Virginia Breaks
Virginia Breaks was a pioneer to Micronesia, an Auxiliary Board Member, and Knight of Bahá'u'lláh.
Early Life[edit]
Virginia Breaks was born on November 9, 1906, in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Following her college at Western College in Ohio, she worked in hospital Bacteriology and geology in Chicago and Crawfordsville. In 1941 she worked worked at the University in Honolulu, Hawaii as a research assistant tin the department of parasitology. She then got a master's degree in public health statistics (MAPH) at the University of California at Berkeley graduating in 1944. She spent the next two years working for the Kern County Health Department before taking a position with the California State Department of Health in San Francisco. While there she was introduced to the Bahá'í Faith and was accepted on August 26, 1947 by the Local Spiritual Assembly of San Francisco.[1]
Pioneering[edit]
In 1953, she attended the dedication of the House of Worship in Wilmette and the International Teaching Conference in Chicago. The Caroline Islands were mentioned at the conference as one of 131 possible pioneering posts, and she determined that the Caroline Islands was where she wanted to go. She remembered seeing an ad for a Vital Statistician and Medical Records Librarian in the Caroline Islands. That is something she should be qualified for. She applied for the position. Her initial application was rejected because they wanted a young man with experience. She later found that three young men in her section had also been turned down for lack of experience.[2]
She pursued the position with a letter to the Director of Public Health of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. While waiting for a response, she attempted to research the Caroline Islands but could only find information about the Gilbert Islands. It was next to impossible to get to the Caroline Islands without government assistance. About two months later, the Director of Public Health sent a Sanitary Engineer who was returning to the United States following a two year tour to interview her. He gave a good recommendation and she was offered the job. She arrived on November 17, 1953 and cabled the Guardian that she had arrived at her post.[3] She was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for being the first pioneer in the islands.
She quickly learned why you had to have a job to get there. There were no hotels and only military Quonset huts left by the US Navy for living quarters. Transportation was also very limited. There were two airfields in the area and travel to other islands was by boat. Travel to Guam and other districts was by World War II military sea planes.[4] [5]
Initial teaching efforts were to other Americans. After some time, she was able to make contact with the islanders. She had weekly firesides. If no seekers attended, she would hold a deepening with Stem Salle, a new believer from Namoluk who had enrolled with Mary Elizabeth Hill, the head of the Trust Territory School of Nursing in Koror.[6]
Although she was able to be the first person to teach many, one of her students was Betta Majmeto, the first Marshallese Bahá'í. He was later the first Marshallese member of the Auxiliary Board and the first Marshallese Bahá'í Counsellor. Another, Rose Mackwelung, a Gilbertese, who first came to her as a translator. Her first contact with her was to request her to translate a pamphlet. Virginia, gave her a copy of Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era and she agreed to translate the pamphlet. Rose later asked Virginia to tell other friends about the Bahá'í Faith. That was the first fireside on Pohnpei. It was not until later when she was convalescing at Cythia Olson's (Knight of Bahá'u'llá to the Mariana Islands) that she enrolled.[7]
Travels[edit]
Virginia felt the need to travel to other areas from time to time. She attended the first North East Asia Conference in Nikko, Japan. In 1955 there were 2 Local Spiritual Assemblies in Japan. They needed 8 by Ridván 1956 to form a National Spiritual Assembly elect delegates for a National Bahá'í Convention the following year. In September 1955, a conference was held in Nikko, Japan. Virginia was able to attend the conference. By April 21, 1956 they had formed the needed Local Spiritual Assemblies. After the conference Virginia visited Macau on her way back to the Caroline Islands from the Nikko Conference in Japan.[8]
About a year later, Virginia attended the All Philippine Teaching Conference in Manila. She made her pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1962, and was able to attend the First World Congress in London, England in 1962. At the World Congress Hand of the Cause Faizi made it clear that the Guardian wished that pioneers would remain at their posts. That is just what she did.[9]
Passing[edit]
Virginia Breaks, Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for the Caroline Islands passed away on December 8, 1993 at the age of 87 shortly after the 40th anniversary of her arrival in the Caroline Islands. The National Spiritual Assembly of Western Caroline Islands shared the news. Virginia had remained an active member of the Yap Local Spiritual Assembly until her passing.[10]
References[edit]
[[Category:Auxiliary Board Member]
- ↑ Paul Vreeland, ed. (2010). The Bahá’í World In Memoriam 1992-1997. Israel: Bahá’í World Centre (publishing). 2010. pp. 102-104. ISBN 9780877433576.
- ↑ Paul Vreeland, ed. (2010). The Bahá’í World In Memoriam 1992-1997. Israel: Bahá’í World Centre (publishing). 2010. pp. 102-104. ISBN 9780877433576.
- ↑ Paul Vreeland, ed. (2010). The Bahá’í World In Memoriam 1992-1997. Israel: Bahá’í World Centre (publishing). 2010. pp. 102-104. ISBN 9780877433576.
- ↑ Paul Vreeland, ed. (2010). The Bahá’í World In Memoriam 1992-1997. Israel: Bahá’í World Centre (publishing). 2010. pp. 102-104. ISBN 9780877433576.
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1970). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 13 (1954-1963), Pg(s) 450. View as PDF.
- ↑ Paul Vreeland, ed. (2010). The Bahá’í World In Memoriam 1992-1997. Israel: Bahá’í World Centre (publishing). 2010. pp. 102-104. ISBN 9780877433576.
- ↑ Paul Vreeland, ed. (2010). The Bahá’í World In Memoriam 1992-1997. Israel: Bahá’í World Centre (publishing). 2010. pp. 102-104. ISBN 9780877433576.
- ↑ Barbara R. Sims. "Macau Bahá'í Community in the Early Years".
- ↑ Paul Vreeland, ed. (2010). The Bahá’í World In Memoriam 1992-1997. Israel: Bahá’í World Centre (publishing). 2010. pp. 102-104. ISBN 9780877433576.
- ↑ Paul Vreeland, ed. (2010). The Bahá’í World In Memoriam 1992-1997. Israel: Bahá’í World Centre (publishing). 2010. pp. 102-104. ISBN 9780877433576.
