In the last two weeks of July, as half of Haifa's population was fleeing the besieged city in the north of Israel, 171 members of the Baha'i Faith arrived from around the globe to take part in a nine-day pilgrimage to the Faith's most sacred shrines, historic sites and world administrative center.

Cortes family in Haifa, Israel(See related story about Baha'i pilgrimage.)

The pilgrims had eagerly anticipated this day, after being on a waiting list for up to six years. So although the timing seemed wrong, they proceeded with their plans after receiving approval from the Baha'i World Center in Haifa.

"Many of our friends and family said ‘Are you nuts?'," admits Mary Hansen, a Baha'i from Northbrook, Ill. "They said, ‘Do you have to go there now?' But I had a dream right before we left that felt significant to me. In the dream, I was bringing honey to Haifa. I came to understand that the honey was our presence there. I found a beautiful quote from Baha’u’llah that seems to fit my experience. He talks about 'the honey of reuniion with Him . . "

"Our choice to go on pilgrimage at this time had nothing to do with being a hero, but rather with being at the place of your heart's desire," says Scott Jaenicke, a Baha'i from Camarillo, Calif., who was accompanied by his wife, Renee, and their 20-year-old son, Shea.

That feeling of wanting to be at the "place of your heart's desire" is hard to convey to others, says Larisa Cortes, who, with her husband, Cesar, and sons Jacob, 12, and Sean, 14, traveled to Haifa from Chicago. "Even if our lives ended there," she says, "it would be the best place to be in the world. We were there to pray for peace."

That's not to say the pilgrims didn't take precautions. They adhered to the security procedures recommended for the general population by Israel's civil authorities. They stayed away from the center of town, and when the sirens went off, they went into bomb shelters. On one particularly dangerous day they were told to stay in their hotels.

"Even though the city was being attacked, I didn't have a sense of fear," says Cesar Cortes. "We knew the situation was dangerous, but there was something about the prayers of the Baha'is from all over the world that gave us a sense of peace and security. Many of us were in touch by email with our families and friends at home. We felt that being spiritually protected removed the fear of losing our lives."

Of course, because of the missile attacks, the pilgrims' experience differed from the normal pilgrimage program. The pilgrims weren't allowed to see certain sites that were in precarious locations. For example, the Shrine of Baha'u'llah, the Founder of the Baha'i Faith, is located between Akka and Nahariya, an area that received multiple missile attacks. Although a visit to the Shrine is generally the high point of the pilgrimage program, the pilgrims in this group were all but certain they would not be permitted to go there.

Then, on the last evening of their stay in Haifa, they were summoned to the Seat of the Universal House of Justice, the governing body of the worldwide Baha'i community, and were informed they would be taken to the Shrine of Baha'u'llah for a one-hour visit under cover of darkness.

Renee Jaenicke wrote about this event in her diary: "As long as I live, I hope to never forget this night. [A member of the Universal House of Justice] said, ‘It is with great joy ...' and then he could not continue. Both men had to stop to wipe their eyes. The room was filled with laughter and tears at the same time!

"The bus picked us up from our hotel at midnight. When we arrived, we were instructed to observe strict silence and move quickly. It was inside the [Shrine] that all of a sudden I knew. All the sacrifices I had made to get here, to bring my son here, all the hardships I had endured (which were really nothing) in the Path, every struggle, had led me to this moment. I cried tears of joy and gratitude and could not stop."

Although the pilgrims have returned to their homes, Baha'is around the world are still mindful of the danger that still threatens the world center of their faith, and even more importantly, the wellbeing of people throughout the region.

"I am worried for those who are still there. I continue to pray for their safety," says Cesar Cortes. "We pray for the benefit of all of humanity. We take no sides. The Baha'i writings state that world peace is not only possible but inevitable, even if the path is difficult at times."

See related news coverage*