The Summer in Belarus

Passing Warsaw, Jana and Helmut went to Belarus to visit friends and to help the Baha'i community with their projects. The special features of this trip were its early planning and the collective organization and active participation of friends that have been invited from Switzerland, Germany, Ukraine and Belarus. After the school took place, home visits and firesides in 4 different cities followed.

"Discover the Gems of the Soul" Summerschool 2007 in Smole, Belarus

Along with the wonderful program that was combined with a lot of music, theater and singing (a remarkable part of belarussian culture) there took place very well prepared workshops on the topics "Why do we need God?", "Devotionals - on the power of prayer", "Ruhi, the spiritual development", "Why do we educate children?", also Ruhi courses on books 1 and 3 and a class for children. The evening programs were filled with laughter and tears of joy.

47 people from the ages of 4 and 75 took part in the school: 7 children, 4 junior youth, 25 youth, 11 adults. The school was filled with enthusiasm and love of God. The different generations spent this week in such harmony and such a loving atmosphere that made studying and learning with and from each other easy. Although about 35 % of the participants belonged to the wide community of interest, no one could recognize who was Baha'i and who wasn't. Due to the love, commitment and care among the friends a declaration happened already during the first days of the school.

After the summer school also a junior youth weekend took place.Some parents from the neighboring village had asked the Baha'is to include their children in a junior program.
It was a special experience for the children. For us their readiness to learn and to serve, their love and gratitude were an example.

If you want to find out more about the Baha'i community in Belarus follow the link www.bahai.by/indexen.html