The seeker as teacher

What is teaching? It is directly proclaiming the Message to our friends, families, neighbors and colleagues. At another level, it is to open our arms as wide as possible and warmly welcome them into the community. That is why this story, taken from the “Light of the City” newsletter of the San Francisco, CA (A) community, is so delightful. Here, a seeker has been welcomed into the community in the most profoundly important way—by becoming totally involved in the life of the Cause.

My friend and I had just finished the first unit of Ruhi Book 2, “Arising to Serve”. After she read the first two paragraphs of the final section of that unit, I asked what thoughts she might have about the topic of teaching. She reflected that she has a friend in another city who has been wishing to learn about the Baha’i Faith, and was wondering what book she could give her for an introduction. I suggested that perhaps Anna’s presentation might be a good way to share the Faith with her. She agreed.

I gave her a copy of the materials used with the presentation, and clipped a declaration card to it, just in case her friend decided to join. My friend expressed the hope that she could also use the presentation to share the Faith with her nephew and his family and children. Hence she is going travel-teaching to share the Faith with her friend and family members!