(Clearwisdom.net) Several practitioners who had attended Teacher's lectures began to spread the Fa in May of 1996. Soon after, more and more people began practicing Falun Gong, and we went from a dozen to more than a hundred practitioners locally. The practice spread rapidly from the urban area to the suburbs, and there were thousands of practitioners before the onset of the persecution. There were practice sites and Fa study groups everywhere. One such Fa study group was in my home. We started with four or five people and ended up with over 20 practitioners, mostly older folks. They had little education and poor memories, but they were enthusiastic about studying the Fa.

Through group Fa study, we improved our understanding of the Fa and assimilated to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. We helped each other and improved continuously while cultivating diligently.

After the onset of the persecution, our Fa study group stopped meeting for some time. Most of the practitioners were not deceived by the CCP's propaganda, as they had deep faith in Teacher and the Fa. Some went to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong in the provincial capital, some went to appeal in Beijing, and others distributed materials about Falun Gong and the persecution locally. A few were scared off and left for other belief systems. Teacher said:

"If we change the situation in human society and reverse the general climate, then let's see who still says that Dafa is good and who changes his mind. This way, won't everything suddenly become crystal clear?" ("Huge Exposure" from Essentials for Further Advancement)

Then we decided to resume our group Fa study. We realized that what we were doing was not merely self-cultivation and self-improvement, but rather assisting Teacher in the Fa rectification and in saving sentient beings.

Practitioner A, nearly 70 years old, had never attended school. She never missed group Fa study after she began practicing Falun Gong. She learned how to read Zhuan Falun word-by-word, sentence-by-sentence, by listening to other practitioners. At home, she read the book and consulted her husband and children for words that she did not know. In less than six months, she was able to read the Fa paragraph by paragraph on her own. She is now able to read all the Fa books and lectures, as well as Minghui Weekly and other Dafa materials. Because she studies the Fa and does the exercises diligently, Teacher has purified her body. Now she looks like she is in her 50s, although she's almost 70. Her xinxing has improved greatly, as well. Seeing her great improvements, her family believed in the miracle of Falun Dafa, and all 13 of her family members have begun practicing Falun Gong.

Practitioner B suffered from uremia and was on the verge of death. After practicing Falun Gong, her uremic symptoms disappeared, and she was determined to practice. In 2005, she was arrested when she and other practitioners were distributing fliers. They were taken to a detention center. She was released soon after because she held strong righteous thoughts. Practitioner B became even more determined and set up a Fa study group at her home. In 2009, officials from the 610 Office broke into her home again. She didn't succumb to the threats and warned them not to do evil. She told them that all good deeds would be rewarded and evil deeds would be punished. She made it possible for her daughter-in-law to escape and also notified other practitioners.

Practitioner C is in her late 60s. She is doing well what Teacher requires of Dafa disciples--the three things. She has tried to persuade those who stopped practicing Falun Gong to return to the practice and save sentient beings. She went to visit them many times, even when they turned her away initially. Although she was arrested four times, she remained diligent, continued to attend group Fa study, and did the three things well.

Practitioner D is a retired civil official. He stopped cultivating out of fear after hearing the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) poisonous propaganda. Practitioners in the Fa study group helped him patiently to overcome his fear, until he decided to continue on his cultivation path. He has set up a material production site at home and taken over the delivery of Falun Dafa materials to practitioners.

Practitioner E is from a minority group. He has been doing well in clarifying the facts and helping people quit the CCP. Through his work, he was able to clarify the facts about Falun Dafa and helped several hundred people resign from the CCP and its affiliated organizations.

Practitioners F and G are veteran practitioners. They have been providing technical support and supplies for the material sites despite great pressure and constant danger.

Practitioner H has been responsible for delivering all types of Falun Dafa materials to many practitioners. She learned how to use a computer and how to operate a material production site and helped others, including an elderly couple, to set up a site. In the process of setting up the sites, the practitioners have improved in their cultivation and discovered attachments.

At the end of 2005, the persecution was extremely severe. Several big material production sites were sabotaged and practitioners were arrested. We could no longer get Falun Dafa materials for a period of time, but we persevered. When we ran out of money, everyone donated some. When no one had the technical skills to run a material production site, we found ways to get those skills.

We bought computers, printers, and copiers and asked those with technical knowledge to teach us. It didn't take long before we could access the Internet and learn everything needed to succeed in our task. In order to reduce the danger of discovery by police, we divided a big material production site into four small sites.

In 2006, some practitioners had a poor understanding of the Fa, including a coordinator. He was arrested and detained in a forced labor camp for one year. After he was released, he could not catch up with the Fa-rectification's requirements. He thought that he had cultivated better than others and had already reached Consummation. We did not give up on him, however. We visited him and shared with him based on the Fa and helped him find where he fell short. We also gave him Teacher's lectures that he had missed. He finally understood where he had gone wrong.

It is easier to go downhill than uphill, and that saying certainly fits for cultivation practice. One practitioner slacked off after the persecution started in July of 1999. Sometimes she read Zhuan Falun, but did not know how to cultivate. She worked hard in her business and focused on becoming rich. Within a few years, she became very wealthy, but she had turned into an ordinary person. She suddenly woke up and cultivated again after reading Teacher's article "My Version of a 'Stick Wake-up.'" She began to study the Fa diligently, and soon she caught up with other practitioners. In order to do the three things well, she purchased equipment and learned to access the Internet and make truth-clarification materials, including the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. She went to distribute Falun Dafa materials and helped people quit the CCP. She also helped practitioners from poor mountainous areas to set up material production sites.

We help each other and point out where we have done well and where we have fallen short. We are improving continuously. Looking back at the 13 years of cultivation under Teacher's compassionate protection, we have cultivated diligently and let go of many human attachments. We have gradually matured as one body. We thank Teacher for our salvation, and we shall live up to the title of Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples.