Sunday, June 27, 2010

What kind of person goes out of their way to help a soul on their search?

 
The Seeker Response System is about collaboration—for example, between the regional and cluster levels—to follow up with and meet the needs of people who reach out to the Bahá’í community.  In this case, an individual in a C-stage cluster contacted the public Web site at www.bahai.us.  A team of 2 believers in the area then met with him.  Two thinks are particularly striking about this story:  First, the team engaged him in a conversation where both sides were sharing and listening.  Second, the seeker was genuinely moved by the Bahá’ís taking the time to come meet with him personally.
The Auxiliary Board member and I met with __ at a park and answered a number of questions.  He had typed out his questions and we answered them while also sharing quotes and concepts from Anna’s conversation where they were pertinent to the discussion.  We wanted him to empty his cup first. . . .

After that first meeting he emailed us back:
It was also nice to meet you!  You were very helpful in answering my questions and very thorough.  I really appreciate you taking time out of your afternoon to come and meet a total stranger.  What kind of person goes out to help another soul on their search?  I think it takes a truly thoughtful and genuine person to assist another in such a way.
I hope to be able to continue meeting with one or both of you as time permits and we are able.  Maybe one day soon I could join you at a worship meeting?  If you are open to that let me know.
We hope to see him on the weekends.  I’ll consult with __ to see when we can connect with him again and meet his needs.
This teaching team member then provided an update
We will do our best to meet with him and share the deepening themes from Ruhi Book 2 as a start.  He knows about the Ruhi Institute and is interested in taking the books in the sequence.

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