New year party with Kevin Habibi

Let me introduce you to another good friend of mine who has left the Bahai World Centre already, Kevin Habibi. He is next to Amir on this picture. On 31 December Russian-speaking friends and their friends and family got together for a little celebration giving respect to the old Soviet tradition. In Soviet times, we didn't believe in religion, therefore, we didn't have Christmas or Kurban-Ait, or any other religious celebrations. But we had our own Soviet holidays, one of the biggest ones was a New Year's eve. People are still so much into it, that even after becoming Bahais some of us cannot not to do anything on that night. I guess old traditions have long and tough roots, and it'll take a while for us to get unused to them:) Well, everything takes time:) Anyway, there was a lot of Russian food, jokes and TV New Year's programms. Kevin Habibi has special regards with Russian-speaking friends, kind of a closeness or connection. He would understand and laugh at all the jokes which is a rare case with people from another culture, usually Russian jokes are hard to translate so they are as funny as they are in Russian:0) And it is not just about jokes, he is very Russian in a way that I cannot describe, or, I should say, very open and friendly and patient with us. He felt easy in our company, so did we. And he is in general the kind of a person that treats everyone equaly, without any favorism or preferences. I must say that he is one of the few i have met so far who has this amazing quality.

Dinner out with Baboosh!

Sahba calls me "baboosh" which is a made up word from "babooshka" meaning "grandmother" in Russian. We call each other like this ever since I don't know when... Even in my list of people I want to invite to my wedding she is "Baboosh", not Sahba :) We have fun together and that particular night we went out with Amir and Amelia. After having eaten a nice Asian dinner in a smoky "Giraffe", and talked about Australian sheep, Filipino woods, kangaroo and horse meet, Baboosh decided she wants to have some ice cream. It was freezing cold, raining with thunder storm. She was so funny, eating her ice cream, shaking freezing, but enjoying herself a lot. Here is the picture that Amir took of three of us, you can see Baboosh on the left, happy as never! So cuuuute! Baboosh! (and happy coming up birthday too!)

Walking Together on a Path of Service

Last week we have completed Ruhi 7. It was my first tutoring experience in English. I got very lucky to be encouraged by the members of our study group and it was indeed a wonderful learning experience for all of us. Amir was a great support to me by always being there. It makes such a difference when someone who is close and dear to you is there for you when you start on something new and exciting:):) Thank you, Amir! The group itself was very patient and loving, very disciplined and very creative:) I realized how much I miss toturing, because back home ruhi study groups are a vital part of the community life. I am sure now, after the House of Justice released last three messages, study circles will become even more in number, and I am excited going home and help in any way I can. Our last session was in Bahji. The night before I went to new Akka and stayed with one of the most beautiful souls serving here, Tahirih.
I love sleeping in Akka, it is always so peaceful and tranquil there. Being there for me is like taking a bit of a fresh air after busy Haifa life. We said some prayers together and I slept like a baby:) Next morning, I went to help Amir to cook as he volunteered to prepare lunch for the group. By the way - he is an amazingly talented cook, very creative in his approach, and very open to learning:) When I reached his house, he was already in the middle of cooking, the table was full of chopped and not yet chopped veggies and other ingredients. He woke up around 5 am to start! I helped him a bit and took his pictures while cooking.

















On one of them you can see he is very shy covering his face, and on another one he is openly looking at the camera after I asked him "Pleeeeeaaaaase!" so cute! After we were done with cooking, we took a cab and went to Bahji. Our class mates were already there and we started right on time:) No need to mention how special it is to be able to study in Bahji, in the precincts of the Holy Shrine of Bahaullah! It was wonderful! We had an honor to have two family visitors (one from the United States and one from the United Kingdom) at our class and they participated sharing with us their experiences and their insights. At the end the group presented me some flowers absolutely unexpectedly for me! I was so shocked and at the same time so grateful to all of them for such an ecouragement. We took our group picture and moved to the lunch room which was full of pilgrims, staff and visitors where we had our lunch, it was great to spend time together! After lunch we went to the Shrine to pray. I miss serving as a tutor already and look forward to starting a new study circle in February:)