Archive for November, 2006

Kitchen Updates

The kitchen team has been very active in sharing the Word of God with their friends and neighbors. Below is a summary of their recent experiences and learnings.

Chef:
Shared the teaching on the open house during Hari Raya in another area of Klang Valley and how a soul’s search was answered for her children. Discovered that the person talking to lives in our own neighbourhood. Potential new children for children class next year.

Learning: Opportunities are many and many more may be searching for answers in the websites too.

Carpenter:
Shared how some mention of the Faith was also carried out whilst on holiday on board the cruise recently with one of the crew. Co-incidentally, the crew had only met and attended to 13 Singaporean Bahais (who disembarked before we start the cruise). He’s an Indian from New Delhi who leaves 500m away from the Temple. He’s interested in the Faith and the Singapore team had left some materials for him. Strange isnt’ it? It must have given him the impression that Bahai’s are everywhere.. Discovered that Singapore team we a teaching team whom have decided to go for a spiritualisation retreat and with purpose to teach as well. So, little did they know that another Bahai connected with the soul that they had teached a day or so earlier….

Learning: We just have to share the Word regardless of the outcome for a seed that is planted may be re-visited by another to nourish.

Soupy:
Another new sharing was on Soupy’s teaching experience with her curtain supplier who came to the house with her father. From the Greatest Name picture, conversation began and lead to teaching. Hidden Words in Mandarin was shared and later taken back (requested) by the father who came along. The curtain supplieralso has children who are potential for children class.

Learning: Opportunities arises in various forms. We constantly need to be alert and have the faith to mention.

Maggi:
Shared her teaching experience with the water filter system supplier who came to house last week. Due to rain, Mr. Chew cannot return to his shop (nearby only) and began to talk. Children education was mentioned and that lead to children class etc. Found out that he knows of the Faith as he was mixing with the USM Bahais then. He is open and would like to send his daughter for class next year.

Learning: Opportunities arises in various forms. We constantly need to be alert and have the faith to mention.

Kopi:
Shared another episode with her friend after visiting them when she discovered that her friend had some test and difficulties. Hence, Kopi offered “Is there any remover..” prayer for her and children to say. She initially said they will after Kopi leaves but Kopi insisted that they sit and pray. And so, they did, each took turn to read the same prayer with much delight and appreciation. (a devotional meeting..)

Learning: Be audicious and sincere in our approach. Everyone needs a prayer or two out there.

Paprik:
On co-worker experience whereby after sharing a Tamil prayer book with her boss some years back without any progress, the sudden passing of her Japanese boss recently created the opportunity for Paprik to ask him to join her in offering prayers for the departed (in the soul’s journey). The boss agreed and prayers were said in office. (another devotional…).

Learning: Be audicious and sincere in our approach. Everyone needs a prayer or two out there.

The Ascension of our Master

The community of Petaling Jaya have commemorated the Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Baha on a neighborhood level this year. For Seri Setia team, more than 15 friends gathered together at 11pm, to pray together, and to listen to the stories of the passing of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, as penned by Shoghi Effendi in God Passes By. After which we had a short tea break, and read the Tablet of Visitation sharp at 1am.

The Bandar Sri Damansara team also commemorated the Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Baha with great reverence and spirit. The programme for the night was based on a power point presentation that was prepared in honour and memory of ‘Abdu’l-Baha. Description of His early years and comments made by Baha’u'llah on the station of ‘Abdu’l-Baha were part of the presentation. Each member took turns to read the quotes/ passages on the power point before ending with 2 songs and the Tablet of Visitation being read at 1.00am. In total, 9 adults, 2 JY and 2 children attended.

House in Haifa

On November 28, members of the Baha’i Faith throughout the world commemorate the passing of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, the eldest son and successor of Baha’u'llah, 83 years ago.

‘Abdu’l-Baha died in His house in Haifa (pictured) in 1921, aged 77. More than 10,000 mourners, representing every one of the diverse religions and ethnic communities in the Holy Land, attended His funeral.

He was laid to rest in a vault adjoining that in which He had laid the remains of the Bab on Mount Carmel in 1909.

Baha’is observe the Holy Day of the Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Baha at 1:00 a.m., about the time of His death. There are no prescribed ceremonies but gatherings usually involve prayers and devotional readings.

Gotong-Royong at Kota Damansara

Dear friends,

The Friends of Kota Damansara are organizing another Gotong Royong at the site on Saturday 2 December from 8am, hopefully with the aid of a boat this time to clear up the lake.

A second group of 20 volunteers from one of the banks will be the main force, but extra hands are warmly welcomed. Last Saturday the first group made some good progress, but there’s more to do. It’s a good idea to have a bite to eat first, as breakfast comes a bit late otherwise.

Please contact Jeffrey Phang on 019 365 6070 for further information or assistance.

Best wishes, Crawford P.

The Outstanding Young Person

If you miss out watching the video on Soon Kam, you can view it on this page.
This is a 3mins short clip produced for the award night. The video has already hit 1,000 hits on youtube.

A Passion For Serving The Community

We are pleased to forward you the following link on an article written on Soon Kam by The Star – one of Malaysia’s mainstream English newspapers, click here.

soonkam2.jpg

The Master’s Shoes

I was moved to write this poem when I visited the Baha’i temple in
Chicago for the 4th time.Not many people knew that there is actually an
archive on the lower ground of the temple and there is one custodian who
looks after this archive.To go into this archive, one must make an
appointment.This archive is a triangular shaped room adorned with
beautiful persian carpets that contains some of the Master’s belongings
and to list a few they are: The Master’s wallet, handkerchief, pen, a
beautiful ring, His hair, some of His letters and what really caught my
eyes was in a glass box. It was the Master’s worn out pair of old
shoes.At a moment’s glance, I envied those shoes so much and longed so
much to have had the chance to take it’s place.

I stood there for hours in prayer and whenever I went to the temple, I
would visit this room and pray. With all those little belongings of the
Master, it felt as though, He was in that room with you. This poem is
about those shoes and I wrote it almost 9 years ago.I felt since it is
close to the ascension of Abdul Baha and all, I would like to dedicate
this to Him Hope you will like it.

The Master’s Shoes

Strolling in awe, mesmerized on hallowed land
I entered a room where a treasure stands
Old and worn out shoes it appeared to be
Yet it held within, the grace of a majestic He

I stood there alone staring for hours, wondering in prayer
What roads You walked and what pain You had to suffer
Through times of sorrow you adorned His heavenly feet
Why couldn’t I have been a stone He’d step on in the street

Heaven and earth could have crumbled over me that day
But its humble majestic presence, faded my sorrows away
With these shoes, the Servant of Bahá traveled to the poor
To protect the feet of the Mystery of God, O what an honor

Among the few, the Servant of the servant called you His own
On distant lands you adorned Him as His seeds of love were sown
You witnessed His knighthood at the royal throne of unasked fame
While those who wished harm upon Him, were put to shame

In the eyes of the world you are but a pair of old shoes
But do they know, over my life, in your place I would rather choose
Even the dust under those shoes was luckier than me
For it had the bounty to be blessed in a moment of blissful eternity

How could a pair of old shoes bring such tears to my face
With painful longing and heartfelt desire to take its place
I was lost, wandering this life and lived among the fools
Until the day, time stood still when I first saw the Master’s shoes

Narendran Narasiah

Damansara JY on an adventure!

Our beloved JY group have been enjoying our sessions of late. We recently trekked up Templars Park for a reflection to finish the last lesson from the book Walking the Straight Path.

We reached the furthermost point possible and set up camp on a rock by the stream at about 8.15am. Our devotional was done to the soothing sounds of nature’s stream next to us. After a quick breakfast, to our surprise, we had a visiting monkey. Check out pictures of our misadventure here. These pictures are best viewed as a slideshow.

Both our animators turned out to be not very good at chasing away wild animals. After a provocative snare, we decided it was best to Walk the Straight Path down to where more humans were.

We studied our final lesson in jungle surroundings and then took sometime to meditate and reflect upon our roles and hope for the future of this group. After some tiring games that rendered us tanned and tired, we left.

Since then we have been planning for our service project and we have started a new book: Learning About Excellence. Ling Li’s Chinese life and its complications have already begun to evoke more discussions among us. Also, we have slowly begun implenting some of our suggested improvements to ourselves and the group and we hope to increase in quality and size soon.

Please pray for us!

Love,
JY Group Damansara

JY damansara

Book 3 & 3A Campaign

PJ Cluster

Friends are welcome to attend this courses which will be held over two weekends. For now, we have tutors in the English language. If there is a need for other languages, please call to register early. Arrangements will be made to cater for your request.

Who can attend?
Book 3 : All book 2 graduates.
Book 3A : All book 3 graduates (a must for present teachers).
Venue : Damansara Perdana Centre
Date : [25th & 26th Nov. 06] & [ 2nd & 3rd Dec. 06]
Time : 9.00am – 4.30pm.
Fees : RM 5.00 (tea breaks) and cost of book.
How to register : Call Devaky
Please register by 17th Nov. 06

A session with Aunty Shanta

It was indeed great to have Aunty Shanta back with us again! This time round, Naren managed to ‘flex his spiritual muscle’ and got Aunty to give a talk on Spiritualisation. It was a cozy session with 9 attendees at James Liew’s residence which started at 9am for half a day. Certainly, there was a lot to gain from that session, hearing Aunty Shanta and sharing experiences and stories with each other. To sum it up, the main content was Life in the next world and how we ought to prepare for ourselves there while experiencing life here on Earth. Of course, there are virtues to be acquired but if there should be one that we ought to ‘cultivate’ the most, it would be Trustworthiness. Ponder upon that!

shared by
Shermaine Chong

aunty shanta1
aunty shanta2

Kids Blast!

The said year end event for the children class in our cluster turned out fruitful for our area. To start with, almost the entire children attending classes in our area participated and with 3 COI parents joining. All parents seems to interact well and definitely enjoyed themselves. The conduct and type of games played, not to mention Sneezy, the Clown’s ways of handling the children in giving out virtues surely must have caught their attention.

The event whilst on fun fun basis has lead to more potentials which is the real objective of such events these days in the Plan.

By the way, the Children Class for Maggi/ Carpenter has ended for the year and will resume in Jan 07.

reported by,
Carpenter Zohrab

kids warming up
sneezy and honey
sticking the virtue cards onto the virtue tree
a handsome mummy
the organizers

If you’d like to see more photos, click here

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PJ Bits is not an official site of the Baha'is of Petaling Jaya. It is a personal initiative, supported by the Cluster Growth Committee of the Baha'is of Petaling Jaya. Opinions expressed are only by the editors and individuals who contributed the articles and may not necessarily those of the worldwide Baha'i community. We are always looking for more stories to share, so please send us your input, ideas or smiles and encouragement, to cgcpetalingjaya@gmail.com.

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