Monday, February 16, 2009
The Beauty of Tag Team Teaching
I remember very clearly when Mr. Aghdasi said that if we were persistent in following through with systematic, on-going neighborhood children's classes, in about six months we would start to see results in the form of enrollments. Well, here we are 6-7 months after Project Badi rolled into town and started our classes for us and we just had our 4th adult declaration and 3rd child registration in a month!
While I could write a long time about the children's classes and how persistence paid off, etc, really I need to say something about how some of these declarations are happening. This post is really an homage to those persistent teachers who never give up even when they are not the ones holding the freshly signed declaration card.
There is a small but growing group of friends who are teaching on a regular basis in our neighborhood of focus. Two women, in particular, go out every weekend to conduct home visits and door-to-door teaching; and their work is paying off.
It all started when the Universal House of Justice called for the 41 conferences and we, here in Southwest Florida, started to work to get the friends to Atlanta. Originally, my family was going to take several of the friends but as our van filled, we realized we needed more alternatives.
As if it were meant to be, Anne realized she would have a car to drive. Then, Connie agreed to ride with her... It was meant to be and it only gets more confirming!
We received a call that a nearby seeker (who met a Baha'i in an airport) needed a ride to the conference. Anne and Connie agreed to go out of their way and pick the seeker and her friend up an hour north of here then drive the 9-10 hours to Atlanta. As the story is retold later, they talked almost all the way up about the Faith and she declared at the conference. Yea!
When Anne and Connie got back from the conference, they made a pact to go do home visits and teaching on a weekly basis and they haven't looked back. A couple weeks ago, their efforts paid off again! After presenting Anna's presentation to a mother during children's classes, the next week another friend was able to secure a declaration card from her.
Talk about effective tag-team teaching! In both instances, it was not necessarily Anne and Connie who got the signed declaration card but the importance of their contribution cannot be understated! If it were not for their hard work and dedication, it is likely those declarations would not have been realized. Thank you!!!
Some people are very good teachers and others are very good closers. We need to remember to thank everyone for their contribution to the work. As the Universal House of Justice said in their December 6, 2008 letter to the conferences in the United States... May all find a part to play. May all appreciate the contributions of others.
Anne and Connie... You have no idea how much I appreciate the work you are doing!
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In our IPG area there are many people who want to know more about the Faith and become Baha'is that it is like picking out the roses in a flower garden. The core team literally has to slow down teaching efforts, because of the need for more Ruhi tutors and children's class teachers.
ReplyDeleteIn the Kansas City area, one beautiful young woman (17yr old)mentioned one day to a neighbor child that she would like to do children's classes. This child came the next day with a friend, this one told another one, and that one told another one...and now in a short period of time she has 15 children from elementary age to preteens. I am told she now has a room in her home that is perfectly organized, much like a regular class room. She is talking about having two classes now even though she is doing almost all 'single-handedly.' She just says that she needs some help, because she has not had the youth animator training. What a lovely selfless soul! I, too, thank God for these people.