Index of Area Bahá'í Youth Activites and Arts.
Empowering junior youth...Transformation for Peace
Bayan and Rohan's website for Bahá'í children
Serving in South Africa, by Reed Jones
Empowering junior youth...
Transformation for Peace
by Ellen Hakala
It all started long before June 23rd, 2007, the day the directors and staff of the Transformation for Peace Junior Youth program arrived at DFW airport, from Holland, Canada, France, and the U.S.--Alabama, New Mexico, and Texas.
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These dedicated folks had worked for more than a year to ensure that this program to empower Junior Youth came to Texas. From June 23 until June 29, they continued their long hours of service in preparation for the arrival of the youth. For six days they worked to complete the lesson plans, workshops and schedule, and shopped for supplies. They became a unified group, joined through consultation, focus, and prayer.
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Things really got going when, on June 29th, 44 smiling young people from Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Washington, arrived for the Texas Bahá'í School Junior Youth program, held at the Montserrat Jesuit Retreat Center in Lake Dallas, Texas.
That evening, the junior youth started their transformation process, through planned social activities, prayers, and music.
Each evening ended this way, and each day started with prayers at a sacred spot.
After breakfast, songs, stories, and a game, there would be the Sharing of the Roses, a concrete way of anonymously recognizing people for their display of virtues and spirit of service.
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During academic classes, students learned moral capabilities of being a peacemaker. And they grew, sharing their hopes and dreams, worries, and goals. Often they discussed aspects of the Bahá'í Faith and what it means to live a Bahá'í life.
Of interest was the ever-rising lake water due to the seemingly constant Spring and Summer rains of 2007!
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Wildlife crept nearer as the hours passed and our recreational areas became slowly submerged. Families of ducks, egrets, a blue heron, and many birds flew close by or gathered near enough to see them clearly. And the water kept rising!
The Texas Bahá'í School Committee had to quickly strategize, and decided to host the final evening's Gala event at the Plano Bahá'í Center, lest arriving parents get caught in rising water.
We hired a school bus, and called volunteers to help drive the youth and all their luggage to the Bahá'í Center on the last day. There the youth practiced for the upcoming evening's Gala event.
Volunteers brought food for dinner, and the event program was printed and delivered. Families then arrived. The students sang, danced, performed in a play, and shared information about their classes and the whole Transformation for Peace experience.
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After brief refreshments, we had our final closing of the day. The students cried and cried, and shared how happy they were to have had this wonderful program together.
Note: We plan to have the program next summer, for junior youth; date to be announced. These programs will be sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Highland Village, Texas.
Registration will start February 1, 2008.
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Serving in South Africa
by Reed Jones
As I complete my social work degree in Nyaga, South Africa, I have been blessed with the opportunity to participate in some of the core activities of the Bahá'í Faith while here. Currently I am working with a few other Cape Town Bahá'ís in Nyaga holding a children's class and junior youth group.
These kids hunger for these classes. Their first language is Xhosa and they are memorizing Bahá'í quotes and learning songs from Ruhi Book 3, a Bahá'í course of study. They are learning and practicing virtues, and they do it with radiance.
There are no Bahá'í children or youth in the classes of about 20 total, and it is held in the home of a friend who has already put us in touch with a family in another township.
The potential is great, and we must act!
Loving Bahá'í Greetings,
Reed
July 2007
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Website for Bahá'í Children
by Bayan and Rohan Jalalizadeh
Bayan and Rohan Jalalizadeh have created a website for Bahá'í children called
Bayan and Rohan's Spiritual Message. They named the site for the meaning of their first names -- Rohan means "spiritual", and Bayan means "message." Feel free to have a look around!
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"Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom." ~ Bahá'u'lláh
To correct an error, or submit information, send us an email [bahaisofnorthtexas@gmail.com]
