the local
Baha'i community, have been taken, foremost among them being the numerous
administrative buildings which, in various provinces of Persia, the
believers have, despite the disabilities from which they suffer, succeeded
in either purchasing or constructing.

Equally important as a factor in the evolution of the Administrative Order
has been the remarkable progress achieved, particularly in the United
States of America, by the institution of the summer schools designed to
foster the spirit of fellowship in a distinctly Baha'i atmosphere, to
afford the necessary training for Baha'i teachers, and to provide
facilities for the study of the history and teachings of the Faith, and
for a better understanding of its relation to other religions and to human
society in general.

Established in three regional centers, for the three major divisions of
the North American continent, in Geyserville, in the Californian hills
(1927), at Green Acre, situated on the banks of the Piscataqua in the
state of Maine (1929), and at Louhelen Ranch near Davison, Michigan
(1931), and recently supplemented by the International School founded at
Pine Valley, Colorado Springs, dedicated to the training of Baha'i
teachers wishing to serve in other lands and especially in Latin America,
these three embryonic Baha'i educational institutions have, through a
steady expansion of their programs, set an example worthy of emulation by
other Baha'i communities in both the East and the West. Through the
intensive study of Baha'i Scriptures and of the early history of the
Faith; through the organization of courses on the teachings and history of
Islam; through conferences for the promotion of inter-racial amity;
through laboratory courses designed to familiarize the participants with
the processes of the Baha'i Administrative Order; through special sessions
devoted to Youth and child training; through classes in public speaking;
through lectures on Comparative Religion; through group discussion on the
manifold aspects of the Faith; through the establishment of libraries;
through teaching classes; through courses on Baha'i ethics and on Latin
America; through the introduction of winter school sessions; through
forums and devotional gatherings; through plays and pageants; through
picnics and other recreational activities, these schools, open to Baha'is
and non-Baha'is alike, have set so noble an example as to inspire other
Baha'i communities in Persia, in