"Do you also happen to have a pamphlet in . . ."

This story is an absolute delight. A Bahá’í visits a restaurant, and the waitress turns the tables on him with order after order—of Bahá’í books and pamphlets in diverse languages! It’s a wonderful example of the receptivity that is out there. Moreover, across the country, the friends have encountered a growing number of receptive populations, for many of whom English is not the primary language—and this leads to the need for teaching materials in various languages, as well as teachers who speak these languages. How wonderful in this case, that numerous materials were available for the seeker! For our part we would love to hear from all our readers about this—share your experiences in teaching and using materials in various languages!

Dear beloved friends of the Regional Baha'i Council:

I was told that I should share this with you.

I just love to share the Bahá’í teachings with whomever will listen, or in this case, read about them. I discovered another fruitful teaching site. I came across a brand new but very tiny Thai restaurant (they have only TWO tables for all their customers). . . .

The hostess seemed friendly and talkative so I asked her if I could give her some information on the Bahá’í Faith in Thai that I had with me, in my car. She said "I'd like to learn about Bahá’í, but I don't read Thai, but the cook does. Give it to him and I'd like information on Bahá’í in English." So I gave them both several items in both Thai and English.

Two weeks later, I stopped again at this restaurant, and I found out that the lady wanted more info in English (because she said that she had read everything and wanted more), but added to me that her husband is from Vietnam and he has a large family, and they'd all like Bahá’í books in Vietnamese. Well I was thrilled and gave her 7 items in Vietnamese, all of which I just happened to have with me in my car.

But that’s not all. When she asked, "What about the Laotian language?" I gave her 3 Bahá’í books in Laotian, "The New Garden", "Paris Talks" and a Bahá’í Prayer Book. She wanted Laotian books for her friends that she has been telling about the Faith. She's only known about the Faith for two weeks and is teaching others already. She is now reading "Secret of Divine Civilization", "Bahá’u’lláh's Tablet to the Christians", and "Thief in the Night", she says, so she can better answer questions from her Christian friends—and she wants more to read later after studying these 3 new books. I'll be seeing them again soon.

I can't tell you how thrilled and exciting it is to see how the power of the Bahá’í Writings transform people and give them such hope, inspiration, and a genuine sense of security. This family is totally thrilled that Bahá’í books are available in all these Asian languages, Thai, Laotian and Vietnamese, and I'm thrilled that I had them in my car when a need arose so that I could give them to folks who really desired to read and keep these precious books.

Who would have thought that such a wonderful teaching experience between an American Indian Bahá’í and a Thai immigrant would have become this evolving and ever widening pathway to more waiting souls, where they are learning about the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. Every new soul who comes in contact with the Words of Bahá’u’lláh seems to me to be just one more success story directly attributable to the guidance of the Universal House of Justice and the mysterious positive forces set in motion by the many study circles, children and youth classes, devotional gatherings, and direct teaching projects in communities, large and small, throughout the globe.