Spanish declined at laundry. Tue, Mar 17, 2009.

03/17/2009. 1126. I had put my weekly load of laundry in the car before heading off to the storehouse, intending to go to a 24-hour laundromat afterwards, and after eating supper.

I didn't see any obvious opportunities at the laundromat. About half the customers were Hispanic, but I haven't been approaching Spanish-speakers like I should.

One of the employees there was cleaning the exterior of the dryers just as I was finishing up folding my clothes at the folding table next to the wall of dryers.

And, she struck up a conversation with me. Doht, that made it easy. And she was Hispanic. We talked mostly in Spanish.

She asked if I were single. I'm sure she could tell just by looking at my clothes hanging from the cart thing. Basically she hit on me, saying she was single, and was looking for a decent guy. We made some small-talk, and I invited her to church at the Spanish branch that meets downtown.

I pulled out the info-flyer from a clear plastic zip-lock bag that contains both a Spanish Bible and Spanish Book of Mormon. (I always take that with me to laundromats, and place it on the washer or on the folding table I'm using.) She accepted the flyer. The Spanish branch's chapel and meeting time is indicated on the flyer. I indicated the ward/chapel that I attend, which is on the far side of town, opposite from where that laundromat is, and told her I was just over here working, and wanted to do late night laundry since I knew about that place.

I later offered her the Spanish Bible, but she already had one. I then offered her the Spanish Book of Mormon, but she politely declined.

We continued to talk a little more, and I told her about the monthly Single Adult fireside that that stake has, and wrote down the information, day of the month, and time, and indicated the chapel on the flyer where it is held.

I hope I don't regret it, but I also wrote down my name and cell phone number on the flyer. She didn't accept the Book of Mormon, but the flyer has all the info of a pass-along card, plus the local mission office phone number, and the list of local chapels.

Spanish declined at laundromat. Thu, Oct 4, 2007.

10/04/2007. 895. I was doing a late laundry run at the 24-hour laundromat. The lady using the folding table next to mine looked like she could have been Native American or Hispanic. Her T-shirt had a Native American theme, so I asked if she was a Native American. She was. She said she was also from a country in Central America.

She spoke Spanish fluently, and said she spoke another language besides English. I offered her a Book of Mormon in Spanish, but she politely declined. She said she knew members of the church back in her home country. I gave her a custom pass-along card, and suggested any of her other friends who spoke some of the other languages she mentioned could call and get a free Book of Mormon in their language. She accepted that card. She also mentioned several other languages, but I wasn't sure if they were her languages or her friends'.

It was a polite and friendly encounter, but she just wasn't interested in receiving any material. She did claim some knowledge about the LDS church, and mentioned Joseph Smith, so she probably had already learned as much as she wanted.

Spanish declined at Chinese restaurant. Fri, Apr 20, 2007

04/20/2007. 814. I had supper at a Chinese buffet restaurant in a suburb of Indianapolis. This was right after I chickened out of an opportunity to talk to two Asian men in front of the nail salon further down the strip mall.

I put out the two kinds of Chinese editions of the Book of Mormon on my table while I ate and read the newspaper. But the bus-boy was Hispanic, not Chinese, so I eventually put out a Spanish Book of Mormon too. On one of his trips collecting the used plates, I asked if he spoke Spanish and liked to read in Spanish, and he said yes. I offered him the Book of Mormon in Spanish and English. He didn't say "no thanks," but he was showing reluctance, and was hesitating while he thought of a response, so I didn't press. I should have offered a Spanish pass-along card though.

When I was ready to leave, the Asian cashier/hostess was on the phone. She had spoken what sounded like Chinese to another Asian family who was eating there. I could have waited until she was off the phone before passing by the cashier counter on my way out, but I was feeling discouraged from having chickened out in front of the nail salon, and the bus-boy declining.

On my way out I noticed a bulletin board in the entrance foyer for people to post their business cards. So I put up a business-card sized pass-along card.

I'll have to go back during lunch, or soon after the lunch-rush to eat there again and make another try.