The Lights of the World

This morning was by far my most enjoyable children's class so far. Part of possibly had to do with the size of the class: just four children with a few babies; but it was also greatly due to the fact these children were absolutely marvelous to be around. They are so bright and well behaved and as they are all brothers and sisters, they all had the same amazing smile.

The class was our first so the topic was unity. It is quite a challenge to present the subject of unity to young children, particularly at an age where they have had little exposure/ are oblivious/ don't understand disunity. But I find this extremely comforting, because these young ones are learning that unity is the norm! So when they are confronted with disunity and/or prejudice, they will hopefully immediately recognize it as being wrong. Perhaps they will actively work against it, or perhaps they will simply not get involved, but this in itself is progress, and this is the slow process of transformation that must take place in order for true unity to be established.

It was also our friend Jules' birthday today so we made a sad attempt at a cake, that ended up actually being brownies, but I guess it's the thought that counts. Jules is like a son to the Walkers, the people we live with and also practically lives here since, like many other youth, his home life is not the best.

We then made a dash out to a lovely swimming spot called Terre Rouge (red earth) as a birthday treat and raced back (yes, we do a lot of dashing and racing) to go out for some home visits. Our schedule is progressively filled up by different areas of this cluster (a designated area of Baha'is in which activities are coordinated), but before we can begin activities in different areas, we must first meet the people, and this evening's home visits were to meet the Baha'is in an area called PK10 where we will be going tomorrow. It will be a full day of activities!

Lesson Learned:
Negative attitudes are contagious and criticism gets us nowhere unless it is constructive and aimed at finding a better way to do things or behave. We sometimes think we are indispensable and must pile up everything on our own shoulders; unfortunately this can lead to a breakdown or anger at others for not doing enough, and never allows others to learn HOW to take responsibility.