Twi at gas station. Tues, Feb 22, 2011.

02/22/2011. 1272. On the other side of town, and on the way home I stopped at a gas station. I've made several stops and several placements here before. Tonight the cashier was someone I hadn't seen before. He was from Ghana and spoke Twi. He was interested in a free Twi book from church, so I brought in a Twi and an English Book of Mormon. He recognized them, and he said he already had a copy of the English, but not the Twi. He did accept the Twi, but was not too excited about it. He wasn't negative, but more like "meh..., ok."

I also gave him the name and number of the guy in my ward from Ghana who joined the church in 2009.

Fante, Twi, Arabic at restaurant. Mon, Feb 23, 2009.

02/23/2009. 1115. After I left the Chinese restaurant, I needed to make a left turn from the parking lot onto the street to get to the Big Lots store that I wanted to go to. But there was too much traffic to turn left, so I turned right, hoping to circle back.

At the first stop-light I turned right again, hoping to later make a third right, but the Spirit indicated that I should keep going on this street to have another encounter.

Just a block or two down the street, there was a fast-food restaurant on the left. It was a brand that I don't normally go to, and I don't think I've ever been to that chain. But the Spirit indicated I should go there for another book placement opportunity. I had just eaten, so I knew it wasn't my own desire to go there, and that was a clue that it was a real prompting.

I figured I could order something to go, save it and just eat it later.

Well, the cashier who took my order was a young black man with an accent. He was from a country in West Africa, and learned Twi and Fante while he was in Ghana. I offered him free books from church and he agreed to accept them. After paying and receiving my order, I took it out to the car and brought back in Twi, Fante, and English copies of the Book of Mormon. I presented them, and he graciously accepted them.

The manager joined the conversation, and I learned he spoke Arabic. I offered him an Arabic book, and he said okay. I made sure he knew it was a Christian book, and he said that was okay. So I went out to the car and retrieved Arabic and English copies of the Book of Mormon. He graciously accepted both.

Wow.

Twi at store. Fri, Jan 9, 2009.

01/09/2009. 1105. After picking my car up at the dealer's after having it serviced, I stopped at a nearby international grocery store. There were two men conversing as I checked out. I listened to their conversation a bit as I drank my Jamaican Ginger Ale. I joined their conversation. One was from Liberia, and the other from Ghana.

I offered the Ghanaian man a free Twi Book of Mormon and he agreed to receive one, so I retrieved a Twi and an English copy from my car and came back and presented them to him, and he graciously accepted them.

Twi at grocery store. Sat, Aug 16, 2008.

08/16/2008. 1052. It was late night at the grocery store. As I was in the check-out line, the security guard looked like he might be from Africa. After paying, and on my way out, I asked if he was from a certain country, but I guessed wrong. He was from Ghana. I offered him a free book from church in Twi, and he agreed to receive one. I took my groceries out to the car and brought back in a Twi copy and an English copy of the Book of Mormon, and he eagerly accepted them.

Twi at home improvement store. Wed, Jun 11, 2008.

06/11/2008. 1031. I was volunteering at the storehouse, and my supervisor and I went to a nearby home improvement store to buy some parts for our project. We took his car, so we didn't have the Book-of-Mormon-Mobile and its inventory handy.

Right inside the entrance, there was a lady and her children at the service desk. While the clerk was doing something to serve them, there was an opportunity to strike up a conversation, so I asked her where her family is originally from. She said Ghana. I asked if she spoke Twi, and she did. I offered her a free book from church in Twi and she agreed to receive one. We were both just starting our shopping, so I gave her the address of the storehouse and asked her to meet us there. I drew a little map for her, and gave her my cell phone number.

There is a bookcase at the storehouse front office with all the translations of the Book of Mormon on display, including Twi. I called the storehouse manager and told him of the encounter, and epxlained which book he should give her if she should get there before we did.

After we bought the stuff we needed, my boss and I went back to the storehouse, and a few minutes later she showed up, and I presented the books to her, along with a Bible, and she gratefully accepted them. I told her about an African grocery store near where she lives, and looked it up in a phone book and wrote down the address and phone number for her.

It was a very nice encounter.

Twi, Wolof. Tue, May 20, 2008.

05/20/2008. 1025. On my way to dinner I stopped at a small store that I hadn't been to in a while. I've been there before, but I had forgotten if I had offered them any material. I bought some stuff that I normally eat. The couple behind the counter had some friends from Ghana who spoke Twi, and they thought it would be nice to give their friends the Twi and English copies of the Book of Mormon that I offered them. I also pointed out the phone numbers that they could call to get more free copies.

---

05/21/2008. 1026. I then had supper at a Mexican restaurant that I haven't been to in a long time, at least since before I started this book placement thing. I took in some material: a couple videos, a Spanish Bible, and a Spanish Book of Mormon. The waitress/cashier was very busy, and I didn't see any convenient, easy and non-intrusive way of making a presentation, so I didn't.

Outside, as I went to my car, there was a man walking by as if he were on break from a nearby office. We were in conversation distance, and since I really enjoyed the meal I just had, I asked if he had ever been there. At that point, my only intention was to recommend the restaurant to him. I think he said no, he hadn't eaten there. Anyway, I recommended the place as having good food.

I noticed the man spoke with an accent, so I asked where he was from. He said Senegal. I asked if he spoke French and Wolof and he said yes. I told him about the church's Sunday School manual in Wolof, and that I had one with me, and offered to show it to him. He agreed to see it, and was pretty impressed when I got it out of the car. He accepted the English edition too. I forgot to offer him a French Book of Mormon, or one of the DVDs with a French track.

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.

Twi at grocery store. Sat, Oct 13, 2007.

10/13/2007. 901. I went to a nearby 24-hour grocery store to do some late night shopping. As I was in the produce section near the doors, a security guard closed and locked the entrance doors on that side so that customers would have to enter the doors near the cash registers until the morning shift started.

I was standing only a few feet away at the first fruit stand, within conversation distance. The thought that this might turn into a gospel contact never occurred to me. Well, you know me, I'm Mr. Chatty anyway, so as he turned away from the doors, and towards me, I said something just to say something, like "That time of night?" (ie, to lock that set of doors.)

He said "Yes" and something else, enough that I could tell that he had an accent. I said something like "Ah, you have an accent. Where are you from?" He said Ghana. I asked if he spoke Twi (pronounced "chwee") and he was pleasantly surprised that I knew about the language. I said something about the many Ghanaians in Indianapolis, and mentioned one of the cultural events I went to.

I said my church has lots of books in African languages, and he asked which church and I told him. He knew about the church, and had had some contact with members. I offered him a Book of Mormon in Twi, and agreed to receive it.

I left my shopping cart in the produce section, and went out to my car and retrieved copies of the Book of Mormon and Gospel Fundamentals in Twi and in English (four books total). When I returned, he was near the main entrance, and there were no other customers, so it was easy to talk to him. I presented the books, and he beamed. I didn't want to interfere with his duties, so I wrote my name and phone number on one of the inserts, and said he could call me or one of the other numbers if he wanted any more information. We shook hands, and he went back to work, and I went back to shopping.

As I went in the doors near the cash registers, another store employee looked at me, as if he had seen me give the books to the guard and wondered what I was up to. I probably should have enthusiastically said something like "I had some books in his language!" which I have said on other occasions to third party observers who looked askance at the transaction.

Twi to temple worker. Sun, Aug 26, 2007.

08/26/2007. Journal entry. I was at a fireside for Single Adults here in Indianapolis. The speaker was a counselor in the presidency of a nearby temple. During his talk he mentioned that he and his wife served a mission in Ghana. After his talk we chatted a bit about the Book of Mormon in two of the Ghanaian languages, Fante and Twi, and then I went out to my car and retrieved a Book of Mormon in Twi, and gave it to him.

I encouraged him to keep it in his car, and said if he did so, he'd likely meet someone who spoke Twi. He was friendly and smiled, but acted like my idea was a little "out there."

Later that night I emailed him and told him more of my story. I included in the email the name and phone number of a sister in a neighboring stake (the stake in between my stake and his home stake) who is from the same European country as his wife.

Twi x2 at store. Fri, Aug 17, 2007.

08/17/2007. 866. I found this "international market" two days ago after eating at a Chinese restaurant. Instead of going directly home, I felt like exploring further down the street, and discovered it. It's not too far from where I live, and must be relatively new since I've been up and down that street plenty of times before.

So today while I was on my way home from another direction, I made a point of taking this street and stopping by and buying some food.

The owner and another customer at the store were from Ghana and spoke Twi, so I offered them the Book of Mormon and Gospel Fundamentals, which they eagerly and gratefully accepted. I had two copies of the Twi Book of Mormon, so they each got that plus an English copy. I only had one copy of Twi Gospel Fundamentals, so I gave that and the English Gospel Fundamentals to the customer, since I could easily go back and see the owner again at the store.

We chit-chatted a bit and talked about churches.

Twi, Ewe at grocery store. Thu, Apr 12, 2007.

04/12/2007. 812. I was at the grocery store late in the evening. The man behind me had only two items, and I had at least a dozen. There was only one check-out lane open. I suggested to the man that he go ahead of me. He deferred to me, but I insisted he go ahead. It wasn't until he paid the cashier and said something that I detected the accent in his voice. I should have picked up earlier on his dress that he was from Afria, and was not African-American.

As the cashier started to ring up my purchases, I engaged him in conversation, asking where he was from, and what languages he spoke. He said he was from Ghana and Togo. When I asked if he spoke Twi, he was surprised and asked how I knew about Twi. I said there were many Ghanaians in Indianapolis. He spoke Engish, French, Twi, Ewe, and one or two others that I didn't recognize. I offered him books from church in those languages if he would wait for me, and he agreed.

We went out to my car, and I gave him Twi and English copies of the Book of Mormon, a Twi Bible, and Ewe and English copies of the Joseph Smith Testimony.

I forgot to give him a French Book of Mormon. I searched the car for a French New Testament, but I didn't have any in the car, though I knew I had some more at home. I showed him my phone number in the material with the books, and asked him to call me, and I'd arrange to get him a French New Testament.

He could have been in his 50's or 60's. When I talked to him face-to-face, I could see the ravages of a hard life in his face and eyes. He was a dignified and humble man. It is hard to be dignified and humble at the same time, but this man was one of the few whom I've met that are both. It was a real honor to meet someone like him, and to be able to give him material in the languages of his homeland. We spoke a little in French. I look forward to his phone call, and getting him a French New Testament and a French Book of Mormon.

He lives close enough, and is in my ward, that I could pick him up and take him to church if he doesn't already have a church to go to. But I didn't think of inviting him until I got home. I hope he calls and that I remember to invite him.

I haven't had as many of these serendipitous meetings with immigrants since moving, so meeting him was all the more special. In addition to that warm glow of humility, kindness, gentleness, and dignity that he radiated, traces of past hardships and horror were written on his face and eyes. God has blessed him by bringing him to this land of peace and freedom. What an honor if I am permitted to introduce him to more of God's blessings.

Follow up here.

Twi at market. Sat, Sep 9, 2006.

09/09/2006. 723. I was heading home from the beauty supply store mentioned in the previous entry. I was going to go past one of my favorite Asian stores, so I stopped in. I was very thirsty, so I got a cold can of soda to drink outside before going back in to do more shopping.

A young adult couple were ahead of me in line. I couldn't tell where the lady was from, but the man wore a T-shirt depicting Africa, and he spoke with an accent.

We exited together, so I asked him where he was from, and what languages he spoke. He spoke English, French, Twi, and some others. I offered him a Twi Book of Mormon, and he eagerly accepted, so I went to my car and retrieved them. I forgot I had a Joseph Smith Testimony pamphlet in my car in one of the other languages he mentioned.

He eagerly accepted the material. I thought I had more stuff at home in some of his languages, so I suggested he call me and I'd arrange to get him the other material. I forgot to offer him French material.

His lady friend was on her cell phone when I was talking to him. Her body English didn't seem friendly towards me so I didn't offer her anything when she got off the phone.

He did say that he was looking for a church, but didn't have a car, so I gave him the elder missionaries' phone number, and also suggested to call them or me, and we'd arrange for someone to pick him up if he wanted to visit.

Moment #526. French/Twi. Tues, Feb 21, 2006.

02/21/2006. I went to buy some groceries at a local store that carries food typical of Africa and the Caribbean. I've been here several times before. The owner keeps several foreign language Books of Mormon in stock and gives them out to her customers. Today I gave a French copy and an English copy of the Book of Mormon to a customer, with the owner's permission. Her husband was there. Someone had already given him an English copy of the Book of Mormon in a nearby suburb. Today he accepted a copy in his native language of Twi.

Book of Mormon Moment #426. Twi. Sat, Sep 17, 2005.

09/17/2005. I was on the way home from an LDS Single Adult conference that was put on by the Louisville Stake in Crestwood, KY. I stopped at the Speedway gas station off of exit #50 in Seymour. I had a Speedway gas card. I bought gas and paid at the pump. I thought about approaching the Hispanic man using the pump on the other side of mine, but I didn't approach. I saw a young black man inside the gas station.

I went inside to buy some pop. He again caught my attention. But his clothes were a typical American style. However, I got that antsy feeling like I was supposed to approach him. I obtained some soda from the self-serve fountain, then got to the cashier just as he was leaving. I asked "Monsieur, parlez vous Francais?" He said no. I asked where he was from, and he said Ghana. I asked if he spoke Twi. (Pronounced "chwee".) He said yes. I said "No way! I have a book in Twi from my church in my car." He showed interested. I asked him to wait for me outside while I paid. After paying, I went outside and said it was free, said the name of the church, and that I'd like to show it to him, and he followed me to my car.

I got the Twi Book of Mormon from my trunk and handed it to him. He looked at it like he could read it. I gave him an English copy too. I asked how long he had been in the United States. He said he was born here, but his parents were from Ghana. We chit-chatted a bit, and his brother came over. They live in Chicago, and were going to or from their church's youth conference someplace.

I didn't get their names, but I said there was an 800 number in the books if they wanted more information or to get extra copies for friends or relatives.

The older brother started reading it as they walked away.

Book of Mormon Moment #372. Twi/Fante/English, July 21,2005.

07/21/2005, at the laudromat.

Is the Lord cool or what? On Tuesday this week I received the Twi Books of Mormon in the mail. On Wednesday I met a man from Ghana who spoke Twi, but didn't read it, though he did accept an English Book of Mormon. Today, Thursday, at the laundromat I met another man from Ghana who spoke both Fante and Twi, and he accepted both of those, plus English.

It's been months since I met anyone from Ghana, then I get the Twi language Books of Mormon in the mail, and BOOM, within 2 days I met two more Ghanians who speak Twi.

This guy was folding his laundry near the entrance and I noticed him as I went in. He triggered my immigrant radar. I put my laundry down next to a washer, then went back towards the entrance and bought some chips from a vending machine. I asked him if he spoke any African languages, and he said yes, Akan, and that he was from Ghana. I asked him "Akan-Fante or Akan-Twi?" And he said both. I said I had some church books in those languages in my car, they were free, and asked if he'd like to see them. He said okay.

I retrieved Fante, Twi and an English copies of the Book of Mormon from the car, and presented them. He showed genuine interest and we chatted some more. He said he knows some of the people who worked at the now closed Africa-Mart at Lafayette Square. I said that I had told the Ghanian employees there that I would give them a Twi Book of Mormon when it became available, and asked him to pass along my phone number to them, so they could contact me if they still wanted the books. He said that there is a Ghana association in town.