From October 6-9, a three-day Columbus Fair was held in Providence, the capital of Rhode Island. Falun Dafa practitioners from Massachusetts and Rhode Island participated in this fair. Through the joint efforts of all practitioners, the three-day event of promoting Dafa was quite satisfactorily.
The weather was nice during the first two days and there were many visitors. The pictures and materials, prepared by practitioners from Boston, which introduced Dafa and demonstrated the truth of the persecution against Falun Gong in Mainland China, attracted many of the fair goers. Many visitors registered to attend the introductory workshop to be held at a university at the end of this month. Lots of people expressed their righteous indignation and incomprehension toward the persecution against Falun Gong by the Chinese Government. Some people said that they would write to the Chinese Embassy requesting them to immediately stop the persecution against Falun Gong. During the first day, over two thousand flyers demonstrating the persecution against Falun Gong practitioners in Mainland China were handed out. On the second day, practitioners from Boston replenished the printed materials. Practitioners hope wholeheartedly that more people will know about Falun Dafa and understand the truth.
With the spreading of Dafa heading deeper, more and more people begin to know of Dafa. An elder professor came to our booth and asked: "Can you sell the Dafa Quarterly Report to me? I have obtained and read other materials from different sources, but this is my first time to see the Quarterly Report." We gave him the magazine free of charge and he left satisfied. Another visitor told us that he was interested in Falun Gong. He asked when there would be a practice site in Providence and hoped that he could join the practice with others.
A high-school teacher carefully read the materials in front of the booth. He said that he had been paying attention to Falun Gong for several months and was seriously thinking about it. He also said "although Media reports about Falun Gong are not very serious, within time, thoughtful people will wonder how Falun Gong practitioners can remain peaceful and rational under such harsh conditions. More people will come to know Falun Gong." Before he left, he took all sorts of materials and wrote down our telephone numbers. He said that he would invite us to introduce Falun Gong in his school at an appropriate time.
As it was getting dark on the first day, fewer visitors showed up and we did not have many Dafa materials left. We thought we could leave a little bit earlier. At that moment, a young couple came to us. The girl said that she had been learning qigong for several months and that she was interested in Falun Gong. The young man said that he had learned several kinds of qigong and that he came specially to see if he could find Falun Gong practitioners in Rhode Island. They were very pleased to know that we would hold a workshop in a university at the end of this month and said that they would attend it for sure. Seeing them walking away, we decided to stay later and not have other predestined people be disappointed at our absence.
Because most practitioners had left in the evening, young practitioners started to play a role by distributing Dafa newspapers. They ran back and forth. Some visitors were pleased to take the newspapers from their hands. They kept distributing newspapers until 9 pm when they could not withstand the cold anymore and got into their cars to have a rest. Then one practitioner practiced Falun Gong exercises while another practitioner added newly copied materials about the persecution in China into newspapers and distributing them at the same time. Just when he felt it was too busy to handle all these jobs, a few American kids walked over and asked if they could offer any help by distributing the newspapers. These kids learned the fifth set of exercise earlier in the afternoon and were interested in Falun Gong. We were pleased to have them help. They distributed the newspapers in high spirit until close to the end of the event and promised to come back to learn the third set of Falun Gong exercises on the next day.
One day, an American girl stood for a long time in front of a practitioner and watched him practicing the Falun Gong exercises. When the practitioner stopped between the sets of the exercises, she asked: "Would you please continue practicing the exercises? I like watching it very much." She was watching until her friend dragged her away; she was reluctant to go and kept looking back repeatedly.
One practitioner from Boston participated in the event for all three days. She distributed the newspapers with a smile to visitors. While taking the newspaper from her, a visitor said: "You win!" Later this practitioner said with deep feeling: "We obtained Dafa and we have benefited, but there are still so many people who have not obtained Dafa. As long as we continue to spread Dafa with a kind heart, people will be moved."
The third day was cloudy and cold with heavy wind and occasional rain. Some practitioners from Dedham and Lexington, Massachusetts arrived in the early morning. Although there were not many visitors, our practitioners practiced the Falun Gong exercises and distributed materials as usual. One visitor talked with the practitioners, and when leaving he grasped the hands of practitioners and said: "Thank you for bringing this information. Thank you for staying here on such a cold day."
The three-day event was over, but we have a long way to go to spread Dafa. There are still so many kind-hearted people who have not obtained Dafa. There are still so many people who do not know the truth. There are lots more things for us to do...
Practitioners from Massachusetts and Rhode Island
October 11, 2000
