(Clearwisdom.net) I became a Falun Gong practitioner in 1997. Word had spread that Falun Gong could not only heal diseases and improve one's physical condition, but also teach people to be good. A few people in our village had already learned how to practice Falun Gong six months earlier in another town.

Every morning at sunrise, a crowd collected at a house that served as our group exercise site. More than 20 of us, men and women, old and young, breathed the fresh air together and peacefully performed the exercises in unison to Master's music. What a spiritual refreshment it was!

Exposing its evil nature, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) struck viciously at Falun Gong and its practitioners in 1999. The wicked Party utilized its vast state resources to brutally persecute practitioners and try to force them to give up Falun Gong.

Some practitioners feared the cruelty of the CCP and its torture, so they did not dare to practice in public, even though they understood that Falun Dafa was good. But the physical and spiritual benefits of Falun Dafa are enduring, and no outside forces can erase them from our hearts.

Despite the brutal persecution, most practitioners followed their hearts and resolved to continue clarifying the truth about Falun Gong to others. They diligently followed Falun Gong's xinxing requirements and maintained a proper demeanor to awaken the goodness in other sentient beings.

Now, many others are beginning to wake from the apathy and hatred inspired by the lies of the CCP. They have protected practitioners among them to the best of their ability, and when they are finished with their farming work, they are again talking about Falun Gong. Some have even become new practitioners, despite the persecution.

We long for the joy that Falun Gong brought to practitioners, our families and others, when we were able to practice in peace in our country village before the persecution. History has made clear the greatness of Falun Dafa and Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.