(Minghui.org)
My Miserable Childhood
I am a 70-year-old Falun Dafa practitioner. I was born in a poor mountain village in Shandong Province. When I was two, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started the so-called "land reform" movement. My parents were arrested, and I was left to wander the streets. Our neighbors did not dare take me in or help, because they were afraid that the CCP would go after them if they assisted anyone from an "anti-revolutionary" family.
However, one very kind old lady secretly helped me. Every evening, she would find me and wrap me in warm clothes. She even took me home and fed me; then she would return me to the streets. I survived this way for two months, until my parents were eventually released. By that time, I was suffering from a stomach disorder and had frequent migraine headaches. My health was so bad that my parents were sure I would not survive.
In 1958, my entire family joined my eldest brother, who was serving in the army, in Heilongjiang Province. I started doing heavy labor on a farm run by the army when I was 14. Every day I worked in the fields for 16 hours, and then had to work another two to three hours doing "voluntary" forced labor for the Party. After years of this hard, grueling work, most of us who worked on the army farm suffered from multiple health problems.
When I was allowed to leave the farm in 1979, my health was so bad that I had to rely on sleeping pills in order to sleep for just a couple of hours. I had neurosis, neurasthenia, a gastric ulcer, ptosis, rheumatoid arthritis, head pain, viral myocarditis, and more. At one point, I was in such bad shape that I spent more than 11 months in the hospital. My viral myocarditis was especially serious. My husband was so worried that he checked on me every night to see if I was still alive.
My poor health caused problems not only for myself, but also for my family members. I often wondered when this ordeal would end. Sometimes I thought death would be better.
Falun Dafa Is Amazing!
In August 1996, all that changed. Just days after I started to practice Falun Dafa, all my illnesses miraculously disappeared!
Since I never finished school, I had difficulty reading Zhuan Falun, the main book of Falun Dafa. It took me several months to read it the first time. Whenever there was a word I could not read, or a sentence I did not understand, I asked family members or fellow practitioners. Six months later, I was able to read the book by myself.
At work in October 1996 I was carrying a bucket of boiling water. I fell, pouring hot water over my left arm. My arm immediately turned bright red and swelled. The supervisors wanted me to go to a hospital and even offered to pay the bill. However, since I was a Dafa practitioner, I did not go see a doctor, and I did not accept any money from them. When I got home, my family also urged me to see a doctor, but I refused. I had only one thought: "I am a Dafa practitioner. Master is taking care of me." I continued to study Zhuan Falun.
Since I still did not know all the characters in the book at that time, I asked my husband and my son to read to me. I told them, "If my arm does not improve in an hour, I will listen to you and go to a hospital."
My husband and son took turns reading Zhuan Falun to me. As they read, the places on my arm where the skin was broken began oozing, and then the flesh began returning to normal. My husband and son were amazed: "Now we know that Falun Dafa is truly miraculous!"
Two days later, I returned to work. When my coworkers saw how fast my flesh had healed, they exclaimed, "Falun Dafa is wonderful! We would like to practice, too!"
Falun Dafa saved me from all my misery. No words can express my gratitude for Master's mercy!
My Son Is Proud of Me
After the CCP began to persecute Falun Dafa practitioners, I, like many of my fellow practitioners, used different methods to spread the truth about the persecution.
When a local coordinator suggested that I make materials to tell people about the persecution, I first used human logic. I said, "I only attended school for one year. My house is small. Why don't you ask someone who is better educated and has a bigger house to do it?" Nevertheless, the coordinator encouraged me and offered to help me start.
In 2009, I procured a second-hand laptop and an old printer. However, I did not know how to type, or use the Internet. Fellow practitioners helped me get on the Internet and showed me how to download materials and print them. Whenever I had trouble, they would patiently help me. I wrote down all their instructions and memorized them. I am now able to make informational materials for our local use.
Before I began practicing Falun Dafa, I had a hot temper. In order to make high quality materials, I had to be patient and careful. Through my experiences, I have learned how to be more patient. Sometimes when the equipment I was using did not work, I knew there was a problem with my cultivation. Sometimes I could not see what I was doing wrong and where I needed to improve. Whenever this happened, I asked fellow practitioners to help me look inward and identify my shortcomings.
I obtained wisdom through doing Dafa projects. Even though I'm an elderly lady and only went to elementary school for a year, I can handle a computer more skillfully than my son. He's proudly told our relatives, "Mother is really special! She's so proficient at using electronics and technology. She is even better than I am in using computers and cellphones!"
In conclusion, I want everyone to know: Master is always with us, guiding and protecting us. We can only repay his mercy by cultivating diligently and doing the three things well!
