Mother Temple of South America - Setbacks and Progress

I just ran across this letter from the National Spiritual Assembly of Chile, which has been available for some time, but thought it might be nice to spread the word on what's happening with the first South American Bahá'í House of Worship. As always, errors in translation are entirely my own.

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To the National Spiritual Assemblies of the South American continent:

Dear friends,

Two years have passed sine the last time that we informed you about our mother Temple, when we shared with you and your communities a bulletin regarding the progress of this majestic project, with some materials provided for your internal publications. Since then, the project has passed through a continuous advance on diverse fronts, however its course and coordination have made it difficult to keep our South American brothers and sisters properly informed on its progress. With this in mind, the National Spiritual Assembly would like to share some of the most recent occurrences with regard to this work.

1. The project of the Bahá'í Temple for South America received an award mention from "Progressive Architecture," considered one of the most prominent distinctions in the world of architecture. Beyond being a cause for happiness among the professional involved and for the Bahá'í world in general, the recognition raised the prestige of the project.

2. The technical challenge presented in resolving the complex project and the intricate calculations involved has already been completed. In parallel, materials tests necessary to study their resistance and to assure that they will satisfactorily serve the needs of safety and durability have been completed. Along with this, all parts and pieces necessary to raise the structure have been defined and their fabrication has begun in Canada. We have had to work closely with the factories to assure that, given the enormous complexity of the entire structure, the fabrication costs will be kept low and the desired result be achieved.

3. In other details, evolution and adjustments have been made to the original project. For example, the main entrance of the House of Worship, which allows one to enter the building turned toward the Qiblih, will be larger and molded in a structure of antique bronze. Wide doors and windows will be added both to the base of the Temple as well as the mezzanine level, which can be opened to permit a greater connection with the surrounding landscape.

With regard to the location of the future Temple, this subject represented on of the most challenging and unpredictable aspects of the project. Approximately two years ago, after having been invited by authorities to consider a space within the Metropolitan Park in our capital in which to construct the Temple, such a possibility brought great attention to the project and to our community, but for various reasons this option could not be realized. The subsequent purchase of a property to the north of the city - in April of 2005 - brought forth the announcement of a ceremony to lay the foundation stone, an event which was suspended for technical reason related to construction at that location. This was followed by extensive work to obtain permission and the necessary rights for a work of this magnitude, a process which has still not been finalized. While continuing our efforts to prepare this location for construction, changes have occurred in the scale of costs for construction on this property, which have brought us to consider other alternatives. Currently, a new options is being made available that may be of great interest for the objectives of this project. This option is located with the city limits of Santiago and offers a magnificent view of the city, giving to the project and to our community an elevated status.

We trust in the divine wisdom that has traced the path followed by this projected, blessed by the continuous guidance of our beloved Universal House of Justice, and we prepare ourselves for the opportunities that are continually being offered. Your fervent prayers and those of your communities will be greatly appreciated, not only for architect Siamak Hariri and his group of collaborators, but also that we might be inspired and strengthened by the abundant grace of Our Beloved, that we might express, in the name of our continental community, the capacity and consecration that this sacred enterprise requires of us.

With warm greetings,

National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Chile

Farbod Youssefi
Secretary

The Wisdom of a Child

Sometimes we forget just how clever our young children can be. A sampling of some recent conversations:

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When playing at a friend's house, we had great difficulty in convincing Jasmin that it was getting late and time to go home. To any suggestion, she responded (in no uncertain terms) that she was going to stay there with her friend and did not want to go home. So Emilia and I consulted and thought, well, she's getting tired. If we wait just a few more minutes she will be ready to leave. Sure enough, about 10 minutes later, Jasmin came to us and said, "it's time to go home."

I responded immediately, "great! Let's put on your shoes."

To which Jasmin answered, "no, Dad. It's time for you to go home. I'm going to sleep here."

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Another day, we were looking at various pictures of friends and family. To each one, Jasmin would talk about the color of the clothes they were wearing, their hair, etc. When we showed her a picture of Uncle Jeremy, she said, "he's bald."

We explained to her that, no, Uncle Jeremy wasn't actually bald. He just liked to shave his head. The expression on her face indicated she was thinking carefully about this new information. Tentatively, she asked, "so... Uncle Jeremy likes to be bald?"

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After showing Jasmin some pictures of Emilia when she was pregnant, we had to explain to her (in the simplest possible terms) that she had been inside mom's belly. This information fascinated her, and for quite some time, she would go around the house saying she wanted to have a baby in her belly. Obviously not wanting to get into any... um... complicated explanation, we told her that she would have to get married first. Though she wasn't completely happy with this answer, she seemed to accept it.

Some months later, we were attending the wedding of a friend. Throughout the service, Jasmin would lean over and ask, "is she married yet?"

"No, not yet," I would answer. Then a few minutes later, the same question, "is she married yet?"

Finally, at the conclusion of the ceremony, I told her, "now they are married."

Her eyes lit up and, without missing a beat, she asked, "does she have a baby in her belly now?"

A Arquitetura da Unidade - Reprise

On April 18 and 22, the TV Cultura documentary, A Arquitetura da Unidade, was rebroadcast nationwide. Oddly, it was shown on a date and time in Recife different from the one we were told it would be, meaning that again, I was unable to record the program. By accident, however, I did happen to turn the TV to the right channel and caught about 40 minutes of the hour-long show. I was amazed. This was a high-quality first-class program: well-structured, excellent photography, straightforward discussion of Bahá'í principles and history. It blew me away. As a result of this broadcast, the National Center was once again flooded with emails, at least seven of which were from here in Recife! This Friday we are planning the first fireside with some of those who have expressed interest. I will let you know how it turns out.

On April 21, a local television program in the city of Foz de Iguaçu, called Visões de Mundo (World Visions), broadcast an interview with members of the local Bahá'í community regarding the Faith, its principles, the concept of Manifestations of God, among other questions posed by the host. The program was rebroadcast several times during the week, and also generated a series of calls and emails to the Bahá'ís of Foz de Iguaçu (a city located at the triple-frontier of Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay).

An auspicious start for the recently concluded Ridván season!

Here is a sampling of a few of the more interesting emails received by the National Assembly from around Brazil. Translations, and therefore errors, are entirely my own. Those who can read Portuguese may access the originals on the ABEN site.

• Good evening!! Through a program that TV Cultura broadcast this past Wednesday (18/4) I had the opportunity to learn a little about the Bahá'í Faith. I became super-interested in learning and understanding, because it really touched my heart...because I have always said that "God is the architect of the universe." Because of this I became very interested in this community of such wonderful people...finally, the Temples are marvelous. Well, I live in the city of Leme/SP... I would like to know if there is a community nearby... because I am interested in getting to know [the Bahá'ís] and even who I need to know to be a volunteer or a member of this faith. I thank you for your attention. I am waiting with great joy for your response.

• Hello!! My name is Sara, I am Brazilian and I live in Rio de Janeiro. I would like to know if there is a Bahá'í community here. I would like to be able to meet the practitioners of the Bahá'í Faith. Who knows, I think I might want to become a practioner of the Bahá'í Faith. How does one begin practicing the Bahá'í Faith?

• I would like to know more about the Bahá'ís of Brazil, because I want to make myself a better human being.

• Hello, I learned about you in a documentary that was shown on television, and I really thought that all of the teachings were very beautiful. As a student of spiritism, I agreed with and found beautiful everything that you said. I would like to know if there is a temple here in Santos in the state of São Paulo, or somewhere I can go to learn more and study more about your teachings. With the certainty that you will respond, thank you in advance.

• Dear brothers and sisters, I live in the city of São Paulo, my address is [-- removed by translator --]. Thank you very much for your attention. Last week I watched on TV Cultura a program about the Bahá'í Faith, which awakened a enormous interest in me. I have always believed in the fact that all of the religions formed a single unity, but I never could verify this homogeniety between the religions. On the contrary, what I perceived was an extreme fragmentation, with the formation and creation of sects, and between them disputes over truth. I always found the fact to be that there were different religions, and that their members vigorously defended their own, and ended up putting down the other (Catholics vs. Protestants, Baptists vs. Maranatha, God vs. Allah) - and this dichotomy always bothered me, especially because I believed in essence there was just one God, and that education and science cannot be separated, but must be seen as complementary. The information about the Bahá'í Faith was very interesting. I would like to obtain more information and find out if there is a meeting place in São Paulo for members of this faith. I thank you for your attention.
  

Another Wedding, More Cute Pictures