(Clearwisdom.net) On September 18, 2004, the annual hot air balloon race was held in Forest Park in downtown St. Louis. It is the largest hot air balloon race in the US and also one of the biggest sporting events in Missouri. Many hot air balloonists from across the US came to participate. There were also dancing and singing performances, exhibitions and a variety of children's games, attracting about 120,000 spectators, including local residents and people from surrounding areas.
  At a corner of the busy park, the peaceful practice site of Falun Gong practitioners |
Forest Park happens to be St. Louis Falun Gong practitioners' practice site on weekends. After practicing the exercises, practitioners displayed posters and banners, and handed out flyers to people who came to watch the hot air balloon race.
From noon to 4:30p.m., when the hot air balloons inflated and went up in the sky, the spectators were relaxing on the lawn. Practitioners' flyers were well received, and soon, all the materials practitioners had brought with them were distributed.
A 72-year-old gentleman came over to where practitioners were demonstrating the exercises and started a conversation. He said he lived in a city in neighboring state. Several years ago, practitioners went to his city to introduce Falun Dafa, and he obtained a flyer. He said he still kept that flyer, and he was happy to meet practitioners again. He said he would come next week to the practice site to learn the exercises.
A woman passed by the practice site after the race was over, and watched the practitioners perform the exercises. She asked one practitioner whether this was the exercise introduced in the flyer she just now had obtained. After getting an affirmative answer, she said with emotion that the exercise is wonderful, and it is so peaceful. She wanted to learn it.
Many people learned to do the exercises from practitioners on the spot.
Practitioners noticed that people were happy to take materials about Falun Gong, and more people wanted to learn the exercises and learn about Falun Gong.
