What is Chapping all about?

This is Mike's Mom.  I asked him to tell us about finding and this is what he sent:

Chapping is what they call knocking on doors to find new people to teach the gospel to.

What is finding/chapping doors like?

Well depends on the neighborhoods. Most of the time, the "houses" are really big but split in two, so that they're really two houses. There's also what's called "Council Housing", which is basically given to people that ask for special benefits i.e. young single mothers, addicts in general, etc. 

What are the doors like?

It's funny. They're either really small, or massive! And none of them have doorknobs. Some don't have anything at all, just a lock. Like ours! I'll send you a picture of it. It's so weird! 

Do they have doorbells? Most have doorbells. Everyone seems to have a knocker as well, though most are purely for decoration and have no weight in and of themselves. I actually have come to like knockers. I saw one that was fashioned to look like a woodpecker! Pretty clever! 

Does everyone answer? No not always. 

Do you feel like they're home but don't answer? Sometimes, but again not always. There's those doors where you literally see them but they don't come. There's also some people that just wave at you through their windows to go away. Or they don't even come to the door, they just stick their heads out the window, Romeo and Juliet style! 

Is chapping very effective? Because most people work and are not even home during the day. Is that what you find? 

In the nicer neighborhoods, yes. In the council housing, nobody works, so you'll always find somebody. Not to mention you'll usually bump into a stay-at-home mother. 

For every door you knock, how many people answer? Depends on the time of day. In the evenings there's more likely to get an answer, though there's also the possibility of them being out to eat or drink or party. It also depends on the day too. Saturdays and Sundays, for the most part, are better. At the same time, Saturdays and Sundays are the days that people usually go out, or at least want to spend as much time as possible with their families. 

What do you say when they answer?  Do you take turns?

Yes we take turns, and we try to change what we say each time. "Hello we're missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! Have you ever heard of that church?" "Hello! My friend and I are asking people 'What makes you happy?'" "Hello! My friend and I are talking with people about a book called the Book of Mormon. Have you ever heard of that book?" "Hello! My friend and I are talking with people about families. Would you say your family is very important to you?" 

What do the people say? When it comes to excuses, the most common is "I'm busy doing such and such", or "I already have my religion and I'm happy with it", or just simply "I'm not interested." But we usually get a few responses from people before they say those.   Unfortunately we also hear a lot of swearing.

Do they invite you in? Not usually. I've been let in, probably half-a-dozen times on my mission. Some missionaries are bold, and when they say "Oh, I'm having dinner" they say "Do you have room for two more?" Sometimes it actually works!