"We invited them and they almost jumped off the couch"

The Black Men’s Gathering is an organization of Bahá’í men of African descent who come together on a regular basis in chapters throughout the United States, Europe, Australia, Canada and the Caribbean to share their experiences and to strengthen their commitment to the Bahá’í Faith. Recently a forum was held for individuals who lead chapters of this gathering. One of the activities at this event was an in-depth study of and consultation on the use of Anna’s presentation, which helped the participants gain confidence in using the presentation in their teaching activities. Here is a brief report from one individual at the Black Men’s Gathering Leadership Forum about what happened with Anna’s presentation after returning to his home in Greenville, SC (B). This experience also shows the power of directly and lovingly inviting someone to embrace the Faith.

Dearest ___,

I just wanted to share our results with Anna's presentation here in Greenville since returning from the gathering. Dad and I have shared it with 3 seekers and we have 3 new Bahá’ís! We picked who we thought was the most receptive in our community of interest and invited two of them to the center on Saturday evening and told them we wanted to share something with them. We got through the section on the Báb and then had some refreshments and then invited them to become Bahá’ís!!! They immediately and excitedly almost jumped off the couch with Yes! Yes! Yes! and shared with us how special they felt to be invited to become Bahá’ís in such a way. On Sunday evening we met with third person we had thought of and shared Anna's presentation again breaking at the same spot for refreshments, inviting them to become a Bahá’í and with the same results!

These new Bahá’ís were seekers in our Saturday morning African drum class and have recently been attending our Sunday Devotionals and adult class. We have another Anna's presentation scheduled for tomorrow at 7:30 pm

I really felt the workshop on Anna’s presentation at the Leadership Forum was Great! I feel so much more comfortable using it now.

Will keep you posted on our progress,

Much Love to you,

j