I can officially say that my tooth saga is over. I got a crown put on today. That should be the end of it. As an added treat I got my picture taken with my dentist so you can see what he looks like. He told me today he considers me a friend. I feel glad about that. Now I have to figure out what to do about it. How to build a friendship with someone who doesn't speak very much of the same language I speak. There is so much we have to talk about. China is such a wonderful country but to really build a harmonious society is a great undertaking that one society or even humanity cannot do alone.

This is the second day of the Baha'i Fast. It is a time of extra prayer and meditation. We don't eat between sunrise and sunset. It is now one minute until sunset so I will continue later....

Ah! a good meal. Sometimes its just the simple things that make life good. I don't know how many of you know this but I quit smoking completely on January 4th. I ran out of Nicorette gum on February 18th. I have been Nicotene free for about 2 weeks. There are moments during the fasting time that it just seems like I must chew a piece of gum. So far, I have not. My prayer is that I will continue to choose not to chew gum or smoke during the Fast. I am chewing a piece of gum now (after sunset). I've been reading a book by Nat Rutstein off and on since we left the States. It's called Winning Spiritual Battles. It's a series of vignettes of struggles that people have living a spiritual life in a material world. Most of the stories are very short (2 or 3 pages) but they inspire me to try harder in my life. I think it is worthwhile to try, to try to live a spiritual life, to strive to bring my life into alignment with the teachings of Baha'u'llah. Living a life of service does not come easy for me. I'd rather live a life of leisure, but I find the effort rewarding and I continue to gain insights into myself that I would not otherwise gain.