Homefront Pioneers

Day 47 – Home Front Pioneers, Central Alberta, Canada Laddi and Paul of Springbrook, AB           Alberta Rose We drove from our housesit location near Rimbey, Alberta, to visit Laddi and Paul in Springbrook, Alberta. This lovely couple was our first get-together with believers during our week-long travel excursion throughout the Central Alberta Cluster. We’d called nearly all the voting members and were able to connect with some who were ready, willing and able to have a home visit. Laddi and Paul welcomed us into their home and lavished us with juice and pie. Frank and I spent a wonderful time listening to their stories of declaring their belief in Baha’u’llah as the current Messenger of God and the life they’ve spent, so far, exploring and teaching the Faith. Our elevated spiritual conversation included the explanation of a home visit as described by the Universal House of Justice as an opportunity to enter into a deep conversation on spiritual matters, and

Day 34 – Home Front Pioneers, Central Alberta, Canada Bringing Up the Topic of God         Enjoy your gifts from God We spent another hour with our friend who is living in the extended care wing of the Lacombe hospital. We are familiar now with some of the others being cared for there and we’ve shared upbeat open-ended conversations with several of them. One example began with a chat with one of the aids who was putting her patient’s hair into a ponytail. The three of us talked about long hair versus short hair and it drew a gathering of more women. I found myself thinking of Baha’u’llah’s words “…complete victory should be achieved through speech and utterance.”  I said, "God’s provided you with a beautiful head of hair." She responded in agreement and described how she inherited it from her father. We spent the next fifteen minutes talking about gifts from God. Our conversation was interrupted by the chime of the lunch bell.  If he teaches because o

Day 27 – Home Front Pioneers, Central Alberta, Canada Expanding the Feast of Light/Nur  Feast of Nur Today, May 3 rd , we received a lovely email from one of the friends in the Ponoka group. She advised Frank and me that she’ll be holding the Feast of Light/Nur at her home. We conducted a Fireside with our friend at the extended care hospital in Lacombe. The topic was How To Lift Your Spirit. Our guest spoke about his limited affiliation with his church these days and he was receptive to the discussion. We are blessed to be included in the email messages fanned out from Red Deer Local Spiritual Assembly . The letters from the Universal House of Justice, the Canadian National Spiritual Assembly and other sources are used as valuable resources. Whatsoever gathering is arranged with the utmost love, and where those who attend are turning their faces toward the Kingdom of God, and where the discourse is of the Teachings of God, and the effect of which is to c

Day 22 – Home Front Pioneers, Central Alberta, Canada We’re Listening Pearls of Wisdom Over the years we’ve learned that everyone has a story to tell and one of most respectful gestures we can provide is to listen. Today, on our walk around this community, we met several people at the row of mailboxes. All of the folks in this area pick up their mail here and we make a serious effort to meet as many neighbours as we can, including the Canada Post delivery lady. We’ve had some delightful conversations including how far some travel to attend church and how some unique religions, like the Two By Twos, are familiar in this area. We listen to their comments and learn a great deal about their tolerance of others and appreciation of their faith. On occasion, we get to express that as Baha’is we are expected to acquire more knowledge about our Faith by searching truth for ourselves. We try to provide gems one drop at a time. “Religion is the outer expression of the div