French, Wolof at gas station. Mon, Nov 7, 2011.

11/7/2011. 1298. I was driving home, and there was a gas station on the corner on the other side of the street. I was planning on going straight through the intersection, but I received a strong prompting to stop at the gas station, so I checked to see that there was no traffic to the left and in back of me, and made a last-second left turn and pulled in.

I bought a cup of hot chocolate. The other cashier spoke with a heavy accent, so after I paid I went over to him and asked where he was from. He was from Senegal and spoke French and Wolof. I offered him some church material in French and Wolof, and he agreed to receive them.

I went out to my car and dug around a while, but I couldn't find a French Book of Mormon. But I did have a Wolof Gospel Fundamentals, a French Liahona magazine (the international edition of the Ensign), and a "Together Forever" DVD that has a French audio track. I went back in and present them to him, and he graciously accepted them. I mentioned that there were phone numbers in there (on the flyers) that he could call if he wanted more information.

French/Wolof at gas station. Tue, Dec 21, 2010.

12/21/2010. Missed op? - I was on the other side of town running errands. As I turned at an intersection, I felt inspired to stop at a drug store next to a gas station. I bought something. Nothing happened at the drug store, but maybe I was supposed to talk to the cashier. She had a bright and shiny look to her, like she knew the Savior. Later I thought that I could have asked her what church she went to, and if she asked why I asked, I could have said something like "You have a glow or shine to you that says you know Jesus." Some may think that's weird, but I'm sure it was true.

12/21/2010. 1265. Before I got back in my car, I felt inspired to stop at the gas station next door, so I walked over there, and bought something. One of the employees looked African, but he was busy, so I asked the cashier if she knew where he was from, and she said Senegal. So I went out to my car and retrieved Wolof copies of Gospel Fundamentals and the Joseph Smith Testimony pamphlet, a French Book of Mormon, and a "Together Forever" DVD that has a french audio track. I forget if I included English copies of the books as well.

When I went back in, the Senegalese employee was accessible so I struck up a conversation with him by asking if he spoke French and Wolof, and he did. I offered the material and he very graciously and gratefully accepted it all.

Wolof at restaurant. Tue, Oct 5, 2010.

10/05/2010. 1255. I ate supper at an African restaurant. The owner speaks Wolof and French as well as English. She accepted my offer of a Wolof copy and an English copy of Gospel Fundamentals (aka Gospel Principles Simplified, or Gospel Principles Old Edition). And she was delighted to receive it. Another employee joined the conversation and wanted one too, so I went out to the car and got another set for her.

Next time I'm there I'll offer some French material.

Wolof and French at store. Tue, Sep 8, 2009.

09/08/2009. 1188. While on my way to a restaurant, I discovered an African grocery store that I hadn't been to before. I stopped in to browse and buy something. Two of the employees were from Senegal. They accepted my offer of church material in Wolof. But when I went out to the car, I found out I hadn't put those boxes back in the car after taking them out to make room for passengers earlier in the week.

But I still had my case of Joseph Smith Testimony pamphlets. One man accepted Wolof and English copies of that pamphlet. The other guy, with whom I spoke later, accepted copies of the same, plus a French and an English Book of Mormon, and a "Finding Faith in Christ" DVD that has a French audio track.

French, Wolof at store. Wed, Aug 26, 2009.

08/26/2009. 1184. I went to a store for some photo-processing. The machine that reads your storage media was out of order, but the employee who helped me spoke with an accent, and seemed like he was from Africa. So I asked him if he spoke French. He said yes, so I asked where he was from, and he said Senegal. So I asked him if he also spoke Wolof, which he did.

I said that my church has free material in Wolof if he'd like to see it, and he was interested. He wanted to teach his American wife some Wolof. So I went to the car and got Wolof and English copies of Gospel Fundamentals, Wolof and English copies of the Joseph Smith testimony pamphlet, French and English copies of the Book of Mormon, and a multi-lingual DVD of "Together Forever" which has a French audio track.

He wasn't all that excited about them, but he thought his wife would be interested.

Wolof, Hausa, Fulani, Bambara. Sat, May 16, 2009.

05/16/2009.

1141. Wolof and English Gospel Fundamentals. Wolof and English Josepth Smith Testimony pamphlet.

1142. Hausa, Fulani, English Gospel Fundamentals; Hausa, Fulani, English Joseph Smith Testimony; French Liahona to first man. Bambara and English Gospel Fundamentals; Bambara and English Joseph Smith Testimony; Together Forever DVD to second man.

Follow-up, X declined, Scouting: Wolof, Bambara. Sat May 9, 2009.

05/09/2009. Follow-up. I had lunch with a single sister from the neighboring stake. We ate at a restaurant that I've been to before, and I wanted to do a follow-up there. After we paid, I asked the owner if he had read any of the book that I had given his wife on my previous trip. I don't think he had, but they still had it on a shelf under the cashier stand. They had given the English copy away to another employee or friend, and kept the one in their language. The man agreed to receive another English copy.

We went out to my car and I obtained an English Book of Mormon and another one in their language. There was another man at the restaurant, who I think was either a vendor or a friend of the owner who had been talking to him, and I thought of offering the other one to him.

The owner accepted the English language one (follow-up). But the other man declined (1136) the one in his language.

On the way home, I saw a new place kind of like a flea market mall. (Scouting.) I stopped in and it was where vendors rent lockable booths. I wandered around and met a family from Senegal who spoke Wolof, and a man from Mali who spoke Bambara. I only had copies of the Book of Mormon in the car. But there's no Book of Mormon in those lanaguages. There are translations of "Gospel Fundamentals"; but I had taken the copies of "Gospel Fundamentals" out of the car to make room for passengers. So I'll have to go back next week.

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.

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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.

Wolof at gas station. Fri, May 2, 2008.

05/02/2008. 1016. I was working with some church members, and one suggested I do a follow up at a certain gas station that was going to be on my way to lunch. I had been there at least twice before and placed Wolof and English copies of Gospel Fundamentals*.

So I stopped there on my way to lunch and bought something. There were two employees on duty, who appeared to be from Africa, and who were speaking a foreign language, but I couldn't figure out which language. I guessed French, and asked the one who was not the cashier "Parlez vous francais?". She said "oui." I then asked which country she was from, and she said Senegal. I then asked, in French, if she spoke Wolof, and she said "oui" again. I said, in Wolof, that I spoke a little Wolof, and she broke out into a big smile. Meeting someone who spoke any Wolof at all really made their day.

I assumed that the cashier was her husband. I asked him, in English, if he'd like a free book in Wolof from my church, our Sunday School manual. I asked if they were Muslim, and they were, and then I pointed out it was Christian material, and asked if that was still okay, and it was okay with them. They agreed to see it, so after I paid I went out to my car to retrieve the material. The lady went out to empty some trash, so she stopped by my car on the way in, and I gave the material to her. She was delighted to receive it and immediately started flipping through it.

I offered a French Book of Mormon, and some church movies with French audio, but she politely declined. Actually she said "that's okay", which Americans mean as "no", but I suppose she could have meant it as "it's okay for you to give them to me." I'll have to ask for clarification next time, as I may have misunderstood what she meant by that.

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* Note: English Gospel Fundamentals isn't listed at www.ldscatalog.com any more, but the catalog number is 31129-000 if you want to order by phone. It is the shortened version of Gospel Principles. Gospel Principles has 47 chapters and Gospel Fundamentals has 36. In languages where they haven't translated the Book of Mormon yet, they first translate Gospel Fundamentals, so I use the English version to pair with it, in order to make it into bilingual material. Another thing to note is that the church has renamed this publication, which used to be name "Gospel Principles (Simplified)". You'll find the latter name "Gospel Principles (Simplified)" on the older copies, and on many of the Lanauage Material Listings.

Follow-up on French / Wolof, Punjabi. Fri, Jan 25, 2008.

01/25/2008. Journal Entry. I went back to the gas station I was at Wednesday night, where I had given out copies of the Joseph Smith Testimony in Wolof and Punjabi, and a French Liahona magazine. Tonight, I went back and gave the man from Senegal French and English copies of the Book of Mormon, and Wolof and English copies of Gospel Fundamentals. I gave the other cashier Punjabi and English copies of Gospel Fundamentals.

Wolof, French, Punjabi at gas station. Wed, Jan 23, 2008.

01/23/2008. 979. I stopped and had supper on the way home from Institute. Then along the way home, I received a spiritual "tug" towards a gas station that I saw on a cross street about a block over. The tug wasn't obvious until it was too late to turn at that intersection, so I had to go a little further before I could turn back.

I bought a couple small items I could use anyway. My cashier was from Senegal, and spoke French and Wolof. And the other cashier was from India and spoke Punjabi.

I haven't restocked my car since the road trip, but I did have a computer case filled with one each of almost all translations of the Joseph Smith Testimony pamphlets, and a box of Liahona magazines in the car.

I took in Wolof and English copies of the Joseph Smith Testimony pamphlet and a French Liahona for the one cashier; and Punjabi and English copies of the Joseph Smith Testimony pamphlet for the other cashier. They accepted them, except the Punjabi cashier declined the English pamphlet.

I told them I'd come back with more material another day. The man from Senegal was very delighted to receive the material.

French and Wolof at gas station. Wed, Oct 24, 2007.

10/24/2007. 907. (The lesson continues.) I was on the far side of town near where I used to live. I had given a hitch-hiker/beggar a ride across town to his mother's apartment. (The lady who answered the door did indeed say he was her son.)

After dropping him off, I stopped at a Mexican bakery, and when I was short about 30 cents, they let it slide, and I gave them a couple of church DVDs with Spanish Audio tracks.

I then stopped at an ATM on my way home, and stopped at another Mexican store for some water. As I left, I felt impressed to go in a direction that was slightly out of my way. I had stopped at most gas stations along that little detour route, so I wondered what as going to happen.

As I approached a certain gas station where I had given out material before, I felt inspired to stop there again. The cashier spoke with an accent, so I struck up a conversation with him. He was from Senegal and spoke English, French, and Wolof. He was not the same cashier to whom I had previously given material. He was ecstatic that I had something in Wolof to give him. And he did not mind at all that it was Christian material, even though he was Muslim.

I offered, and he accepted Wolof and English copies of Gospel Fundamentals, and French and English copies of the Book of Mormon. Another customer got in line right after I presented them, so we didn't have time to chat more.

This encounter really drove home the point that I should not have felt bad about the hitch-hiker/beggar being manipulative. It was because I followed the impression to be of service to him, that I was put in place to make contacts and give out materials to the others. Another reason to withhold judgement of the hitch-hiker's behavior is that I believe I was more-or-less told by the Spirit to be of service to him. If God deemed him worthy of that service, then I have no right to complain.

Wolof at store. Thu, Jul 12, 2007.

07/12/2007. 848. On my way home from a meeting, I was kind of hungry and wanted a snack. I pulled into a little shopping center, looking for a store that would be open where I could buy a small snack. There was a major chain store, open 24 hours, there too, and it occurred to me that I could also stock up on some items for my "year's supply" that might be on sale.

This was one of those cases where I thought, but wasn't sure that I was slightly impressed or prompted of the Spirit to stop there.

The items were on sale, but I didn't have enough cash, so I just bought a quick snack.

When I paid for my item, the cashier spoke with an accent, so I asked where he was from. He said Senegal, so I asked, in French, if he spoke French and Wolof. He did. I offered the Wolof Sunday School manual (Gospel Fundamentals), and he agreed to see it, so I said I'd bring it in from the car.

I took my purchase to the car, and brought in the Wolof and English Gospel Fundamentals, and a "Together Forever" multi-lingual DVD which includes a French audio track.

He seemed pleasantly surprised and enthusiastic about the material. The other cashier was curious too. There were no other customers in line when I went back in so we didn't delay anyone.

Wolof at an office. Wed, Jul 11, 2007.

07/11/2007. 846. I stopped by a local office to conduct some business. I had previously telephoned that office, and knew from talking to the receptionist that she was from Senegal, and that she spoke English, French, and Wolof.

I needed to see someone else in the office, but since I knew I'd also be dealing with the receptionist, I took in Wolof and English copies of Gospel Fundamentals, as well as a couple copies of the Book of Mormon in foreign languages.

In the course of speaking with the other person in the office, I gave a very brief explanation of my foreign language book placement project. The receptionist was very interested when she learned I had something in Wolof, and she accepted both the Wolof and the English Gospel Fundamentals.

French and Wolof at home improvement store. Tue, Dec 5, 2006.

12/05/2006. 764. A lady friend and I went to a home improvement store to shop for some utility cabinets to supplement the cabinets in the kitchen of my new apartment. She also has a vehicle with enough room to transport a large box.

We picked out an assemble-yourself free-standing cabinet. I went to get a cart, and she flagged down a couple employees to load it on our cart. One of them spoke with an accent, so I asked where he was from. He said Senegal, and his co-worker was from Senegal too.

I asked "Parlez vous francais?", and he said oui. I then asked "Parlez vous Wolof?" and he said oui. He then asked, in French, if I spoke Wolof, and I said "Tuuti Wolof rek laa degg" which means "I only speak a little Wolof."

I offered them the Book of Mormon in French, and our Sunday School manual in Wolof, and they agreed to see them. I said we'd pay for the cabinet, take it out, and come back with the books. I gave them my calling card and a home-made pass-along card in case we couldn't find them later.

Oh, and it might have helped that my lady friend is from Africa too. She's one of the stalwards of the local LDS community. She and her family have been members for over 27 years.

We got the cabinet out to her vehicle, and I retrieved the books from my car. I got them French and English Books of Mormon, Wolof and English copies of the Joseph Smith testimony pamphlet, and Wolof copies of Gospel Fundamentals. My car inventory was out of English Gospel Fundamentals, and I've lost track of them in the move. The local info-flyer with the chapels and meeting times was in all the books.

We went back in and found them again, and presented the books to them. They were very very pleased. One of them said "jere jeff" to me which is Wolof for "thank-you." And when I replied "amul solo", which is Wolof for "you're welcome", they seemed even more happy.

I'll have to find my English Gospel Fundamentals and go back, and invite them to visit church.

Chinese, Igbo, (French + Wolof)x 2. Wed, Aug 16, 2006.

08/16/2006. 691. NW side of town, on way back from an errand. I was looking for a different restaurant, but saw this one first, and thought it would be worthwhile. The waitress/cashier accepted a traditional script Chinese Book of Mormon, and a traditional script Chinese Liahona. At first she declined the English, but changed her mind when she realized it might help her with English. She's only been in the United States for about a year. Very nice decor, and good food. I was intrigued by additional things on the menu that I want to go back and try for supper some time.

08/16/2006. Journal entry. Further down the street I found a certain restaurant I had been looking for. It was kind of hole-in-the-wall-ish. But worth a trip back.

08/16/2006. 692. I headed towards the Interstate exit, but I saw a small group of stores that I wanted to explore. The sign for one attracted me into that group of stores, but then I saw an African store. It had some stuff I wanted. The owner is from Nigeria and spoke Igbo. The 'g' is silent and it is pronounced EE-boo or EE-boh. She didn't have an Igbo Bible, and was very excited that I offered her one. I went out to the car and retrieved the Igbo Bible, and Igbo and English copies of the Book of Mormon. She accepted the Igbo Bible, but declined the Igbo Book of Mormon in a manner that indicated she had false impressions of it, even though she had never read it.

We chatted some more, and another man came into the store. He spoke French and Wolof. (693.) I offered him material, and he wanted to see it. So I went back out to the car and retrieved Wolof and English copies of Gospel Fundamentals, French and English copies of the Book of Mormon, and the Together Forever and Heavenly Father's Plan DVDs. He accepted all those.

I continued chatting with the owner. We had a nice talk in which she shared some of her beliefs, and she told me a little about the various career and gospel things she does, and her church, and a women's ministry program that she's involved in. From what she shared of her Christian beliefs, I did not perceive anything that was contrary to what we believe.

It took me a while (too long), but I finally gave up trying to correct her misunderstandings of the Book of Mormon and the LDS church. Her assumptions of what we believe, though incorrect, were so intertwined with the roots of her good (and correct) Christian beliefs, that she gave me no opening to correct her understanding of what we believe. It was clear that she had bought into anti-Mormon propaganda. She thought she knew everything about "Mormonism."

It's sad, because when I first joined the church, I had to give up nothing that I believed from the Bible. But she automatically assumed that what we believe is in opposition to the Bible. I hope my giving her the Igbo Bible illustrated that we believe in it. Maybe I should have given her a copy of the LDS KJV Bible too.

I offered her a copy of our Sunday School manual Gospel Principles, and a DVD (Together Forever), and she agreed to see those, so I made another trip out to the car.

It's really sad how a small minority who oppose the church have ingrained a false picture of Latter-day Saint beliefs in the minds of so many good Christians, to the point that they have the false impression that we don't believe the Bible or that we oppose it. One of the tools of the adversary is to create the false impression that we are in opposition to what most Christians believe, when in fact we agree with so much, and merely add more. It appeared to me that this nice lady probably took the word of others as to what we believe, without checking the facts for herself.

Another factor is that when the faith that you currently have makes you so happy and spiritually fulfilled, it just doesn't occur to you that there could be more to the picture, that there's even more faith, knowledge, joy, and blessings available. If someone has peaked with what they believe, they either don't want, or can't conceive that there's more. You can't add more water to a cup that's already full.

08/16/2006. 694. It was now into the afternoon rush hour, and I couldn't make a left turn onto the street that goes towards the Interstate. I'd have to go another way. On that route home, I passed a branch of my bank, and stopped to get some cash. There's a gas station next to it, and I felt inspired to go there. I've given material to several people there before, and thought I could do some follow up. Two young employees were there, and were speaking English with an accent. They both spoke French and Wolof. I only had one French Book of Mormon, and one Wolof Gospel Fundamentals in the car. I offered to show them the church material I had in their languages, and they agreed to see it. I took those in along with the English versions, and a French VHS copy of "Finding Faith in Christ." I handed the stuff to the young man, saying I only had one each of the French Book of Mormon and the Wolof Gospel Fundamentals, so they could decide who gets which, and after looking it over if they both wanted copies, to call me and I would bring more from home.

Moment #638. French, Wolof at gas station. Tue, Jul 4, 2006.

07/04/2006. I left the Chinese restaurant and felt a definite "tug" to take the long way home instead of the main road by which I came. That usually means that opportunities lie ahead. I ended up stopping at four gas stations on the East/West road before turning South. None of them had any obvious opportunities, and I merely bought a few two-liters of pop that I'd end up using, and some newspapers. I also made note of three more Chinese restaurants for future trips.

I then headed South towards Indianapolis, and came to a large commercial area. I saw a gas station of a brand that is known to employ a lot of immigrants. But by the time I received the "tug" towards it, it was too late to turn. So I went to the next light and turned into that shopping center, and drove through that shopping center's parking lot towards the gas station.

As I drove through the shopping center, I felt a definite tug towards those stores, but not to any store in particular. The only store among that group where I could do some needed shopping was a national department store, so I made a mental note to return there, as I needed to buy some new pants.

I pulled into the gas station, and went inside. The clerk was a black man speaking a foreign language on the phone, so this was the place. I bought a newspaper, asked him "parlez-vous francais?" "Oui," he replied. "D'ou ette vous?" (Where are you from) "Senegal." "Ahh. Parlez-vous Wolof." "Oui, parlez-vous Wolof?" "Tuuti Wolof rek laa deg," I replied. (I only speak a little Wolof.)

He was genuinely surprised and happy. We alternated between French and English, as my French is very limited. I asked him to wait a minute, and that I had something in my car I'd bring in to show him. His excitement was so great I didn't want to spoil it with any more questions. I went out and retrieved French and English Books of Mormon. He was very pleased to receive them. We chit-chatted a bit, and he said he'd call some time.

Moment #517. French/Wolof/Arabic, gas station. Tue, Jan 24, 2006.

01/24/2006. I was driving home from having lunch in a city about an hour away. I came to one of the suburbs of Indianapolis and had a strong impression that I should take this exit as there would be another opportunity on my way home. This would take me through a few business districts instead of pure highway.

Just after getting off the exit there is a Shell gas station. I wasn't thinking of it prior to exiting the highway, but I wondered if this was one of the franchises owned by the man who hires a lot of Senegalese. No prompting here, but it was worth a try, so I stopped in and bought a newspaper.

The one clerk looked like he could be West African. He spoke English very well, and I didn't detect a noticeable accent. I took a gamble and asked "Parlez vous francais?" He said "oui." I asked where he was from, and he said Senegal. I asked "Parlez vous Wolof?" and he said "oui." I said "Tuuti Wolof rek laa degg" (trans: "I speak just a little Wolof") which I learned from a language CD set. He started to speak in Wolof, but I said that was about all the Wolof I knew.

I offered him free church books in French and Wolof and he agreed to see them. I brought in Wolof/English Gospel Fundamentals and the Joseph Smith Testimony pamphlet, and French/English copies of the Book of Mormon, and presented them. He graciously accepted.

There was another clerk who looked Middle Eastern. I asked if he spoke any other languages, and he said Arabic. I offered him a book in Arabic, and he agreed. I went out and brought back in Arabic and English copies of the Book of Mormon for him. We shook hands, he thanked me, and I said "afwan," you're welcome in Arabic. I saw him flipping through the Arabic copy as I got into my car.

It felt like my assignments were over, so I got back on the Interstate to go home.