Day 4: The Friends

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Even more than the visit to the Shrine of Baha'u'llah and the amazing encounter with Mr. Firdawsi, the thing we took away from Day 4 was a huge sense of love and appreciation for our fellow pilgrims.

There are 270 of us here for this pilgrimage. (Pilgrimage happens twice a month from October through July, and about 4000 people make a 9-day pilgrimage each year.) We're divided into at least 8 groups, Group A through Group H or so. We're in Group B. We've met some amazing people in the past few days, including...



The lovely couple from India and their enchanting 18-year-old daughter. We are quite taken with them, and they seem to be taken with us, as well. They've invited us to visit the Lotus Temple in India, and we are darned tempted to take them up on it! Today the daughter looked at Mary Lou with her meltingly beautiful brown eyes and said, "Your eyes are so beautiful! We don't often see eyes like that in India!"

The mother and daughter from New Zealand. Outspoken, uninhibited, completely charming.

The "Dutch Kiwis" -- a couple a little bit older than we are who moved from Holland to New Zealand in the 70s because they "just wanted to do something different." They're glad they did, because they found the Baha'i Faith in New Zealand.

The "Aussie Persians" -- Mom, Dad, 7-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter. They look like they just stepped off the plane from Tehran, but they all have Australian accents you can cut with a knife!

The Bulgarian student living in Chicago. He explained that the cabs in Haifa are made in the Czech Republic and are inexpensive because Czech labor is cheap. Who knew?

The extended family from Great Britain, including Mom, Dad, 4 beautiful daughters, 1 handsome son, 1 beautiful daughter-in-law and 1 handsome son-in-law. And, oh yeah, the month-old grandson who spends every moment sleeping in the arms of an adoring family member.

The Canadian family -- Mom, Dad, college-age daughter and 19-year-old son who looks just like Doogie Howser, M.D. Last night at the program at the International Teaching Center, Mary Lou heard Mom urgently whisper to Doogie, "Swallow your gum!" Mary Lou couldn't resist butting in, and quipped "or you could stick it on the bottom of your seat." They all burst into laughter, and Doogie said wryly, "Yeah, my dad already suggested that!"

The African American family comprising Mom, grown daughter, and 5-year-old granddaughter. The little girl has participated in all the activities, and has been amazingly well-behaved and patient.

The nose-ringed young actress from Belfast.

The young woman from Ireland who gave us an amazing gift this afternoon: As we sat in the bedroom of the Greatest Holy Leaf, she sang a song about her that had been written for a European conference several years ago, in a clear, sweet a cappella voice. Lovely.

The young American man who is a dead ringer for Dilbert, right down to the wardrobe. We overheard him speaking passionately about how "the Baha'i Faith is the only hope for humanity!" and lamenting the fact that his teaching efforts had resulted in "only" three declarations in the past year. Gotta love it.

And finally, the Persian Canadian family that shared its baklava with everybody at lunch today.

Gary remarked at lunch today that it's really thrilling to see how the Baha'i Faith really does encompass the entire human family. We are very lucky to be part of it.