National Teaching Committee Bulletins/1920/October 15/Text

National Teaching Committee Bulletins
October 15, 1920

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Copy of 2 letter from Mr. Chas, iason Remey dated October 15, 1920, ceiving a report of service in the Netherlends.

| iar deer Sister:

In the numbers of the Bulletin of Tenching, which have reached me -! in addition to the news from the asserblies in America -- I find severel notes | of interest, ond information good to knovr, of the Bahai trork being done in vrrious other countries of the occident; therefore it occurs to me to “rite this letter telling you something of the beginning of Bahai activities in the Netherlands, ‘ You trill recsll the nome of Daniel Jenkyn, of St. Ives, inglend, ‘ho ? deperted this life almost six yesrs ego. It wes he who first took the Bahai a wosseace to the Netherlands. Having a fev days of annual vocation, dring fe which he trished to devote himself to the service of the Cruse, or, Jenkvn took passage for the lov, countries. His first stop wns in Rotterdam, where he met sever7l people irith «hom he vas cable to sveak of the Brhai Revelation, Then he proceeded on to The “ague, and Amsterdem in Hollend. I do not know 4 vhet connections he made ot The Hague, but in Amsterdam he mede the acgurintence of some Theosophists, who were cttracted to the Couse, His vrinciple vork though, seems to heve been done in the little torn of Blericum, in North iolland, where he made the accucintence of en ispernntist, Mr. i. George Enzlin, tho, with his «-ife, embraced the Cause ond spoke of the Keveintion ith © number of others,

Prior to going to Holland, with George Letimer, in the summer of 1914, through Daniel Jenkyn, I received the names cond cddresses, of some Lutch people, sttracted to the Cause, and with several of these I wns in correspondence, One gentleman-in varticulcr, wr. J. H. van Ginkel, “cs interested to the voint of “ishing to serve in some ‘ny; cond -t his kind invitetion George Latimer end I spent « treek end ct his summer home near Blaricum, in North Follend. Through his efforts ve met several veople with «hom he hed elrecdy spoken of the Bahai movement,

During these est six years I hove kept in touch with br. ven Ginkel, ond on landing in Rotterdam early in July, on my wey here, I vent to Amsterdam, where he ‘vas then living, in order to continue our association, -r,. ven Ginkel is a vell known Theosophist, his home in Amsterdam being a Theosophicel Center «here he hes 2n office .nd rooms for the sale of books, éAssocicted with him in this vork is iliss B. Kor@ijk, hom ‘ro .lso had the plocsure of mectineg in Blericum in 1914, I wos giad to find on their sales shelves severel pieccs of Bchoai litorcturc, one of “rhich was - history of our Cause, “nd on outline of its principles -- "The Bcehai sovoment" -- rhich iss Kerdijkhed trenslcted, from Lnglish into Dutch, ond which sr, ven Cinkel

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BP300.2 oublished. I found this loedy much cttroctod, end. 'c hed severcl vory spiri U54 | turl conversctions regcrding the Strtion of ibdul Baoh-, and His mission s . 1262 the Contr-1 Point of spiritucl force cnd poor in the present day ond nce. . 1920 Oct5 |

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[Page 2]Through the kindness of wiiss herdijk it ‘as arranged for me to go to Apeldoorn, in the “astern part of Holland, to see her brother, who, thr ough her, had become attracted to, and vished to know more about Abdul Baha, I spent a week end in the home of wir. Kerdijk, both he and his wife making my stay pleasant in every way. He is an architect, and was much interested in the Mashrekol-Azkar, as well as deeply attracted to Abdul Baha, In fact to him the Center of the Covenant was The Cause; so I have great hopes of this spiritual visit, for rarely do I meet such an one, as he, who goes so straight to the central point of the Revelation.

Through ir. Van Ginkel I heard that Abdul Baha hed sent two Persian Bahais on a mission to the Hague, so on leaving Apeldoorn I «vent to the Hague to seek these tivo friends from the Crient. They proved to be Jenab ibn Estague, one of the old and well knowm Bahais of Persia, in «wshose home, in Teheran, i had visited twelve years ago, and ilirza Yazdani, a younger Bahai, also from Teheran. The tivo servants of the Cause had been sent to the Hague on a special mission by Abdul Baha, as porters of a tablet, containing The Message of Baha‘o'llah, to the members of the Hague Peace conference. You probably have this tablet, in English, nov in America.

I passed a very spiritual day -rith these friends. They were very busy meeting and talking vrith people, and hed succeeded in attracting a number of souls in addition to presenting their written Tablet. Mirza Yazdani scoke French and Esperanto, end his knowledge of the latter language gave him entre into various Esperanto societies where he -ras able to give The Message. When I sav him, he had just returned from addressing a large gathering in Haarlem, where he had an enthusiastic ‘relcome.

As I was leaving Amsterdam for Germany the follovring morning, my stay “ith the Fersian friends at the Hague ivras a short one, but sufficiently long to form an idea of the importance of holding a Bahai center there. The people in the various cities in the Netherlands seem to be ready for the messege. ir. Van Ginkel urges that Bahai teachers come to Holland. He says that in Amsterdam, in the winter season, when the people come into town from the country, meetings can be arranged and large audiences assembled. Theosophy has vaved the way for the Beheai Cause in many parts of the world, and I have no doubt, that the Theosophists in other Dutch cities will welcome the

Cause as cordially as have wr, Yan Ginkel and iiss Kerdijk in Amsterdam,

iit. Van Ginkel also suggested the Hague as a Center ready for our activities. Amsterdam and Rotterdam are commercial centers, while the Hague is the seat of Covernment, and the residential city, where people have time for, and inclination tovards, matters of world interest, The winter season vould also be the time to teach at the Hague, | able for a Bahai, working in the Netherlends, to speak the Dutch language, this does not seem to be an absolute requirement, for there the veople of culture speak English or French. I give you all the information -rhich I have in the hope that it will be of service when some Bahai may vrite to the Teeching Committee to ascertain the vrospects for -rork and service in the Jether lands.

Alvvavs ‘rour s in Ll Abhea (Signed) MASON

P.S. Wiss Kerdijks' ecdress is: 19 Leidsche Gracht, Airsterdam, Holland.