Test and Difficulties is...

A Blessing

My past four and a half year at the World Center is quite difficult, and encouraging.
Difficult in a way that people of the world with different races came and unite in one place; in one purpose, which is to serve the Cause of God and to develop our own spiritual growth. On the other hand it is very encouraging because the more difficult to learn people’s background and to deal with them; the more you encourage yourself to do our best to build up fellowship and love with one another. Difficulties, trials, and challenges are considered as blessings because those are gift bestowed by God to make us stronger, firm, and steadfast to the faith in returns.

"Naturally there will be periods of distress and difficulty, and even severe test.; but if that person turns firmly towards the Divine Manifestation, studies carefully His Spiritual teachings and receives the blessings of the Holy Spirit, he will find that in reality these tests and difficulties have been the gifts of God to enable him to grow and develop."
(Compilations, Lights of Guidance, p. 70)

RIDVAN DAY(21-03-07)

THE KING OF ALL FESTIVALS

First, the Festival of Ridvan, whichcommemorates Bahá'u'lláh's Declaration of His PropheticMission in the Garden of Ridvan in Baghdad during twelvedays in April/May 1863 and is referred to by Him as "the 225 King of Festivals" and, second, the Báb's Declaration, whichoccurred in May 1844 in Shiraz. The first, ninth and twelfthdays of the Festival of Ridvan are Holy Days (Q and A 1), as isthe day of the Declaration of the Báb.
(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 224)

Say Goodbye

A Farewell
Some people say, it’s difficult to say goodbye, and some people are happy that this sacred experience has ended; to be able to teach and share the experience they adsorbed from pilgrimage, spread the sweet savors of the words of God.

Breaking the Fast 2gether

ALWAYS AND 4EVER- This is one of the special moments that I won’t ever forget being here at World Center and being in this flat for few years. And one of them is observing the fast together with my flat mates, cooking every day, eating, and praying together.

Every year of fasting, most of the time I’m the one who prepared breakfast for all of us, and I love doing it. Then, I woke up my flat mates to be together. Above photo was taken this morning with Luis after we break the fast and pray. We usually eat fresh cooked food, but today I ate piece of bread with choco spread, perssimon, mango juice and water. Luis ate cereal with milk, orange juice and water because we run out of gas. While my other flat mate was still on bed, he just drink a lot of water and it make him feel better all day long. And most specially,this is the time to get more closer to them.

THE PASSAGES

Baha'u'llah revealed these passages for
the world of being.

THE ESSENCE OF LIGHT

The Essence light
Light is like the teaching of the Blessed Beauty, it illuminate the heart, spirit and soul of humankind. And when the light of God shine with the utmost splendor, the darkness turneth into light; ignorance into knowledge; hatred into love; and sorrow into happiness.


The light bulbs that I took at the House of Abdullah-Pasha catches my attention, and it came to my mind that even how small the light is, still has the power to lightened the surrounding in able to see and appreciate what is in there, and even how small it is when you place it in one big dark room, it is and it will ever be a center of attraction...that is the essence of my thought.

MOVING FOR THE NEXT DAY

It’s a long and tiring day, today is my 7th day of pilgrimage, and we went to the Ridvan garden and House of Abdullah Pasha .

AKKA WALK

Inside the Mosque


Mosque of al-Jazzar

Khan-i-'Avamid

Today, I went to the Prison City of Akká and it was a busy day for me. I’ve been here to the Holy land for almost five year and it’s my first time to walk by myself around the city. And it was a noisy day in a rejoicing way may be, because people are jumping from the wall to the water, playing a lively Arabic music, they are walking around with their family and friends, boat riding and other activities. I’ve been walking and walking for one and half hour until I found something new to my eyes, something that amazed me that after quite long years I’ve been to a place that I never ever been before like going inside the Mosque of al-Jazzar where Abdul-Bahá used to visit and one of the room at the edge of the court of the Mosque was occupied by the Master.

Pilgrimage

My First Pilgrimage

This event for being a Bahá’í is one of the precious gifts that bound to us by the Blessed Beauty. Pilgrimage is a sign of devotion and love for God, this is the journey of the soul that connect to our creator and the main purpose of this sacred experience is pray and meditate at the Holy Shrines of the Central figure of the faith, Baha’u’llah, the Báb and Abdu’l-Bahá and to visits the Baha’i Holy Places and some related to the history of the faith.

I’ve been here in the Most Sacred spot of earth, Israel for 4 years and eight months serving at the Baha’I World Center as a gardener in Mt. Carmel. I arrived on 07 July 2002, two days later I applied for pilgrimage during my orientation program, that’s the first thing I did on computer. And here it is, its time to experience this blessing to be on Pilgrimage. The Supreme Body of the Faith, The Universal House of Justice invited me on 12 of February 2007 to join the other pilgrims around the world for 9 days from 05-13 of March 2007.

UNORGANIZED PICTURES

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nolyparocha/