Bahai9:Orlando Nunez Teaching Institute
The Orlando Nuñez Teaching Institute (ONTI) was started in Northbrook, Illinois in the name of a devoted Bahá'í, Orlando Nuñez, who passed on to the Abhá Kingdom. The day of his passing he was traveling from his homefront pioneering post to visit a nearby deepening class--a class which he had faithfully attended and supported.
The institute is also dedicated to the long-suffering friends in Irán who have been circumscribed in their ability to teach or even obtain their own higher education, whether Bahá'í or secular.
The institute aims to follow the guidelines given in the Bahá'í Writings for "spiritual meetings", a special kind of meeting where the proofs and history of the Faith are to be taught to youth by the "blessed souls and the old ones from amongst the believers" (in order to prepare them to be able to better teach the Faith) and where Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá are to be read. Weekly meetings are encouraged for this activity.
The aim of the course is to supplement (rather than detract from) the Ruhi courses which have been as of the present widely adapted as an initial curriculum by Bahá'í communities around the world. The particular focus in the ONTI institute is on a more intensive study of specific works recommended for youth, often by the "aid of study outlines" (as referred to in the Bahá'í Writings).
The specific works covered thus far include Some Answered Questions (the first 9 chapters) and The Dawn-Breakers.
Contact brettz9 AT yahoo.com if you may like to find out more about this institute or its methods and materials of instruction.
