My entire life had been inseparably connected to the Baha'i Faith.

Growing in a Baha'i family my

identity had always been a Baha'i identity. Then, once I started school and later continued my
education the Baha'i identity was countered by all sorts of identities offered by the society. The
junior youth program was just emerging and although I have taken part in it as a junior youth, it
most likely was not enough to combat the influences affecting my life.

When I was in my last year of high school, I was suddenly invited to participate in a seminar
held as a part of the Baltic Initiative. I remember the moment when I was there and read the 8 of
February message announcing 95 conferences and realised that it was revealed on my 19th
birthday. It was the confirmation my soul had longed for. Apart from spending time perfecting my
skills as a musician - which is what I study towards - I needed to think about living a selfless life
of service to humanity in much more broader terms. Then confirmations flew in abundance. I
was blessed to spend the summer preceding the conferences serving the Initiative and offering
any help I could in my home city of Minsk.

Then, again, supported by myriads of confirmations I moved to Germany to pursue my studies

at university level.
To be honest, right now I can not recall how I was invited to participate in ISGP, but once I
arrived I knew right away that this is exactly what I - and all of us need at that moment in our
lives.

Opportunity to attend the Institute of Studies in Global Prosperity is one of the most priceless
chances a Baha'i can have. Personally I can only compare it to studying the courses of the
training institute with a group of close friends and collaborators in service, lead by a skilled and
humble tutor, and praying at the Sacred Threshold.

Why is it so priceless? Because it provides the space to reflect on the progress and the goals of
the Baha'i community, to see it as a part of the process of integration and disintegration that is
happening in the world and to identify the forces and historical processes at work. It allows us to
think critically and weigh everything we learn on a scale of high moral standards of the Faith and
our conceptual framework that we have developed so far. It connects everything in one global
picture of building the new civilisation. It provides a glimpse into how science and religion when
working together can move the civilisation forward and work in harmony with each other. It
allows us to explore arenas of service, namely discourse and social action, that many of us
have thought about before, but have maybe not seen them as a part of the efforts of the Baha'i
community.

This year has been very special because we talked about the heart of our faith - the conviction
that God is one, that religion is one and that human family is one. It was very useful to look at
science last year so that we could see, on one hand, how materialistic approach robs the
humanity of fulfilling its true potential, but how on the other hand religion benefits from ripping off
the veils of religious superstition and also how by using the scientific method in the community
building process we can be more effective and contribute to the culture of learning.
Deep analysis of oneness of humanity and oneness of religion has been of immense
importance. What can be sweeter for a thinking and longing believer than to see the logic and
the beauty of what he or she believes in? What can be more reassuring than feeling how our
faith gains in strength and turns into certitude?

What has been a blessing was to see how our consultations have advanced and turned into
profound search for truth. How the importance of personal opinion has gradually diminished and
what fruits it has brought. How service helped everyone in our group gain new levels of
understanding. Sometimes when friends were sharing I couldn't listen to what they were saying
because I could see their love for this Cause, could feel the depth of their insights and looking at
all of that made me love Baha'u'llah so much more. Seeing how he mends the hearts and minds
and how our hearts beat to the same rhythm.

I hope to be of more service to Baha'u'llah. I hope to fulfill my potential as a Baha'i and as a

member of one human family. I hope to be able to be an active builder of unity by doing what
the Supreme Body calls us to do - to be advancing the process of entry by troops - as a part of
any community I might be a part of.

I am incredibly grateful to the House of Justice and the Institute of Studies in Global Prosperity
for these four years, which have been central in actively shaping my Baha'i identity and my wish
is to be able to use everything I have been so generously given on the path of service.