Wednesday, June 7, 2017

New Baha’i youth, teaching from “the middle of the woods,” an answer to prayers


Seth, 17, called the Baha’i House of Worship asking how to become a Baha’i.  He shared "I truly believe Baha'i is best for me."

He said he is from a small town in Georgia “in the middle of the woods.”  He is the only Baha'i there and teaching many.  Presently he is engaged with teaching his atheist friend who asked several questions about the Faith and has taught his ROTC Sergeant who asked about his Kitab-i-Aqdas book.

A Baha’i who met him shared “He is an amazing 17 year old from Southern Georgia, about 2 hours from Atlanta,  who has studied many different religions and is attracted to the message of Baha'u'llah because of its unity of all races and people.  He also believes in Progressive Revelation and sees how all religions are connected.” 

Baha'is had been praying in that area recently and were very excited to hear of Seth's interest in the Faith, an answer to their prayers!

 

 

 

 

“Whoso openeth his lips in this Day..."


“Whoso openeth his lips in this Day and maketh mention of the name of his Lord, the hosts of Divine inspiration shall descend upon him from the heaven of My name..”  --Baha'u'llah

After a Baha'i opened his lips about the Baha'i Faith, Laura of Tacoma, WA accepted the Teachings and registered online followed by her husband 4 days later.  Laura shared a little bit about her spiritual path:

She explained she was raised Christian and believed in God and that Jesus was a “Great Messenger of God,” but never felt that was the right path for her, and had not been involved in a religious community for a few years because she could find no like-minded people. She says she always thought everybody was equal, not that men were better able. She never understood why people disliked other religions - to her "it's all the same God."

Laura said she had heard of the Baha’i Faith several years ago, but last week while walking in her neighborhood, her son ran to play with some boys, and their father, Joseph, began to talk to her about the Baha’i Faith. She then searched online, reading about the Baha’i Faith on Wikipedia, bahai.org, and bahai.us, and requested more information online. They were invited to a devotional, which they really enjoyed, and found very comfortable. Laura says she believes the teachings of Baha'u'llah are God’s teachings for today, and that the Baha’i Faith “made sense… it sparked something in me… it felt right.”

Four days later her husband also registered online after realizing that the Baha'i teachings were what he had believed for a long time. He said he was reluctant to sign up at first because he believed the religions all had the same weight and didn't want to commit, saying he was one religion.  He said he is in a rock band, just got a record deal and hopes to be able to work in what he loves. He was told about current efforts to put Baha'i Writings to music, and was very interested in getting involved in that.    

 

 

 

Seekers immediately participating in service

Abigail of Washington DC is a new Baha’i who is currently going to devotions and firesides and wants to start a study circle. 

In late January 2017, Abigail viewed the Rainn Wilson interview with Oprah. She then was so desperate to contact Baha'is she made a profile on 'Baha'i Singles' She made contact with a Baha'i named Hassan serving in South Carolina full time. Abigail made a visit to the DC Baha'i Center Sunday morning devotional program at the DC Baha'i Center where she met some other Baha'is. Abigail has a family background involving Evangelical Christianity. The Baha'i she met at the DC Center comes from the very same background and may be a strong resource for her in the future.

In the meantime, the Baha’i she met on the website, Hassan, made arrangements to travel to DC to meet Abigail.  The Area Teaching Committee Secretary put Hassan into contact with fellow ATC member doing home visits just that morning.So Abigail & Hassan did home visits together.

This is the second recent seeker that was able to meet a Baha'i and participate in a service activity the same day. This is a fascinating development within the cluster where seekers are able to participate in diverse activities during their initial meetings with Baha'is. Before it was being invited to a devotional or fireside. Now it is participating in a junior youth group activity, a children's class or, in this case, accompanying a home visit.