"The Flowers of Thy Meadow"

When our children were young we sang a prayer to them: "Oh God, educate these children. These children are the plants of Thine orchard, the flowers of Thy meadow, the roses of Thy garden. Let Thy rain fall upon them; let the Sun of Reality shine upon them with Thy love. Let Thy breeze refresh them in order that they may be trained, grow and appear in the utmost beauty. Thou art the Giver. Thou art the Compassionate."

So, it was delightful to watch children play (and the grownups too) with the buttercups in our backyard while the Baha'is carried out another phase of their IPG Program - a direct teaching event in the Hilltop of Tacoma.

We'd done this type of teaching before, in March. Back then we encountered rain, wind, snow, and very bitter temperatures; this time we had sunshine - and temps possibly in the 90's. It was merciful to walk in the shadows of overhanging trees on the boulevards, or to find a porch that offered a slant of shade. My teaching partner and I found ourselves catching our breath, a bit winded, just climbing some of the porch steps. We monitored our pace and parked the car within a 3 block radius of the homes we wished to visit. On Saturday we considered walking 8 blocks down to a particular area but swiftly reconsidered our decision when we realized the return would also be 8 blocks! We prudently kept to a languid yet efficient stroll through the neighborhoods.

Friday through Sunday the central location was in our home, a place where the Baha'is could refuel, consult, and replenish their energies. George made a lot of iced tea and lemonade and I provided lunch: Moroccan meatballs on basmati rice, cornbread, field greens from my garden, and watermelon on Friday; home-made pizza with shredded phyllo, salad, and Lemon Delight on Saturday; east-Indian lentil soup, ricotta-filled buckwheat rolls and left-over dessert on Sunday. I prepared the lunches a day ahead, in the evening, so that they would only require re-warming or very minimal preparation time in the morning. This allowed me time to throughly enjoy the pleasure of experimenting with the recipes. (Photos in the food set, Flickr account.)

Lemon Delight is a desert that I've made before, but this time I added fresh sliced strawberries, Mandarin oranges, and pineapple. When I put the the dessert on the plate it broke apart showing these little tidbits inside - I felt they made the dessert so refreshing. The crust includes crushed pecans, the filling is one layer of sweetened creme cheese and the other layer is lemon pudding/pie filling. Very easy to prepare, and the aftertaste is light, sweet (and horribly addictive).

This photo was taken last weekend at the Lewis', the base of operations for that weekend.
Enjoying the stories, supporting the event.
Children's classes are offered on the weekends in Hilltop.

This is Duana on the left, one of our newest Baha'is, with Chris who is tutoring "Reflections on the Life of the Spirit", book one of the Ruhi Institute. The basic concept underlying all the units of the Ruhi Institute is that of walking a path of service and promoting spiritual growth. The student then acquires skills and attitudes that enable them to trace their own path of service.