L2O2

Wow, I can’t believe how the time is evaporating, but I’ve been living very much in the moment, so life is very good.

I said to Lawrie on our walk home this evening that I keep forgetting we are half way around the world in Haifa, Israel. That means I’m feeling very comfortable here and nothing is terribly strange. Maybe we will look at applying for service here again? Or maybe a pioneer post? Or maybe we will just stay home and finish the Ruhi books for now?

Haifa and Akka aren’t particularly clean, in fact if I was being as honest as I should, I would say there is a very lot of garbage everywhere except on Baha’i property. I think it might be a case of many people caring very much that we attempt to be the best stewards we can be of everything we have a hand in. This is what it seems to me at this point. Whereas the population that isn’t firmly gathered around a cause is also not taking responsibility for anything that isn’t his, maybe not even his own property. Of course this is a huge generalization and I should know better!

We’ve met 8 of 9 International House of Justice members, spent hours in Bahá’u’lláh’s shrine, listened to our guide Marsha (who has the most charming methods of directing the Pilgrims in what to do and not do) tell us fascinating historical things to do with the three central figures of the faith, attended several evening talks, walked many miles and made so many friends. All this in four days. God is good … all the time. Tomorrow we are off to visit the Archives. Then the rest of the day is ours to organize, as is Saturday. I know we won’t have trouble filling the time, but I expect there will be some push and pull as to which of the many places we want to go to spend time at. The memorial garden, the temple lands and another visit to the Shrine of the Bab will probably win out for tomorrow. Then likely we are back to Akka on Saturday with a sherut full of friends. I’ll report back in a day or two. As well, I’ll add some photos … too late tonight I’m sorry to say. And if you have questions about any of this … well there are many answers here.