159 - Neighbor Nourieh

159 - Neighbor Nourieh, originally uploaded by carolfoasia.

One to two times a week, I go over to Nourieh's house and we sip copious amounts of Jasmine tea the Persian way (Place sugar cube in the mouth and let tea dissolve over it as you drink) and study about 45 minutes in the Bible and 45 minutes in the writings of her faith, Baha'i. We are currently in the book of Mark and will go on to study Genesis in a few weeks. It is always a very special time with a very special, warm, and wonderful woman!

We first got to know Nourieh and her husband, Iraj, on Easter Sunday three years ago when we had baked some bread and wanted to give it to one of our neighbors. We knew that most of our neighbors would be engaged in Easter activities with extended family. Then we said, "Hey, the Baha'i won't have anywhere to go!" So, we headed over with our warm Challah. When Iraj answered the door, his jaw dropped. He said, "I was just telling Nourieh thirty seconds ago that I wish I had a loaf of homemade bread!" We laughed and spent a delightful afternoon into the evening eating Persian dessert for Easter and talking about many things under the sun! Nourieh and I have often commented how we just CLICKED immediately on that day.

Background about our neighbors: In 1979, Nourieh's husband was in a Ph.D. program at Oregon State University when the Shah (King) of Iran fell to a revolution led by the Ayatollah Khomeini who established an Islamic Republic intolerant to other religions. The persecution of the Baha'i in their country became so intense that they could not return. So, they sought political asylum here in the US and have been here every since. Subsequently, all of her family members have escaped and live in the United States and Spain.

Iraj and Nourieh are lovely neighbors and have raised two wonderful children, one of whom discovered water on Mars when she was a junior in college!