A Cancer Survivor: His demeanor, faith and character—just amazing

This is a story of a cancer survivor who, sadly, witnessed a Baha'i suffering from terminal cancer. The Baha'i chose to end treatment, knowing that his body would succumb.

The cancer survivor writes about this experience:

I am a cancer survivor and I am in a cancer support group. There is a friend within my group who has cancer and has been through many treatments. The time had come where treatment is no longer helping. He has decided to end treatment. This friend is a member of the Baha'i Faith. His demeanor, faith and character—it is just amazing. I have never seen anything like this. He is ready for his passing, smiles and talks about it.

The cancer survivor then requested information on the Baha'is in the vicinity.

In the Arabic Hidden Words, Baha'u'llah writes:

O Son of The Supreme! I have made death a messenger of joy to thee. Wherefore dost thou grieve? I made the light to shed on thee its splendor. Why dost thou veil thyself therefrom?

Enduring Results: “Everything made sense”

In its 28 December 2010 letter, the Universal House of Justice exhorts the Baha’is worldwide to:

…hold fast to the conviction that a direct presentation of the Faith, when carried out at a sufficient level of depth and reinforced by a sound approach to consolidation, can bring enduring results.

A married couple living the western United States recently entered the Baha’i community along with their children. Both hail from different countries in Europe, and both benefited from a direct presentation of the Faith, along with official follow-up, which had wonderful and enduring results.

As you’ll see, the wife became attracted through online research, and the husband's interactions with his wife and the Baha’i responding to their inquiry helped him embrace the Faith.

Despite living in the U.S. since the 90s, the wife regularly watches television from her native country in Europe. Last year she saw on report on woman and an Iranian Baha’i who married. She was particularly impressed by what the groom said about the Baha’i principle of gender equality.

So impressed, in fact, that she started researching the Baha’i Faith online. The Baha’is who followed up on her inquiries reported her as saying that “what she found out was exactly what she's always believed.”

The response coordinator shared that she:

…spent the entire day researching the Faith and knew all about the covenant, administrative order, and Baha'i laws, (e.g. prayer. and abstaining from alcohol). She really found out a lot and everything made sense to her. She mentioned the Twin Manifestations and that the Faith started in 1844. She was looking into the history of the Faith as well as the Teachings.

By the end of the same month, the wife declared her faith online and registered her children as well. In addition to her husband's interest and later enrollment, the wife's mother also registered online her interest in learning more about the Baha’i Faith.

In the same letter of December 28^th, the House of Justice asks the Baha’is to “strain every nerve” to ensure that the system we are working so hard to build “does not close in on itself but progressively expands to embrace more and more people.” In light of this married couple's sincere and open attraction to the Baha’i Teachings, the next sentence that the House of Justice pens is quite poignant:

Let them not lose sight of the remarkable receptivity they found—nay, the sense of eager expectation that awaited them—as they gained confidence in their ability to interact with people of all walks of life and converse with them about the Person of Bahá’u’lláh and His Revelation.

The response coordinator did have the opportunity to speak with the husband about “the Person of Bahá’u’lláh and His Revelation,” in the form of Anna’s Presentation, from Ruhi Book 6. The coordinator noted that he agreed with everything, affirmed the Baha’i laws that they discussed, and spoke about obligatory prayer.

The husband shared that as he grew up he became more uncomfortable with his upbringing in church, and had always believed in the unity of religion and of humankind. After his wife's enrollment, he began to read several Baha’i books and speak with her about joining the Faith. After contact with the regional coordinator, they decided to confirm his enrollment!

The oneness of humankind was also key in the wife's acceptance of the Faith, as the coordinator learned. Her prior marriage was with an African American man, with whom she had several children. The elimination of prejudice, the coordinator related, is something that she has always believed in.

After his enrollment in the community, the husband shared:

My wife and kids just became members and I have decided to join the Baha'i Faith as well. Thank you very much for all the work!

And, indeed, our work entails creating a community large enough to answer the needs of society and accepting more new members like this family. The Universal House of Justice writes:

…let them not forget the lessons of the past which left no doubt that a relatively small band of active supporters of the Cause, no matter how resourceful, no matter how consecrated, cannot attend to the needs of communities comprising hundreds, much less thousands, of men, women and children.

“I have become connected with my spiritual side”

In its Ridvan message of April 2012, the Universal House of Justice writes: “To observe the Baha'i world at work is to behold a vista bright indeed.”

Here is the heartwarming story of Angela, a woman who recently declared her belief in Baha’u’llah after researching the Baha’i Faith online. Living in the south-central region of the United States, Angela realized that she had reached a new stage in her spiritual journey when she discovered that the worldwide Baha’i community shared her own, deeply-held convictions.

In its Ridvan 2012 message, the House of Justice describes the significance of our efforts to share the message of Baha’u’llah:

In the life of the individual believer who desires, above all, to invite others into communion with the Creator and to render service to humanity can be found signs of the spiritual transformation intended for every soul by the Lord of the Age.

The House of Justice caps the same passage with a vision of the unfoldment of divine civilization:

In the spirit animating the activities of any Baha'i community… can be perceived an indication of how a society founded upon divine teachings might develop.

It is thus a wonderful confirmation of our efforts as Baha’is, both online and in person, to witness both the clarity and depth of Angela’s acceptance of Baha’u’llah’s Teachings.

Sharing her story, Angela writes that she first heard the word Baha’i from a friend who had joined the community. Roughly one year ago, while engaged in her own spiritual search, Angela once more heard about the Baha’i Faith. She writes:

When I saw the term (Baha’i) again, I began to research it and find out more about the Faith. The more I read and learned about the Faith, the more I realized that my beliefs go hand in hand with the teaching of the Baha’i Writings.

She also describes the disconnect between her personal belief in oneness and the views espoused in church:

Although I believed in God, I felt like something was seriously missing. I had gone to church many times but the thought that two thirds of the world would go to hell if they did not accept Jesus as their personal savior bothered me. I love Jesus but I also love and respect Mohammed and Buddha. I always felt like an outcast because I believed in all religions and one God.

In addition to the teachings on spiritual unity, Angela found meaning in sharing her new faith with our worldwide community:

Becoming a Baha’i and knowing that there is a community of six million people who share the same belief is very comforting to me and I couldn’t believe that there is in fact a religion that believes what I believe in. I am excited to have joined such a wonderful community and I am looking forward to studying the Baha’i Writings.

She completes her story with this affirmation:

Life is a beautiful, mysterious experience with many lessons to be learned. I feel like I have become connected with my spiritual side and I am looking forward to feeding it every day. God bless.

Angela declared her faith in Baha’u’llah online. The Baha’is in her area contacted her to confirm her enrollment and were thrilled to receive this lovely description of her spiritual search. They report that Angela hopes within the month to start Ruhi Book 1 with a study circle tutor in her community!

The Path

That the path of service upon which we are currently embarked “can be experienced and known, not only by one or two but by scores and scores” and that “ it belongs to the community” becomes increasingly apparent through stories shared by a Baha'i Seeker Response Coordinator in one region.

One by One -  Sharin was a Muslim woman who had married a Muslim man through an arranged marriage. The marriage did not work out, and she later married another Muslim man, who was less active in his faith.  When Lea, a Bahai, called Sharin to learn of her story, she shared that she had been frustrated and “tired of being stern and angry.”  She shared that she was stern with her children because that’s what she understood was her role as a Muslim mother but that she grew angry and frustrated with how it made her feel.    

She went onto the Web and searched the words “unity,” “love,” and “peace,” and for each one, the Bahá’í Faith came up. As she read more, she learned about the Faith and decided she wanted to be part of it. She started attending devotionals at the home of a St. Louis couple, and eventually declared. She shared with Lea that she removed her veil and “I felt such freedom.  For the first time, I felt like I could think for myself.”  

At a devotional gathering, she gave her 17 year old son a prayer book and encouraged him to read from it, which he did. Vern shared that “right away, the children saw in her a change and they too began to change.  They started to experience love in the household.”  How profound the impact of the Faith on this family!  

Sharin shared how she also began to picking up papers and trash and began sweeping the sidewalk outside her home. Her neighbors asked her what she was doing and she exclaimed that she was “making the neighborhood more beautiful.”  They too joined in and began to clean up the streets together.

Scores and Scores - While visiting via Skype with a Persian couple whom he met during a recent Pilgrimage, Vern learned that the couple was in the midst of celebrating Naw Ruz; they live in Australia. Vern and his Persian friend were taking an upgraded iPhone for a test drive.  

Vern began sharing some exciting news about recent seekers who had come in through the seeker response system.  Enamored by the stories, the Persian friend put him on visual Skype for the entire group of guests at this couple’s huge Naw Ruz celebration to hear. Vern shared about how the program works and some of the stories of the seekers.  

“You could see their eyes light up and the excitement build in each one of them!  How blessed I feel to share it with friends half way around the world—it’s a 13 hour difference between here and Australia!”

Radio station following local seeker Web site on Twitter

Spring is here, and new flowers are sprouting up everywhere you look.  Another thing that is sprouting up are local Bahá’í community Web sites.  The Portland/Vancouver metro area’s site (covering several clusters) is one example.  It invites seekers to participate in core activities (described in the language of the Ridvan 2008 message), as well as has a multitude of links to other sites, videos, etc.  Very engaging!  And they are learning all the time, as described by one of the friends:

Dear Friends,

The Portland Metro seeker Website (http://portlandbahai.org/) is gaining momentum.  We recently found that a local radio station is following us on Twitter (http://twitter.com/portlandbahai).  I think what we are finding is that the more local content we put on this site, the more attention we receive.  So drop us a line and let us know what is happening in your neighborhood.  What’s new with your study circle?  What types of service projects are you engaged in?  What are you learning?  What are the youth in your community up to?  We’d love to hear from you!