(Clearwisdom.net, October 13, 2003) On October 12, 1996, our great Master came to Houston to teach the Fa at the Overseas Chinese Education Center. At the same time, our esteemed Master was named an "Honorary Citizen" of the City of Houston and honored as a "Goodwill Ambassador". That was the first proclamation to honor Falun Gong in North America. At present, Falun Gong has received more than one thousand awards throughout the world. At that time, over 600 people were fortunate to attend the grand historical event.
Now, seven years later, on Sunday, October 12, 2003, more than 1000 Falun Dafa practitioners, mostly from North America, Taiwan, Europe and Australia gathered in Houston to attend the 2003 U.S. South Falun Dafa Experience Sharing Conference to celebrate the seventh anniversary of Master's teaching the Fa in Houston.
The Fahui conference hall was filled with a solemn atmosphere. Master Li's photo was hung in the middle and two Falun emblems were hung on either side of it. The background was a painting of a lotus flower. The banner read, "2003 U.S. Southern Falun Dafa Experience Sharing Conference." Seven lotus flower lamps that were placed at the front of the stage symbolized the seventh anniversary of Master Li's teaching the Fa in Houston.
At least 40 proclamations and congratulatory letters from government officials of different levels were received for this Fa conference. Texas government officials from different levels highly praised Falun Dafa, its worldwide spread and the benefits it has brought to people throughout the world. They also highly recognized the great compassion and tolerance that Dafa disciples embodied during the persecution.
About 18 practitioners shared their experiences and understandings during the process of Fa rectification cultivation. We believe that this Fa conference will further encourage practitioners to do well in truth-clarification. Attendees from North America and other countries and regions will also take the shared experiences, understandings and information to their areas.
