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Bahá’í News

July 1986

Bahá’í Year 143

Australia’s ‘peace ribbon’

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On the cover: As a part of its 10-day Peace Exposition which ended April 6, the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia invited people around the world to contribute panels for a mammoth ‘peace ribbon’ that wound from the House of Worship near Sydney to the main road, around a village park, past a school and golf club and through sand dunes to end on a sandy beach near the Pacific Ocean. The National Assembly reached its goal of 10,000 banners with 354 contributed by people overseas. Many thousands of people visited the Exposition; both Sunday services at the House of Worship drew capacity audiences of 800, while some 2,500 were present at a concert by Seals & Crofts at the Sydney Opera House and many attended their follow-up firesides and musical evenings.

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Bahá’í News

House of Justice offers guidance on major goals of the Six Year Plan	1
New road leading to Bahá’í House of Worship in Panama dedicated	3
First Bahá’í-operated pre-school in Belize gets underway in Dangriga	4
House of Justice presents statistical update on Mobile Institutes	6
Early life of Effie Baker, first Australian woman to become a Bahá’í	7
Hawaii Bahá’ís mourn loss of a devoted co-worker, Georgine Moul	11
Around the world: News from Bahá’í communities all over the globe	12

Bahá’í News is published monthly by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States as a news organ reporting current activities of the Bahá’í world community. Manuscripts submitted should be typewritten and double spaced throughout; any footnotes should appear at the end. The contributor should keep a carbon copy. Send materials to the Periodicals Office, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, U.S.A. Changes of address should be reported to the Office of Membership and Records, Bahá’í National Center. Please attach mailing label. Subscription rates within the U.S.: one year, $12; two years, $20. Outside the U.S.: one year, $14; two years, $24. Foreign air mail: one year, $20; two years, $40. Payment must accompany the order and must be in U.S. dollars. Second class postage paid at Wilmette, IL 60091. Copyright © 1986, National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. World rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.

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The Six Year Plan: A further look

THE SIX YEAR PLAN
143-149
1986-1992
The Major Objectives

The major objectives of the Six Year Plan include: carrying the healing Message of Bahá’u’lláh to the generality of mankind; greater involvement of the Faith in the life of human society; a worldwide increase in the translation, production, distribution and use of Bahá’í literature; further acceleration in the process of the maturation of national and local Bahá’í communities; greater attention to universal participation and the spiritual enrichment of individual believers; a wider extension of Bahá’í education to children and youth and the strengthening of Bahá’í family life; and the pursuit of projects of social and economic development in well-established Bahá’í communities.

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Set out below are suggestions for possible ways of achieving the above objectives to act as a basis for consultation and a stimulus for thinking. National Assemblies should not confine themselves to these points if they feel that there are other matters which deserve attention.

1. Carrying the healing Message of Bahá’u’lláh to the generality of mankind

• Increase the number of believers from all strata of society, identifying as goals of the Plan those specific sectors, minority groups, tribal peoples, etc. which are at present under-represented in the Bahá’í community and which will, therefore, be given special attention during the Plan.
• Increase the number of localities where Bahá’ís reside, opening, in the process, virgin states, provinces, islands or other major civil sub-divisions of the country.
• Seize teaching opportunities by planning projects in areas where receptivity is found, aiming at large-scale enrollment and entry by troops where possible.
• Be alert to opportunities for international collaboration with other Bahá’í communities in the promotion of the Faith through: border teaching projects; the sending of traveling teachers; and the teaching of special groups such as those temporarily abroad for study or work, particularly those from countries which are difficult of access, such as China or countries in Eastern Europe.
• Raise up homefront pioneers and traveling or resident teachers to assist in the fulfillment of teaching goals and plans.
• Utilize mass media systems for greater proclamation.
• Make use of drama and singing in the teaching and deepening work and in Bahá’í gatherings, where advisable.

2. Greater involvement of the Faith in the life of human society

• Develop the proper understanding and practice of consultation among members of the Bahá’í community and in the work of Bahá’í institutions, and foster the spirit of consultation in the conduct of human affairs and the resolution of conflicts at all levels of society.
• Foster association with organizations, prominent persons and those in authority concerning the promotion of peace, world order and allied objectives, with a view to offering the Bahá’í teachings and insights regarding current problems and thought.
• Train suitable Bahá’ís to undertake public relations activities.
• Foster appreciation of the Faith in scholarly and academic circles by developing Bahá’í scholarship, by endeavoring to have the Faith included in the curricula and textbooks of schools and universities, and by other means.
• Encourage Bahá’í youth to move toward the front ranks of those professions, trades, arts and crafts necessary to human progress.
• Promote the establishment of Bahá’í clubs in universities and similar educational institutions.
• Foster the practice of the equality of the sexes both in the life of the Bahá’í community and in society as a whole and, for this purpose, hold special conferences and training programs for women and for men.

3. A worldwide increase in the translation, production, distribution and use of Bahá’í literature

• Foster the use of Bahá’í literature, especially in local languages, supplemented as need be by tape recordings and visual aids.
• Improve the distribution of Bahá’í literature by taking specific steps, such as the establishment of regional depots where necessary, and the education of local Spiritual Assemblies in their responsibilities to acquaint the friends with Bahá’í literature and ensure its easy availability.
• Produce greater supplies of Bahá’í literature in accordance with well-thought-out plans of translation, production and distribution.
• Produce, where required for translations into vernacular languages, simplified versions of the Sacred Scriptures, the writings of the Guardian and the statements of the Universal House of Justice.
• Establish Bahá’í lending libraries.

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4. Further acceleration in the process of the maturation of local and national Bahá’í communities

• Adopt specific programs to assist and encourage the development of isolated centers into groups, and groups into communities with local Spiritual Assemblies, resulting in a steady increase of such Assemblies.
• Adopt specific goals and programs to consolidate and strengthen local Spiritual Assemblies, so that they will:
  • Hold regular meetings with harmonious and productive consultation,
  • Properly organize and conduct the work of their Secretariat and Treasury,
  • Appoint and coordinate the work of local committees for special aspects of their work, such as teaching, child education, youth activities, literature distribution, etc.,
  • Win the respect and confidence of their local communities so that the believers will turn to them for the resolution of problems and advice in their services to the Cause,
  • Where appropriate, acquire and develop the use of local Centers,
  • Obtain incorporation or equivalent recognition as a legal entity,
  • Exercise their responsibilities in relation to marriages and funerals,
  • Maintain registers of declarations, births, transfers of membership, marriages and deaths.

• Adopt specific goals and programs to consolidate communities with local Spiritual Assemblies so that the believers will be encouraged to:
  • Attend regularly Nineteen Day Feasts and the observances of Bahá’í Holy Days, and enhance the spiritual quality of such gatherings,
  • Pursue local teaching and deepening activities,
  • Foster the realization of the equality of men and women,
  • Develop local activities for children and youth,
  • Support the fund,
  • Carry out extension teaching projects.

• Develop the functioning of National Spiritual Assemblies, adopting specific plans and programs to:
  • Improve their standard of united, productive, loving consultation,
  • Develop efficiently functioning national Secretariats,
  • Enhance the standard of the functioning of national treasuries and promote the goal of financial independence of the national Bahá’í community,
  • Appoint strong committees to carry out, under the general supervision of the National Spiritual Assembly, the many specialized aspects of the work of the Cause, including the detailed planning and prompt execution of the work necessary to achieve all the goals of the Six Year Plan.

• Acquire, where needed and feasible, national and local properties, such as Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds, teaching institutes, summer schools, Bahá’í cemeteries, etc. and ensure their proper care and maintenance.
• Obtain, where legally possible, official recognition for Bahá’í marriage and Holy Days and exemption from the payment of taxes on Bahá’í institutions and their activities.
• Ensure the rapid and regular dissemination of news to all believers.
• Hold regular, well-planned and well-run summer and winter schools and conferences at costs and in localities which will permit the largest attendance.
• Encourage collaboration between or among local Spiritual Assemblies in mutually agreed projects.
• Develop and administer correspondence courses for teaching and deepening.

5. Greater attention to universal participation and the spiritual enrichment of individual believers

• Promote universal participation in the life of the Faith and an increased sense of their Bahá’í identity among children, youth and adults.
• Encourage, where feasible, the practice of dawn prayer.
• Encourage individual believers to adopt teaching goals for themselves.
• Carry out activities designed to deepen the believers in both a spiritual and intellectual understanding of the Cause.
• Encourage the believers to make greater use of Bahá’í literature.
• Encourage the believers to enhance their command of language to assist them to understand the Bahá’í writings ever more clearly.
• Develop and foster Bahá’í scholarship and lend support to the Associations for Bahá’í Studies.
• Foster obedience to the Bahá’í laws of personal behavior such as abstention from the drinking of alcoholic beverages and from the taking of habit-forming drugs, and inspire the believers to follow the Bahá’í way of life.

6. A wider extension of Bahá’í education to children and youth, and the strengthening of Bahá’í family life

• Encourage the holding of regular classes for the Bahá’í education of children.
• Develop systematic lesson plans and other materials for the Bahá’í education of children.
• Train believers to teach Bahá’í children’s classes.
• Establish a program for the guidance of parents, especially mothers, in the care and training of Bahá’í children.
• Sponsor institutes on Bahá’í marriage and family life.
• Encourage community activities involving Bahá’í families.

7. The pursuit of projects of social and economic development in well-established Bahá’í communities

• Encourage local Spiritual Assemblies and the rank and file of the believers to consider ways in which they can advance the social and economic development of their communities.
• Establish tutorial schools and pre-schools where needed and feasible.
• Encourage and sponsor adult literacy programs where needed, especially for women.
• Foster collaboration with other agencies involved in social and economic development in areas where Bahá’í communities can contribute to the work.

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Road to House of Worship dedicated

On April 25, a sunny afternoon during the rainy season, the brand new road leading to the Bahá’í House of Worship in Panama City was officially inaugurated as Bahá’ís, their friends and guests gathered for the ceremony. At 2:15 p.m. Counsellor Ruth Pringle cut a green ribbon held across the entrance to the road by two lovely children (a boy and girl) dressed in their colorful Panamanian costumes. The ribbon-cutting was followed by a devotional service at the House of Worship, enhanced by the presence of the Bahá’í Choir, and a brief statement about the Faith and its principles with emphasis on the promise of peace by Oscar Torres, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Panama. Copies of ‘The Promise of World Peace’ were then distributed to the guests.

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‘Garden of Covenant’ pre-school opens

After five years of hopes and dreams, the first Bahá’í pre-school and first social and economic development project in Belize became a reality last November 1 with the opening of the Garden of the Covenant Bahá’í Pre-School in Dangriga.

The Spiritual Assembly of Dangriga had begun thinking about such a school in 1980. The first step was to improve the facilities of the Regional Bahá’í Centre in Dangriga to house the school. A bathroom was added by the friends in Dangriga, but not much else took place as the work of the Faith demanded all the attention of the only functioning all-native Assembly in Belize. The idea, however, remained as a “seed” in everyone’s mind.

When the National Spiritual Assembly of Belize received news that two new pioneers, Mitch and Rita Wagener, would be coming to the country in June 1985, and word was passed to the Spiritual Assembly of Dangriga that Rita, a Ugandan, was a trained pre-school teacher, minds began to click and it appeared that the “seed” might soon bear fruit. But there were many obstacles to surmount. The Centre needed refurbishing and additions to be safely used as a school; applications had to be made to the appropriate government ministries, materials acquired, and native teachers found and trained; and, most important, funds were needed to operate the school.

Since it was decided that the school would provide “Montessori-type” education and give individualized attention to the children, enrollment would be kept small—never more than 15 students morning and 15 afternoon. This meant that the $10-a-month tuition fee ($5 U.S.) that is standard in pre-schools would not begin to cover the costs of the school itself, snacks, materials, teacher salaries, and a salary

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Since it was decided that the school would provide ‘Montessori-type’ education and give individualized attention to the children, enrollment would be kept small—never more than 15 students morning and 15 afternoon.

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for Rita Wagener so that she and Mitch could stay in Belize and she could serve as school coordinator.

Luckily, Roma Ayman, a Bahá’í youth, came from Illinois as a traveling teacher in August 1985 and said he would serve as a catalyst to see if funds could be raised for this social and economic development project of the Spiritual Assembly of Dangriga. The Behrendts, pioneers to Belize from the U.S., wrote to Bahá’í friends, explaining the situation and welcoming any assistance.

Meanwhile, the Spiritual Assembly of Dangriga appointed a Pre-School Committee consisting of Bahá’ís and non-Bahá’í professionals. By November 1, after the friends in Dangriga had worked for a week to renovate the Centre using funds provided by the National Spiritual Assembly, the school was able to open its doors. Teachers Rita Wagener, Joyce Garcia and Sylvia Thomas and one teacher’s aide, Bahá’í youth Jane Lorenzo, put together materials, and funds were received through Roma Ayman and others.

Enrollment, small in the beginning, was soon at capacity as word of the school spread throughout the town. “Everyone” (even those who hadn’t known the Bahá’ís existed in Dangriga) was talking about the excellent new

Children enjoy snack time at the Garden of the Covenant Bahá’í Pre-School in Dangriga, Belize, which was opened in November 1985.

[Page 5] Recess time is a time for lively games and group play at the Garden of the Covenant Bahá’í Pre-School in Dangriga, Belize. The school, which opened in November 1985 after five years of planning, is sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Dangriga, the only functioning all-native Assembly in that country.

pre-school. Children from upper and lower classes, from Bahá’í and non-Bahá’í families, and from near and far were happily attending the school, learning colors and numbers, how to work in groups and independently, and, most important, memorizing prayers by Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

Soon the school began to house seminars for parents and pre-school teachers from the entire town. The children were taught to brush their teeth after snacks, making the school the first in Belize to practice such hygiene. Bahá’í Holy Days were observed with parties at which non-Bahá’í parents were present and helped with refreshments, etc. The school was invited to have its children perform in town-wide programs.

As the Faith became more widely recognized in the town through the work of the school, the wisdom of the Universal House of Justice in declaring that now is the time to become involved in social and economic development became absolutely manifest. The House of Justice is pleased with the project, and has assured the Assembly of its support and prayers.

Personal hygiene is an important educational component at the Garden of the Covenant Bahá’í Pre-School in Dangriga, Belize. Here children learn to brush their teeth after snacks.

Seeing the faces of these lovely children looking up adoringly at their Bahá’í teachers and sweetly intoning the verses of Bahá’u’lláh gave ample confirmation that a divine Hand was at work in all the long plans, prayers and deliberations.

At the end of April, Rita Wagener had to leave to return with her husband to Alaska. They had played a major role in the establishment of the school, and Rita had trained the two native-born teachers to take her place. But the school still needs the help of a trained person. It is hoped that by next year a self-supporting pioneer or a youth doing a “year of service” might be able to come and offer some assistance.

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Mobile Teaching Institutes

Information provided by the Department of Statistics at the Bahá’í World Centre.

During the second phase of the Seven Year Plan, the Universal House of Justice assigned the goal of acquiring audio-visual Mobile Teaching Institutes to nine national communities in Africa, namely: Central African Republic, Chad, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Tanzania, Transkei, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Eight of these National Spiritual Assemblies have acquired their Mobile Institutes, and Rwanda is in the process of purchasing one.

Mobile Institutes are vehicles that are equipped with audio-visual facilities such as simple cameras, slide projectors, public address systems, tape recorders and various introductory books and pamphlets. These vehicles are under the sponsorship of the National Spiritual Assembly and are often sent to the rural parts of the country to supplement the proclamation and consolidation work in a particular region where, for example, a teaching project may be in process.

All National Assemblies with Mobile Institutes reported that they were a tremendous help in the teaching effort and in providing easy access to the remote parts of the country. The first teaching trip of the Mobile Institute in the Central African Republic, in the months of April and May 1984, to two of the remotest provinces in the country, was reported to be an overwhelming success. The words “La Foi Bahá’íe—Institut Mobile” painted on the door made the vehicle a rolling proclamation of the Faith. The sight of the van brought cries of “Alláh’u’Abhá” and “Ya Bahá’u’l-Abhá” from the friends in these areas who seldom receive visitors.

In October 1984, the Universal House of Justice encouraged four National Spiritual Assemblies—Canada, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States—to invite a number of youth or young adults to offer a year or two of their lives to service to the Faith, in response to the appeal in the message of the House of Justice to the youth dated 3 January 1984, and as part of their participation in the International Year of Youth, by serving, in collaboration with one of the native believers, as drivers or administrators of Mobile Teaching Institutes in the countries in Africa. Interested volunteers from any national community would be greatly welcomed to participate in this thrilling activity of the Cause.

The success of the Mobile Institutes has sparked enthusiasm in other countries in Africa, which, as a result, have acquired vehicles to use as Mobile Teaching Institutes, and these have been counted as supplementary achievements of the Plan. The following countries are in this category: Botswana, Burkina, Cameroon Republic, The Gambia and Kenya. The National Spiritual Assembly of Benin is in the process of acquiring a vehicle.

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Effie Baker: A remarkable woman

The first Australian woman to become a Bahá’í, Effie Baker has also been recognized as one of Australia’s foremost woman photographers—her work having been shown in national exhibitions. It was as a photographer that she rendered her unique service to the Bahá’í Faith—taking the photographs for The Dawn-breakers, the epic early history of the Faith. Author Graham Hassall, who is writing a book about Effie, shares with us a little of her early life.

It is still possible to visit the childhood home in Victoria of Effie Baker, and observe the broken ground of the gold fields, once covered with miners’ claims. Not far from Goldsborough are weathered but proud monuments to “The Welcome Stranger,” the largest gold nugget found in Australia, and to the birthplace of John Flynn—“Flynn of the Inland,” who began Australia’s Flying Doctor Service.

The fortune-hunters are long gone, but the descendants of those who stayed are now farmers or small-town dwellers, the numerous small cemeteries in the Bealiba, Dunolly and Molaigul Shires bearing silent witness to the generations who spent their lives in the area. The individuals changed, and their occupations changed, but the family names remained constant and became proud. The Bakers could have become one such family. But a number of factors conspired to disperse the descendants. Effie left Goldsborough as a young woman and returned later in life, only to finally leave the district forever. She was the last of her family to live in Dunolly.

Effie lived two lives. One related to her upbringing, family, and her skills as an artist and craftswoman, the other

This article about Effie Baker, the first Australian woman to become a Bahá’í, is reprinted from Herald of the South, Vol. 7 (April 1986), a quarterly publication of the National Spiritual Assemblies of the Bahá’ís of Australia and New Zealand Inc.

to her experience as a Bahá’í—one of Australia’s first, and one of the few Europeans to have spent an extended period living in Haifa and working for Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith.

Euphemia Eleanor Baker was born the eldest of 11 children to parents John and Margaret, on March 25, 1880, at Goldsborough. Some of her grandparents had arrived in Australia in the great migrations of the 19th century. Her father’s father, Captain Henry Evans Baker, was born at White Hills, Kent, in England, in 1816, and had moved to New York. Captaining a sea-collier, Henry Baker was in the port of Melbourne in 1852 when gold fever struck his crew. The prospect of making one’s fortune on the gold fields was so enticing that Captain Baker could not find enough men willing to leave Melbourne, and thus form a new crew. He solved his dilemma by selling his boat and joining the rush to inland Victoria.

The captain was thick-set, dark-complexioned, portly and jolly in appearance. He was inventive and technically minded, and on the voyage to Australia had even constructed a dynamo to light his cabin. He is reported to have constructed in 1855 the first Chilian Mill on the Bendigo gold fields—a system in which a horse pulled a stone wheel in a circular motion in order to crush rock in the quest for gold. He had an interest in astronomy, and won a silver medal in a Melbourne exhibition of 1873. He achieved some fame when he was selected to re-polish the mirror of the great Cassegrain telescope at the Melbourne observatory. In 1886 a telescope made by Captain Baker for the newly opened Oddie Observatory at Ballarat was used for the first time.

Captain Baker’s wife, Euphemia McLeash, came from Cooper Angus in Scotland, although the two were married in New York. A brother, William McLeash, went into partnership with Captain Baker on the gold fields. Captain Baker and his partners, Robert Dodd, William McLeash and Samuel Crozier, discovered and opened Bealiba Reef (the Queen’s Birthday Reef), taking a lease on the last day of 1863. They soon created a 4 horsepower engine on the site and the first crushing yielded 77 ounces of gold. At this time, the Bakers were probably squatting in a calico house next to the mine.

Another reef, the Goldsborough, was discovered in 1865, and Captain Baker bought a house near it in 1868. Goldsborough had only been established in 1854, and grew to be a thriving town of 70,000 people. But these were living mostly in semi-permanent calico huts, the prospectors shifting with the rumors of new gold fields. The streets were named “Pick,” “Shovel,” “Windlass” and the like, emphasizing the town’s functional nature.

Effie’s father had been educated at Wesley College, Melbourne, from 1868 to 1869 but had to interrupt his studies and return to Goldsborough when some people tried to jump the Baker claim to the Birthday mine. John Baker subsequently worked as a foreman in the mines at Goldsborough. He married Margaret in December 1879 and in 1880 Effie was born. With John and Margaret Baker’s family growing, Effie, at age six, went to live with her grandparents at their home, Cooper

[Page 8] Angus, in Ballarat. Although Captain Baker died four years later, in 1890, while Effie was still a young girl, she was already greatly influenced by his enthusiasm for science, and for technical instruments. In Ballarat she attended Mount Pleasant State School and later Granville College. She lived at the Mount Pleasant Observatory from 1886 until Captain Baker’s death, and from then on moved between Ballarat and Goldsborough.

As a child in Ballarat, Effie studied piano, and in 1892 won second and third prizes in a music competition. Later, she became interested in painting and attended the old Ballarat East Art School and then Carew-Smyth’s Art School. She also attended Beulie College. After receiving a thorough grounding in art and especially in color and composition, she became interested in the new science of photography and the traditional one of woodworking. Effie learned photography after acquiring a quarter-plate camera in Ballarat and was encouraged in her work by her aunt “Feem.” Following holidays in Perth in 1898 and around the Ballarat district in 1899, Effie made photograph albums for her parents and filled them with the photos she had taken, developed and printed. With the help of her family, most of whom could either paint, draw or play the piano, Effie received the best education possible for a Victorian country girl at the turn of the century.

Some time after completing her education, Effie moved to Black Rock, a suburb of Melbourne, to live with her aunt Ephemia, a school headmistress and one of the first women to obtain entrance to the civil service university course in Victoria. In the house at Black Rock, Effie had a room set aside to work in. It was always full of tools, materials and projects. She became interested in the photography of wildflowers, which grew profusely in the district. She hand-colored her photographs and in 1914 published a booklet, Wildflowers of Australia, which was an immediate success and went into a second edition. This was possibly the first book of its kind to be published in Australia. The booklets were printed in Melbourne by T&H Hunter, three-color printers. Series One (1914) contained seven prints, and Series Two (1917) contained six. These were subsequently printed in a combined edition in about 1922.

A newspaper article of the time said: “The colors of these are faithfully reproduced with exquisite softness through the medium of hand-colored photographs,” and suggested the booklet would make an ideal gift for Christmas.

At the time of the outbreak of the first World War, Effie began to work with wood, in preference to painting

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She hand-colored her photographs and in 1914 published a booklet, Wildflowers of Australia, which was an immediate success and went into a second edition. This was possibly the first book of its kind to be published in Australia.

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wildflower studies, of which she was tired. An arts and crafts society was holding a sale of work for the Belgian Relief Fund, and Effie contributed, in place of paintings, a set of dolls’ furniture in three-ply wood and upholstered in mauve leather. It was greatly admired and Effie was asked to make another set for the Christmas sale.

At this time she conceived the idea of toys for children which were typically Australian. Her first attempt was a small dolls’ house, constructed so that a child could build it up and take it to pieces. Another original design was an adaptation of the Biblical version of Noah’s Ark into a traditional Australian setting, substituting a bark hut for the ark and using an Aboriginal man and woman and Australian animals. Effie also created expanding toys which opened on a “lazy tong” or hatrack system, and on which were placed a procession of emus and kangaroos, a native boomerang thrower, or flocks of geese and fowls.

Although Effie had become close to Wally Watkin, the two had not married. She had waited because she felt that her grandmother and Aunt Feem needed someone to look after them. In the meantime, Wally met and married another girl. As she didn’t marry, Effie had to provide her own income, and may have done so through selling her woodwork and photography. She was also fortunate to inherit her grandparents’ house in Ballarat and her aunt’s house in Black Rock, as well as the home in Goldsborough in which her parents were living.

Effie had received a good Methodist upbringing. In the early 1920s many people were still horrified by the results of the war and were looking for solutions to the world’s problems. Effie’s two brothers, Jack and Jim, had served in the war, so Effie’s family could well have learned about it from them. Also at this time, many people were questioning the role of the established churches. It was becoming more common to retain Christian beliefs but to move away from regular church attendance.

In 1922 Effie and her friend, Ruby Beaver, began attending the lectures of Dr. Julia Seaton Seers, a Californian who had established that year in Melbourne a New Civilization Centre. Effie and Ruby first heard of the Bahá’í Faith when John Hyde Dunn spoke from Dr. Seers’ platform late in 1922. Effie noticed Hyde Dunn when he was in the audience one afternoon and turned to Ruby and commented: “Look at that white-haired gentleman sitting in the audience. What a light he’s got in his face!” (Hyde Dunn had moved to Australia from America with his wife, Clara, in 1920. He became a traveler for Nestles Milk Company, a job that allowed him to earn a living and at the same time travel to different parts of Australia informing people of Bahá’í teachings.)

Speaking at the New Civilization Centre, Hyde Dunn opened with a Bahá’í prayer, then prefaced his talk with a quotation from The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh: “O Son of Spirit, Free thyself from the worldly bond, escape from the prison of self, appreciate the value of time for it will never come again or a like opportunity” (an early translation of the passage).

Effie later recalled the occasion:

“Hearing this, I thought ‘I must listen to what this speaker has to say.’ He then gave the 12 principles given to the ‘world of mankind for this age’ by Bahá’u’lláh. The one that arrested my attention was ‘investigate truth for yourself, don’t follow the blind imitation of your forefathers.’ It suddenly dawned upon me: ‘Why! I was born and christened a Christian. My fore-

[Page 9] bears were Christians for centuries. I certainly have never investigated truth for myself.’ After the principles, Mr. Dunn gave a short account of the history of the Bahá’í Faith and immediately proved to me that the Báb, the forerunner or herald of the coming of Bahá’u’lláh, was the same as John the Baptist who proclaimed the coming of Jesus the Christ. I went immediately and declared myself as accepting the Bahá’í message.”

She surely could not have imagined how her life would change. Could anyone have imagined that within three years, she would be living in Haifa? Could anyone have imagined that, more than this, she would risk her life traveling for eight months through Persia and Iraq, taking the photos that were to be included in Shoghi Effendi’s translation of The Dawn-breakers?

Effie Baker was the second Australian to become a Bahá’í—Oswald Whittaker, the first, had met Hyde Dunn in Linsmore, NSW, not much earlier in 1922, when both men happened to be there on business.

Ruby Beaver also became a Bahá’í at about the same time as Effie—there are no exact dates, as there was not at that time any formal method of joining. By the close of 1922, there were five Bahá’ís in Australia, three of whom were new adherents and at the beginning of their understanding of the Bahá’í teachings. They were very close friends with John and Clara Dunn, and, using the analogy of the family, became the “children” of the Dunns. The new Bahá’ís were well aware of how dependent they were on their “spiritual parents” for guidance and sustenance in their new faith. The Dunns, who had already been Bahá’ís for a number of years, were equal to the task, and the community, while small, was from the beginning strong in its allegiance to the Bahá’í cause.

Effie was of slight build and had poor health. Through many years of painting, she had developed the habit of wetting the brush with her tongue, rather than in a container of water, and this eventually gave her lead poisoning, which contributed to her frail condition. By 1924 her health had deteriorated, and she was unable to work constantly. Perhaps upon medical advice, Effie decided to travel and rest, as the appropriate course of action. She sold the home at Black Rock she had inherited from Aunt Feem, and became the constant companion of the Dunns. Her eventful career as a traveler had begun.

Effie Baker, the first Australian woman to become a Bahá’í, is pictured at a Bahá’í convention in 1934. (Courtesy Bahá’í Archives of New Zealand)

In January 1924, the Dunns, Effie and another of the Melbourne Bahá’ís, Miss Hastings, visited Tasmania. By April 1924, Effie and the Dunns were in Perth, where the second local Spiritual Assembly in Australia was formed in July—the first was in Melbourne in December 1923. At this time, Martha Root, the foremost Bahá’í traveling teacher of her time, had arrived in Melbourne from China and was provided by the Perth Bahá’ís with a train ticket to Western Australia, then a five-day journey.

After a time together in Perth, the Dunns, Effie and Martha returned to

[Page 10] Adelaide. From there Effie and Martha crossed the Tasman Sea to Auckland, then back to Sydney on October 7, before moving on to public meetings, radio talks and newspaper interviews. While in Auckland, Effie learned of the intention of a group of New Zealand Bahá’ís to make the pilgrimage to Haifa in the Holy Land. Martha Root talked Effie into joining the party, with the promise of meeting them at Port Said, Egypt, after her travels through Africa.

On February 9, 1925, the steamer Largs Bay left Melbourne, and Effie and the New Zealand Bahá’ís began their journey to the East. Effie’s plan was to make the pilgrimage for about two weeks, spend three months in London, then travel to America before returning home to continue her Bahá’í work with the Dunns. This plan didn’t come about. It was 11 years before Effie returned to Australia.

Although away from Australia for an extended period, Effie was still instrumental in guiding the infant Australian Bahá’í community. She kept in close contact with the friends she had made in the years 1922-25, and her letters home are full of advice about methods of administration and teaching, as well as of insights into the Bahá’í Revelation, gained from close contact with Shoghi Effendi, various learned Persian Bahá’ís, and many other Bahá’ís who passed through Haifa on pilgrimage.

She returned to Melbourne in February 1936 and lived for different periods in Goldsborough, Melbourne and Sydney until her death on New Year’s Day 1968. She charmed audiences large and small with many stories about her travels, including that epic journey through Persia and Iraq in 1931-32.

New Zealand

The Right Honorable David Lange, prime minister of New Zealand, receives the peace statement of the Universal House of Justice from (left to right) Pat Mackay, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of New Zealand, and National Assembly members Tahana Waipouri-Voykovic and Hugh Carden. The presentation was made last November 22.

[Page 11]

‘... a dear and devoted believer ...’

The Hawaii Bahá’í community has been missing a dear and devoted believer since the passing of Georgine Arnold Moul on March 21 in Honolulu following a long illness.

Georgine attended Purdue University and graduated from the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, where she promptly became a faculty member while also working as Artist-in-Residence for the Maurice L. Rothschild apparel store in Chicago, concentrating on fashion illustration. She became a Bahá’í in 1949 while still in school and apprenticed to Mrs. Betty de Araujo (then Scheffler) after attending firesides at the home of Ruth and Ellsworth Blackwell. Her declaration began a 37-year Bahá’í life in which the Faith was always her first priority.

Wisely choosing a similarly devoted partner, Georgine married Robert “Pat” Moul in Evanston in 1952. During the first year of their marriage they responded to the Guardian’s call for pioneers to Alaska for the Ten Year Crusade, moving to a new post only after the old was secured by new believers: Anchorage in 1953, virgin goal city Ketchikan in 1954, and virgin goal city Douglas in 1957. They were joined in their pioneer efforts by their three children—Vicki, Doug and Larry, born during the 17 years in Alaska.

In 1970 they became the first pioneers to fill a foreign goal for the National Spiritual Assembly of Hawaii by relocating the entire family to American Samoa, where they ran a print shop and stationery and printing supply store with Georgine as graphic artist, Pat as manager and printer, Vicki as clerk, Doug as cameraman and Larry doing

This article about the passing of Georgine Moul is reprinted from Light of the Pacific, the Hawaii Bahá’í newsletter, No. 188 (March-April 1986).

the binding. They remained in Samoa for four years before Pat’s ill health forced them to sell the shop and move to Guam, where they remained for almost four years.

In 1978 Pat, Georgine and Larry moved to Hawaii (Vicki had married by then and has since made them grandparents of three handsome boys; Doug was also on his own) where Pat and Georgine served on the Spiritual Assembly of Honolulu until Georgine’s illness prompted their resignation in the summer of 1985.

Hawaii has benefited from their masterful teamwork in so many respects—from their painting and redecorating of several key rooms at the National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds, Georgine’s responsibilities as Honolulu archivist, potluck organizer and supplier of the Center’s cupboards, her work as assistant treasurer, employing her graphics skills in an amusing variety of skits and charts to promote the Fund, and through their work on the National Bahá’í Calendar staff, and Georgine’s many design projects for the Faith, notably Aloha Week Parade floats, National Calendar designs, book jacket designs (two solicited by the Hand of the Cause of God William Sears), television show backdrops, and various posters.

For the past five years Georgine was in charge of the National Bahá’í Library, where her business and bookkeeping ability transformed the library into a six-figure business with a multi-national clientele and the most variety and selection of any in the Bahá’í world.

Georgine was that rare combination: an artist who was also an efficient organizer. She was marvelously creative, but never overlooked a detail, never forsook a responsibility. Perhaps because she took seriously the Guardian’s instructions about setting goals and making plans (and lists!), Georgine could be counted on to remember the tasks left undone—from dripping taps to thank-you letters—often assuming these responsibilities herself. She sought guidance through prayer and research of the Writings before beginning any project, and her work reflected that inspiration and wisdom. Her children also demonstrate her commitment to Bahá’í ideals—each is a firm believer, educated as a Bahá’í from birth.

She was also a thoughtful friend, generously providing hospitality to a continual flow of international Bahá’í travelers as house guests—and remembering each Assembly member’s birthday with a home-baked cake and candles.

The body of our talented, hardworking friend was laid to rest in the Bahá’í “Garden of Light” at Hawaii Memorial Park on March 24, following a brief service of prayers and readings, and ending with the following cable from the Universal House of Justice:

“Hearts saddened passing dearly loved Georgine Moul. Her devoted services as pioneer Alaska, Samoa, Guam and her contributions to work Hawaiian Bahá’í community add lustre her long and devoted record service Faith. Offering loving prayers Holy Shrines progress her immortal soul. Kindly convey Pat Moul and other members family heartfelt condolences.”

[Page 12]

The world

India hosts ‘World Peace Conference’

A “World Peace Conference” sponsored by the National Spiritual Assembly of India was held January 19 in New Delhi.

Planned as an observance of the International Year of Peace and as a tribute to the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the conference served also as a means of introducing the Universal House of Justice’s peace statement to many of India’s eminent personages and to a large gathering of university students.

The audience of more than 550 overflowed the Vigyan Bhavan Conference Hall, a prestigious site for international gatherings.

Guest speakers were welcomed and introduced by Mrs. Zena Sorabjee, a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors for Asia.

The “Chief Guest” on the program was Dr. Nagendra Singh, president of the International Court of Justice. In his address, he expressed his deep appreciation for the Bahá’í peace initiatives, twice quoting from “The Promise of World Peace.”

He also quoted Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, a world-renowned philosopher and former president of India, who said, “The Bahá’í Movement is in keeping with the great tradition of India.”

Dr. Singh welcomed the active support the Bahá’ís lend to the United Nations and praised the Bahá’í teachings on non-violence and non-involvement in politics.

A message from UN Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar was read by Miss Jennifer Haslatt, assistant resident representative of the United Nations in India. The message said in part, “The Bahá’ís bring to the quest for world peace a tradition of charity and belief in the underlying elements of unity between all systems of faith. Your conference’s efforts, undertaken in such a spirit, can constitute a valuable contribution to the International Year of Peace.”

‘Chief Guest’ Dr. Nagendra Singh lights a ‘lamp of peace and goodwill’ to open the Bahá’í-sponsored ‘World Peace Conference’ January 19 in New Delhi, India. Looking on is Justice M.A. Beg, chairman of the Minorities Commission of India. More than 550 people attended the event.

Among the other speakers were Justice M.H. Beg, chairman of the Minorities Commission of India, who spoke of his long friendship with the Bahá’ís whom he said he admired for their creative and highly dynamic programs for social and economic development; Dr. L.M. Singhvi, senior advocate of the Supreme Court of India, who emphasized the important role of religion in promoting peace; and a Bahá’í, Dr. S.P. Raman, a developmental psychologist who discussed the Bahá’í belief that recourse to divine guidance can bring about peace and tranquillity.

During the conference, hundreds of students entered a Bahá’í-sponsored essay contest that was announced through newspaper ads in Delhi and Lucknow. Students were given materials on the Faith for their essays on “World Peace Through World Religion,” “World Peace Through World Education” and “World Peace Through World Government.” Research material included “The Promise of World Peace.”

More than 400 students submitted essays in English or Hindi; three winners were given cash prizes, awarded at the conference by Dr. Singh. Twenty others received secondary prizes.

[Page 13]

Lesotho

E.M. Pitso (left), secretary to His Majesty Moshoshoe II, King of Lesotho, is pictured as he received the peace statement from the Universai House of Justice last November from Mrs. Jane Pokane, chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of Lesotho. She was accompanied by (left to right) Kalman Basin, treasurer of the National Assembly, and Auxiliary Board member Ntsikelelo Masholoqu. The king’s secretary wrote a warm letter in response, on behalf of the king.

Guatemala

A summary of the Universal House of Justice’s peace statement appeared January 6-7 in the Guatemalan newspaper Pensa Libre.

At the bottom of the page was an invitation to attend one or all of three public meetings on peace, a coupon offering free copies of the statement, “The Promise of World Peace,” and an offer for a correspondence course on the Faith.

As of the end of February more than 100 people had requested either the peace statement, the correspondence course, or both.

* * *

The Bahá’í community of Guatemala held a recent public meeting at the Hotel Sheraton at which 50 people, most of them seekers, were present.

The topic for discussion was “The Year 2000: Nuclear Holocaust or World Peace?” Two Bahá’í speakers gave short talks and then entertained many questions and comments.

* * *

Bahá’í classes at the Bahá’í Center in Huehuetenango, Guatemala, were attracting relatively few seekers until recently, when a talk on “Equality of Rights of Men and Women” was advertised on radio. About 50 Bahá’ís and 75 seekers attended the talk, filling the Bahá’í Center to capacity.

Haiti

The technical-vocational program begun in October 1985 at the Anís Zunúzí School in Haiti has been quite successful. Many local youth are clamoring for a chance to take part in the program, which is aimed at providing technical training for youth and job opportunities in its own production workshop, and helping to set up small businesses in the area around the school.

In the first several months the program evolved naturally: a small iron and wood workshop was set up in a modest building, seven apprentices were trained using privately owned tools, and soon the workshop was producing furniture, seedling racks for the Pan American Development Foundation, a sand sifter for Habitat for Humanity, beekeeping hives and frames, and decorative and protective ironwork for windows and gates.

Costa Rica

Dr. Luis Alberto Monge Alvarez (left), then president of Costa Rica, is pictured as he received a copy of the Universal House of Justice’s peace statement last November 6 from Counsellor Rodrigo Tomas.

[Page 14]

United States

GREATLY PLEASED ANNOUNCE APPOINTMENT DR. WILMA M. BRADY AS ADMINISTRATOR-GENERAL BAHÁ’Í INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY’S OFFICES NEW YORK. SHE HAS BEEN INVITED TO BEGIN HER TENURE SERVICE AT WORLD CENTRE IN SEPTEMBER BEFORE ASSUMING HER DUTIES NEW YORK ONE MONTH LATER. PROFOUNDLY GRATEFUL BLESSED BEAUTY NEW STAGE DEVELOPMENT BAHÁ’Í INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY’S OFFICES.

UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE
MAY 26, 1986

Andaman/Nicobar Islands

The Bahá’í Women’s Committee of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands organized a Handicraft Exhibition last December in which women from all walks of life were encouraged to participate.

At the end of the three-day exhibit, prize-winning entries were chosen by women judges, and prizes were awarded at a public meeting by the chairman of the Social Welfare Board of the islands.

Gabon

Over last December’s school holiday four Bahá’í youth from Port Gentil, Gabon, undertook a teaching trip to Libreville, a 10-hour ferryboat ride from home. The youth were accompanied by Auxiliary Board member George Allen.

With the help of youth and others from the Libreville Bahá’í community, the traveling teachers presented a poster exhibit on the Faith at an open house celebration at the National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds. About 130 people attended the open house which lasted for five days.

Strong ties of friendship were formed between the youth of the two communities as they took part together in deepening classes, visits to families, and social outings. Since the teaching project ended the youth have continued to correspond with one another, strengthening the relationship between the two communities.

Traveling teachers visiting Oyem, Gabon, mounted an exhibit that was in place for three weeks, attracting 15-20 people a day. As a result, four people were enrolled in the Faith.

Central African Republic

A Bahá’í-sponsored radio program, broadcast weekly in the Central African Republic from 1980 until its suspension in March 1984, resumed in August 1985 with the permission of the Head of State. This came about as a result of a Bahá’í delegation’s visit to the President of the country in April 1985.

El Salvador

Pictured are those who attended the dedication last March of the Instituto Bahá’í Jamaliyyih in El Salvador. Standing at the left is Soheil Nourani, one of the donors of the property, who spoke to the Salvadorian Bahá’ís, explaining the history of the five and one-half acre farm on which the Instituto stands.

“We Cannot Fail Them,” a campaign dedicated to the martyrs in the Cradle of the Faith which began last May in El Salvador, reports that as of October 1985 there were some 1,200 new enrollments in the Faith in the six communities in which daily teaching activities were being held.

El Mundo, a daily afternoon newspaper in El Salvador, has published 15 pages of the book Call to the Nations by Shoghi Effendi.

The text appeared in five installments under the title “The Ordeal of Humanity.” A Bahá’í had sent a chapter of the book to the newspaper on the occasion of its anniversary.

[Page 15]

Pakistan

Shaheen Kasrapour (standing at left in right photo) explains medical pamphlets to participants in a Bahá’í Health Education Program which was organized in January at the Bahá’í Hall in Thatta, Pakistan, as a part of the National Spiritual Assembly’s ‘Faizí Project.’ The District Health Office donated posters and pamphlets, and the Bahá’ís dispensed free medical aid to about 200 patients over a five-day period. Articles about the program appeared in the local English- and Urdu-language newspapers. The left photo shows the pharmacy section of the medical camp.

Bahá’í youth in Pakistan ended a National Youth Conference on January 12 with 12 volunteers for travel teaching, a youth pioneer, and a sizable contribution to the International Fund.

Ninety-two youth from 13 communities deliberated on “Youth and World Peace,” assisted by Counsellor Sabir Afaqi.

* * *

One hundred-sixty people attended a Bahá’í Winter School last December 25-30 in Hyderabad, Pakistan. They came from 20 localities and included visitors from other countries.

Classes were held in Urdu, Sindhi and Persian to discuss the Universal House of Justice’s peace statement. The opening address was given by Counsellor Sabir Afaqi.

Canary Islands

On January 5, the first Spiritual Assembly of Guimar, Tenerife, was formed, bringing the number of Assemblies in the Canary Islands to 10 and fulfilling the Seven Year Plan goal for the Canaries.

Nicaragua

Pictured is a billboard placed by the National Spiritual Assembly of Nicaragua in the Plaza de la Revolución in Managua. It is one of two recently erected in Nicaragua’s capital city to mark the International Year of Peace. The bright, colorful design is in blue, white and yellow, and the message reads, ‘The Bahá’í Faith: One God, One Religion, One Mankind. Unity: Basis for World Peace.’

[Page 16]

Ciskei

Traveling teacher Mrs. Shomais Afnan visited Ciskei for six days last December, “bringing the Faith to the attention of more people than the National Spiritual Assembly had been able to reach in a year,” according to the National Assembly’s report of her visit.

She addressed Bahá’ís at a conference, discussing the peace statement and her travels in Africa; met with the National Spiritual Assembly and its National Teaching Committee; visited a village; and attended a Feast in Mdantsane, a large African Township.

Much of her six-day visit, however, was devoted to addressing non-Bahá’í groups including a women’s organization, a Christian group that cares for the aged and disabled, and a public gathering at a hotel which was attended by the mayor and chieftainess.

An exciting public relations breakthrough for the Ciskei Assembly was made when Mrs. Afnan was invited to visit with the Ciskei government for two days, along with four local Bahá’ís. They were given a tour of the presidential palace, the Rehabilitation Centre, the School for the Blind, a children’s home, a clinic and two hospitals.

During her visit Mrs. Afnan met with the country’s First Lady, Mrs. V.N. Sebe, an occasion that was favorably reported, with photos, in several newspapers.

Mrs. Afnan also met with the minister of Foreign Affairs and with several other officials in the government and health services.

News of her visit was broadcast by Radio Ciskei, and later, a regional radio station broadcast in four African languages a brief interview with her.

The National Spiritual Assembly of Ciskei, in expressing its gratitude for her visit, said: “The prestige of the Faith advanced by light-years. Her dignified yet warm, personal approach won the hearts of all with whom she came in contact. Hundreds of people, but especially those in high-ranking positions, not only heard about the Faith but learned about it.”

Taiwan

David Huang (left), secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of Taiwan, presents a copy of ‘The Promise of World Peace’ to Hsu Sway-teh, the mayor of Taipei. The presentation was made January 25. Later, it was learned that the mayor had once visited the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois.

Mali

A teaching conference last December 28-29 in Mali brought together 55 participants including 12 women. Visitors from Niger, Ivory Coast and Canada contributed to the spirit of joy and harmony at the conference.

France

The National Spiritual Assembly of France recently received a letter from Prime Minister Laurent Fabius expressing his appreciation for the peace statement from the Universal House of Justice.

Mr. Fabius affirmed that the ideas expressed in the statement were, for the most part, in agreement with French national policy, which gives special attention to the situation of oppressed minorities.

Also, the President of France’s Parliament wrote, “I thank you for having sent me this document which will be useful to me,” while the vice-president said he had read the statement “with great interest.” Other French government officials have made similar responses.

Austria

Ten countries including Hungary and Yugoslavia were represented among the 320 people who took part in the Austrian Bahá’í Winter School last December 25-January 1.

The focus of the session was the peace statement by the Universal House of Justice—in lectures, seminars, and a public meeting at which the mayor of Althofen spoke, inviting the Bahá’ís to return next year. The success of the school was crowned by four enrollments.

[Page 17]

Guyana

On February 25, the National Spiritual Assembly of Guyana presented a copy of the peace statement from the Universal House of Justice to President Hoyte of Guyana.

The entire membership of the National Assembly was received for 45 minutes in the Cabinet Room of the presidential offices.

During the ceremony a statement on loyalty to government, signed by all the members of the National Assembly, was read.

A distinctive gift of an armillary sphere, obtained from the Smithsonian Institution and representing the earth as one country, was given to President Hoyte.

In his response, he referred to the plight of the Bahá’ís in Iran, spoke of the assurance of religious freedom in Guyana, and of his personal conviction of the need for spiritual as well as material development for the Guyanese people.

The National Assembly suggested that the government of Guyana request that the issue of world peace be included on the agenda of the Conference of Heads of State of the Caribbean Community.

The president then joined the Bahá’ís in a prayer for the unity of the nation.

Radio publicity preceded the event, and a major press release resulted in the publication of a newspaper article with a photograph describing the historic occasion.

Namibia

One hundred-twenty students from all parts of Namibia and South West Africa gathered recently for a Bahá’í Summer School to study the peace statement from the Universal House of Justice.

Mrs. Shomais Afnan, a traveling teacher, was a source of inspiration, while a report by Mrs. Farhadi-Hakim about the suffering and sacrifices of the friends in Iran moved the Bahá’ís deeply.

The friends left the school filled with enthusiasm and with a determination to carry its spirit to their homes to help consolidate their local Spiritual Assemblies.

Hawaii

The Hand of the Cause of God William Sears (center) attended and spoke to a ‘Unity Feast by Children’ during the Hawaii Bahá’í Children’s Camp last December 27-30 on Oahu’s north shore. The camp was sponsored by the National Spiritual Assembly of Hawaii’s National Child Education Committee.

Pictured are some of the nearly 100 people who attended a Hawaii Bahá’í Winter School held last December 27-30 at the National Center in Honolulu. Speakers at the school included the Hand of the Cause of God William Sears, Jalil Mahmoudi and Duane Troxel.

Germany

The year-end Bahá’í Winter School at Lindlar, Germany, was attended by 140 students, most of whom were youth.

The curriculum was centered around the Universal House of Justice’s statement, “The Promise of World Peace.”

There was one enrollment among the seekers present, and to add to the spirit of the session, a Bahá’í family decided to pioneer to Nicaragua, thereby filling a goal of the Seven Year Plan.

[Page 18]

from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust

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Peace MORE THAN AN END TO WAR The Bahá’í approach to the organic process leading to an enduring peace

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