She has seen a transformation in him

 

This is a story of a study circle in Scottsdale, AZ (A)—and what a delight!  Sometimes the transforming power of the core activities may not be immediately apparent to us, but it is very real.  And it is also a reminder:  people are watching!  And that opens the door for more opportunities to reach out and make friends.

My husband and I have been holding a Ruhi Book 1 study circle with a young couple we met a few months ago.  This morning, I received a call from the husband's mother asking about our “get-togethers”.  At first I was worried she was not happy with her son and his wife joining our study circle, as I had heard on a few occasions that our friend's mother was a very devout Christian.  But to my surprise, she called to say that she has seen a transformation in her son.  She shared a few stories with me about how he is praying more often, and that in her conversations with him, and in the way he talks about relying on God and trusting in Him she notices his faith has increased.  She mentioned that her son was happy about his new friends and she was calling to find out if she and her husband could also join the group!  I was so happy to have received this call this morning that I thought I should share it with all of you.

I will always remember my first conversation with a Baha'i

 

Here is an excerpt from an email from an individual who recently declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh online  The regional seeker response coordinator had first called them to affirm their declaration, and then later followed up with an email that provided more information about the Faith.  What this email from a new believer makes crystal clear is the immense importance of the “conversation between two souls” emphasized by the Universal House of Justice in its Ridvan 2010 message.  Such conversations can have far-reaching and lasting influence!

Good Morning,

I want to thank you for the wonderful conversation yesterday!  I was exhilarated for quite some time afternoon, and I find it quite interesting that my friend also telephoned you!  I had not known that.  After our lovely talk I came into my home beaming and enthusiastic and I imagine I perhaps piqued the interest of the others around me.

I cannot wait to begin exploration of all the materials within your email.  Thank you again for your most loving welcome into this Faith.  I am grateful to you for your time and joy and shall ever remember my first conversation with a Bahá’í member as being as a fountain overflowing with that for which I was longing, parched, for quite some time.

Peace, friend.

Learning to explain who we are and what we are trying to do

 

This brief report from a neighborhood association meeting Long Beach, CA (A) is truly inspiring.  It is yet another example of the high interest in the core activities.  But more importantly, it shows the growing capacity of the friends to engage the wider society, explain who we are and what we are doing, convey our sincerity (all these things take learning by doing, by the way).  An unexpected surprise at the end of the meeting is an additional reason to smile.

Monday evening, 3 of the friends (including the Area Teaching Committee secretary) attended the neighborhood association’s monthly meeting in order to explain the purpose and benefit of Bahá’í children’s classes. . . .

Questions were asked by some of the members of the neighborhood association’s committee.  At first a couple of them had some reservations, but as the meeting went forward, some of the residents of that neighborhood gave very positive comments about the endeavor, expressing the real need for it.  So most everyone present agreed the children’s classes could be worthwhile.  They also came to understand the Bahá’ís have no ulterior motive but are have the purpose of community building, of which children’s classes are a central focus.

The turning point came when one of the neighborhood association committee members asked the Bahá’ís, “Have any of you been to Samoa and visited the Bahá’í temple there?”  The friends said they had not.  He then continued, “Samoa had been having some problems with its youth, and the Bahá’ís’ program really turned things around.”

After such a positive endorsement, the meeting concluded, and the neighborhood association will contact __ with a decision about using the community room for the children’s classes.  When we left, we met two young women who are interested in helping out with this.

If it hadn't been for the dog . . .

 

. . . then some of the friends in Monterey County, CA (A) MIGHT have spent several months away from the children in their children’s class!  This story made me laugh, but it also made me think.  It’s a sign of the immense interest in core activities, often much higher than we assume.

Last summer in __, 2 of the friends held a children’s class in their neighborhood, and they planned to offer the class again this summer.  But apparently the children were not going to wait a whole year! . . .

One recent Sunday afternoon, __’s husband was out walking the family dog.  All of a sudden a little boy pointed to the dog and said “Hey, I know that dog!”  The boy remembered that this was the “teacher’s” dog.  The next thing __’s husband knew, an army of children was following him home!  When the children saw __, they said, “When are we having the class again?”  So she told them that she and the other teacher would come the next day!

When the 2 teachers arrived the next day, they found the little boy and his sister, who then helped them round up another 15 or so children.  One of the teachers explained to the children that because of her new work schedule, she would not be able to come to class every week, so that another co-teacher would be needed to help out.  She asked the children to raise their hand if they had an older brother or sister in high school that might like to help teach the class; one of the children said her older sister might be interested.  So she was invited to come the following week.

When the older sister came, one of the teachers gave an overview of the children’s class and invited her to join a training—she came to the __ home the following weekend and started Book 1!

,

A growing pattern of core activities and co-workers

 

In the Ridvan 2010 message, the Universal House of Justice urges the friends to spend this coming year working with receptive populations to “find those souls longing to shed the lethargy imposed on them by society and work alongside one another in their neighbourhoods and villages to begin a process of collective transformation.”  What does that process of reaching out look like on the ground?  This story from Fort Collins, CO (A) provides a wonderful example.  The believers are engaging residents of a neighborhood, who earnestly want to help their children of all ages, in the various core activities.

Dear friends,

What a wonderful time in our Faith!  On Tuesday, K began tutoring a Book 1 study circle in __.  4 youth came and were so excited that they want to bring other friends.  Adults, parents of the children, all over the park have expressed interest in taking it in both English and Spanish.  We have to be flexible because their work schedules are constantly changing. . . .

The pre-youth activities are growing, beginning with 2 friends and expanding in a few short weeks to 6.  J was standing outside the clubhouse two weeks ago and a girl came up asking if this is where the special classes were being held and could she join.

The children’s classes continue to grow, both grade levels, and it is felt that we have to start another one to cover the children in the southern part of the neighborhood—one lady who lives there is very excited.

We have been working with one youth who is taking Book 3 to be a children’s class teacher, but she wants to know about the Faith now.  So we will step back with her and offer Book 1.  We also paid a home visit to a man who says that he had been trying to think of ways to help the pre-youth in the neighborhood but had almost completely given up.  WOW!  It sounds like he will be interested in a Book 5 study circle, which we can begin next week.

In the Ridvan 2010 message, the Universal House of Justice tells us that:  “The significance of this development should not be underestimated.  In every cluster, once a consistent pattern of action is in place, attention needs to be given to extending it more broadly through a network of co-workers and acquaintances, while energies are, at the same time, focused on smaller pockets of the population, each of which should become a centre of intensive activity.”

Two conversations

 

Both these stories come from the same A-stage cluster in the Southwestern region.  They are both about conversations:  those that a teacher has with a seeker, those between people who are rapidly becoming close friends, those among people who are yearning for a safe social space to talk about God and religion.  It is this safe space that is an immensely important service that the Bahá’ís can provide to their neighbors through home visits (well, one of these was a “reverse home visit”, but that’s immaterial).  The respect and sensitivity of the friends, is crucial, as is the ability to truly listen.  As one of the teaching team members states, “We were able to gain a much better understanding of the thoughts and feelings our friends hold dear in their hearts.”

Conversation 1:

At a recent devotional, a young family in our study circle expressed anxiety about rejecting Christ if they were to accept Bahá’u’lláh and follow His teachings.  One member of our teaching team encouraged them to pray to Christ and gave them a copy of the Kitáb-i-Íqán.  Two other members of our teaching team made plans to visit the family and read Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh together. . . .

We visited the family in their home.  Together we tried to recite from memory the first paragraph of the Kitáb-i-Íqán, “they that tread the path of faith . . . must cleanse themselves of all that is earthly, their ears from idle talk, their minds from vain imaginings, their hearts from worldly affections, their eyes from that which perisheth.”  Then we studied and discussed several paragraphs of the Lawh-i-Aqdas (Tablet to the Christians), where Bahá’u’lláh writes about Jesus Christ, “He hath testified of Me, and I do testify of Him” and “This ‘Ye cannot bear it now’.”

The family continues to read and deepen their understanding of Bahá’u’lláh’s Writings and develop close ties of friendship with members of our teaching team.

Conversation 2:

On Sunday a teaching partner and I got together to say prayers and visit a few friends of ours to discuss the Faith.  We sent one friend a text message asking how he was and could we come over for a little bit to chat.  He responded saying that he was going out, but would it be okay if he and his friend came by to my house in 15 minutes.  Of course I said, “Yes!”

We immediately went into cleaning mode, washing dishes, boiling water for tea, and ran around the corner to grab a few sweets from the store.  It’s amazing how fast you can straighten up a house and get ready for guests when the pressure is on!  A few minutes later, they arrived.

After talking for a few minutes on various topics, the conversation turned to talking about religion and faith.  Our contact’s friend talked about how she feels about religion in general.  Like many, she believes in God but has a negative feeling when religions try to force others to believe as they do and are not respectful of others’ beliefs.

Throughout the hour we enjoyed each other’s company tremendously, and we all agreed how wonderful it is to have a place where we can sit and talk about spiritual topics, share our heartfelt feelings and understandings without fear of being judged or made to feel like we are misinformed.  We were able to gain a much better understanding of the thoughts and feelings our friends hold dear in their hearts regarding family, religion, unity, and many other things.  We were also able to share many of Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings, as well as a few prayers.

The first prayer we shared, one of the contacts responded “Oh!  That’s a good one!”  Next we shared the “Remover of Difficulties” prayer, to which my friend responded, “I like that one, can you say it again?”

Before they left we agreed to get together again soon.  We will see where it goes from here.

She was overwhelmed with the effort that was made to connect with

 

This story is an excellent example of clusters (3 in all) working together to follow up with a seeker who had called the 800-22UNITE phone line, and “match” them with other Bahá’ís who lived nearby and who also spoke their native language.  This rapid and dedicated efforts helped provide a strong foundation for the warm friendships that then developed.

Last month __ called 800-22UNITE.  We guessed her cluster based on the area code of the phone number she provided.  From her accent, it seems that she was a Spanish speaker.

One of the friends in that cluster received the notification of __’s inquiry and immediately left a voice mail for her.  They talked on the phone the next day and it was learned that she actually lives in another cluster.  She also revealed that she speaks Portuguese rather than Spanish. . . .

So this believer then called M, who lives near this seeker, as well as K and A, who live nearby (now 3 clusters are all involved!).

It turns out K and A speak Portuguese and they know other Portuguese-speaking Bahá’ís that are tutors.  So a Portuguese Ruhi Book 1 study circle was set up.  All the while this multi-cluster accompaniment was being monitored by the regional seeker response coordinator, and some prayers and other literature in Portuguese were located and sent to the believer that lives nearest to her so she could receive it at the fireside scheduled for her the next night.

Over the course of her first month’s contact with the Bahá’ís, __ was overwhelmed with the outpouring of love and effort that was made to connect with her, find Bahá’ís who could converse with her in her native language, as well as provide literature in her language.

She subsequently declared at a fireside last month, and has started bringing her family to events and they are interested as well.