Teaching Story—Cuba, NM 1973
First of all, back in the
1970’s and 1980’s US Highway 550 was State Highway 44 and noted for many accidents.
In fact, there was a popular bumper sticker driver often displayed on the back
bumper of vehicles that stated: “Pray
for those who drive 44.”
Per Wikipedia: “In the
late 80s and early 90s the accident rates began to increase which prompted New
Mexico Department of Transportation to upgrade the entire road from Aztec to
Bernalillo from 2-lane to a 4-lane-divided over a several-year period at a cost
of $312 million, and once construction was complete NM 44 and NM 544 became an
extension of US 550 in 2000.
Our family lived in Durango,
Colorado back then and we regularly made the drive on 44 to visit Linda’s
family in Isleta Pueblo and we were aware of the need to drive carefully on
that mischievous road. The café in Cuba (Probably the Cuban Café) was a nice stopping
place to make a restroom and food stop.
In 1973 the National
Spiritual Assembly for the United States arranged for a National Bahá’i Youth
Conference to be held in Oklahoma City.
A number of youth, including myself, in the Four Corners Area, were eager
to attend. A dear Bahá’í named Tom Powell, who was living in Aztec, New Mexico
at the time offered to provide transportation in his camper pickup. It was a
long ride from Aztec to Oklahoma City, but the excitement of attending a youth
conference with at least one thousand or more youth from around the country
gave us the energy to endure the trip in the back of Tom’s cramped camper.
The Conference was
everything one could want in a spiritually uplifting affair. Hand of the Cause of God William Sears was
one of the featured speakers, and special guests, Seals & Croft, were among
the musicians performing during the event.
I don’t actually remember
who, besides, Tom, did the driving to and from the Conference, maybe his son,
also named Tom. I do recall that when we reached Cuba one the returned trip,
Tom was too tired to drive the last ninety-five miles without a rest. We pulled
into the parking area by the Cubana Café for Tom to get a few hours of rest. It
was in the early hours of the morning before dawn and those of us in the camper
hull were asleep.
Around six a.m. Tom woke
us and said that the café had just opened if we wanted to get something to eat
before heading on home. Groggily, we
slowly sat up as Tom opened the door to the camper shell. One of the youth from Aztec named Harry woke
up very animated. Harry, who was of a small build, recounted a dream that he
just had. In his dream Harry had gone into a restaurant and, sitting at the counter
stool, began teaching the Faith to the person who sat on the stool next to him.
The person was very open and interested in the Bahá’i message. Harry’s dream moved
him to want to find someone to teach in the café.
I think there were four
or five of us. We entered the café and Harry
immediately saw there were empty stools at the counter. No one was seated in
any of them. Harry said, “I’m going to
sit at the counter, and you can find a booth,” and he promptly sat down on the middle
stool while the rest of us took a booth within watching distance. As the café had just opened. We were the first customers. Gradually a few
patrons came in and took booth seats. Harry still sat alone in anxious
anticipation. He ordered some food with the counter waitress and we ordered
breakfast from the booth. About the time
the food was being served, a large, tough looking Navajo man in work clothes
entered the café and immediately took a stool on the right of Harry. Harry gave us a quick, nervous look, as if to
say, “Now what?” The man looked as if he might have once been a heavyweight
boxer who had lost a few fights.
The new customer ordered something
from the waitress. He spoke just enough
words to make his order and nothing more, nor did he take any notice of Harry.
We could see Harry
nervously glance at the big man a few times, as the man’s breakfast arrived. Halfway through the meal, Harry finally had
the courage to greet the man. We could
not hear the conversation, but Harry was speaking to the man and the man was giving
Harry his attention and conversing with him. A few minutes later, we watched
Harry reach into his backpack and pull out a stack of Bahá’í pamphlets and give
the entire stack to the man. The man graciously took the pamphlets, arose,
shook Harry’s hand firmly, paid his bill and left the café. We sat amazed.
Harry rushed to our table
with the story. He said his heart was
beating rapidly with a sudden surge of fear when the man sat next to him. He thought about skipping the teaching
opportunity rather than risking rejection, but the power of his dream made him
decide to keep his commitment to teach someone in the restaurant. With a silent
prayer in his mind, he got the courage to greet the man, who simply nodded
without a reply. Harry told the man that
he was just returning home from a Bahá’í youth conference about the Bahá’i Faith. The man expressed interest to know more, and
Harry gave him a short introduction about Bahá’u’lláh and His Teachings. Harry
told us that the man lived far out on the reservation and he told Harry that
these Teachings were good, and he knew many families where he lived who would be
interested. He asked Harry for information,
and Harry gave me the pamphlets.
In the afterglow of the
teaching encounter, happiness rushed though our limbs. We commended Harry for
his courage and determination to keep his promise to fulfill his dream. The time riding in the camper on the last ninety-five
miles was as joyous as the time at the Youth Conference in Oklahoma City.
We had no way to know what
happened to the stack of pamphlets that were carried out to the middle of the
Reservation by that gentle man: if they were shared and if shared, did they
reach open hearts and help them in some way on their spiritual journeys. It was
in God’s hands.
