Post 2:
Service
A member of the National Spiritual Assembly (NSA) of Jamaica picked Josh up from the airport and took him to Port Antonio, the largest city in the parish of Portland, where he would stay with a Baha’i college instructor. With no expectations of the year to come, Josh left his heart open to become a pure channel, a true instrument of service.
Carrying out tasks for individual community members were among the services rendered. In one instance, Josh was asked to find rubber booties for the bottom of a community member’s crutches. The booties could only be found in Kingston, the capitol of Jamaica, also considered by some to be among the most dangerous cities in the world. Downtown Kingston is considered especially dangerous, to the point where even locals avoid its streets, which are occupied by massive rats. Even the city bus refused to drive to downtown Kingston. Nonetheless, Josh walked to his destination. In his words, he simply “didn’t consider not going” at that point. He obtained the booties and left with no major ordeals.
In another instance, Josh was to pick up the elected delegate for National Convention and drive her to the convention. “There are no schedules in Jamaica” Josh explains, and so he reminded the delegate two weeks before, one week before, a day before, and the hour before the convention to ensure a timely pick-up. When the delegate walked out of her house, she seemed sheepish, as though she wanted to ask a question but was too shy. Finally, she asked Josh, “Who is Baha’u’llah?” Such was the nature of the Faith in the area: although individuals had declared as Baha’is, there was a real need for consolidation.
The Ruhi process had barely been introduced at the time of Josh’s service and, although he had no experience prior to his arrival in Jamaica, he tutored Books 1 and 2 as part of his service to assist the community’s process of consolidation.
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