(Minghui.org) I started practicing Falun Dafa at the beginning of 1999 and have been very healthy ever since. I used to work in a textile factory for 12 years. After it was shut down, I opened a small restaurant to keep the family going.
My husband had poor health. He visited hospitals frequently and was on medication all year round. He could only help with a bit of cooking, and all the rest fell on my shoulders. Friends often joked about us: “You are the boss, the purchasing agent, the meal planner, the waitress, and the custodian. You wear many hats!”
Although I was busy all day long, I always made time to study the Fa teachings around noontime. I was full of energy and kept on an even keel. We kept our business going for eight years.
Loss and Gain
Two years ago, our restaurant was served a demolition notice. The local government officials were very irresponsible and didn't give us the reimbursement we were entitled to. We lost our restaurant and our source of income. My husband was very angry about it, but I always comforted him, saying, “Don't worry. We still enjoy a happy life without the reimbursement. Master has arranged the best for us.”
I started hunting for another job. One day, I was surprised to get a phone call from a district kindergarten. They called me to go in for an interview. It turned out that a friend of my husband told her daughter to sign me up when a vacancy became available in the kindergarten where she worked at. But she didn't think I would have a chance to get the job, because I'd had only two years of schooling and was not young anymore.
When I got there, I saw that I indeed didn't measure up to the other candidates. After a few rounds of interviews, however, I was offered the job. Everyone was surprised. I knew in my heart that it was due to Master's arrangement that I was chosen. I was determined to do well so that I would not let Master down.
Dealing with Unsolved Problems
I was assigned to work in a class with two other teachers and was responsible for overseeing the children's basic well-being. The teacher I replaced had a connection with the leader of the school. However, parents complained about the heavy-handed approach she and one other teacher used with the kids. They even refused to let the kids use the restroom at nap time, so many kids ended up wetting their beds and clothes. Parents complained and threatened to transfer their children elsewhere if she was not removed. In the end the school dismissed her and allowed the other teacher to stay under observation.
When I took over the class, I noticed that the classroom was cluttered and dirty. The floor tiles were covered with dirt and there were shoe boxes, slippers, and other junk under the beds. There were several inches of mineral deposits in the water dispenser, and the restrooms were filthy.
Master said,
“What we do, by contrast, is ask all of you to cultivate yourself and to be kind. You should be considerate of others when you do things and do your job well wherever you work. You should be a good person in the minds of others.” (Teaching the Fa at Fa Conference in Canada)
I made up my mind to do my duties well. I cleared out all the junk under the beds in my spare time and cleaned the floor thoroughly. I used white vinegar to remove the mineral deposits in the water dispenser. I also cleaned the restrooms and toilets with strong detergent on a weekend so that the kids would not be affected by the odor.
A week after I started working there, the other two teachers commented, “Wow! Our classroom is so clean and bright!” Teachers from the other classes said to me, “You really take care of the kindergarten like it was your own home!”
Sowing Seeds of the Divine Culture
I noticed that a little girl named Xixi was always the last to get her food and she ate very slowly. She was only halfway through her meal by the time the others had finished. When Teacher Hui came to mop the floor, Xixi had to take her bowl near the restroom to finish eating.
I had a meeting with the other two teachers and suggested that we let Xixi get her food first so that she could have more time to eat it. “Think about it. If your child ate slowly and was told to finish her meal outside the bathroom, how would you feel? As kindergarten teachers, we should be patient and kind.” Teacher Jiang agreed with my suggestion, but Teacher Hui didn't say anything.
The next day when I told the class that we would let Xixi fetch her food first, many kids raised their hands and asked why. I told them, “You all know that Xixi eats slowly, and because of that, she never gets to eat enough. Little children should help and care for each other. Xixi eats slowly, so we would like her to get her food first. Do you agree?” “Yes!” all the kids said loudly.
Looking at their smiling faces, I suddenly felt the importance of the job Master had arranged for me and the huge responsibility I had undertaken in guiding these innocent children.
Later, I made use of the ten minutes before nap time to tell them stories about ancient times. I also purchased a DVD player to show them the cartoons made by NTDTV about the origins of Chinese characters, so that seeds of divine culture would be planted in their hearts.
Dealing with Misunderstandings in an Upright Manner
There was a huge upheaval three months after I started working in the kindergarten, which caused a big stir across the campus.
One day, after the other two teachers had finished their morning shift around lunchtime, they changed out of their uniforms and left. When they came back at 2:00 p.m., Teacher Hui's uniform was nowhere to be found. She asked everybody, but no one had seen her uniform. The employees started gossiping, and because I was the one taking care of the kids during the lunch break, they were suspicious that I had thrown it away.
A few days later, just by chance, I saw Teacher Hui's uniform under the cupboard in the bathroom. When I took it to her, she threw it on the floor angrily and refused to wear it or wash it. She talked with Teacher Jiang behind my back, still believing that I'd hid her uniform.
I knew that she was very unhappy, so I washed her uniform and tried to help her to let it go. I said, “If the kids did it, then we should forgive their mischievousness. If an adult did it, then such behavior was not acceptable. Let's just focus on taking care of the children and all will be clear when we check the CCTV footage.”
However, the whole kindergarten was in the throes of preparing for an inspection by provincial officials in a few days, and there was no time to check the CCTV footage. Some of my colleagues kept telling me that Teacher Hui was spreading rumors that I had thrown her uniform away. People started to shoot me strange looks.
No matter how others were treating me, I had a clear conscience. I did not try to explain and just kept doing my job the best I could.
A few days later, the kindergarten leadership checked the CCTV footage and it turned out that a little boy threw Teacher Hui's uniform under the cupboard in the bathroom, and they also found some socks and insoles Teacher Hui had lost in the past. When the facts came out, some teachers suggested that I ask Teacher Hui to apologize to me. I didn't say anything and just smiled.
Passing Gifts on to Parents
In the second term, I was transferred to Class 3, the best class in the kindergarten with the best equipment. The children of the kindergarten administrators were all in that class. Because the children were only three and a half years old, parents often gave teachers gifts in order to make sure their children were well taken care of. I refused to accept any gifts or money and told them that I appreciated their kindness, but I could not accept their hard-earned money. I also assured them that we would look after their children well regardless.
One day, after picking up her child, Dingding's mom took me aside and insisted that I accept a 200-yuan gift card. I said, “Thank you for your kindness, but I cannot accept it. Prices are going up for everything and you have a family to look after. Please spend the money on your child.”
She was really surprised to hear what I said. The next day when Dingding's father brought her to the kindergarten, he greeted me with a friendly smile.
Sometimes, the other two teachers accepted gifts on my behalf, and this made it difficult for me. So I tried to pay the parents back by buying gifts for them or giving the things I had received to other parents. They were all pleasantly surprised as they had never seen any teacher give a parent a gift.
Dafa Has Blessed My Family
My husband often says “Falun Dafa is good. Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” and has benefited from Dafa as a result.
He was in critical condition and near death ten years ago, but he survived and is healthy now.
My son is a nice boy. To keep from burdening us financially, he found a part-time job in a restaurant to support himself while studying at the university. After graduating, he went to Beijing and took a part-time job while searching for a full-time position. He spent two months there and came back with 20,000 yuan. He said to me, “Mom, I have earned some money to pay for Dad's medication.”
My son later found a good job in our city. We know these blessings all come from Dafa and Master.
