A Coin for Every Hand

*A retelling for children, based on **The Diary of Juliet Thompson** (diary entry, 19 April 1912).*

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In the Bowery, a poor part of New York City, there was a mission hall where men with no homes could come. In April 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá was invited to speak there. "I am in love with the poor," He told His friend Juliet. He gave her and her friend Edward money to change into quarters at the bank, and they brought the coins to the hall in two big bags.

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That night the hall was full. Three hundred men were there, men who slept on park benches and in doorways. 'Abdu'l-Bahá called them His friends. He told them that the poor are very dear to God, and that Jesus too had been poor and had no home.

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When He had finished speaking, 'Abdu'l-Bahá stood at the end of the aisle, with Juliet and Edward and their bags on either side of Him. One by one, all three hundred men walked past Him. He took each man's hand and pressed coins into it, enough to pay for a bed that night. The men who had nothing at all received the most.

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Juliet was watching the men's faces. Many of them looked up at 'Abdu'l-Bahá in surprise, and He looked back at each one with great love. She saw this happen again and again. That night, she wrote, not one of those men had to sleep outside.

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*This is a retelling for children. For the fuller account, see ["Blessed Are the Poor"](/stories/jt-blessed-are-the-poor-bowery).*

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