Day 9: Pilgrim Farewell

Last night, Tuesday May 30, we all gathered at the old Pilgrim House next to the Shrine of the Bab for a last trip to the Shrine and the official farewell to our pilgrimage. The atmosphere was like the last day of school, or the last day of summer camp: It was as though we all had just realized we were going to be parted, so we all ran around taking photos and exchanging email addresses and hugs. (You can see some of our photos here -- this set works well when viewed as a slide show.)

At 8:30 p.m., we were led to the Shrine by several members of the House and the Continental Counselors. The night was warm, the star jasmine perfumed the air, and the only sound was the now-familiar crunch of footsteps on the gravel paths. We entered the Shrine of the Bab and the Tablet of Visitation was read; first in Arabic, then in English. It was as moving as you can possibly imagine -- pilgrims of all ages and nationalities joining together in prayer.

After we had all had a chance to say our final prayers in the Shrine, we milled around outside, taking more photos and trying to prolong the experience as long as possible. Dear Dr. Javaheri of the Universal House of Justice was there, and we were able to express our thanks for the House of Justice's hospitality towards the pilgrims, and get warm hugs and "God bless yous!" from him in return. He is just the sweetest, dearest man you can possibly imagine. Here he is with some of the pilgrims. (He's the dapper man in the suit with the beaming smile.)



Eventually, it was time for us to reluctantly depart. Neither of us can believe our pilgrimage has ended so soon. We were told when we got here that we would wonder where the time went when it was over, and that turned out to be very true. And we have figured out why the beloved House of Justice asks the pilgrims to leave the Haifa area by sunset on the day following the Pilgrim Farewell event -- if they didn't kick us out of town, nobody would ever leave!