‘She swept through like a conquering queen but worked like an unpaid serf.’ — Elena Marsella, 1949.

Gayle Woolson had already been pioneering in Latin America for fourteen years when in early 1954 she opened the Galápagos Islands to the Bahá’í Faith, thus earning the title ‘Knight of Bahá’u’lláh’. Although her time there was brief, the story of her rich and varied life, dedicated to building up Bahá’í communities throughout Latin America, serving and empowering others, makes fascinating and inspiring reading.

Her work with children’s education, particularly through the Children’s Public Speaking Project where she taught children to memorize passages from the Bahá’í Writings, to present them in public, and to express what they learned in service, was a precursor of the process of learning and practice now finding systematized expression in the worldwide Bahá’í community.

‘Future generations will extol your labours, follow in your footsteps, and derive inspiration from your pioneer activities.’ — Shoghi Effendi to Gayle Woolson in Costa Rica, 1942