I was supposed to talk to him.

I asked him where his family was from, and he said Korea. I offered him a free DVD in Korean from church. I described it as being about husbands who work too much (Together Forever) and he agreed to receive it. He asked which church and I told him. He followed me out as I went to retrieve it from my car. I also presented "The Testaments" DVD, which he accepted. He asked where the church was, and I showed him the list of chapels that I had put in the DVD clamshell, and pointed out the closest one and the one I go to. It was a very pleasant encounter.

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.

Hindi at restaurant. Declined at gas station. Fri, May 29, 2009.

05/29/2009. 1148. For lunch, I went to an Indian restaurant that I hadn't been to before. Pretty good food and service. On one of her trips to my table, I offered the waitress/hostess a Hindi Book of Mormon and a Hindi Liahona, which she accepted. But she declined to receive an English Book of Mormon. (I had forgot to bring in an English copy with me.)

1149. On my way home, I stopped at a gas station for some soda for the drive back, and just to see if there might be an opportunity. The cashier seemed Hispanic, so I asked, in Spanish, if he spoke Spanish. He smiled and said no. He was from India and spoke Punjabi and Hindi. I didn't have any Punjabi material with me, so I offered a Hindi book from church, without saying it was the Book of Mormon. He politely declined. I'll have to stop back there in the future and see if he might be interested in a Punjabi Gospel Fundamentals.

Missed op, Vietnamese, Hindi. Fri, Mar 6, 2009.

03/06/2009. I felt inspired to take a detour on my way home, but I think I allowed my own desires to side-track me, and not follow through correctly on where I was supposed to go. But I think I eventually got where I was supposed to go.

Missed opportunity. Long story about how I got there, but I ended up having lunch at a Chinese buffet restaurant in a town North of Indy. I put some material on my table as I ate. The waitress/cashier may have noticed it, but she didn't indicate so. She was so busy bussing tables, running the cash register, and putting out food on the buffet tables, that there didn't seem to be any opportunity to present something to her.

There were several people in line at the cash register (for either the pre-pay buffet or for carry out) when I was ready to leave, and I didn't think it appropriate to just wait around because it looked like she wasn't going to get a break at all. And it's not appropriate to interrupt the employees when they are in the midst of serving other customers.

Vietnamese Liahona at nail salon. 1119. After I left, the Spirit made clear to me that I needed to go to a certain town, and not just towards it. So I was going to back-track a bit, and then head on in my previous direction.

However, I saw a nail salon in the same shopping center as the restaurant. I normally don't do cold-calls at nail salons, but I felt a little spiritual "tug" to go there. I drove over, parked, got out a Vietnamese Liahona magazine (the Liahona is the international version of the Ensign) and an English copy of the same issue.

I went in, and there were two employees, and no customers; a lady up front, and a man towards the back. I asked the lady up front if they had any Vietnamese operators or employees, and she indicated the gentleman. I asked if I could give him a free magazine in Vietnamese from my church, and she said okay. I went back to see the man, and he was reading a book in Vietnamese.

I offered him the magazines, and he eagerly accepted the Vietnamese Liahona, and politely declined to receive the English. He didn't seem to catch the bilingual nature, but I didn't want to belabour the point. I thanked him and left.

Hindi Book of Mormon at hotel. 1120. As I got near the destination town, I saw a sign for a certain motel. The Spirit indicated that was where I was supposed to go. But I kept my eyes open to see if there were going to be other opportunities presented along the way such as ethnic grocery stores

I got to the motel, and got out Hindi, Bengali, and English copies of the Book of Mormon. Hindi and Bengali are languages I've placed at hotels before.

I went in and asked the caucasian clerk if the owners were from India. She immediately said: "Oh, you must mean the hotel over there" and pointed to a hotel that was practically next door. Boy, that made it easy, and saved me some awkwardness of having to explain why I asked.

This was not actually a mistake. The second hotel didn't have any advertising signs along the road like the first one did. There was nothing in view for the Spirit to use to guide me. So the Spirit used what was available to get me to someplace that was one easy step removed from the final destination. The Lord used what I could see, the first motel's sign, to get me to a place I couldn't see. The second hotel was actually on a cross-street, facing in a direction such that I wouldn't have seen it without twisting my head around as I drove through the intersection.

This process has happened before: being guided to a place that I could see in order to get me to a place I wouldn't have seen had I not first gone to "point A".

I then went over to that hotel, and there were no other customers at the front desk. I asked the desk clerk if the owners were from India. She said yes, and asked me how she could help me. I said I had a free church book in the Hindi language that I'd like to give them.

She went over to the office and spoke to someone, then came back and said I could go around to the office. I went over to the office, and asked the man if he'd like a free book in Hindi from my church, and showed it to him. He extended his hand to receive it, so I could tell he was curious. And then he flipped through the pages after I gave it to him. He was curious and appreciative, but not really enthusiastic. But he thanked me for it. He politely declined to receive the English copy when I offered it. I thanked him, and excused myself.

Hindi at gas station. Wed, Nov 12, 2008.

11/12/2008. 1088. I stopped at a gas station in a small town on the way home, and bought a couple bottles of soda. The cashier was from India, and she accepted my offer of a Hindi Book of Mormon. She declined the English copy.

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.

Various. Road Trip Day 1. Mon, Jan 14, 2008.

01/14/2008. 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.

941. Spanish. "Together Forever" DVD to fellow diner at a Chinese restaurant. He was from Guatemala.

942. Simplified Chinese and English Book of Mormon to cook at Chinese restaurant. Cashier/waitress declined, but cook later asked to see.

943. Vietnamese declined. Cold call at Vietnamese-owned nail salon.

944. Vietnamese declined. Cold call at Vietnamese-owned nail salon.

945. Korean. "Our Heavenly Father's Plan" DVD, at service place along turnpike. Two Korean ladies parked right next to me as I was getting out of my car.

946. Turkish/English copies of Joseph Smith Testimony pamphlet, and English Book of Mormon, at a mom-and-pop restaurant. 1 Nephi 4:6

947. French/Haitian Creole/English copies of Book of Mormon at an international grocery store.

948. Twi and English copies of Book of Mormon at gas station.

949. One Traditional script Chinese, one Simplified script Chinese, and two English copies of the Book of Mormon at a Chinese restaurant. Cashier's sister is a member of the church.

950. At a gas station. Hindi/English copies of the Book of Mormon. Hindi Liahona. Punjabi Gospel Fundamentals. Punjabi/English Joseph Smith Testimony pamphlets. Punjabi man knows someone in Indianapolis.

Journal Entry. Missed opportunity with a Spanish-speaking couple at a McDonalds.

951. Bengali Book of Mormon (no english) at gas station at exit where I stayed the night.

Ukrainian declined. Tamil, Hindi at store. Wed, Dec 5, 2007.

12/05/2007. 928. After leaving the restaurant, I felt inspired to visit this store a couple doors down.

The cashier was from India and spoke Tamil. I casually told him about some church books I had in Tamil, but didn't get to finish the presentation. Another customer came up, so I got out of the way and went to look to see what they had on sale that I could use.

When I got back to the front again and got in line, the same customer was there being helped. He had a very heavy accent, so I asked where he was from and he said Ukraine.

At this point, I had to decide whether to make a new offer to this man in front of the clerk, and thereby put the clerk on hold, or ignore the opportunity he presented in order to be more smooth with the clerk.

I figured my chance encounter with this man would be my only opportunity with him, so I offered him a church book in Ukrainian. He was very learned and already had books in Ukrainian, so the offer of a new one was not a big deal to him. He also said he was Jewish. There was no interest on his part, so I did not even bring up the Jewish/tribe-of-Israel aspects of the Book of Mormon.

929.

The cashier wasn't enthusiastic, but he agreed to accept a Book of Mormon in Tamil. The manager was also up at the cash register, and he spoke Hindi and Urdu. After paying, I retrieved Tamil, Hindi and two English copies of the Book of Mormon, and a Hindi Liahona from the car and went back and gave them to the cashier and manager.

Hindi at restaurant. Wed, Oct 10, 2007.

10/10/2007. 900. I was at the church storehouse for part of the afternoon. I stopped at a chain restaurant on my way home for an early supper. The couple operating the restaurant were from India. I offered the husband a free church magazine and a free church book in Hindi. I made sure to point out it was Christian material. He agreed to receive them, so I went out to the car and brought back a Hindi Liahona and Hindi Book of Mormon. He graciously accepted them, looked through them just a little, and then went on working cleaning up. It was a friendly encounter, and they seemed like very nice people.

Eating outside of the normal rush hours for lunch and supper makes it easier to talk to the owners/employees at restaurants. Talking with the public is part of their business, and as long as you're not taking them away from other duties or customers, they never seem to mind.

Chinese, Hindi, Punjabi. Tue, Oct 9, 2007.

10/09/2007. 897. Cantonese, Together Forever DVD. I went to a nearby town to buy something. I didn't see any ATMs for my bank along the way, so I had to make a little detour. Fortunately, it wasn't far before I found a branch of my bank. There was a Chinese restaurant in the same strip mall so I planned to go back there to eat.

I made my purchase, and went back to that Chinese restaurant. The cashier noticed the material on the table when she brought my meal. I usually put out a Chinese and English Liahona magazine, Chinese and English copies of the Book of Mormon, and a bilingual Chinese/English New Testament from International Bible Society.

We had a pretty long conversation. They didn't have any other customers or phone-in orders at the time, so she was free to chat, and I engaged her as long as she stood next to my table.

She said she already had those books, while pointing to the Chinese and English Book of Mormon. But I think because the Chinese symbol for "Book" on the cover of the Book of Mormon actually means "Holy Book" or "Bible", she probably meant she already had Chinese and English Bibles. Anyway, she politecly declined to receive material.

After I finished, I went back to the cashier counter to put some money in the tip jar, and another young man behind the counter thanked me, and we struck up a conversation. I assumed he was her brother, but didn't verify.

He talked about how much they worked and he didn't have time for some other important things. That is one of the themes of the "Together Forever" DVD, wherein the dad works hard for the family, yet the family thinks he doesn't care because he's always working. I described that scene, and they both nodded their heads and indicated their family was like that.

So I got a little bold and brought back in a Together Forever DVD, and handed it to him, and he accepted it.

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10/09/2007. 898. Hindi/English Book of Mormon. In the same strip mall as the Chinese restaurant was a gas station. It was a brand that often has people from India and Pakistan as owners/operators. I drove around and parked near there. I went in to buy a newspaper, and the cashier looked like was from India. She said "hi", and I said "hi" and "Namaste". She spoke Hindi and Gujerati. (The church doesn't have anything in Gujerati yet.) I paid for the newspapers, and asked if she like to read Hindi. She said yes, so I said I had something to show her, and would be back.

I retrieved Hindi and English copies of the Book of Mormon from my car and got back in line. When it was my turn again, I presented them, and she gratefully accepted them. She started reading the Hindi, but another customer soon came up to check out.

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10/09/2007. 899. Punjabi/English Gospel Fundamentals, and Punjabi Joseph Smith Testimony Pamphlet. Instead of back-tracking and going home the way I came, I continued on this detour so that I would take another route back to the Interstate and go through some commercial districts. I stopped at another gas station that had 2 liters of soda on sale, and bought some, but didn't see any opportunties there.

Eventually I came to another brand of gas station that commonly has foreign-born owners/operators, and decided to stop in there. I bought a fountain drink and a different newspaper this time. The cashier there was from India and spoke Punjabi. I offered him a Punjabi copy of our Sunday school manual from church, and he enthusiastically agreed to see it. I retrieved a Punjabi copy and an English copy of Gospel Fundamentals, and a Punjabi Joseph Smith Testimony Pamphlet from the car. He gratefully received them.

Hindi Liahona at restaurant. Thu, Sep 6, 2007.

09/06/2007. 882. Hindi Liahona at a chain restaurant.

Day's recap. Mon, Aug 27, 2007.

08/27/2007. Just a recap. Will expand later. I was on the other side of town running errands, then on the way back...

868. Punjabi Gospel Fundamentals and Punjabi Joseph Smith Testimony pamphlet to clerk at gas station.

869. Hindi and English copies of BoM at a restaurant.

---. Journal Entry. English only clerk at convenience store. Was going to but chickened out at last moment.

870. LDS edition (English) KJV Bible, English BoM and 2 DVDs (Lamb of God and Special Witnesses of Christ) to a man sitting on his porch with lady and kids. I ignored a feeling to stop three times, then finally drove back and spoke. Turned out he actually wanted the material and was interested.

871. 2 DVDs to two clerks at convenience store. Asked her why she was so happy at the end of a long shift. The Testaments and Our Heavenly Father's Plan.

Journal Entry. Stopped at a single adult FHE on way home, a chapel was near last placement.

872. Urdu BoM and Urdu/English Joseph Smith Testimony pamphlet to clerk at gas station.

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.

Hindi at gas station. Wed, Jul 25, 2007.

07/25/2007. 853. On the way to a late-nighter at the laundromat I noticed that a new gas station had opened, so I stopped there on the way home after doing laundry. I bought a newspaper and some food for a snack. The cashier and I chatted a bit, and I found out what languages he spoke. I didn't make an offer of any material, and went back to my car. I was going to drive away and offer material on a future visit, but I felt impelled to offer something on this trip. I went back in and purchased something to drink, and made an offer to show him some stuff, and he agreed to see it. So I went back out to the car and retrieved copies of the Book of Mormon in the languages he spoke, and maybe a couple other Indian languages. He wanted the Hindi translation, and flipped through it, but he declined the English. As I drove away I could see through the glass store-front that he was still reading the book at the front counter.