Swahili at store. Mon, Oct 31, 2011.

10/31/2011. 1297. I was shopping at one of my regular stores, and there was another customer who was speaking in English (to her daughter) with a delightful accent. I did not recognize the accent, but it was sort of a British accent, not directly from England, that made me think of people who learned English as a second language from teachers in former British colonies.

I asked her where she was from and what languages she spoke. She was originally from Kenya, and spoke Swahili and another regional language. I offered her a book in Swahili from church, and she agreed to receive it.

I left my shopping cart in the store and retrieved a Swahili Book of Mormon from my car. I waited until they had paid for their purchases, and we went back outside to talk in front of the entrance.

It turns out she had been exposed to LDS literature before, including the Book of Mormon, as she had lived with LDS "host parents" in her youth.

She gratefully accepted the book.

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.

Swahili & Luganda at drug store. Tue, Jan 4, 2011.

01/04/2011. 1266. This was an assignment. I was inspired to do laundry on the other side of town at a laundromat that I used to frequent. Nothing happened at the laundromat or the nearby store where I bought something, so I thought I had blown it. But as I left I saw someone enter a nearby drug store who I wanted to meet. I went in looking for him, but couldn't find him in the store. So I just bought some stuff I needed anyway that was on sale. On my way to the check-out I heard a man speaking English with a slightly British-African accent, so I struck up a conversation with him.

He was from Uganda and spoke Swahili and Luganda. I offered him some church material in those languages and he was very positive and enthusiastic about receiving them. So I asked him to wait while I retrieved them from the car. I brought back in a Swahili and an English Book of Mormon, and Luganda and English copies of Gospel Fundamentals.

When he saw them he was even more enthusiastic. We chit-chatted a bit, and I asked him to call me later and let me know what he thought of the material.

A few years ago, I met someone from Uganda who spoke Luganda, but I didn't have any Luganda material with me at the time, so that's when I started keeping the Luganda Gospel Fundamentals in the car.

Swahili at store. Wed, Sep 16, 2009.

09/16/2009. 1189. I was shopping at a dollar store, and the man in front of me in the check-out line appeared African, so I asked where his family was originally from. He said Kenya. He spoke Swahili in addition to English. So I offered him Swahili and English copies of the Book of Mormon. We continued to chat a while. After we paid, we went outside, and he was parked close to my car. I got the Swahili and English copies out of the trunk of my car and present them to him, and we chatted some more. It was a pleasant encounter.

English and Swahili to neighbor. Thu, Mar 5, 2009.

03/05/2009. 1118. Tonight I helped my next door neighbor with some computer stuff, in response to a favor that he asked. We were chit-chatting after we finished, and in answer to one of his questions I said I was in South America as a Mormon missionary. He then continued the conversation along that line asking questions about the church. He went on to say that he'd like to read the Book of Mormon, so I offered him one and he accepted. I went back to my place and retrieved an English copy for him, and a Swahili copy for one of his friends. He graciously accepted them, and continued asking questions which I answered the best I could.

Swahili at gas station. Sat, Oct 4, 2008.

10/04/2008. 1071. I was on my way home from priesthood session of conference. I had given a ride to one of the teenagers, and had dropped him off at his house after we had late night snacks at Steak -n- Shake with the others who attended priesthood session.

As I was about to drive past a certain gas station, I felt inspired to stop there, so I pulled in and bought some soda.

The cashier spoke with a slight accent, so I asked where he was from. He said Kenya, so I asked if he spoke Swahili. He said yes, so I told him that my church has free books in Swahili, and offered one to him. He agreed to see it, so I went to my car and retrieved a Swahili copy and an English copy of Book of Mormon. He had heard of the church, and accepted the Swahili copy.

I pointed out my card in the book, and the info flyer with the list of chapels, and the mission office number.

Swahili, English at singles event. Fri, Jul 4, 2008.

07/04/2008. Journal entry. I was at a dinner/cook-out for singles at one of the local chapels. A single member from one of the local wards brought one of her non-member friends. During a conversation she mentioned that she spoke Swahili, so I asked if she'd like a Swahili copy of the Book of Mormon. She enthusiastically said yes. She already had an English copy that her friend had given her.

I went to my car in the parking lot to retrieve the Swahili copy from the trunk of my car. There was a family passing near me who had used the church parking for a nearby event. Local church leaders knew of this event, and had let it be known among the members, including the singles, that the church parking lot was open to non-members for this nearby event.

1037. It just seemed natural to offer that family free Bibles, since they were using a church parking lot. The dad said sure, and sent a couple of his older children over to my car. I gave them a couple paper-back copies of the NIV Bible, and then offered them a free Book of Mormon. The dad said for his kids to get one of those too, so they accepted an English Book of Mormon.

I then took the Swahili copy back to the other lady, and she was excited to have something in Swahili.

Swahili Book of Mormon => Swahili Investigator.

11/09/2007. Journal Entry. I stopped by our ward's full-time missionaries' apartment during their lunch break to drop off some groceries and give them a couple Bibles and copies of the Book of Mormon.

They were very grateful for the food. And had an interesting item to report.

I had given them 22 foreign language translations of the Book of Mormon last Sunday. Those books included a Swahili translation and an Igbo translation.

During the week, the elders encountered someone who spoke Swahili and who is now investigating the church. The elders had kept the books in their car like I suggested, so all they had to do was to go back to their car and get it.

Also, another set of elders in their zone has an investigator from Nigeria who speaks Igbo, so our elders gave the other elders the Igbo Book of Mormon for their investigator.

I then resupplied our elders with another Swahili and another Igbo book.

The elders then asked if I had anything in Burmese for another investigator. I thought I had a Burmese Joseph Smith Testimony pamphlet in the car, but when I checked, I realized I was out, and hadn't resupplied my car stock. So I'll give them that when I see them Sunday.

Swahili at store. Sat, Sep 1, 2007.

09/01/2007. 878. I needed to go to this store not far from where I live. I was not seeking any book-placement opportunities. It was about 1/2 hour before closing time. This store was not busy, so the clerk/cashier had some time to chit-chat. He was older, probably late 50's, and seemed well-educated and articulate, so he might have been the manager. He was friendly and outgoing, and spoke with an accent reminiscent of the Indian subcontinent with a little bit of a British accent thrown in.

Although his family was originally from the Indian subcontinent, he was from Kenya, and spoke and read Swahili. He eagerly accepted my offer of a Swahili Book of Mormon, and flipped through it, and looked at the list of the local churches on the flyer I had included inside.

Punjabi, Swahili at gas station. Thu, Jul 19, 2007.

07/19/2007. 851, 852. I was heading home on the Interstate after meeting friends for dinner on another side of town. Right as I passed a certain exit, it occurred to me to stop at a certain gas station down the road from that exit. It was too late to take the exit, so I went to the next exit, and turned around and went back. I had been to that gas station a few weeks ago, but didn't have an opportunity for a book placement as I had someone else with me.

The gas station was several blocks down the road. As I approached a certain store along the way, I wanted to stop there and check it out. Not with a book placement in mind, but because I hadn't been there in a long long time. I got to the front door, but they had already closed for the evening, so I proceeded on to the gas station. There were several other gas stations between it and the Interstate, but I wanted to go there because the last time I was there, the cashier appeared to be from India.

I got there and purchased a soda, and asked the cashier if he was from India. He was, and said he spoke Punjabi. I offered him the Punjabi Sunday school manual "Gospel Fundamentals" and he agreed to see it.

As I was leaving, a lady came into the gas station. I retrieved the Punjabi and English Gospel Fundamentals books from my car, noticed a man sitting next to a baby in the back seat of the car next to me, and went back inside the gas station. The lady was asking for directions. The cashier asked me to help explain. She had come from out of state, and was travelling through Indianapolis to a city about another hour away. The directions she had printed out from Yahoo Maps were not too clear at one point. She thought this was her exit, but she needed to keep going on the Interstate to another exit.

I figured out the directions from her printout, and explained where to go. And I gave the cashier the books I had for him. I forget which order things occurred here, but this is the jist. The lady spoke with an accent, so I asked where she was from. She said East Africa, Tanzania. I asked if she spoke Swahili, and she said yes. I offered her the Swahili Book of Mormon, but I think I just referred to it as a free book in Swahili from my church, and that it was Christian. She agreed to see it.

I also told her that I'd be willing to drive to the exit that they needed, and they could follow me there, and I'd take the exit and get them headed in the right direction, since that highway was a straight shot to their destination. It was opposite the way I was going, but I had time.

We went back outside, and she explained something to the man she was travelling with. He seemed to be a native-born American. I retrieved Swahili and English copies of the Book of Mormon from my trunk, presented the Swahili to her, and explained that we used both the Bible and this book. She was curious and very happy to see it and to receive it. I then offered her the English, and she was grateful for that too, and said something about using it to teach her husband Swahili.

Her husband then drove while she got in the back seat with the baby, and she started to flip through the Swahili Book of Mormon. They followed me back to the Interstate and to their exit. I took the exit, headed the direction they needed to go, and continued on that highway past some construction to make sure they got on their way.

At a convenient point, I got into the right-hand turn lane, and we waved to each other as they passed me and went on. I turned around and headed home rejoicing in the opportunity for a good deed as well as a fortuitous placement.

She didn't take the wrong exit after all.

Swahili, English, Spanish. Mon, Oct 16, 2006.

10/16/2006. 733. On the way to the Singles family home evening, Swahili and English copies to a fellow customer at a gas station. We made good eye contact when he entered the store, and when he spoke to the cashier with an accent, I could tell he was from Africa. He was rather enthusiastic about receiving the books, and said he was on his way to his church. Several promptings on the way there likely aided in the timing of this encounter.

10/16/2006. 734. On the way home from Singles family home evening, English Bibles and English Book of Mormon to cashier at another gas station. I thought I was inspired to go to a certain grocery store before going home, which put me on a slightly different path than what I would normally take when going home from church. I was then tugged into the parking lot of a different store on the way, and once in that parking lot, I was tugged towards the gas station next door. I went in and bought a caffeine-free soda from the fountain. The cashier was an English-speaking man, and I was going to chicken out of approaching him, but the Spirit indicated he was my intended contact. And no one else was waiting in line at that time. After paying, I turned and took a step towards the door, and tried to chicken out, but the Spirit cranked up the volume. I stood there a few seconds before I turned around, and offered him a free Bible.

He said okay, but only slightly on the positive side in terms of enthusiasm. Not reluctant, but barely lukewarm. I asked which translation he'd like, the King James, or a newer translation. He said he had a King James Bible, and asked what the newer translations were. I said the New International Version is written at a 12th grade level, and the Today's New International Version is written at about an 8th grade level, and I asked if he had any children. He had a teenager and a pre-teen, so I intended to give him one of each.

Then I said that my church believes in the Bible and the Book of Mormon, and offered him a Book of Mormon. That was when he perked up, and became enthusiastic and expressed a very positive desire for a Book of Mormon. So I excused myself to get the books from the car, and brought in a NIV Bible, a TNIV Bible, and an English Book of Mormon. Right after I gave him the books, there were other people in line, so I had to let him get back to work, so it was basically a "hit and run" delivery.

The Lord knew he really wanted a Book of Mormon, and I was going to chicken out because he "only" spoke English. I need to be braver about making English-only approaches.

10/16/2006. 735. When I went out to get the books, there was a Mexican/Hispanic man loitering outside who drew my attention. After giving the books to the cashier, then instead of leaving, I pulled around to a pump, bought a couple dollars worth of gas, and observed to make sure nothing was amiss. It was raining, so it seemed like he was just getting shelter from the rain, either waiting on someone, or else taking a respite from the rain while walking. He went inside and appeared to buy something, then came out and waited around some more.

When I finally concluded he had no ill intent at the gas station, I approached him and asked him if he needed a ride somewhere. He did. He was going to have to walk 30 blocks in the rain after having an argument with his girlfriend. I offered to give him a ride, and figured I could offer him a Spanish Bible and Book of Mormon.

I had the two local Spanish radio stations pre-programmed on my car radio, and asked which one he preferred, and punched the preset for the one he liked. We chit-chatted during the ride. And before we got to his destination, I offered him a Spanish Bible and Spanish Book of Mormon. He accepted. And when we got there, I offered, and he accepted the English copies too. He may have been a little taken aback at the book offers, but he was not at all hesitant or reluctant.

I'm both grateful and amazed at the series of promptings that got me to this gas station. I want to think that it's appropriate to maintain a sense of awe and wonder over it. But I'm also starting to see that I shouldn't let that awe and wonder overwhelm me, because there are even more awesome things that can come of such encounters, especially with one who was as eager for a Book of Mormon as was the cashier. Contacts and book placements are merely steps along the path towards people's conversion.

Swahili and Kisii at parts store. Sat, Oct 7, 2006.

10/07/2006. 729. I was at a parts store to replace two stop/tail light bulbs on my car. One of the employees was outside on break so I asked him if he'd help me check to see if it was working after I replaced the first bulb. Since it's a combo stop/tail, I was unsure if I had replaced the right bulb.

He's a friendly and cool guy, and he helped me out. He spoke with an accent, so I asked where he was from. He said Kenya, so I asked about the languages he spoke, and offered him a Book of Mormon in Swahili. He enthusiastically accepted. I mentioned the Kisii translation of the Book of Mormon too, and though he didn't speak it, he asked for a copy for a friend. And he accepted two English copies to go along with them.

Road Trip, Sat-Sun, Sep 2-3, 2006.

09/02/2006. I took a weekend trip to a town in Illinois.

09/02/2006. 700. On the road, at a gas station to get some pop, I met a Korean lady. She declined to receive a Korean Book of Mormon.

09/02/2006. 701. First stop for gas. I gave one of the owners Hindi and English copies of the Book of Mormon, and Punjabi and English copies of Gospel Fundamentals. He was mildly pleased, not overly enthusiastic, but definitely on the positive side of the scale.

09/02/2006. 702. At the next gas station where I stopped for pop, the cashier declined to receive an Urdu Book of Mormon.

09/02/2006. 703. At another gas stop, some young Koreans declined the Korean Book of Mormon. But the young man cut me off when he misunderstood what my intention was. That station was out of gas. So when I went to the next nearest gas station, and they were also there, but I blew an opportunity to approach them again. I was afraid of trying to correct his misunderstanding. The guilty feeling for not approaching the second time let me know that it was worse to let the misunderstanding continue than try to repair it.

09/02/2006. Missed oppotunity: I stopped in one city in Illinois to shop, and saw a lady with children in the store. She was obviously from India, but I failed to seek an opportunity to speak.

09/02/2006. 704. At another gas station, for soda this time, the cashier enthusiastically accepted Hindi and English copies of the Book of Mormon, and Punjabi and English copies of Gospel Fundamentals. He was very pleased to received them. This was an inspired visit, and felt prompted to take that exit.

09/02/2006. 705. When I got to my destination, and got off the interstate, I felt prompted to stop at one of the gas stations along the main crossroad. Ahead of me in line was a woman who spoke Urdu and she accepted Urdu and English copies of the Book of Mormon. I retrieved them from my car, and met up with her outside before she got on her bus to continue on her trip.

09/02/2006. Missed Opportunity: I stopped at another gas station for something on the way to lunch. A woman came in and pre-paid for gasoline. She spoke with an accent, but I blew my chance to start a conversation. It was doable, but I wasn't quick enough.

09/02/2006. 706. I had lunch at a Thai restaurant, and they accepted copies of the Book of Mormon in Thai and English, and a couple copies of the Thai Liahona. I had looked up this place on the Internet before the trip.

09/02/2006. 707. I gave a Gujerati Bible from the International Bible Society to the owners of the motel I stayed at.

09/02/2006. 708. On the way to my dinner date, I felt prompted to go exploring in a shopping center as I passed by. I found a Filipino market there, and went in to buy some snacks. The owner and three customers accepted copies of the Book of Mormon in various languages that they spoke. A) The owner accepted English, Tagalog, and Hiligaynon copies of the Book of Mormon, and the "To This End Was I Born" DVD. B) A male customer accepted Tagalog and English copies of the Book of Mormon. C) A female customer accepted Tagalog, Cebuano, and English copies of the Book of Mormon. D) Another female customer accepted Tagalog and English copies of the Book of Mormon.

09/02/2006. 709. A single lady who is one of the church singles representatives in that stake, and one of her friends, met me for supper at a Chinese restaurant. She picked out the restaurant, but it was on my list that I compiled from www.anywho.com.

We gave Chinese and English copies of the Book of Mormon to our waitress. She also accepted a Chinese copy of the Liahona, and a bilingual Chinese/English New Testament from the International Bible Society. Another waitress who spoke Korean and Chinese and English accepted copies of the Book of Mormon in Korean, Chinese, and English, and a Korean Liahona. We also gave our waitress a bilingual Korean/English Bible to give to the Korean lady. I gave one of the sisters who ate dinner with me a Japanese Book of Mormon to take to work.

I've had so much success meeting immigrants at laundromats, I took some laundry with me on the trip. My dinner date told me where a nearby laundromat was, in a section of town that had a lot of immigrants.

09/02/2006. 710. On my way there, I stopped at a Chinese market, bought some more snacks. The cashier there accepted Chinese and English copies of the Book of Mormon, and a couple DVD's.

09/02/2006. 711. At the laundromat I met a couple from India and they accepted Telugu and English copies of the Book of Mormon. I was out of Hindi Books of Mormon by then, otherwise I would have offered him Hindi too.

09/02/2006. 712. While at the laundromat, I left my English Ensign on a table while I put my clothes in a dryer. A man was looking through it when I got back. I asked if he'd like a free copy in Spanish, and he said yes. So I went out to the car and gave him a Spanish Liahona magazine just before he left. He politely declined my offer of a Spanish Book of Mormon.

09/02/2006. 713. Right after I handed him the Spanish Liahona and walked back in to the laundromat, I met another couple from India and they accepted Kannada and English copies of the Joseph Smith Testimony pamphlet.

09/02/2006. 714. After doing laundry, I went next door to the Kroger grocery store to buy some fruit to eat Sunday. While in the check-out lane, two African-looking couples came in, speaking French. I retrieved French and English copies of the Book of Mormon, and a DVD from my car, and went back in. They were getting ready to check out, and I talked with them a bit. Among their group, they also spoke Lingala, Swahili, and Tshiluba, so I went back out and got another French, and some Lingala copies of the Book of Mormon, and a Swahili copy, plus a Tshiluba copy of the Joseph Smith Testimony pamphlet. They ended up accepting 2 French, an English, and I think at least one Lingala copy, and one Swahili copy.

-----------------------

09/03/2006. Sunday. I visited one of the local wards in that town. I mentioned a couple book placements to their Bishop before the meetings, and he said to write them down on slips of paper to be taped up on a drawing of a temple that was on display in the foyer. So I grabbed some slips and wrote down summaries before the meeting, and finished them up after sacrament was over.

It was Fast and Testimony meeting. There was a time when no one got up to say anything for at about a minute, and I felt prompted by the Spirit to get up. On my way to the lecturn I asked the Bishop if it was okay for a visitor to speak, and he said yes. I gave very brief descriptions of the above encounters. There were 15 in total. The congregation chuckled when I mentioned I brought my laundry. My encounters were also discussed a bit in the combined Elders Quorum and HP group meeting. And after the meetings, one of the brothers bought a Simplified Chinese Book of Mormon from me.

I also visited the afternoon ward in that building, and gave a couple of the above addresses to the elders (missionaries) asking them to follow-up at the Philippines store and the Chinese restaurant, but to do so as customers, as the people didn't request missionaries. I suggested they shop at the store, and eat lunch at the restaurant, and just ask if they were the ones who received a Book of Mormon and see if they had any questions.

09/03/2005. 715. German declined. After church I stopped at a park before getting on the Interstate for the trip back home. I took a walk on the path around the park. Going the other way were three 20-something ladies speaking a foreign language. I asked what language they were speaking, and one said German. I offered them the German Book of Mormon. The speaker politely declined. I took her answer as being for the group, but afterwards it occurred to me that I should have asked the other two also.

09/03/2006. Journal entry. This was weird, but it resulted in a follow-up. On the road home, I took an exit that I thought was inspired, and bought some bottled water and something else at the nearest gas station. Nothing happened at the gas station. Leaving the gas station, I thought I was prompted to turn away from the Interstate and go the other way. At the next intersection, I thought I was prompted to turn right and take a road that paralleled the Interestate. I thought my imagination was running away with me, but the worst case scenario would be that was going to "go exploring." The road took me to the next little town, and then there was a sign pointing to the Interstate, so I turned there. And when I got to the Interstate, I realized I was at the gas station I visited in # 704. So I bought some pop for the road, and greeted the man I had met yesterday. I'm not sure what to make of it.

09/03/2006. 716. On the road home, I stopped at a place and offered an Hispanic lady a Spanish Bible and Spanish Book of Mormon which she accepted. Another lady with her declined.

Moment #565. Swahili at gas station. Mon, May 1, 2006.

05/01/2006. After Singles Family Home Evening at church I felt like taking the long way home. Even now, I'm not sure whether it was inspiration or if it was just my own desires. I stopped at a gas station I hadn't been to before and bought some 12-packs of pop on sale. I didn't see any opportunities until I had left the store, when a man was walking from his car at the pumps towards the door of the store. We made eye contact, and I asked him if he spoke French. He didn't. I didn't continue the conversation. But something about him "stood out." This may have been a missed opportunity. Because I feel the need to blog it, it probably was.

Next stop was some vitamins/minerals on sale at CVS. Nothing happened there.

I stopped at another gas station on the way home. I had been here before, and had given the cashier Arabic and English copies of the Book of Mormon, and an Arabic/English bilingual Bible.

I can't say whether I was inpired to stop, or whether it was my own idea. Maybe I was trying too hard. I bought a newspaper and fountain drink.

I hadn't met this cashier before. He spoke with an accent, but I couldn't tell his ethnicity. His was Hindi (India) but he was from Uganda in East Africa, and spoke Luganda, Swahili, and Hindi. I told him about the other people I met from East Africa (at other locations) who spoke those languages, and he knew them!

Here's the kicker, one of those other guys had given to this man the Hindi Book of Mormon! Cool! The books get circulated!

I asked him if he would like the Swahili and English versions, and he said sure. So I went out to the car and brought them in. I pointed out my card and the info flyer in them. Then we practiced a little Hindi before I left.

Moment #73. Hindi/Swahili at Post Office. Oct 14, 2004.

10/14/2004. Interesting coincidence with a friend of a previous contact.

I got my PO box mail, and tore up the junk mail at the counter near the front door.

A young adult man came to the counter and put a box in the waste basket. He looked Indian (from India). We made eye contact, so I asked "Do you speak any foreign languages?" He said Hindi. I said I had a book in Hindi, called the Book of Mormon, in my car, and would like to give it to him. I asked if he'd like to see it, and he said yes. He followed me to the parking lot, and I retrieved a Hindi Book of Mormon from my trunk.

As I removed it from the plastic bag, he saw my other box marked "African." He asked if I had African languages too. I said sure, what are you interested in? He said Swahili. I handed the Hindi book to him, and took out the Swahili Book of Mormon. He said he grew up in East Africa.

A light bulb went off over my head, and I told him that just last week I gave a Swahili Book of Mormon to another Indian man from East Africa (Moment #61 on Oct 4th). I described the previous man to him, and said he drove a white Cadillac, and I asked if he knew him. This man said "I know him as my uncle."

Small world. Both encounters were on Indy's West side, just a few miles and 10 days apart. But, is this really a coincidence?

I also gave him an English copy. I mentioned that my phone number and other information was in the books in case he wanted to learn more. We shook hands and departed.

Moment #61. Swahili at oil change store. Oct. 4, 2004.

10/4/2004. I took the Books of Mormon out of my car trunk, leaving just a few English and Spanish in the back seat. I was planning on taking the car in for tire repair, and needed to have the spare tire well in the trunk accessible to the mechanic.

I didn't have time for the tire repair, but was able to stop at a place next door to where I live for a needed oil change.

There was another man in the waiting room, who sounded like he was from India.

I asked him what languages he spoke. He said Swahili, and an Indian dialect that I hadn't heard of. He said he was from East Africa, but was Indian. He also spoke Hindi.

He asked why I asked, and asked if I were a linguist. I said that I liked to collect the Book of Mormon in foreign languages. By this time I had brain fade and forgot I had removed the Books of Mormon from my trunk. I told him I had a copy of Book of Mormon in Swahili in my car, and offered to show it to him. He said sure.

I walked over to my car while they were changing the oil, and discovered I had removed the books. I came back and admitted my error, and said I could walk over to my apartment and get him one, and I gave him my business card. I also offered to deliver one to him if he wanted to call me with his address.

Anyway, we made small talk, and it seemed my car was going to be ready before his, so I offered to retrieve a copy from home, and bring it back if he would wait in the parking lot. He agreed. I drove home, retrieved Swahili, English, and Hindi copies, and came back. Just as I got out of my car, he was driving off, but just went to the gas station next door.

I walked over to the gas station, and offered him the three books. He declined the Hindi copy, but accepted the Swahili and English copies.

This encounter links to Moment #73 on October 14th.