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Around 300 people attended a special presentation of the Kitab-i-Aqdas in Russia. Government officials, dignitaries and scholars gathered in an elegant hall in Moscow to witness presentations of the Most Holy Book by the National Spiritual Assembly to the director of the Library of the Duma (Russia's highest legislative body), to the chair of the President's Human Rights Commission and to the Parliamentary Committee on Religious Affairs. Guests first heard Baha'i historian and Yale professor, Dr Firuz Kazemzadeh, describe the Kitab-i-Aqdas as a "blueprint for a future world civilisation", which was followed by commentaries from two non-Baha'is. A scholar of comparative religion and a professor of ethics, both are long-time friends of the Faith. They spoke respectfully of the Book and of how the Baha'i teachings are needed in Russia. Afterwards, there was an hour-long artistic programme, with piano and cello performances accompanied by readings from the Kitab-i-Aqdas; a choral quintet based on one of the Hidden Words, composed by Australian Graham Barr; and a scene from a play entitled "The Bab", written by Isabella Grinevskaya, a St. Petersburg poet and Baha'i in the early 1900s.
Taken from "European Public Information Bulletin", issue 59 - January 1999.
Three seekers declare at proclamation picnic
More than 70 people, including Baha'is and 25 of their friends and contacts, attended a picnic held at the Bogaz mountain home of a Baha'i couple on 20th September.
Special guests of honour, Dr Ilhan Sezgin, a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors; Akdes Kucani, a short-term pioneer; and the hosts, Beyhan and Mustafa Uludag, welcomed the friends and their guests to the event which commenced with deepening and proclamation.
Dr Sezgin talked about the special powerful effects of consultation as a tool for well-being when used in the family setting. Dr Merter focused on the purpose of creation - love - and the importance of virtues which God has given to us. One of these is the virtue of hospitality, and she shared with the audience the teachings of Abdu'l-Baha on this subject. Mrs Kucani spoke on children's education, stressing its supreme importance. She gave examples and some quotations of the Master.
After lunch was served, there was music, singing, laughter, chatter and a great deal of socialising and fun among the guests. An auction was held, with proceeds going to the fund to purchase an air-conditioner for the Haziratu'l-Quds. In a spirit of such loving friendship and fellowship, in an atmosphere of pure spiritual joy, there were three declarations of faith during the afternoon. Plans were made for deepening classes using materials from Ruhi Book One, to welcome the new believers and any other friends who wished to attend at the Baha'i Centre in Nicosia north.
Taken from Baha'i International News Service, 15th December 1998
Life in Macau
Adrian Davis pioneered to Macau in 1992. He is now a part-time English teacher and Administrator of an ESL (English as a Second Language) programme at the Canadian College of Macau, and part-time lecturer at Macau Poly. in Philosophy and Psychology. In July 1997 Adrian married Sandy Chan from Hong Kong. He is now completing his Fellowship studies at Landegg in Moral Education.
As you leave Hong Kong's territorial waters one of the first announcements on the modern Jetfoils is the invitation to "Beat the banker". An attendant passes quickly through the gangways waving small pieces of paper and, if a passenger feels lucky, they will buy one and guess which sticker conceals various "Jackpot" prizes. However, for most punters, this is small fry: most are eagerly heading for either the horse racing or greyhound stadium, or one of the twelve casinos in Macau, soon to be raised to fourteen in time for Chinese New Year. Passengers settle down to catch some sleep before the hard work begins. Peering into the darkness outside near the end of my one-hour voyage I notice the reassuring beams of Macau's old lighthouse, still in operation after one hundred years. The boat slides into port, as they do every fifteen minutes, and one waits for the stampede of departing punters to subside.
Ah, welcome to Macau, a Portuguese enclave of half a million official residents covering seventeen square kilometers on the southern coast of China. As you depart from the new pier you will notice that the major road to the main Casino at the Lisboa hotel is being barricaded. November is Macau's Grand Prix month, an international moment of glory, when a circuit around the enclave is fenced off from the public every year in preparation for the budding Formula 1 drivers in their Formula 3 cars (Schumacher and Senna honed their skills on the narrow streets here).
As I head for the bus stop I see a few of the old rickshaw drivers waiting patiently for "gweilos" - white ghosts - looking for a whiff of nostalgia. No one approaches me - maybe I m recognised as more of a local now after living here for six years. I catch my bus to Taipa, the first of two outlying islands, and greet my favourite bus driver. We pass through the city's neon glitz advertising casinos, jewellery shops, and restaurants, and head across the distinctive humpback bridge. Reflecting on this region I am always struck by a stunning contrast: here is this Las Vegas of the East, essentially a Casino City, where 40% of the working population are employed either directly or indirectly with the casinos in a society where two principal triad groups fight for the turf and the illegal profits of extortion, money laundering, loansharking, and prostitution; and yet here is also where a small Baha'i community of two thousand souls strives to set a new pattern of life as seen in the presence of a National Spiritual Assembly, three Local Spiritual Assemblies, the Baha'i Committee for China, the Macau Baha'i Institute, the School of the Nations, and several socio-economic activities, firesides and proclamation events! What a blessing for Macau!
I wish goodnight to the driver, get off the bus and arrive at my apartment in one of the ubiquitous tower blocks. I m on the 19th floor and as I enter I feel elated to see the panoramic view with the reassuring beams of the lighthouse in the distance - but I can't also help thinking and saying a prayer of gratitude: "Thank you Baha'u'llah for the spiritual lighthouse that You have given us here."
A big "thank you" to our visitors and travel teachers
Colette and Vessal Maani with their three sons pioneered to the Greek island of Rhodes in November 1994. Colette writes:
... Since May we have had fifty visitors to Rhodes - travel teachers etc. The pace has only just slowed with the last charter flights stopping. All this energy is bound to have an effect and the unusual thing is that the reports that the visiting Baha'is have written about their experiences on the island are proving an invaluable resource. Each learns something different, contacts a different person, group, place, and our knowledge of the local community is growing with each travel teacher. Even reports full of woe are better than nothing.
Many thanks to all our visitors for all their hard work and sacrifice.