United States: Introducing Falun Dafa in a Church in Las Vegas

On June 26th, 2005, a church in Las Vegas invited some local Falun Dafa practitioners to give a presentation on Falun Gong and to teach the exercises. The parishioners of that church normally meet every month to learn about other faiths and philosophical opinions.

They had an eight-page-long schedule of activities for that day. Yet despite the numerous other activities that had been organised, the parishioners made Falun Gong the main subject for the day. They arranged for us to speak and introduce Falun Gong to the congregation many times. They even put the words "Falun Dafa," and "Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance" in Chinese and English on the first page, as a cover for their program.

The night before this event, our host Susan had watched the movie, "Sandstorm." She told us she was moved to tears by this award-winning movie about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. As soon as the activity began, Susan gave out Falun Gong fliers and VCDs to everyone and then gave a speech to open the day, in which she expressed her respect for and belief in the principles taught in Falun Dafa. She read parts of Lunyu (the opening statement of Zhuan Falun, which is the main text of Falun Dafa), and spoke about the book and its author, the founder of Falun Gong, Mr. Li Hongzhi.

We demonstrated the Falun Gong exercises twice, and then two practitioners introduced how Falun Gong had spread all around the world, helping people to heal their illnesses and keep fit, as well as improve their morality. Unfortunately, the practitioners said, this wonderful practice is being persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Everyone in the room was very moved by the talk and listened intently; many were even moved to tears by the presentation. We felt that they sincerely appreciated our introduction to this ancient Chinese practice.

There was a simple party after the activity. Some people who were interested in learning the exercises stayed to learn them. During the get-together, the practitioners continued to clarify the truth, further touching people's hearts. Two people asked us how they could donate some money, and one person wanted more of our Dafa materials to give to other friends of his. We demonstrated the five sets of exercises, and they followed along beside us. One gentleman told me that his shoulder was aching in the morning, but after learning the exercises, it did not hurt at all. It was such a wonderful experience for him that he took more informational materials when he left.

When we were leaving, Susan asked us for some extra materials. She wanted to introduce Falun Gong to more predestined people. She planned to invite us again to come talk about Falun Gong and to teach the exercises at their next gathering.