The Sounds of Relative Silence

Well, the heat is off with a fragile truce declared and still holding! Now, a different kind of heat is upon us: “wet” heat – Haifa at its hottest and most humid! What a marvelous thing air-conditioning is, and it is great to spend most of the day at work where it is nice and cool; the flat is very hot when we get back in the evenings, but by then the worst is over and it cools down fairly quickly. May be 2 or 3 more weeks of sauna conditions before we can think of autumn!

We are both really well, busy at work (the day just flies by) and then there are other happenings in the evenings: Allan is kept busy with deepenings on the Right of God (small groups of 8-12) held in participants’ flats somewhere fairly central.














I have sessions with kids who attend Arabic schools (their parents don’t speak Arabic) and we read and study Arabic prayers and Writings; discuss the issues that they raise and have stories about some eminent believers – all in Arabic! These four kids range in age from 8 – 15 and belong to 2 families that live very near to each other; I often go home with one of the mum’s and share a meal with them before the “lesson”, and then Allan picks me up after he finishes his deepening session (perfect!). Another 2 girls join me for lunch, on Wednesdays, at the Dining Room and we do a similar thing – they are really lovely kids who have had a miserable summer holiday this year because of the conflict and they’ll start school on September 4th.

Everyone working here at the Baha'i World Centre are volunteers, and the length of service varies from 12 months to many years. Two youth who recently left haifa used to bring a lot of joy to morning tea and here they are with Allan. One returned to South Africa, the other to Australia.














On a more international level, we have just had the International Board of Trustees of Huqúqu’lláh meeting here for a few days (the 3 members live in different parts of the world!); they have just finished their discussions this morning and are returning home. It was a joy and a privilege to have such delightful and devoted souls for dinner at our home on Saturday night in an informal Aussie-style! This photo includes the Chief Financial Officer, Doug Henck.














Before the International Board came to town Allan and the office staff went to the Shrine of the Bab to pray for a fruitful meeting and took this photo. In this photo the young woman on the left is moving to another section and the young lady second from the right is serving in her place - Claire (from the USA of Korean/Chinese parents) started her first day of orientation in the bomb shelter on the first day of the conflict: she is still smiling!



This afternoon, Allan and I accompanied Dr. Ramin Khadem (who is staying one day longer than the other 2 members) to Bahji. What a blessing to be able to visit the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh after nearly 5 months absence!

The olive trees are heavy with ripening olives and the air was sweet with the smell of cut grass and hedges; it was great to see the gardeners busy at their tasks once again after a few weeks of inactivity due to the war.
















This is the summer period when pilgrimage is usually suspended for “deep cleaning” and maintenance work. Today, we found the volunteer Carpet Expert from Canada, Mr. Khurrami (here for a month or so for the very delicate and specialized task of washing the carpets of the Holy places) with his 2 assistants at Bahji on their lunch break and they very kindly posed for us!














Muna's niece Sahba (from Sydney) has just arrived arrived for a 3-day visit (her first time in the Holy Land!) and we are planning to show her around Haifa, ‘Akka and surrounds (God willing!). More on her visit next time.

So, more about those exploits at a later date; Oh! by the way, to quote our dear Grant Hindin Miller: “there is still honey in the gardens on Carmel……and the air is full of song; yes, the air is full of song, I can tell you….I can tell you”.














Our hearts overflow with thankfulness to a merciful Providence for keeping these precious places safe from harm. Bye for now! Muna and Allan

Dodging rockets and seeing beauty everywhere

Muna: This morning, as I turned on the computer at work (which is how my work day begins, and all of you who know me may find this hard to believe!) I found these words of Bahá’u’lláh in the daily readings to which I subscribe. They seemed so apt given the state of the world today, so I share them with you:

"True learning is that which is conducive to the well-being of the world, not to pride and self-conceit, or to tyranny, violence and pillage."



We have had a fairly "quiet" weekend, siren-wise, though socially busy and "noisy" with the chatter and laughter of dinner and lunch with lovely friends. Since we (the staff at the Bahá’í World Centre) have been unable to walk by the beach or dawdle round the bustling Ben-Gurion Avenue and Markaz Carmel cafes or savour the delights of Wadi Nissnass (our Arab bakeries, butcher, grocers and fresh fruit/vege stalls) due to the current conflict, we have made up for it by hanging round in each other's flats and "visiting"!

We (the Waters) have had friends over for lunch every Saturday since start of conflict and likely to continue; it has been a great incentive for clearing the back room - our "safe or protective area" - and which still had a lot of unpacked boxes and 2 unmade beds (even after 4 months of the arrival of our shipment - disgraceful!!!).



So, now it is set up with a small table adorned with one of Mum's beautifully embroidered table-cloths, a number of chairs "artistically" arranged and 2 beds with cushions and a FAN! We can proudly herd our guests into the back room whenever the siren sounds - as it did yesterday and the Saturday before! With this safe area ready for habitation, we have embarked on weekly modest entertaining; Allan whips round our flat and gives it a good clean in about an hour on Friday afternoon, and I indulge in cooking (bliss!) and then on Saturday we share the results with wonderful friends who we find have amazing backgrounds and life-stories; so a lot of eating, laughter, good fellowship as well as learning and gaining insights!

We were invited to a young (recently married) couple's flat for dinner on Friday night; "Bahareh" serves in Allan's office, and the occasion was to welcome @Claire" (Korean / Chinese young lass recently arrived from the USA) who has just started serving in the same office. Their flat has terrific views of a great wooded wadi (gully) and also the Mediterranean; we heard a symphony of jackal calls (we do have some wild life in Haifa!) - a most unusual sound and were treated to a most magnificent sunset over the Mediterranean (where is the camera when you need it?!!).

After the delicious, yet simple meal, the siren sounded, so we moved to their "safe area" and we studied one of the Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh (often referred to as the Fire Tablet) sitting around their small dining table…and 90 magical minutes slipped by as we became engrossed in a feast of soul-stirring, poignantly beautiful imagery and language laden with meaning and significance, and a veritable "fire" of love was lit in our hearts.

Allan: You may think we are having a great time here, Katyushas (literally little Katie in Russian) notwithstanding.......and you would be quite right! Actually there has been a sense of “normality” this last week as the gardeners have returned to the gardens after about 2 weeks of having to be indoors. Who would have thought that the sound of lawn mowers and shears would be such a welcome sound – not noise, but they certainly cut through the eerie quietness of waiting for that next siren. And the sounds of booms in the distance, over the border, continue night and day.

Another aspect of life at the Bahá’í World Centre is the diversity and quality of service here. From the “jannies” who clean and clean to a standard not seen before, to the gardeners who weed, and mow, and plant, and create such beauty – these young people on their youth year of service, usually just out of school, do an amazing job.

So we thought that we would share with you each update some aspects of the life of the staff here. But to begin, we are sharing the work of a very special group, seen in this photo with us. They are painters, who come every year for 2 to 3 months and paint and paint. This year it is the windows of the seat of the House of Justice building. Other times it is the shrines or the many other holy places here in Haifa. This year, six painters from Australia and New Zealand are here and this is a photo of 4 of them with Muna and Allan during a coffee break. Such wonderfully dedicated professionals.





So between dodging rockets and eating well, we have been having a very special time here in Haifa these past few weeks and we would not want to be anywhere else. The days go by so quickly and we only hope that the outcome of our service here is truly beneficial for all mankind. Till next week………………….



Photos from top to bottom (all taken in last week): small garden outside level 5 of the International Teachine Centre building; frangipani outside the entrance of the Seat of the Universal House of Justice where we work; a view of the beautiful path leading to the front of the Seat; frangipanis and marigolds on the side of the International Teaching Centre building; marigolds in one of the gardens on the upper terraces; volunteer painters from down under.