I shot my particular part of the video on a very cold, blustery day in March. I only had to do a few takes, but I loved the idea and the end result turned out even better than I thought, and a lot of my friends ended up in it too. This is my favorite introductory video of the Baha’i Faith so far (and not because I’m in it!). Good job, team! I kept forgetting to post it here, but finally got around to it.

Baha’i Basics: Principles & Practices from Bahai.us on Vimeo.

And I’m sharing this video because it has two of my coworkers/friends and it makes me laugh when I watch it. The purpose of the video is to encourage Baha’is to give to the Baha’i Funds, and I love that it was done with humor. And awkwardness. Lots of awkwardness.

Don’t Miss Out! from FUNDamentals on Vimeo.

Ahmadinejad implied that Baha’is are possibly a political or intelligence security group, that they break the law, and then brought the American hikers into it at the end. The entire answer was ridiculous, and shows how little logic enters the equation when it comes to human rights in Iran.

Ahmadinejad: Do you even know the group that you name? Do you know their makeup? Are they a religious group? A truly faithful group? Or a political group? Or an intelligence security group? Let’s make sure they are all named? Let’s make sure they all come forward. Let’s see their true makeup.

Sir, the Baha’is of the world have never tried to hide. We have always been exactly what we claim to be: followers of a peaceful religion that abide by the laws of the countries in which we live, who are endeavoring to foster community life and bring about peace. In every part of the world, you will find Baha’is doing all of these things openly, with love for their fellow human beings.

Since the very beginning of our Faith, the Baha’is have been persecuted, imprisoned, tortured, killed, banned from education, removed from their homes, and had property confiscated and destroyed. Our holy places in Iran have been razed to the ground, and our graves desecrated.

My great-uncle and his son were put to death because of their faith. I have never been to the country of my mother’s birth, it is my lost home. I love Iran, and I have never been there. Think of how great Iran could be if you let all of these innocents live freely, if you let children be educated whose only aim in life is to serve humankind.

There are Baha’is in prison at this moment whose only transgression is to try to help their fellow human beings, for believing in the same God that you believe in. There are many minorities in Iran who suffer, for no purpose except fanatical hatred and fear on the part of the government and clerics.

This is the true crime.

“All humankind are as children in a school, and the Dawning-Points of Light, the Sources of divine revelation, are the teachers, wondrous and without peer. In the school of realities they educate these sons and daughters, according to teachings from God, and foster them in the bosom of grace, so that they may develop along every line, show forth the excellent gifts and blessings of the Lord, and combine human perfections; that they may advance in all aspects of human endeavour, whether outward or inward, hidden or visible, material or spiritual, until they make of this mortal world a wide-spread mirror, to reflect that other world which dieth not.

…Wherefore, O loved ones of God! Make ye a mighty effort till you yourselves betoken this advancement and all these confirmations, and become focal centres of God’s blessings, daysprings of the light of His unity, promoters of the gifts and graces of civilized life. Be ye in that land vanguards of the perfections of humankind; carry forward the various branches of knowledge, be active and progressive in the field of inventions and the arts.”

-‘Abdu’l-Bahá

171 delegates are elected by Baha’is all over the country, and they come to the House of Worship to vote for the National Spiritual Assembly and consult on topics relevant to the advancement of the Baha’i community. If you want more details about the 103rd Convention, click on the links, as the articles are much more explanatory than I have room for here. There is also a Flickr page with photos from Convention, including an amazing photo of a red-tailed hawk.

There was a cohesive force, a unity among the delegates that I haven’t seen before. There was also an elevated level of discourse and desire to change habits of thought and action that was highly encouraging. A sense of joy and excitement pervaded Foundation Hall the whole weekend.

I was at the Convention for nearly every session, working as stage manager and doing other random duties as they came up. It is such a privilege to interact with Baha’is from across the country, and Mr. Hooper Dunbar (former member of the Universal House of Justice) and his wife Mrs. Maralynn Dunbar were attending as special guests. It took me back to my days in Haifa, attending the youth classes that Mr. Dunbar had every Thursday night.

There are always things happening behind the scenes at every National Convention…staff members doing heroic things to make sure that everything goes smoothly, sweet moments of conversation between friends, a youth inspired to offer a prayer, even the panicked rush to make sure the microphones are working (my constant battle this year). But as I try to convey every time someone brings it up, it is truly a fun, intensely rewarding experience to contribute to the success of this gathering.

Although I have to admit, I would like to take a nap right now.

I’ll wait for you to do that before continuing.

There are also some great articles on the subject of “Community”, and we’ll keep updating those throughout the month.

I took the above photo in D.C., and have yet to upload the other photos that I took there. I’m working on it, there are a lot of other things going on right now. Keeping Nineteen Months going, family, friends, Holy Days, Baha’i National Convention coming up at work…not to mention all of the people and side projects I have to keep up with. It is great fun, but sometimes I just want to curl up on my couch and do absolutely nothing.

Contrary to popular belief, there are times in which I actually do rest and let my mind take a break. It isn’t often, but I try to make that effort. There is just no way to be productive if I’m constantly running on empty or am stressed out.

Ronnie and I asked photographers and writers to join our team over the course of several weeks, reaching out to a diverse group of friends around the world. It has required conference calls across two time zones, many emails and gchat conversations, and a great deal of consultation. Oh, and we did most of it during the Baha’i Fast. That may have been a little crazy.

To answer a common question I’ve gotten over the last few days: no, we do not have any funding. None of us get paid to do this, it is an individual initiative. The response has been overwhelming and inspiring. We’ve had 2,100 hits in three days. People have been emailing us from around the world, commenting, and promoting it. (Please keep it up, folks! We love our readers!)

If you’re interested in participating (or know someone that you want to recommend to us) you can check out the FAQs. Our contributors are so amazing and I can’t wait to see how Nineteen Months progresses. Thanks for all of the support!

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First of all, we have completed our first year of Nineteen Months! You can see the photos for the month of Loftiness here. We are looking forward to the next year of photos, and will be doing great things with the site. Announcements will be made in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!

Nineteen Days has announced its photographers for the 2011 Fast, and have dedicated this year’s project to the Baha’is who live in Iran.  I am sure that the photos will be amazing, as always. Check for daily updates from March 2-21.

Tomorrow is the last day of Ayyam-i-Ha. I spent the weekend with friends and family, ate way too much food, and worked on a service project with my junior youth group. They baked cookies and brownies for the fire and police departments of Wilmette as a thank you for the service they do for the community, then had the opportunity to tour the facilities.

I watched the Oscars last night with a group of friends, which is much more fun than watching it alone. Even so, it was often painful. You wonder at the amount of money being spent, and how difficult it seems to be to find hosts in an entire city devoted to entertainment.

News of my great-aunt’s passing at the age of 94. Maryam Saniei Firouzi, wife and mother of martyrs, servant of the Faith, loved by her entire family. I was able to visit her a few weeks ago, and I know she is now reunited with her family, so my sense of sadness is overtaken with joy that she has been released from this life.

The sun is finally shining today. Accomplishment in my tasks, the week isn’t over yet but I know that it is all perfect, no matter what.

Indeed every light is generated by God through the power of His behest. He of a truth is the Light in the kingdom of heaven and earth and whatever is between them. Through the radiance of His light God imparteth illumination to your hearts and maketh firm your steps, that perchance ye may yield praise unto Him.” -The Báb

As I drove away, the sun was turning the sky into a perfect sunset.

“O ye who have turned your faces toward the Exalted Beauty! By night, by day, at morningtide and sunset, when darkness draweth on, and at early light I remember, and ever have remembered, in the realms of my mind and heart, the loved ones of the Lord. I beg of Him to bestow His confirmations upon those loved ones, dwellers in that pure and holy land, and to grant them successful outcomes in all things: that in their character, their behaviour, their words, their way of life, in all they are and do, He will make them to achieve distinction among men; that He will gather them into the world community, their hearts filled with ecstasy and fervour and yearning love, with knowledge and certitude, with steadfastness and unity, their faces beauteous and bright.” -Abdu’l-Baha