Your message, sent from your school session to our beloved Guardian, reached him, and he has instructed me to answer it on his behalf, and to a.s.sure you he was delighted to see that such a school for pioneering had been held.

He was also very glad to see that the believers are studying the Covenant of the Master. For in the Master's Will and Testament are enshrined the principles underlying the World Order, and unless the believers fully grasp the greatness, functions, and purpose of the inst.i.tutions outlined in that Testament (and elaborated by the Guardian in his book "The Dispensation of Baha'u'llah") they will not be able to properly function as Baha'is individually or collectively. The German friends need to acquire a profound understanding of the Baha'i Administrative Order to enable them to function as a Community, according to Baha'i laws, and to protect them from tests and the attacks of the enemies of the Faith....

[From the Guardian:]

Dear co-workers:

I was so pleased and encouraged to receive your message and to learn of the activity you have initiated. I will pray for its success and extension from the depths of my heart. Persevere in your labours, and rest a.s.sured that you will be guided, sustained and fully rewarded for your meritorious and timely accomplishments,

Your true brother, Shoghi

LETTER OF 4 SEPTEMBER 1949 (SUMMER SCHOOL)

4 September 1949 (Summer School)

Dear Baha'i Friends:

Your letter reached our beloved Guardian, and he was delighted to see so many believers and friends were present at the July session of the School, and also to note the excellent courses you were given by the teachers and visitors present at the School.

He was also very pleased to see the program for the Youth Week being held in the Schwarzwald, and the emphasis which is being placed on teaching the Covenant in both Esslingen and this Youth week he considers very important.

The German Baha'is, like all the believers everywhere, will be strong, united and protected to the degree to which they are firm in the Covenants of both Baha'u'llah and the Master.

He hopes the teaching work in Germany will make great progress, and he urges you all to devote yourselves to this mighty task, and to promoting love and unity amongst the Baha'is and a better understanding of the administrative order of our Faith....

[From the Guardian:]

Dear co-workers:

Your joint message brought joy and gladness to my heart and was a powerful reminder of the staunchness of the faith of the dearly-beloved German believers, their constancy and determination, their thoroughness and diligency in the study of the Faith and of its teachings, and their devotion to the interests of its inst.i.tutions. I will supplicate the Beloved on your behalf to enable you to acquire a still deeper understanding of the essentials of His Revelation, and to promote, with increasing effectiveness, the best interests of His Cause,

Your true and grateful brother, Shoghi

LETTER OF 23 DECEMBER 1949

23 December 1949

CONVEY GERMAN YOUTH COMMITTEE a.s.sURANCE PRAYERS LOVING APPRECIATION.

SHOGHI RABBANI

LETTER OF 6 MARCH 1950

6 March 1950

INFORM GERMAN a.s.sEMBLY MORTGAGE HAZIRA INADVISABLE RELIEF FUND EXHAUSTED.

APPROVE RENTING ROOMS.

SHOGHI

LETTER OF 13 APRIL 1950

13 April 1950

INFORM GERMAN a.s.sEMBLY PREPARE PROMPTLY MAP GERMANY AUSTRIA SHOWING a.s.sEMBLIES GROUPS AND ISOLATED CENTRES AIRMAIL HAIFA.

SHOGHI

LETTER OF 28 JUNE 1950

28 June 1950

Dear Baha'i Friends:

Your letters addressed to our beloved Guardian and dated May 26, June 29, August 30 from Mr. Gollmer, November 19, December 7, of 1949, and January 15, February 15, and April 18, of 1950, have been received, as well as their enclosures and other material and photographs sent, and he has instructed me to answer them on his behalf.

The past winter and spring have been very difficult for our beloved Guardian, and this is why he has not been able to reply to you, (or to any other National a.s.sembly), for so long. As you know, he has been carrying on the construction of the first stage, the arcade, of the Bab's Shrine in antic.i.p.ation of having it finished for the July 9 Centenary Celebrations of His Martyrdom. This necessitated a great deal of excavation of the solid rock behind the Shrine in order to enable the arcade to be built.

The Guardian himself supervised this work in order to see it was done the most economical way and as quickly as possible; this took up a great deal of his time and energy.

At the beginning of April, just when he was planning to devote himself to the correspondence of the various N.S.A.'s, Mr. Maxwell, the architect of the Shrine, became very dangerously ill, and until the present time is in Hospital with special nurses day and night. His condition is now very much better, but the constant worry, and the problems arising daily, have hitherto prevented our Guardian and his secretary from answering any mail.

He wishes you to know that these are the reasons you have not heard from him for so long.

In regard to certain matters you raised in your letters: he does not consider it necessary to publish at present "This Earth One Country"; there are other books more urgently needed by the German friends such as "Some Answered Questions" and the "Paris Talks" of the Master.