Telugu at store. Fri, Aug 5, 2011.

08/05/2011. 1291. I was on my way home from volunteering at the church's local storehouse, and felt inspired to explore for new ethnic places at a certain exit off the interstate highway.

I found an Indian grocery that I hadn't been to before. I browsed around, bought some of my favorite stuff, and a couple of new things.

I chatted with the cashier, who appeared to be the owner, and I found out he spoke Telugu. I offered him a free book in Telugu from church, and he agreed to receive it. I said I might have a copy in my car. I took my purchase out to my car, and searched my boxes and found a Telugu Book of Mormon, and an old issue of the Liahona magazine in Telugu. I went back in and presented them to him, and he graciously accepted them.

I did not offer him an English Book of Mormon, but I pointed out the telephone numbers on the flyer and card (that I put in the Book of Mormon), saying he could call to get a free English copy.

I'll likely be shopping there in the future, so I'll do a follow up.

Telugu. Tue, Oct 21, 2008.

10/21/2008. 1080. Telugu and English copies of the Book of Mormon, and a Telugu issue of the Liahona magazine.

Telugu x 2 at gas station. Tue, Aug 26, 2008.

08/26/2008. 1059. I stopped by a nearby gas station to speak with one of the men to whom I had previously given a Telugu Book of Mormon. He had two new Telugu-speaking people with him visiting today, but they were not employees there.

The other station employee to whom I had given Telugu, Hindi and English copies on that first visit, only spoke Telugu, he didn't read it, though he did read Hindi. That guy had given the Telugu Book of Mormon to the first guy, and today, during this visit, we gave that extra Telugu Book of Mormon, and an English one to one of the new Telugu guys. And I gave a third Telugu and English Book of Mormon to the other new Telugu guy.

We were talking about how they could get some decent jobs, and the possibility of them going to Louisiana came up. The third guy lived there a while back, and wanted to take a bus back there, but didn't know how to get to the bus station in Indianapolis or how to purchase a ticket.

Since I was going to the South side of Indy today, it wouldn't be too much trouble for me to stop at the bus station downtown, and help this guy. So I told him I would be back in half an hour and would take him. The first man had mentioned the possibility of this, so I had looked up the fare and schedule on the Internet, and he could catch a bus this evening, and make it there in 19 hours.

So I went back and he was ready, and we went downtown. I wrote a note and signed his Telugu Book of Mormon for him. He offered me $2 for my trouble in taking him, and I tried to refuse it, but he insisted. I learned as a missionary to not refuse such things from people, so as not to deny them their blessing, or their dignity in paying for something. After I politely declined his $2 a couple times, he kept insisting, so I finally accepted it.

During the drive, we listened to my CD of flute music by Hariprasad Chaurasia.

I didn't know how long it was going to take, and most street parking is limited to 20 or 30 minutes, so I parked in a parking garage a couple blocks away.

I helped him purchase his ticket, and the counter agent patiently explained at what cities he would have to change buses, and that he had to get his own luggage off the old bus and get it onto the new bus.

I tried to buy him some food at the bus station, but he refused. He was very grateful for the help.

So by 4:00pm tomorrow, there will be an additional Telugu Book of Mormon in Louisiana.

While helping him, I remembered the many kindnesses that Ecuadorians showed my companions and I when I was a missionary, and a stanger in a strange land.

Telugu at gas station. Tue, Jul 29, 2008.

07/29/2008. 1042. I stopped to get gas at a gas station on my way to an appointment. It's one I've been to before, but not recently. I went in to pre-pay and went out to fill up. Then I went back in to buy a newspaper, and as I paid I was the only one there, so I asked the cashier where he was from. He was from India, and spoke Telugu as his regional language. I offered, and he accepted Telugu and English copies of Book of Mormon, so I brought them in from the car. Then the other cashier joined us and expressed interest. Both were very curious and positive. Since it wasn't too far from home, I went back home to get another Telugu Book of Mormon for the other guy, and I got some Telugu copies of the Liahona out too. I went back and present them.

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.

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.

Urdu, Hindi, Telugu at gas station. Thu, Jan 11, 2007.

01/11/07. 778. I was on my way back home from a coin laundry (laundromat). There's a laundry room in my building, but it only has 3 top-loaders; and I prefer to do everything in one trip, just once per week. Besides, going to a commercial laundromat is a great opportunity to meet people. Although I speak adequate Spanish, I didn't approach any of the Spanish-speaking patrons there tonight.

The one I went to tonight is far enough away that there are several routes I could travel. On the way home, I chose a route that I hadn't taken before, and it took me past a gas station that I don't think I've been to since starting this book placement project. As I came upon it, the idea occurred to me to stop there to buy a newspaper. It wasn't a whisper or a prompting, just an idea that came to mind.

I grabbed a newspaper and let someone else in front of me to improve my chances of not having anyone behind me when it was my turn. The cashier spoke with an accent, so I asked where he was from and what languages he spoke. He was from India, has been here about a year, and speaks English, Urdu, Hindi, and Telugu. Although I didn't say the name of the books or the name of the church, I said I wanted to show him some books from my church in those languages, and he nodded his approval. I retrieved those four copies from my car, returned inside, and fortunately no one else was in line yet. He didn't read the Urdu, but correctly read the titles of the others. I was going to ask for the Urdu back, since the distribution center is currently out of stock, and that might have been my last one, but he said he knew other people he could give it to. Maybe I should have left another English copy with him to give away with the Urdu.

I pointed out my card inside, and the local mission office number, and encouraged him to call. He was very polite and grateful for the material.

Something felt really good about that encounter.

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.