I was very pleased to notice that the government of Socialist Republic of Vietnam recently allowed the members of the Bahai community to elect a Bahai Administrative body for the first time. This is an important occasion for the Baha’is around the world because it was the first time in 33 years that the government had approved that such a gathering could take place. The first Bahá'í in Vietnam was Shirin Fozdar, who arrived in February 1954, which was followed by periods of large growth for Bahai’ Faith in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1950 Shrin Fozdar (popularly known as Mommy Fozdar, and her husband volunteered, to go to Singapore, which at that time was part of the Federation of Malaya at the request of Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, to expand the religion to South East Asia. The first Local Spiritual Assembly, a Baha’i Administrative body in South East Asia was was formed in Singapore in 1952, exactly two years after Fozdar’s arrival. In February 195...