Hooray for Home Visits!

To share the celebration of yesterday's Holy Day with some of those who couldn't make it, Carla, Cristina and I made a couple of home visits. First was Robert Philip, the older man with one leg who has been in his house for over a year and whom we visited with Darlene a while back. He is always happy to receive guests and pray together. He longs to come out to the Bahá'í Center for Feasts and other events, but his wife does not like the idea. It was painful to hear their argument. There is a lot of tension build up between them because she takes care of all his needs because he cannot, while they never agreed on religion. God bless Carla. She was courageous and encouraging.

Ernie was sicker this time. Her incessant cough has not yet subsided; it's probably the water in her village. Another prayer quota must have been met today beacuse, it was during this visit that we put together in our minds how study circles can bring the island back to life for good. (In the past, the Bahá'í community awakens when pioneers are on island, but has promptly died every time they left.*) Study circles can overcome this because the participants become the leaders.

Cristina's blood sugar has been getting low left and right. She had better eat more before we have another "low blood sugar reaction" on our frantic hands.

My fellow Americans (and fellow world citizens), home visits are the secret to bringing communities to life. Though they are formalised as an innovative tool in the guidance we receive, they are simply a way to make friendships where we would regularly let imaginary barriers get in our way. They take time. Give yourself an hour and a half or more. (We missed the last appointment because the first two ran over.) Rushing would take a lot out of it. Planned discussions and/or prayers we open the hearts of both the home and visiting teams, and further sharing will happen naturally.

Carla generously took us to the house she grew up in, where her sister and nephews live, for lunch. We played with the boys, none of whose name I recall.

Desmond was at the Center when we got back. After he took care of the bills, he shared more stories of the children he used to teach and the awesome songs and poems he created and can still recited from memory. It's great to spend time to listen to and get to know these Bahá'ís. We need to take advantage of the unyielding love they have in their hearts and see how we can work together to channel it to revive the community.

As a sidenote, I bought SkypeOut minutes today. That means I can call phone numbers in the States, Canada, China and many other countries from my computer for dirt cheap. So if you would like to chat drop me a comment or email. I would love to catch up with so many of you!

*Regarding this stagnancy Mona asked the million dollar question that is on every Caribbean pioneer's mind, "Is there a reason why it's not getting through to them?" In my (still inexperienced) opinion, it's about the lifestyle. It's not that people aren't dedicated: The opposite is true. Many jobs with sporadic schedules and living situations don't allow people to commit to regular activities. Due to "out of sight, out of mind" it becomes next to impossible for a sense of unity to develop. This is why home visits are critical. The rest of the world has proved the effectiveness of study circles, but it is very hard for large groups to move through the sequence. So this has to be done one-on-one instead. Also, perhaps the Bahá'í standard of chastity should be introduced in a tactful way. For how can we expect to foster a strong community, when families – the building blocks of society – are not fully unified. The youth must be empowered and take ownership of their beliefs. Once these things are taken care of, the expansion that is happening will be followed with consolidation.

These boys have so much fun.