(US, NV, 2 June)

Here is an inspiring story of a believer who arose with a teaching partner to teach a children’s class, and how they were confirmed in their service:

I have been teaching children’s classes since the beginning of the last cycle. It’s been three months now and each time I go to the neighborhood the same thing happens: the second I set foot on the property all the children from my class start to gather around and want to know what’s going on! Most of the kids in the class are not Bahá’ís. So, I decided to do two things today. First, to talk to the families of the children about the Bahá’í Faith, and second, to have the children in my class introduce me to new families who may want to send their kids to the class. With that, we went out.

As the children in our class gathered around we asked them if they wanted more of their friends to help us. They all gladly agreed! All of the doors were now open to us as the children guided us to every building and insisted that we not miss any of their friends! I was delighted to see that already these children had friends of every background. I was further delighted to see an eight year old Spanish speaker in my class insist on going with us to every house. He even spoke to all the families that I wouldn’t have been able to reach. We were even going to doors where people had previously indicated they were not interested in hearing about the Faith. My prayer partner looked at me and asked ‘Do you think we should go to these homes?’ Before I could reply the children started knocking on the doors. For the next hour and half we visited eight homes with wonderful results. ALL of them wanted their children to attend the class. Just like that our class tripled in size!

(Report from the Area Teaching Committee in the Southern Nevada “A” stage cluster)

As we read in “Anna’s presentation”, one of the laws of the Faith is the education of children. In the words of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: 

Therefore, the beloved of God and the maid-servants of the Merciful must train their children with life and heart and teach them in the school of virtue and perfection. They must not be lax in this matter; they must not be inefficient. Truly, if a babe did not live at all it were better than to let it grow ignorant, for that innocent babe, in later life, would become afflicted with innumerable defects, responsible to and questioned by God, reproached and rejected by the people. What a sin this would be and what an omission!

(Bahá’í World Faith, p. 398-399)

The following letter written on behalf of the Guardian will inspire any would-be teacher to arise to carry out this vital service (just think of the children in your family or neighborhood!): 

If the friends always waited until they were fully qualified to do any particular task, the work of the Cause would be almost at a standstill! But the very act of striving to serve, however unworthy one may feel, attracts the blessings of God and enables one to become more fitted for the task.

Today the need is so great on the part of humanity to hear of the Divine Message, that the believers must plunge into the work, wherever and however they can, heedless of their own shortcomings, but ever heedful of the crying need of their fellow-men to hear of the teachings in their darkest hour of travail.

(From a letter dated 4 May 1942 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, Guidelines for Teaching, #1952)

 
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Hand of the Cause of God Rahmatu’lláh Muhájir with children
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Blessed is that teacher who shall arise to instruct the children…

- Bahá’u'lláh, BE #25

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(http://teaching.bahai.us/2008/06/day-5-of-southern-nevada-s-expansion.html) (Image reproduced with permission of the Bahá’í International Community)