Day 36-P-day Pt.1 Can You Speak English?5/3/06
This will most likely be my last entry...today. We are going to the zoo for p-day. We can only go once a mission.
Well, I brought my journal with me. Since we are going to the zoo by bus, I'll have time to write some of those things that I've seen or heard that I haven't had time to write yet.
I'll relate the story I heard last night from our investigator, W. We visited him and his son in their new apartment which we helped them move into. He told us about his travels. He lived in Kenya until the mid 80's. He came to America and worked in Dallas for a while. He has been all over.
He told us about how the French's reputation for rudeness was on the money in his opinion. He said he had observed that if an American spoke to a French person in English, they would be ignored. That was what happened to W. He was at a French airport and could not find his plane. He asked people for help at the airport, but he did not ask in French, so he was given the cold shoulder. Realizing that he would not get anywhere this way, he walked up to a French flight attendant and asked for help in his native language of Swahili. The Frenchman, not familiar with this language, became concerned. "Sir! Sir!", he said. "I can't understand you. Do you know any other languages? Can you speak English?" (smile) "A little," W. said. Relieved, the flight attendant talked to him in English and helped him catch his flight. A pretty good story, I think.
I like W. He is from Kenya, has a wife and 4 children. Two boys and two girls. His oldest son, T. had his head injury in America. W. is staying here until he gets better.
He's in his mid-40's. He is very intelligent and very humble. A rare combination. I love his accent. He's got this Kenyan accent and this deep voice that makes him sound like James Earl Jones. I also love to hear him pray. He is so sincere and humble in his prayers to our Heavenly Father. He is thankful for the missionaries being in his and T's life. He's thankful for the Book of Mormon and how it talks of the gospel of Jesus Christ and what we need to do in this life to return to live with Heavenly Father. That is the prayer, as a missionary, that you never get tired of hearing from investigators.
We're still working on the concept of Joseph Smith. It isn't that he does not believe the story of the prophet. He just needs to understand his life more. We're taking W. and T. to the D.C. Temple visitors center to an African Heritage Festival after the zoo. Later, I hope to see that new movie, "Joseph Smith-Prophet of the Restoration".
Well, I brought my journal with me. Since we are going to the zoo by bus, I'll have time to write some of those things that I've seen or heard that I haven't had time to write yet.
I'll relate the story I heard last night from our investigator, W. We visited him and his son in their new apartment which we helped them move into. He told us about his travels. He lived in Kenya until the mid 80's. He came to America and worked in Dallas for a while. He has been all over.
He told us about how the French's reputation for rudeness was on the money in his opinion. He said he had observed that if an American spoke to a French person in English, they would be ignored. That was what happened to W. He was at a French airport and could not find his plane. He asked people for help at the airport, but he did not ask in French, so he was given the cold shoulder. Realizing that he would not get anywhere this way, he walked up to a French flight attendant and asked for help in his native language of Swahili. The Frenchman, not familiar with this language, became concerned. "Sir! Sir!", he said. "I can't understand you. Do you know any other languages? Can you speak English?" (smile) "A little," W. said. Relieved, the flight attendant talked to him in English and helped him catch his flight. A pretty good story, I think.
I like W. He is from Kenya, has a wife and 4 children. Two boys and two girls. His oldest son, T. had his head injury in America. W. is staying here until he gets better.
He's in his mid-40's. He is very intelligent and very humble. A rare combination. I love his accent. He's got this Kenyan accent and this deep voice that makes him sound like James Earl Jones. I also love to hear him pray. He is so sincere and humble in his prayers to our Heavenly Father. He is thankful for the missionaries being in his and T's life. He's thankful for the Book of Mormon and how it talks of the gospel of Jesus Christ and what we need to do in this life to return to live with Heavenly Father. That is the prayer, as a missionary, that you never get tired of hearing from investigators.
We're still working on the concept of Joseph Smith. It isn't that he does not believe the story of the prophet. He just needs to understand his life more. We're taking W. and T. to the D.C. Temple visitors center to an African Heritage Festival after the zoo. Later, I hope to see that new movie, "Joseph Smith-Prophet of the Restoration".
posted by Garden Anywhere Box | 2:45 PM
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