Yoruba at grocery. Tue, Sep 13, 2011.

09/13/2011. 1293. I was on dinner break from volunteering at the local storehouse, and after eating I had stopped at a nearby grocery store to stock up on some things. After returning my cart to the store, there was an African couple standing near the door waiting for another person in their party. I asked them where they were from and they said Nigeria. I then asked if they were Igbo or Yoruba, and they said Yoruba. I said there were a lot of Nigerians in Indianapolis, and that my church has a free book in Yoruba, that it was Christian material, and then I asked them if they would like a free copy. The man deferred to the woman, and she eagerly said yes. I said I'd get it from my car and bring it back.

I went back to my car and dug out a Yoruba copy of the Book of Mormon from my trunk and went back. They had already entered, so I went in. They were just a little bit down the first aisle, and the woman saw me and met me half way. She eagerly and very thankfully accepted the book. I suggested she could call one of the numbers to get an English copy of the book. She asked where the church was, and I pointed out the chapel that I attend, on the list of local chapels that I had put inside the front cover. She said they were from a nearby city, so I said the people at that number could also tell her where the church was in that city too.

It was a very pleasant encounter.

(THANK-YOU, Emily Jensen, for the link.)

Yoruba at Post Office. Tue, Jun 14, 2011.

06/14/2011. 1284. I had pulled into the Post Office parking lot behind a taxi. Most taxi drivers in Indianapolis are from Africa. Just as I was crossing the parking lot to go inside, he got out of his taxi and headed towards the front door too, and we ended up walking side by side. I asked what country he was from, and he said Nigeria. I asked if he was Igbo or Yoruba, and he said Yoruba. I asked if he wanted a free book in Yoruba from my church, and he said yes. I offered to give him one there, and asked if he had a moment, and he said okay. He followed me back to my car, and I got a Yoruba Book of Mormon out of the trunk and presented it to him.

Instead of offering him an English copy (I'm running low), I invited him to call one of the numbers on the flyer (the local mission office number or one of the church's 800 numbers) to get a free English version.

He asked where the church was, so I pointed out the list of chapels on the flyer, and circled the two closest ones.

I also offered him an English paperback Bible which he accepted.

It was pure serendipity, meeting him like that, but it was perfectly timed down to the second.

Yoruba at rehab hospital. Tue, May 3, 2011.

05/03/2011. 1281. I was visiting an elderly friend in a rehabilitation hospital/nursing home, after he had a mild stroke. I hung out with him while a nurse took him to the workout room to do some exercises. I accompanied him back to his room to free up the nurse/technician to take care of others. But when he got back to his room, he needed a couple of nurses to help him from the wheelchair into bed. There is a science to getting people into and out of bed, and I haven't been trained on it, so he called for a couple nurses to help him.

One of the nurses spoke with an accent and had a foreign name on his name-tag, so I asked him where he was from. He said Nigeria. I asked if he was Yoruba or Igbo, and he said Yoruba. I offered him a free church book in Yoruba, but he said he never learned ot read it, just English. I ended up giving him one of my custom pass-along cards.

The writing systems used for most African languages are phonetic, so if he wanted to take the time, he could teach himself to read Yoruba with a pair of copies of the Book of Mormon in Yoruba and English.

If my friend is still there the next time I'm over at that side of town, I'll take in a Yoruba copy just to show the guy.

Yoruba at African grocery. Tue, Oct 5, 2010.

10/05/2010. 1256. After eating, I went to a nearby African grocery store to do a little shopping. The owners are from Nigeria and speak Yoruba. I've given copies of the Book of Mormon to the owners before, but they weren't there and some relatives were manning the store. I hadn't given anything to these folks, so after I made my purchases I offered them the Yoruba Book of Mormon. They were interested, so I took my stuff to the car and brought back in Yoruba and English copies of the Book of Mormon, which they enthusiastically received. They asked a few question and we chatted some more before I left.

Yoruba at gas station. Fri, Sep 3, 2010.

9/3/2010. 1250. I stopped at a gas station for a soda and a snack. There was a taxi in one of the parking spaces, with the driver inside the taxi. When I came back out here was still there. I ate my snack at my car, and the taxi driver was still there, so I decided to go over and see if he wanted something from the church. I looked like he might be from Africa.

I asked him if he spoke French, and he said no. I said I thought he might be one of the many taxi drivers from Africa. He said he was from Africa, but spoke English. I asked which country, and he said Nigeria. I asked him if he was Yoruba or Igbo. He said Yoruba.

I said my church has a free book in several African languages, the Book of Mormon, and asked if he'd like to see one in Yoruba. He said sure. In fact, he was very excited and pleased. I said I'd get one from my car and return.

You should have seen the look on his face when he saw the title. Not only did he want something to read in Yoruba, but he had been looking for a copy of the Book of Mormon too. Before I even asked if he wanted the English copy, he asked if I had an English copy. So I gave him that one too.

He was a really cool guy, and said that my offer was an answer to his prayer. I understood that he's either a pastor or some kind of lay minister in his church. We continued to chat for a while, and I pointed out the list of local LDS chapels and my calling card in the books.

I also offered him a couple videos, which he accepted too. I gave him "Intro to the Church" and "Joy to the World."

It was a very pleasant encounter.

Yoruba at store. Mon, Nov 16, 2009.

11/16/2009. 1201. I was shopping at a store and the man in the checkout line ahead of me appeared and sounded as if he were foreign born. However, I got there just as it was his turn to check out, so I didn't have a chance to strike up a conversation. But when I got out to the parking lot, he was still putting stuff away in his vehicle, and he was parked almost next to my car, so it was convenient to strike up a conversation with him.

I asked him where his family was original from, and he said Nigeria. I asked if he was Yoruba or Igbo, and he said Yoruba. I said my church has free books in Yoruba, and offered him one. He asked which church, and I said the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He agree to receive a copy. I asked him to wait at his car and I'd get one from mine, but he followed me over to my car anyway. I retrieved a Yoruba copy and an English copy from the trunk of my car, and presented them to him and he accepted them. I pointed out the chapel I go to on the info flyer that I had put inside the front cover, and indicated my calling card there too.

He was very grateful, and then we went our separate ways.

Yoruba at fitness center. Wed, Oct 7, 2009.

10/07/2009. 1194. I was working out at the apartment complex's fitness center when a group of three people came in. The man was helping two ladies with their exercises. The man had an accent, but the ladies did not. During a break in their conversation, while the man was within conversation distance with me, I asked where he was from. I guessed wrong at first, but he said he was from Nigeria. When I asked if he was Igbo or Yoruba, he looked surprised that I would know about those languages/groups. I said there were lots of Nigerians in town, and he was aware of that too.

After he went back to helping the other two people he was with, I took a quick break and ran back to my apartment and retrieved a Yoruba copy and an English copy of the Book of Mormon. I put the books next to my machine, and started exercising again.

When he had his two friends busy with their exercises, he came back near me and we conversed some more. I eventually asked him if he still liked to read in Yoruba, and he said yes, so that's when I presented the Yoruba Book of Mormon. He was very excited to see a book in Yoruba, so we talked about it, and about the church for the next half hour or so. There was a flyer in the book listing the local chapels, and I pointed out which one I went to, and which one was where he lived in another part of town.

It really made his day to find something to read in Yoruba. He was very grateful. He mentioned that he hadn't been to any church in a while, and he seemed like he might visit some day.

Arabic, Yoruba at a store. Thu, Apr 23, 2009.

04/23/2009. 1134. I stopped by a store that is run by a former client of mine. It was just a social call. He invited me to come back behind the counter. We socialized a bit in between the time he was serving his customers. One of the customers there spoke with a cool accent. My guess was that he was French speaking, and he was. We started to talk about languages, and he spoke many. I eventually offered him some books from church in whatever languages he wanted. I made sure he knew they were Christian religious books. He requested Arabic and Yoruba. I also asked if he wanted the English translation, and he said okay. So I went out to my car and retreieved an Arabic, a Yoruba, and an English Book of Mormon. I didn't have all my boxes of stuff in there, or I would have offered him a Gospel Fundamentals in one of his other primary languages. I did have a "Together Forever" DVD that has a French audio track, so I threw that in for a bonus. He politely accepted all of them, and quickly flipped through the Arabic and Yoruba.

Yoruba at Post Office. Tue, Mar 3, 2009.

03/03/2009. 1116. I was at the Post Office and the photo-copier in the lobby reminded me that I had something in the car that I wanted to photocopy. It was the lyric sheet that came with a Ghanaian LP that I bought back in 2006.

After I checked my PO box, there was a man who looked like he just finished using the copier. I asked him if it was working okay. He said yes, and that he was just going back to his car to get a nickel. He spoke with an accent. I offered him a nickel out of my pocket to save him the trip. He accepted it.

I went out to my car to get the LP record, and when I came back, he was exiting the lobby. I asked where he was from, and he said Nigeria. I asked "Are you Igbo or Yoruba?" He said Yoruba. I offered him a free religious book in Yoruba from my church, and he was interested. He was in a hurry, but I said I'd get it quick from my car. He agreed to wait.

I retrieved a Yoruba and an English copy of the Book of Mormon from the car, and went back and presented them to him. He was definitely interested. He wanted the Yoruba copy but said that he already had an English copy, and had called a number, and had some missionaries deliver one. I wanted to chat more, but since he was in a hurry, I just said that there were more numbers in the book that he could call if he liked what he read or wanted to learn more.

Yoruba, Amharic at stores. Thu, Jan 22, 2009.

01/22/2009. 1107. I was driving some investigators around to do some shopping as they don't have a car. At one store, the cashier was from Nigeria and spoke Yoruba. I offered, and he accepted Yoruba and English copies of the Book of Mormon. I had them in the car, so I retrieved them and presented them there.

1108. At a different store, I struck up a conversation with someone who was speaking a foreign language with her family. They also spoke Yoruba. I was out of Yoruba books, but we chatted a while. She mentioned that one of her teachers at school was from Ethiopia. I asked if she'd like to give him a free Amharic book from my church, and she agreed. I retrieved an Amharic Book of Mormon from the car, and presented it to her, and showed her the info flyer and pass-along card, and said she could call one of those numbers and get one in Yoruba and English too.

Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, German at store. Mon, Oct 6, 2008.

10/06/2008. 1073. I was shopping at a nearby "close-out store". Two emloyees were talking in an aisle, and one had an accent. I asked him what country he was from, and he said Nigeria. I asked if he spoke Igbo or Yoruba, and he said both. I asked if he spoke Hausa, and he said he spoke that too. I asked if he read all those, and he said he did.

I offered him "free books from my church" in his languages, and he agreed to receive them. He said it was okay to bring them into the store, and I pointed out they were Christian, and he said that was okay.

I bought back in Igbo, Yoruba and English copies of the Book of Mormon, and Hausa and English copies of Gospel Fundamentals. I asked him to read a verse from the two copies of the Book of Mormon, and he could read them, but I don't know if he understood them correctly. I forgot to ask him which his main or tribal language was.

He was delighted to receive the material.

1074. Another customer joined our conversation, and she asked for something in German. I said I'd get one from the car for her, but when I looked I couldn't find it. I gave one out earlier in the year, and must have forgotten to restock the car. So I gave her a couple videos that had German audio tracks, "Together Forever" and "Introduction to the Church."

I told her of several options to get a German Book of Mormon. I pointed out the info flyer in one of the DVD cases, and said she could call the local office (the mission office) or the national toll-free number to have one sent. She had asked where the church was that I go to, so I pointed out the chapel I attend, and circled the time, and said she could just show up, and I'd give her a German copy.

French, Yoruba, Fon at gas station. Thu, Sep 4, 2008.

09/04/2008. 1062. On the way home I stopped at a gas station that I hadn't been to in a long while. It's not too far from where I live.

I bought some soda pop and the cashier spoke with an accent, so I asked if he spoke French. He did. He was from Benin (in Africa), and spoke English, French, Yoruba, Fon, and another language. We chatted a little, and he agreed to see the church's books in his languages.

I didn't have everything in my car, so I went home and retrieved Yoruba, Fon, and English copies of Gospel Fundamentals; French, English and Fon copies of the Joseph Smith Testimony pamphlet; French, Yoruba, and English copies of the Book of Mormon, a French Liahona magazine, and The Testaments and To This End Was I Born DVDs that have a French audio track.

He was very excited and upbeat about receiving the material.

Yoruba at grocery store. Thu, Mar 6, 2008.

03/06/2008. 1003. I stopped at a grocery store to shop, and one of the employees who waited on me spoke with an accent. I said I didn't recognize her accent, and I asked her where she was from. She said Nigeria. I asked if she was Igbo or Yoruba, and she said Yoruba. I said my church has free books in Yoruba, and asked if she'd like to see one. She agreed. So after paying I went out to my car and retrieved a Yoruba copy and an English copy of the Book of Mormon, went back in and presented them to her. She gladly accepted them, and quickly opened flipped through the Yoruba copy. She was busy, so I didn't want to take up her time with extra small talk.

Yoruba Book of Mormon is out! Yahoo! Sat, Jan 26,2008.

01/26/2008. Journal entry. I just discovered that the Yoruba Book of Mormon has been released and is available on www.ldscatalog.com. Woo hoo! Yay! Yippee!

There are many Yoruba-speakers in the United States.

Yoruba at grocery store, Chinese to missionaries. Fri, Nov 2, 2007.

11/02/2007. 909. I was at a large multi-ethnic grocery store that caters to many immigrants from different countries. I was in the neighborhood and went in to shop without any intention of making a book placement.

I was still in the produce section when an African family caught my eye. I was going by them when they had a break in their conversation, so I asked the father what language they were speaking. He said Yoruba, from Nigeria.

I asked he'd like to see a free copy of our Sunday School manual in Yoruba, that I'd bring one in from my car. He said okay. So I left my shopping cart in the produce section, and went out to the car and retrieved a Yoruba and an English copy of "Gospel Fundamentals."

When I took it back in, they had moved on further in the produce section, but they eagerly came back towards me to see it. They were a bit excited to see something in Yoruba, and were very grateful to receive it. We exchanged names, and I pointed out the flyer inside with information to contact the church if hey wanted to know more. And I pointed out my card that I had taped inside.

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Journal entry. Afterwards, I went to another nearby Asian grocery store, and bought some stuff. I had a slip of paper in my wallet with the owner's name to remind me. I had given him a Vietnamese Book of Mormon a year or two ago. He remembered me, too. I think he was sleeping when I went it, and the door-chime woke him up. He was very helpful and eager to chat. I didn't mention the Book of Mormon or anything religious.

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Journal entry. Our ward's missionaries had requested a Chinese Book of Mormon for a referral from Temple Square. So I stopped by their apartment on my way home and got there just before they got home for the night.

It turns out they had some buried in a stack of other copies of the Book of Mormon, but I gave them another pair of traditional and simplified Chinese copies, and explained the difference. I also took over some food and cleaning supplies they had askef for previously.

Yoruba at gas station. Sat, Sep 22, 2007.

09/22/2007. 888. After supper at the Chinese buffet, I ran one more errand, and was heading home. But I felt a motivation to go to the singles dance at a nearby stake center. I hadn't planned on going, but all of a sudden it felt like the right thing to do.

I stayed at the dance about an hour or so, and left before the end. I took a certain route home, but received a distinct impression that I should go back to a particular gas station that I had already passed and then take a different route home.

I've been to that gas station before on previous trips to/from the stake center, and have made a least a couple of book or DVD placements there.

I went in and bought something. The cashier spoke with an accent, so I asked where he was from. He was from Nigeria and his native language was Yoruba. I offered him a Yoruba Sunday School manual, and his face lit up, and he expressed eagerness to see it. I brought a copy in from my car along with the English edition. He graciously accepted them, and started flipping through them.

Yoruba at store. Sat, Jun 30, 2007.

06/30/2007. 845. Here in town, I stopped at an African grocery store that I hadn't been to before. I needed to stock up on some stuff anyway. As I browsed and picked out items, I chit-chatted with the owner, as I was the only customer most of the time. He was from Nigeria and spoke Yoruba. I offered, and he accepted a Yoruba translation of the Gospel Fundamentals Sunday School manual. After paying, I took my purchases to the car, and returned with that book along with the English version. He seemed very pleased to receive them.

Yoruba Bible at laundromat. Tue, Apr 24, 2007.

04/24/2007. 816. I was at a laundromat relatively close to home. Not the 24-hour one, so I had to get there early.

I noticed a lady who appeared that she might be from Africa, but I couldn't tell. Eventually another younger lady, who turned out to be her daughter, joined her; and as they were speaking a foreign language, I decided to strike up a conversation.

They were really nice people. They are from Nigeria and speak Yoruba. I said I speak only a little Yoruba, in Yoruba. I learned it from a computer multi-media CD, and they seemed pleased and impressed. Well, at least it caught their attention.

I offered them a free copy of the Yoruba Gospel Fundamentals manual. The mother asked which church it was from, and when I told her, she politely declined. She said they were missionaries in Nigeria, and she started reciting some commonly held but mistaken beliefs about what the LDS church believes. They go to a nearby church.

I eventually went out to my car to see what I had, and I had run out of the Yoruba Gospel Fundamentals anyway, though I thought I still had some back home. But I did have both a Yoruba Bible, and an Igbo Bible in the car, so I brought those in to show. They don't speak Igbo, but it's another common language of Nigeria. They were very impressed to see a Yoruba Bible, and the mother wanted it because her son had her Yoruba Bible, so I gave it to her.

The mother was firm in thinking that Mormons don't believe the Bible, or at least don't believe all of it. Both the mother and daughter asked me some basic questions, so I tried to answer the best I could. The daughter was a bit more curious, so I had to tread carefully to answer her questions without offending the mother.

I feel very honored to have been able to give someone a Bible in her native language. She looked up one of her favorite verses and read it in Yoruba.

I also showed them a copy of the LDS King James Bible, and pointed out that it was indeed the King James version, published by the LDS church, with LDS footnotes, and Topical Guide (what other churches call a "concordance.") I showed the daughter how some of the footnotes refer to passages in the Book of Mormon.

It was a really cool encounter because the daughter asked some golden questions, and I felt the Spirit while answering. And I hope that, eventually, the fact that a Mormon gave out a Yoruba Bible sinks in as a testimony with the mother that maybe Mormons do believe the Bible. I have a picture in my mind of her telling the people at her church that a Mormon at the laundromat gave her a Yoruba Bible.

We chit-chatted a bit more, and eventually we all went back to our laundry chores. I have a feeling that the daughter is going to have further contact with the restored gospel.

What a meeting. A missionary lady travels 6,000 miles from home and finds the Bible in her native language at a laundromat. God is great.

Yoruba at Kroger. Fri, Nov 17, 2006.

11/17/2006. 749. I was heading home after helping someone in the ward load up their moving truck. I needed groceries, and was considering stopping at a Kroger's that was near my path home. However, I felt a slight impression that I should go to the Kroger's that was nearer my home, but on the opposite side of home from where I currently was, slightly out of my way. It also occurred to me that I meet more immigrants at the Kroger nearer home than the one that was near me at the time. I pondered it some, and the "tug" felt like it was to the other Kroger's. So I went there.

My hands were still dirty from helping the sister move. So inside the Kroger's I crossed over to where the customer restrooms were. As I walked past the check-out lanes, there was a black woman in regular United States-style clothing checking out. The only thing that drew my attention to her were some kind of parallel markings on her face, on both cheeks. They were too uniform to be birth marks or injuries from an assault. They appeared to be scars from intentional cuttings. I mentally bet that she was from Africa. I have never seen such marks on African-Americans. Though I haven't seen such marks on Africans in person either, only on people in documentaries on TV, and then, not exactly those. Anyway, it was worth a gamble.

I couldn't approach her while she was paying at the check-out, and it would have been too noticeable and awkward to back up and catch her as she was going out, though maybe I should have. I continued on to the restroom, washed hands, went back, but she had left the store. So I went out to the parking lot, saw her, and fast-walked. Fortunately, she was only 2 parking spaces from my car (coincidence?), so by going to my driver's side door, I could speak to her without invading her space, and without leaving my car's space. Now the approach could be copasetic and non-threatening.

I think my conversation starter was "Are you from Africa?" She said Nigeria. I asked "Do you speak Igbo or Yoruba?" She said Yoruba. I asked if she had a Yoruba Bible (as I think I had one in the car) and she said yes. She approached me a little, so I took that as my permission to approach too, and left my car's space to be at a more normal speaking distance with her.

Then I said our church has a Sunday school manual in Yoruba, and offered it to her, and she was very interested and agreed to see it. I got it out of my car, along with the English edition, and took them back to where she was standing. She was very excited to see it, and very grateful when I gave it to her. I pointed out the Joseph Smith Testimony pamphlets (in both Yoruba and English) I had with them, and also the list of local chapels. She said she'd visit our church some day, and I asked her to call me or the church office number if she liked what she read and wanted to know more.

It was a very pleasant encounter, and it made her very happy.

Moment #641-642. French-Yoruba and Amharic at gas station. Fri, Jul 7, 2006.

07/07/2006. I left a singles activity at church and headed home. I felt prompted to stop at a certain convenience store. I bought some 2-liters and a paper, but didn't see any opportunities. I thought perhaps this may have been a "timing loop" for an encounter later on.

#641. Further along my route home, I was prompted to stop in at a major chain gas station and convenience store. I bought a couple of 12-packs of soda on sale.

My cashier spoke with an accent, so I asked if he spoke French. He did, and he also spoke Yoruba. I asked if I could give him free books in French and Yoruba from my church. He said sure. I brought back in French and English Books of Mormon, Yoruba and English Gospel Fundamentals, and a Yoruba Bible. He enthusiastically and gratefully accepted them.

#642. I went over to speak with the second cashier, but before I could talk with him, a customer who spoke with an accent was leaving that check-out station. I could easily come back and talk with the cashier, so I spoke with this customer before he left. He was from Ethiopia, so I offered him an Amharic and English Book of Mormon. He eagerly followed me out to my car, and enthusiastically and gratefully accepted them.

The "timing loop" side-trip at the first convenience store must have been for this guy. Had I not stopped there first, I would have missed him.

I went back in to speak with the second cashier. He remembered me, but I did not remember him from a previous encounter at the Post Office. I gave him my card and encouraged him to call me or the numbers I had put in the books if he wanted to learn more or visit our church.