(Minghui.org) The weather was sunny and warm, as if early summer was arriving on April 12, 2024. People were coming and going in Southside Park near the urban area of Sacramento, the capital of California, USA, for an early celebration of Earth Day (April 22). Organized by the Environmental Council of Sacramento, the event aimed to raise awareness of caring for the earth and cherishing resources. Hundreds of booths provided visitors with a variety of information and services. Local Falun Dafa practitioners were invited to participate in the exhibition and share the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.
Although the event started at 11 a.m., many people passed by or went to the exhibition site in advance due to its proximity to a large farmers market that opened at 8 a.m. Whenever people passed by, the practitioners who were preparing for the day of activities warmly greeted them, gave them informational Falun Dafa materials, exquisite little origami lotus flowers, and clarified the truth about Falun Dafa. Quite a few Chinese visitors took information and expressed interest in learning the practice. This had rarely happened since the persecution in China began, causing Chinese inside and outside China to misunderstand and avoid Falun Dafa.
People ask practitioners how to learn the Falun Dafa exercises.
Also different from previous years, more young people expressed strong interest and were able to calm down and complete the five sets of exercises. Even when the activity was about to end, there were still people coming to learn the exercises.
People learn the Falun Dafa exercises.
A tourist told a practitioner that he had been practicing Falun Dafa for more than a year. He practiced it at home and felt very good. There were still many visitors stopping by when the event ended at around 4 p.m. During the event, practitioners distributed Falun Dafa informational materials almost non-stop, and clarified the truth about Falun Dafa, the benefits of practicing Falun Dafa and the cruel fact of the persecution by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Austin, an African American, was taken aback by a painting in the booth that depicted the persecution. After learning more about the CCP’s persecution, he had a clearer understanding of the nature of the CCP.
A young man named Wes and his two friends saw the three words Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance on the banner and stopped. They said the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance were very good, but when faced with the choice between the principles and real interests, will those politicians really do what’s right? But, when they heard practitioners’ stories about how countless Falun Dafa practitioners had not given up their belief despite experiencing brutal persecution and losing everything, they became awe-struck and agreed that this principle is still beautiful and feasible.
Dol, an Indian man wearing white clothes, visited the booth to learn about Falun Dafa. He learned that local practitioners taught the exercises for free as volunteers in public places such as parks, and that no donations are taken. Regarding this, he was surprised. After listening to the practitioners’ experiences in practicing Falun Dafa, especially those from China, who had suffered hardships and were persecuted, Dol thoughtfully took the information and expressed that he wanted to go back and learn more.
A Caucasion woman quickly walked by, but stopped and came back, excitedly telling a practitioner that her last name was Falun. The practitioner said, “This is fate.” She happily said, “Yes, yes, I believe it.”
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