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Divine Springtime - Louise Coswell Recalls , pp98-102
Dear and Valued Co-workers:
The Central American Bahá’í Community, occupying so pivotal a position in the heart of the Western Hemisphere, stands, at this hour, marking at once the termination of the opening phase of the Bahá’í World Spiritual Crusade and the commencement of the second period in its unfoldment, on the threshold of an epoch of glorious expansion, both within its homeland as well as in foreign fields.
Its members can do no better than to recall at this juncture, with joyous gratitude, the series of historic events which have led, in the course of almost four decades to its gradual emergence, its rapid rise and steady consolidation. The epoch-making travels of some of 'Abdu'1-Baha’s disciples, headed by the incomparable Martha Root, during the concluding years of the Heroic, and the opening decade of the Formative Age of the Faith , in response to the call raised by the Centre of the Covenant in the Tablets of the Divine Plan, may be regarded as the prelude to the formal and definite introduction of the Faith in that vast and prominent region. Hie preliminary years of wide-spread and strenuous seed sowing paved the way, on the morrow of the establishment of the framework of the Administrative Order of the Faith in the Western Hemisphere, for the launching of the First Seven Year Plan formulated by the American Bahá’í Community which culminated in the laying of the Administrative foundations of the Faith of Baha’u’llah in the Republics of Central America and the Antilles. This initial stage in the rise and establishment of the embryonic World Order of Bahà’u’llàh in the heart of the Western Hemisphere was immediately followed by the initiation of yet another Plan which attained*its climax, on the morrow of the centenary of the Bib's martyrdom, through the formation of the Central American Bahà’í National Spiritual Assembly, - an auspicious event that was befittingly celebrated in the course of the festivities commemorating the centenary of the birth of Baha’u’llah's mission. This notable and unforgettable event in the annals of the Faith in the New World was destined to be succeeded by the launching of a small albeit carefully devised plan by the newly launched National Spiritual Assembly and which culminated in those same never to be forgotten festivities. The launching of this Plan was in itself a prelude to the initiation of a Ten- Year Plan, formulated to meet the immediate needs of the Central American Bahà’í Community, in conjunction with a Spiritual Crusade embarked upon by National Bahà’í Communities throughout the entire globe.
The opening phase of this Ten-Year Plan, which may be said to have inaugurated the Mission of this same community beyond its homeland has now drawn to a close, a year that has witnessed the opening, with a single exception, of all the virgin territories assigned, in accordance with that same Plan, to this community.
This great victory, in which the followers of the Faith in Central America have themselves played a notable part, and which has virtually set the seal of strength on the initial stage of this glorious crusade must, at this hour of the unfoldment of the second phase of this historic enterprise, prove in turn a forerunner of a period of unprecedented, rapid and systematic expansion and consolidation of the Faith in each of the Republics of Central America and the Antilles,
'Whilst every effort must be strenuously exerted to safeguard at any cost the prizes won in the six newly opened territories in the American and Asiatic Continents, attention must, in the course of the present year, be focused on the multiplication of Bahà’í Centers, and on the formation of local assemblies, in order to broaden the foundations on which future independent National Spiritual Assemblies must ultimately rest. A no less assiduous effort should be exerted to increase rapidly the number of the avowed supporters of the Faith, particularly among the Indians, whose spiritual potentialities 'Abdu'1-Baha repeatedly emphasized.. . . Simultaneously measures should be speedily undertaken to assist the United States National Assembly in expediting the translation and publication of Bahà’í literature in the Indian languages specifically mentioned in the provisions of the Ten-Year Plan. No effort should moreover be spared in assisting the South American National Spiritual Assembly in the all-important work of translating, printing and disseminating Bahà’í literature in both the Spanish and Portuguese languages.
Particular attention should likewise be devoted to the acceleration of the process of local Bahà’í incorporation, so vital to the further consolidation of the newly emerged administrative institutions of the Faith in Central America and the Antilles.
As the process of internal expansion and consolidation gains momentum, the elected national representatives of this community must not fail to consecrate themselves to the no less fundamental task of enriching continually the spiritual life of its members, of deepening their understanding of the essential verities, tenets and principles underlying their Faith, of demanding a strict adherence to its laws and statutes, and of setting an example to their fellow-believers through a fuller reflection, in their personal lives and conduct, of the ennobling truths animating the Revelation of Bahà'u’llah.
May this community which, in the course of over a decade, has demonstrated so conspicuously its devotion to the ideals of the Faith it has risen to champion, furnish, as the years roll by, further proofs of its staunchness, its courage, its fidelity, its watchfulness, its singlemindedness and unswerving determination to fulfill its high destiny through the attainment of every single objective of the Plan to which it stands committed.
Your true brother,
(Signed) Shoghi
1954-06-24 to Central America NSA re general goals
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