Take out the trash = Book of Mormon placement. Sat, May 16, 2009.

05/16/2009. 1144. When it rains, it pours. I was already blown away today. I already had three encounters, giving out material to 5 people in 5 languages. But the day wasn't over. Late in the evening, I took some trash out to the dumpster. And there was a taxi waiting in the driveway of the apartment complex. There's only one taxi company in town that has almost entirely caucasian-American drivers. But this taxi wasn't that company. All the other companies employ or contract mainly African immigrant drivers. So chances were that the driver was from Africa.

I saw the taxi on the way to the dumpster, and at first I was going to blow the opportunity off, thinking it's late (almost 11:00pm), his fare will be here too quick. But on the way back to my apartment, I got that antsy feeling that this would indeed be a missed opportunity. I could feel myself struggling against the Spirit. So I decided to back up and go for it.

I turned around, and walked back to the driver's side of the taxi. He rolled down the window, and I asked where he was originally from. Guinea. 2nd guy from Guinea today. So I asked if he spoke Fulani. Bingo! And French too. So I offered him material from church, and made sure he knew it was Christian material, because he's Muslim. He agreed to receive it, so I hurried back home, retrieved a Fulani Gospel Fundamentals, Fulani JS Testimony pamphlet, French Book of Mormon, an English Book of Mormon, and a multi-lingual Together Forever DVD. I got there just as his fares were getting into his van. He accepted all but the JST pamphlet and the English Book of Mormon. And we finished our transaction just as the last passenger got in and closed the door. Perfect timing.

Maybe the fares got a spillover of the story from him. I'm not sure what all they heard. But I hope they asked him what I gave him, and he can say "a French Book of Mormon, and some book in my tribal language, Fulani."

I have to believe that the Lord set that one up, and His timing was perfect, down to the second.

Amharic at Post office. Tue, Mar 31, 2009.

03/31/2009. 1127. I checked my mail at the post office, and went back to my car. There was a taxi parked next to me. It was a taxi-company that is known for having mostly Ethiopians and Eritreans as drivers. I rolled down my passenger side window hoping to talk to him, but his window was rolled up. I poppped open the trunk lid, and went back and retrieved English and Amharic copies of the Book of Mormon from the trunk. I walked around the driver's side of my car toward the front of his so I could approach him respectfully without startling him.

I waved at him and he saw me and rolled down his window. I asked if he spoke Amharic, and he did, so I offered him a free book in Amharic from church. He was very interested, and when I showed it to him, he got out of his car. He indicated he already had a copy, but it was the English edition that he had, so he accepted the Amharic edition. I pointed out my name on my business card inside, and the nearest chapel on the info flyer. I invited him to visit, and also said he or his friends could call the numbers on the flyer for more free copies.

Amharic to taxi driver. Wed, Jan 30, 2008.

01/30/2008. 981. As I was crossing a parking lot going back to my car, I walked past a taxi that was dropping off a passenger. It was from a company that employs a lot of drivers from Eritrea and Ethiopia. I retrieved an Amharic and an English Book of Mormon from my car and went back, and the passenger had already left, and he was getting ready to pull away. I signalled that I wanted to talk to him, and he stopped. I asked him if he spoke Amharic, but he said only a little. His main language was Tigrinya, of Eritrea. I asked if he knew anyone who spoke Amharic, and he said yes. I asked if he could give these books to him, and he didn't seem to think that was out of line, and he agreed, and accepted the books.

Amharic to taxi driver. Fri, Jan 11, 2008

01/11/2008. 938. I took a taxi to the airport. On the way I chatted with the driver. He was from Eritrea, and spoke Tigrinya and Amharic in addition to English. I told him about the Amharic Book of Mormon, and he was interested. I had put an Amharic and an English Book of Mormon in my carry-on bag that was on the seat next to me, because many taxi-drivers and airport employees are from Ethiopia and Eritrea. So after we got to the airport and unloaded my luggage from the back of his cab, I gave him the Amharic and English Book of Mormon when I paid, and he seemed very grateful.

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01/11/2008. Missed op. While waiting at the concourse for my plane to arrive, I noticed a man who looked like he could have been from Southeast Asia, like India or Pakistan. But I was too chicken to start a conversation with him. I had also put one of the new Urdu copies of the Book of Mormon, and a second English copy in my carry-on. I had room for four books in my carry on. Amharic seemed logical, and I felt inspired to carry the Urdu one too. Feeling guilty about not approaching him sort confirms that he may have been the one I was supposed to talk to.

Moment #219. Amharic to Taxi driver. Thu, Mar 10, 2005.

03/10/2005. Taxi ride from home to the Airport, early AM.

The taxi driver was from Ethiopia and spoke Amharic, so while loading bags into taxi, I retrieved two Amharic books from my car's trunk to take with.

On the ride, he graciously accepted an Amharic and an English Book of Mormon. He said, and the icon on his dashboard indicated, that he was Eastern Orthodox Catholic.

He spoke English very well, and also spoke/read Tigrinya and Amharic. His main language was Tigrinya. Amharic, Tigrinya and Ge'ez are languages of Ethiopia and Eritrea, which all use the same alphabet. But aside from Amharic, the only other language of the area in which the church publishes stuff is Afar.

He also told me an important piece of info, that most of the African taxi drivers in town are Ethiopian. Note to self: Always have Amharic Books of Mormon when taking a taxi in Indy. Note to self: pay a visit to the office of "______ Taxi" on West _______ St.