Wednesday - Bahji again

My first semi-free day, so I choose to sleep in and rest a bit rather than try for dawn prayers. But not too much, as several groups are going on their own to Bahji. I join a group of 10 in a Sharut and have an hour and a half to spend in the Shrine and gardens. On the return ride, I ask the Sharut to drop me at the bottom of the Terraces on Ben Gurion street. 3 others join me for lunch and we have just enough time to climb the lower Terraces before our program begins. Climbing the Terraces can be strenuous, but if you take it slow and steady and rest on each Terrace a bit, it isn’t too bad! It’s definitely beautiful and worth the effort. Immediately after this climb, we must head to our program by ascending a set of public stairs to reach the Arc gate on Golomb St. We are seated in the auditorium of the International Teaching Centre (ITC) which is a relatively new facility and very modern. The 9 members of the ITC introduce themselves, one speaks for a few moments, then we enter a receiving line to meet each member personally. This is of course followed by a round of tea and cookies (a staple here!).

While others at this point have time to rest and eat a leisurely dinner, I have a dinner engagement with friends so hurry back down to the PRC. Zac and his friends have prepared a lovely meal for me and several Ghanaian friends also in our Pilgrimage group. Thankfully, the apartment they chose to do this at is only a block or so away from the PRC! They cook a traditional Ghanaian meal including peanut soup, jalal rice and salad. A nice respite from the grocery store food I’ve been eating! The youth are all very sweet and hospitable and we enjoy a wonderful, if brief, time together. Then it’s back down to the PRC for our evening talk. Tonight we hear from Universal House of Justice member Hooper Dunbar who is very humorous and personable. It’s a joy to listen to him and a great end to the day.