The gathering is one of the 41 similar regional conferences held, being held or will be held throughout the Baha’i world between November 2008 to March 2009. These conferences, starting with the first one held in Lusaka, Zambia in 1 Nov 2008 and will end with the last one in Kiev, Ukraine on 1 March 2009, were called by the Universal House of Justice, the world governing body of the worldwide Baha’i communities, to provide the opportunity for the Baha’is to celebrate the feats already achieved during the first half of their current Five Year Plan and to deliberate on its current exigencies.

We left Kota Kinabalu for Labuan at 8 in the morning. Everyone was excited and full of spirit to teach. Some were revising their flipchart. We were greeted by Mr. Goh Kok Kyiu in Labuan ferry terminal and was treated lunch too. Thanks to Mr. Goh for being so hospitable. Also thanks to Mr. Naysan Lee for assisting in printing of the Iban flipcharts. Upon arrival to Limbang by ferry, we were greeted by Mr. Kong Siew Moi, Dr. Johun Teh, Mrs. Jubang and a few youth. They brought us straight to Mendamit Bahá’í Centre which is 45 minutes from Limbang Town using two cars and a school bus. There at Mendamit Bahá’í Centre, we met Mr. Sumbang and Mdm. Rata, Mr. Changgau and Mdm. Sema, Mr. Suili and his brothers – Richie and Junaidi, and other youth.

During the visit of Counsellor G. Soraya to Miri on 18-19 August 2007, two rural communities had the honour of hosting a gathering held in conjunction with the visit. The first visit was to Sungai Nipa in Bakong cluster and the second to Rumah Tambi, in Niah cluster. In both gatherings, the focus is on increasing the number of tutors for study circles and having more children’s classes and junior youth groups.

Jesion Meding of Kampung Selampit graduated with distinction from University of Medan, Indonesia

He wrote: “Yesterday was my graduation day. It was a historical moment in my life and a gift from the Blessed Beauty. I was awarded “Best Student of the Year”. After the ceremony, I was interviewed by a news reporter… and I told him the source of my motivation is the Word of God and Bahá’í principles like truthfulness is the foundation of all virtues, peace and sincerity and the meaning of true education. It was a special time for me…as I was able to share some of the teachings with the reporter.

Two representatives of the Spiritual Assembly of Sarawak, namely, K C Yong and Robert Ting, joined members of the national and local institutions in Bintulu for a 2-day retreat at the Likau National Park on 23 – 24 July 2005.

The institutions involved were Regional Baha’i Council for the Northern Region of Sarawak, Area Growth Committees, and Local Spiritual Assemblies. Among the participants was also an assistant to the Auxiliary Board.

The 2-day retreat was held to prepare the friends for the launching of an intensive programme of growth in the Bintulu Cluster before the end of the year. The participants studied documents related to growth and discussed on the institutional set-up necessary for such growth as well the strategies required to advance to the next stage of growth in their cluster.