Videos to Vietnamese member. Wed, Mar 3, 2010.

03/03/2010. Journal entry. (Not numbered, since this person was already a member.) While driving across town, I stopped by the chapel that hosts Institute classes and decided to sit in on a class. The new teacher is pretty cool, has lots of energy, and connects well with the students.

After the class, I noticed an Asian student. He joined the church last year. He's from Vietnam, but also speaks Mandarin and Cantonese. I offered him some church videos, which he didn't have, and he accepted those. He also accepted a couple copies of the Chinese Liahona. He already had a Vietnamese Book of Mormon. I thought I had some Vietnamese Liahonas, but I'm all out.

Vietnamese at gas station. Mon, Nov 9, 2009.

11/09/2009. 1200. I was at a nearby gas station helping a friend with his computer. He was on duty as the cashier, and I was sitting behind the counter at his laptop computer. Customers were coming and going, and he attended to them as I was doing stuff with the computer.

One of the customers was an Asian man who bought a phone card. I asked him where he was going to call, and he said Vietnam. So..... I offered him a free book in Vietnamese from my church. It was a quick conversation, and it didn't interfere with his transaction with the cashier. And, he enthusiastically agreed to receive the free church book in Vietnamese.

He went back outside to gas up his vehicle, and I went out and got a Vietnamese copy and an English copy of the Book of Mormon from my trunk. I met him over at his car, and he was enthusiastic to receive both of them. I asked if he had heard of the Book of Mormon before, and he said no, so I said that at our church we use the Bible and the Book of Mormon along with it. I pointed out my calling card in the front, and the list of chapels, and invited him to call or attend if he wanted. He thanked me, and I went back inside.

Got missionaries in trouble. Vietnamese. Wed, Jul 1, 2009.

07/01/2009. 1160. I picked up the ward's full-time missionaries and took them to an investigator's apartment for a short lesson. This was the neighborhood where I met a Vietnamese man June 4th, and told the missionaries about it, and gave them a Vietnamese Book of Mormon for him. They hadn't been able to find or contact the man. They had gone there, but no one answered the door.

Since they didn't have another appointment immediately after this one today, we walked over to the Vietnamese man's building, and walked past some people who looked like they might be employees of the apartment complex. The Vietnamese man was outside his building, so it was easy to strike up a conversation with him. He accepted the Vietnamese and English Book of Mormon. The missionaries offered to come visit and offer service, and he invited them over in a few days, and they actually made an appointment.

As we walked back to my car, one of the people we had passed, and who had witnessed our interaction with the man, said there was "no soliciting allowed" on the property and asked us to leave. We were leaving anyway. I mentioned that we had a book in the man's language for him. And we left.

Vietnamese to missionaries. Sun, Jun 7, 2009.

06/07/2009. Journal entry. I gave a Vietnamese copy of the Book of Mormon to our ward's full-time missionaries to deliver to the man I met last Thursday while out jogging. I gave them the building address, and the apartment number. I wasn't sure on the apartment number, but if it's wrong, they shouldn't have to knock on more than four doors to find the family.

Vietnamese contact, jogging. Thu, Jun 4, 2009.

06/04/2009. Journal entry. This is one of those things where I wonder "Was that inspiration or did I just imagine it?"

I was out jogging, and was going to do a route that I normally do, when I felt inspired to go in another direction. I ended up in the apartment complex of an investigator. But instead of knocking on his door, I just called him on my cell phone. I had planned on inviting him out to dinner that night anyway, so I was going to call to arrange a time. I felt like I should phone before cold calling at the door, but I ended up not going to his apartment anyway. So I wondered what the inspiration was for.

As I walked around a bit before I started my jog back home, I saw an Asian man who apparently lived there. I stopped and asked him if he was from Thailand. He didn't seem to understand English. I asked if he was from Cambodia. Nope. Then I asked if he was from Vietnam, and he said yes. He pointed to where he lived. I couldn't figure out what else to talk about, since he didn't seem conversant in English, so I said goodbye and started back home.

On Sunday the 7th, I gave a Vietnamese Book of Mormon to our ward's full-time missionaries and gave them his address, and what I thought his apartment number might be.

Vietnamese at store. Tue, Mar 10, 2009.

03/10/2009. 1122. After eating I went to a nearby close-out for more shopping, and as I was checking out, an Asian family came in: a little girl, mom, and grandma. I got out of the checkout line, went over to them and politely asked what language they were speaking. They said Vietnamese. I offered them Vietnamese and English books and magazines from church, and they were very interested, both the two adults who wanted to learn more English and the little girl who wanted to learn to read Vietnamese. Of the three, the little girl (about 8 to 10) spoke the best English. I put my basket down and went out to the car and brought back in a Vietnamese and the corresponding English Liahona (a conference issue), and Vietnamese and English copies of the Book of Mormon. I went back in and found them again, and all three were excited to receive the bilingual material. They accepted both of the magazines and both of the books. The mom indicated she'd like to visit the church, so I pointed out the nearest chapel on the the flyer I put in the books. She volunteered her cell-phone number, so I'll give her referral to the mission office.

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.

Vietnamese. Tue, Jan 29, 2008.

01/29/2008. 980. A man originally from Vietnam, but who's been a long time in the US politely accepted both a Vietnamese copy and an English copy of the Book of Mormon.

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.

Pass-along cards at Vietnamese restaurant. Sat, Nov 17, 2007.

11/17/2007. 919. I'm accompanying a friend on a trip to Texas. He went off to visit friends, while I stayed at the hotel to do Internet work. Afterwards, I went out to eat, and found a Vietnamese restaurant right across the road. Good food.

My waitress was from Cambodia, but the owners were from Vietnam. I gave both the hostess and the waitress a customized pass-along card, with "Vietnamese" hand-written on the one, and "Cambodian" written on the other. They both seemed enthusiastic, and sounded like they would call the 800 number.

Vietnamese at Restaurant. Mon, Sep 10, 2007

09/10/2007. 884. I was heading towards a particular Chinese restaurant that I haven't been to in a long time, and noticed this new Chinese restaurant that I hadn't seen before, just a few blocks away. When I arrived at the restaurant I had intended on going to, it was closed. So I backtracked and tried out this new Chinese restaurant.

This place was indeed new, and had opened just a few months ago. I ordered, sat down, and put my standard Chinese material on the table: bilingual Chinese/English New Testament, both kinds of Chinese Book of Mormon, English Book of Mormon, and a "Finding Happiness" DVD, and I started reading a local newspaper.

The Caucasian-American waitress/cashier brought my food, and didn't show any sign she noticed the material on the table.

The food was great. And it was interesting in that it reminded me of the meals I've had at Chinese restaurants that are owned and operated by Vietnamese families. The recipes, both the entree and the rice, were extremely familiar so I put away the Chinese material, and got out a Vietnamese Book of Mormon from my book bag.

When the waitress checked on me, I asked if the chef was from Vietnam, and she confirmed that he was.

When the chef came out, I was able to strike up a conversation with him, and he accepted my offer of the Vietnamese Book of Mormon. He declined the English, but I didn't push the English edition like I normally do, because I plan on going back soon anyway.

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.

Vietnamese at nail salon. Sat, Jun 16, 2007.

06/16/2007. 831. I was heading South on the Interstate from Indianapolis to go to a Single Adult dance at another stake. I had planned on getting off at one of exits along the way to look for a Chinese restaurant to have supper. Around suppertime, I stopped at one exit, drove around a bit, and couldn't find anything. I stopped at the next exit, and drove around a bit, but didn't see any Chinese restaurants. However, I did see this nail salon.

I haven't had much success with book placements just by walking into nail salons. However, if one of the employees is standing outside, sometimes I'll strike up a conversation out on the sidewalk, and those sometimes turn into nice encounters.

Here at this one, no one was standing outside, but I felt inspired to go in anyway. I took in Vietnamese and English copies of the Liahona magazine.

They didn't have any customers, and it looked like they were getting ready to close. I asked the closest employee if he liked to read in Vietnamese, and said that I had an extra free magazine in Vietnamese from my church. He enthusiastically accepted it along with the English copy. He seemed positive about it, so I then offered the Book of Mormon, and he agreed to see it, so I went back out to the car and got a Vietnamese copy and an English copy of the Book of Mormon, and took those in, and he accepted them.

We chit-chatted a bit, and it was a very friendly encounter.

Vietnamese at restaurant. Tue, Apr 24, 2007.

04/24/2007. 815. I had supper at a local Vietnamese restaurant that I hadn't been to before. I went in with a newspaper, a Vietnamese Book of Mormon, and an English Book of Mormon. I sat down, placed the books face down on the table. The waitress came and took my order. Before the food came, I turned over the books face up on the table, but had them between me and the wall.

When the waitress returned with my food, she noticed the title, and asked if I read Vietnamese. I said no, that I had brought it for her if she wanted it, and that it was a free Book from my church. She seemed eager, and gratefully accepted it, along with the English. I suggested she could call any of the numbers on the material inside the book if she like it and wanted to know more, or to get more copies for friends. We chit-chatted very briefly, and then she had to get back to work.

When she took them back to the kitchen, I could hear them talk about it in both Vietnamese and English.

Vietnamese at restaurant. Thu, Feb 15, 2007.

02/15/2007. 794. A friend and I went out to eat at a Vietnamese restaurant that we haven't been to before. I took in a Vietnamese and an English Book of Mormon, and put them face down on the table. We ordered, and while waiting on the food, I turned the Vietnamese book face up. Our waitress was Vietnamese. I asked her if she liked to read in Vietnamese and she said yes. I offered her the Vietnamese Book of Mormon, said it was free and was from our church. She seemed eager and started flipping through it. But when she realized it was Christian material, she very politely begged off, saying she was Buddhist, and gave it back. I accepted it graciously, and put it back on the table, between myself and the edge of the table. But before leaving us, she changed her mind, and asked for it again. This made me think she was accepting it just to be polite, but I'm not sure on that. She was not really fluent in English, so I think the curiosity of reading something in Vietnamese and English overcame her reluctance to accept Christian material. She accepted the English edition too.

Vietnamese to sister missionaries for nail salon. Sun, Feb 4, 2007.

02/04/2007. Journal Entry. It was the first Sunday of the month, so it was fast-and-testimony meeting. After all the meetings in my ward, I went to visit the Spanish branch sacrament meeting because I like to listen to their testimonies in Spanish. They changed their schedule, so I was too late for their sacrament meeting.

While there, I saw the sisters who serve the other ward and singles branch that share the building with the Spanish branch. I recognized one sister, and she had a new companion. The sister I recognized had previously accepted my offer of a Vietnamese Book of Mormon, and successfully placed it at a nail salon, while going there for a manicure. (I had paid for her and her companion to get manicures.)

I decided to make the offer again for the new companion. I only had $15 with me, just enough for one to get a manicure, so I hoped that would work. So I gave them the $15 and a Vietnamese Book of Mormon, and they accepted the challenge again.

Vietnamese at restaurant. Wed, Jan 31, 2007.

01/31/2007. 787. I crossed town to take a teen from my old ward out to dinner. We went to an Asian restaurant. It was run by a Vietnamese family. Shortly after we sat down, another couple from his ward came in, recognized us, and sat next to us.

I asked our waitress where she was from and she said Vietnam. I asked about what other languages the other employees spoke, and she said just English and Vietnamese. I had only one Vietnamese Book of Mormon in my bag, so I went out to the car and retrieved another just in case. I put one Vietnamese and one English Book of Mormon on the table beside me. Later on the waitress saw them and asked about it. I didn't even have to start the conversation about the books.

She was genuinely interested for a while, and recited the title and sub-title of the Vietnamese edition, and picked it up without me having to offer or suggest it to her. She actually took the Vietnamese book to a location where there was better light so she could read it, and she flipped through it, but brought it back and said she didn't have time to read.

Later, just as the cashier came by to collect, I suggested to the older brother from the ward that he ask her if she liked to read Vietnamese. He must have had the right touch, because she stayed and showed even more interest, and we chit-chatted with her a bit. She talked about her grown children, and her grand-children. She ended up taking both the Vietnamese and the English copies. She asked where the church was, so I said where it was, and pointed out the info-flyer inside the books with the address, the mission office phone nuber, and my phone number.

I'll grant the possibility she accepted the books just to be polite, but it sure seemed to me that she was interested in reading something, anything, in Vietnamese. I'm pretty confident she'll at least browse through the Vietnamese book.

Moments 36-39. Road trip to Muncie. Sep 1, 2004.

09/01/2004. Moments #36 - 39. Road trip to Muncie.

Chinese, Vietnamese, English. Muncie, Indiana.

Muncie is a little more than an hour's drive from the West side of Indianapolis.

I had a strange desire to take some copies of the Book of Mormon in Chinese and try to place them at a Chinese restaurant. I supposed a city the size of Muncie must have Chinese restaurants. I had no apparent need to go to Muncie, other than I felt like it. I couldn't tell if it was a prompting of the Spirit or my own imagination. It persisted for several days, maybe a few weeks. It wasn't a still small voice telling me to go, but an idea or desire welling up from within that I couldn't make go away.

After the trip I realized it may have been an "implanted desire."

I put some copies of regular Chinese, simplified Chinese, and extra English copies of the Book of Mormon in a computer case. Because I've encountered Vietnamese and Koreans working at Chinese restaurants, I stuck in an extra copy in Vietnamese and one in Korean.

I didn't know where I was going to eat, but I figured I could easily find a place or that I might even be prompted where to go.

I prepared some special "info flyers" for Muncie, using 3 x 5 cards, and printed the Muncie chapel's address and meeting times on it (2 wards in Muncie proper), and included the Indianapolis Mission Office phone # since it's in this mission. I thought about putting the Muncie missionaries' phone numbers on it, but didn't have them, and didn't have time to call around and get them. I put an info flyer, a pass-along card in each copy of the Book of Mormon.

---

Moment #36:

I was driving along the highway which connects Muncie to the Interstate. As I approached an intersection in the business district, I was gently prompted to turn, and I did so.

I immediately saw a Chinese restaurant ahead, and felt confident that was the place I was supposed to go. I felt both reassured and awed. I did not know beforehand that there was a Chinese restaurant there.

I pulled in and felt like I should put my business cards in the Books of Mormon and I did so. I bought a USA Today and a copy of the Muncie newspaper and then went in.

I went to the cashier's counter and ordered my standard Moo Goo Gai Pan. The cashier/order-taker was a young adult Asian man. He seemed humble, the kind of person who is receptive to the Gospel. I asked where his family was from, mainland China or Taiwan, but he didn't seem to understand the word "mainland", but he said no to Taiwan, and yes to China.

I sat down with my case, my newspapers, and my soda pop to await my food. I took a Simplified Chinese and an English Book of Mormon out of the case and placed them on the table with the Chinese on top. When the young man brought my food he did not notice the books. The food was good and inexpensive.

After eating I went up to the cashier's counter and the young man came out of the kitchen. Showing him the Chinese Book of Mormon, I asked him if he liked to read in Chinese. When he said yes, I asked if I could give it to him for free, and he agreed. To make sure it was the right style I also showed him the traditional Chinese book, and he obviously preferred the simplified Chinese. I asked him how many people worked there and he said three, so I retrieved two more Simplified Chinese and two more English from my case, and presented them.

He started to decline the English copies, saying he didn't speak English very well, but when I said he could have them to help him learn English, he seemed to understand and accepted all six books.

---

Moment #37:

I left the restaurant and noted the street names for later. I drove towards the Interstate. I still had 3 traditional Chinese, 3 English, 1 Korean, and 1 Vietnamese Book of Mormon in my case, plus a few dozen translations in the trunk.

I wondered if my "assignment" was over, and felt prompted that it was not. This was an urgent prompting to turn around, but I didn't know what I was supposed to do.

I guessed that I was supposed to go to the Chapel and leave the other Chinese books there and leave a note for the missionaries to follow up. I turned around and tried to find the turn-off that goes to the chapel, but I realized that the street that the Chapel is on doesn'the highway, and I didn't know the cross street that would take me there.

Then I felt prompted to get rid of the three traditional Chinese Books of Mormon. So I turned into a commercial area where there are lots of stores, hoping to find more Chinese restaurants. I drove around less than 1 minute and saw a nail salon.

Nail salons in Indianapolis are almost all run by folks from Vietnam. Whether the desire to place the Vietnamese book at the nail salon was purely my own concoction, or whether that desire was connected to the idea to put the Vietnamese Book of Mormon in my case before the trip, I can't honestly say. I just thought "Oh boy! I bet there are some Vietnamese people in there, and I got a Vietnamese Book of Mormon!"

We're not supposed to be commanded in all things, and when you can put 2 and 2 together on your own, why bother the Lord for an answer?

I took the Vietnamese book into the store. All the employees were busy with customers, and the employee at the front station looked up from his work and asked if he can help me. I asked "Can I give you a free book in Vietnamese?" and held up the book. He thought for about 1.5 seconds, and maybe just to get rid of me said "Sure, just leave it on the counter" which I did, and I thanked him and left.

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Moment #38:

I drove around some more, and ended up driving past the restaurant I was at and about two blocks past it there was a Chinese buffet restaurant. I took in the three remaining traditional Chinese books, which is the version that people from Taiwan and Hong Kong read.

The host was an Asian teenager, and he asked "how many?" I said something like "I didn't want to eat, but I'm curious as to where your family is from." He said China, and I realized I didn't have the right version of Chinese with me. But I somehow forgot that I had more Simplified Chinese copies in my trunk. I asked how many of his family worked there and he said lots. We chatted a little bit, and I asked if anyone in his family liked to read in Chinese, and he said one. I sort of ignored the "one" answer, and I said that I'd like to give them some free books in Chinese along with the English translation. I forget what else was said, but upon leaving I said "Merry Christmas" to emphasize the gift aspect, but he didn't seem to get the joke.

Having given away 13 copies, I was feeling satisfied, but still awed by the whole thing. Every prompting and idea seemed to pan out.

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Moment #39:

There was a gas station on the highway right before the Interstate. I went in and purchased a cold soda pop for the road. The cashier was a very friendly lady in her 40's or maybe early 50's.

As she spoke I could tell she had spiritual light, and I could tell she was at least a believer in Christ if not already a member. I was prompted to do or say something, but I got flustered because I wasn't prepared, I didn't have a book with me, and didn't have any words ready on how to present a Book of Mormon to an English-only speaker. I had practiced for the immigrants, but not for English-only folks.

I didn't say anything, and went back to my car trying to justify myself thinking I had accomplished my goals for the trip. I thought "I was assigned to give out the Chinese books, and maybe a Vietnamese and/or Korean and that's what I did and that's all that I was told to do."

But after I got into the car, I felt a sense of urgency. It seemed as if the Spirit was saying "Yes, you did what I told you, and now I'm telling you to do more."

Then I had two feelings; I was ashamed for resisting the Spirit, and I was scared about how to make the presentation.

I thought for a minute to come up with a presentation. I opened the trunk and got out a zip-lock baggie that contained both an inexpensive King James Bible and an English Book of Mormon. Offering or at least showing the KJV Bible might make the Book of Mormon easier to place.

I seemed to have temporarily forgotten the principle "whatever God tells you to do is always a good thing, so don't be scared." And since the lady was a nice lady, giving off light, she wasn't going to bite my head off.

I went back in and went up to the checkout and asked the lady if she had ever read the Book of Mormon, and I took it out of the zip-lock bag. She said no but that she did have a Bible. She saw the KJV Bible that was still in the baggie, so I think she got the impression that they go together.

I said I'd like to give her a free copy if she'd like to read it. She graciously accepted it. I forget what else was said. The moment was a little awkward, but her kindness seemed to make things smoother.

I went back to the car, got on the Interstate back to Indy, and started to choke up realizing what happened on that trip and what led up to it. The Lord says "Marvel not" several places in the scriptures. I hope I'm not "marveling," but I was in awe.

As I drove past the city of Anderson on my way back to Indy, I felt like the Spirit indicated an exit where I should go on a future trip and do the same thing.