Stories of Bahá'í Pioneers

A new language, a new culture, a new job, a new school, a new home, a new way of life, new friends -we're new pioneers! 'Abdu'l-Bahá in the Tablets of the Divine Plan directed Bahá'ís to take the message of Bahá'u'lláh around the world. Here are 38 stories of some of the Bahá'í pioneers who did just that. They all had difficulties -many of them the same problems, no matter in what part of the world they found themselves -language, accommodation, money, schools, jobs, BUGS, water supply but the stories depict 'valiant, inspired and determined Bahá'ís rendering sterling service to the Cause'. They came from Africa, the Americas, Europe, Australia, Iran and Asia; they went to Africa, the Arctic, the Americas, the islands of the Pacific and the Caribbean. Their adventures in a new land, sometimes as the first Bahá'í, are told with wit and poignancy, warmth and insight, with pride for their chosen posts and the love of God in their hearts. Essential reading for anyone who would like to join them!

Claire Vreeland is a freelance journalist whose work has been published in several newspapers and magazines. As a member of Writers and Teachers Collaborative; she presents readings and workshops in schools and adult education classes.

"Mom, who is your hero?"

A simple question asked by an innocent child. Hayden Block had no way of knowing that to his mother, he was her greatest hero. A young heart, but spiritually mature beyond his years, Hayden offered life lessons to every person who came in contact with him. He persevered through physical pain and sometimes emotional hurts. He learned to cope with a body that didn't look like other kids. And yet his sensitive loving heart and ebullient spirit attracted many friends and admirers wherever he went.

A Child of Tender Years: Hayden's Journey is first Hayden's story - his life's journey from birth until age 14. But it is also a journey for his mother as she watches him grow, learns with him...and from him. It is a story about sacrifice and letting go, of being completely reliant on God and radiantly acquiescing to all that He asks of us. It is a story about faith.

by Suzanne Schuurman.

Here is the story of a remarkable life that began in the Austro-Hungarian Empire of Franz Joseph, spanned two World Wars, and played out on three continents.

Born into the Polish aristocracy, Ola Pawlowska was told she would never have to earn her living. War and early widowhood changed all that. Having fleed Nazi-occupied France with her young daughter, Ola arrived in Canada where she encountered the Bahá’í Faith, and in 1953 became a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh to the St Pierre and Miquelon Islands off the Canadian coast.

But the services for which she is best remembered still lay ahead. Pioneering to the Congo in the early 1960s fulfilled a life-long dream to live in Africa. She was to stay for the next thirty years, loved by many and courageously confronting the many challenges of a rapidly expanding Bahá’í community in a country with vast distances to be covered.

And in her eighties, Ola Pawlowska pioneered yet again – to her beloved homeland of Poland, where she saw the establishment of Poland’s first National Spiritual Assembly.

Beautifully written by Ola’s daughter Suzanne Schuurman, this book is a real page-turner. The world of the pioneers who responded to the Guardian’s call has vanished; the history of the Bahá’í world is now being written in every island and territory; but Ola’s story will be an inspiration to all those who possess the spirit of adventure.

Published by George Ronald: ISBN: 978-0-85398-524-2

'The only pioneer on Bonaire must leave for a few months. Can you take her place until she returns?' Marion consulted with her husband, Tom. 'Of course you must go. How can you say no?'

Thus it was that Marion West found herself living on a tiny desert island in the middle of the Caribbean. Her letters home reveal the drama and the humour, the problems and the rewards, of being a pioneer -even for a few months. A warm and down-to-earth story of special interest to those contemplating short-term pioneering.

'A really first-class account of the joys (and frustrations) of being a Bahá'í teacher -a book full of love.' UK Review Panel

In this fascinating, warm, entertaining and inspiring autobiography, Marvin 'Doc' Holladay - ethnomusicologist, composer, arranger, performer and Bahá'í - chronicles both his own life story, and the evolution over fifty years of what he calls 'the indigenous classical music of America'. His personal tale of artistic accomplishment and spiritual discovery encompasses some of the most important social issues of his times, such as race relations, humanitarianism, and social justice, and sparkles with stories of familiar and legendary names from the world of jazz, such as Quincy Jones, Stan Kenton, Thad Jones, Mel Lewis, Ella Fitzgerald, and Dizzy Gillespie.

A personal perspective on what the Bahá'í Faith means to a Chinese and some of his experiences.

Yin Hong Shuen is a Human Resources Director of a multinational company in Singapore. He was previously a Training and Development Manager of Texas Instruments Malaysia.

A Survivor's Dramatic Account of the Persecution of Bahá'ís in Revolutionary Iran.

'This book deserves to be widely read.' TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT

A compilation of interviews of Bahá'í youth from around the world. Taken from the true-life stories and interviews published in the North American Bahá'í youth magazine 'One', these short interviews offer a fascinating insight into the lives of modern Bahá'í youth, covering topics such as love, marriage, finding God, experiences of service and travel teaching, dealing with racism and sexism, and living with disability, amongst many others. Each of the interviewees injects their own personality and take on life in their responses. Fresh, revealing and very accessible, these interviews are inspiring and uplifting to read. 'On the Front Lines' will make an excellent gift for any young Bahá'í, and is bound to be read and reread for its inspiring content.

Edited by Randie & Steven Gottlieb

This book brings together 37 true firsthand accounts. You can read about . . . * the man who thought a fireside was a place where you roast marshmallows; * the man who got stuck halfway up a mountain; * the girl who tried praying as an experiment; * the woman in despair who asked for a sign from God; * the boy who heard a radio interview with his favourite musicians; * the couple who 'shopped' through the Yellow Pages; * the student who wondered why the girl in the library smiled so much; * the Viet Nam veteran who was searching for an answer; * the lunch lady who sent a note home in a little boy's lunch pail; * the socialite who had tried everything; * the minister's daughter who was terrified of dying; * the farm boy who began to ask questions; * the woman who didn't want to belong to a religious organization; * the young man who was given a book he didn't want to read; * the university student who already knew everything about religion; * the girl who broke off her engagement because her fiancé had become a Bahá'í; * the kindergarten teacher who heard a Bahá'í prayer from a two-year old; and many more. A heart-warming collection of true stories, of interest to Bahá'ís and to those who are making their own search.

The contributors to 'Once to Every Man and Nation' come from all over North America and represent a wide variety of cultural, racial, social and ethnic backgrounds. Young and old, black and white, each with a different experience of life, their very diversity demonstrates the universal appeal of the Bahá'í teachings.

The editors Randie and Steven Gottlieb became Bahá'ís in the early 1970s.

From the African bush to an international school in India, from the tropical islands ofthe South Pacific to Poland in Europe, this heart-warming autobiographical account of Lou Turner's life will touch your very soul.

Here is a book from one of the foremost Bahá'í authors and translators, which is laden with the delightful, witty, profound, heart-searching distillation of a lifetime's dedication to one overmastering theme: the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh. 'What is it', she asks, 'that people have found in the Cause of the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh, from its birth until this hour? Why have they offered themselves either to live or die for it?' They are timely questions indeed, as the attention of the world is drawn to the tragic plight of the Bahá'ís of Irán.

Her own destiny has been a less violent one. She has travelled for the sake of her Faith in many countries, and has worked for it unflaggingly. But her observant humour has never been weighed down, and her book sparkles with amusing incidents described with the lightest of touches.

The author's historical studies and her personal acquaintance with great Bahá'ís are the source of many of the essays, while her own story and that of her family enhance the flavour of this attractive collection.

A Treasure-trove awaits the reader of this book. It ranges from witty observation during two extended periods of residence in Europe and travel in a dozen countries, to reminiscences of great Bahá'ís, portraits of persons drawn from earlier centuries and our own, and memorable essays on the nature of love.

Marzieh Gail's father was the diplomat and scholar Ali-Kuli Khan Nabil, Persia's chief diplomatic representative to the United States during the presidencies of Theodore Roosevelt, Taft and Wilson. Born in the United States of an American mother, Marzieh Gail accompanied her parents to various official posts, including Tehran.

Mrs Gail is well known to Bahá'ís for her translations from Persian and Arabic of works by Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá. This is the fourth book of her own writing of particular interest to Bahá'ís. Her historical publications include 'Persia and the Victorians', two studies of the medieval Papacy, 'Life in the Renaissance', her father's biography in two volumes 'Summon Up Remembrance' and 'Arches of the Years'.

Anyone who has ever wondered 'How shall I live my life?' has something to learn from Tristan Schuurman. He was born physically and mentally handicapped. But socially and spiritually he was gifted. The doctor paused. 'My advice to you is . . . find a good nursing institution and leave the child there. It will be well looked after.'

I looked at him, incredulous.

'Look,' he said forcefully, 'you are a young woman. If you keep this child your marriage will suffer. You won't be able to be a proper mother to your healthy children. He'll never be able to do anything . . . he's just a vegetable.'

'This is my son,' I said firmly. 'I could no more put him away and forget that I had him than I could put away my heart and tell it to stop beating.'

'We'll look after him,' Hubert said, weighing his words. 'He'll get better.'

The true story, told by his mother, of a courageous boy and his family who believed that where there is love, hope can grow. Tristan Schuurman did get better. His brain and liver were damaged but he walked and talked, laughed and loved and believed with a devotion that inspired all who knew him. His seventeen years were crammed with life of the highest order.

An uplifting and inspiring book.

A letter from the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of St. John's Newfoundland, Canada, setting out a few facts about Tristan Schuurman's life, first brought him to my attention. From the moment I read the letter, Tristan has lived in my consciousness as a vivid presence. He reinforces my understanding of how Abdu'l-Bahá exhorted us to live: in full commitment to the delights and responsibilities of our humanity and the earth we inhabit, and simultaneously in profound recognition that our world is an ash-heap, a dunghill, a place of preparation for spiritual realms which bestow only joy, and in which there is no separation. From the Foreword by Roger White

"The youthful and eager workers for the Cause . . . occupy a warm place in my heart." - Shoghi Effendi

Why have faith? Why practise faith in the world as it is today? What makes a young person in the early part of the 21st century willing to follow a Faith that requires exemplary moral conduct and which views spiritual growth as the purpose of an otherwise very material life?

These are the questions Heather Cardin asked young people around the world. She invited Bahá'í youth and young adults to share their thoughts about why they believed and why they were Bahá'ís.

The answers came from 45 young Bahá'ís between the ages of 13 and 30, from every continent and from many backgrounds. Some have had very positive experiences, others not so positive, but all draw on the power of the love of Bahá'u'lláh and His teachings to give them strength to continue their lives as Bahá'ís.

These are the authentic, powerful voices of young people as they see themselves and the Bahá'í Faith in the 21st century.

This book is about people who have undergone cruelty, persecution, deprivation of human rights and even death. The victims had the option to avoid persecution by simply recanting their faith. Known as Baha'is, these individuals remained firm in their belief, in a religion that arose in Iran in the mid-nineteenth century. They strongly believed in basic oneness of religion and unification of mankind.

The book recounts some compelling and inspirational stories of those individuals who continuously suffered persecution in Iran. It relates efforts on the part of the United Nations and various countries of the world to mitigate the severity of their ordeal, together with a glimpse into the reason which inspired those believers to stand firm in the face of such opposition.

The personal story of the author's travels amongst Bahá'í communities in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Yugoslavia in the early 90's, meeting long-established pioneers and new believers, as well as their friends, families and contacts, joining in their teaching and consolidation activities, sharing their joys and disappointments, enlarging the circle of human unity, to help overcome the differences of culture and experience East and West. This enjoyable and ulifting book offers us an insight into lives which were so long hidden from us in a style that honours the spirit of unity in diversity, and which shows genuine hope for our collective future.

Translated by Baharieh Rouhani Ma'ani

Asadu'lláh 'Alízád, a young Bahá'í living in 'Ishqábád with his wife and three-month-old baby, was suddenly arrested one night in February 1938 by the Soviet authorities. He never returned to his home. This is the dramatic, often harrowing, yet little-known, story of the imprisonment, torture and exile to Siberia of Russian Bahá'ís during the years of the Second World War. Mr 'Alízád here recounts the trials, suffering, heroism and faith of that band of Bahá'í men and women who refused to leave their pioneering posts regardless of the cruel consequences.

With a Foreword by Fariburz Sahba, the nephew of the author and editor of the account.