(Clearwisdom.net) Ms. Chun is now 72 years old. Her husband died this year at the age of 78. She would like to share her cultivation experiences, which she dictated and were edited by another practitioner.

In February 1995, my daughter came home and said, "I heard good things about Falun Gong. Do you want to try it out?" In the past, whenever someone brought up a qigong topic, I would have no reaction at all, but when my daughter mentioned the words of Falun Gong, I got excited and wanted to look into it.

The next day, I found a Falun Gong group practice site and started practicing the exercises by following the other practitioners. After the practice I obtained a Dafa book, and from then on I have followed Master closely and believed in Dafa. I do righteous things with righteous thoughts.

I have suffered from rheumatoid arthritis since I was young. My fingers and legs were misshapen, and I had difficulty walking. I was in chronic pain and suffered a lot. After ten days of practice, a miracle happened. The chronic pain disappeared, and I could climb up a mountain to pick mushrooms with youngsters. I didn't feel tired when I reached the mountaintop. Everyone was astounded at my agility. The significant change in my health was once again proof of the power of Dafa.

Once I began the practice I experienced physical tribulations and xinxing tests, one after another. In the winter of 1995 I had sudden abdominal pain--so severe that I was rolling from one side of the bed to the other and even onto the floor. My clothes were sweat-soaked. This continued for seven days.

I had only one thought--to follow the Fa closely. Whenever there was less pain I read Master's article "True Cultivation" over and over again. On day at 7:00 a.m., I asked Master, "Dear Master, I will have group practice at my home this afternoon. Can you hold the pain until after Fa study when everyone leaves?" The pain stopped before the other practitioners showed up. It seemed as though nothing had happened. I was so grateful from the bottom of my heart.

I experienced another physical tribulation at the beginning of winter in 1997. I slipped on an icy road and could not get up. A woman came, and with great effort pulled me up and helped me to a bench. My husband came and pulled me up from the bench, but I couldn't stand up straight. He carried me on his back, brought me home, and put me in bed. I thought, "I am OK. I can stand up and walk by myself." I struggled to stand up at the bedside and tried to walk. Three days later I could go to the bathroom by myself. Six days later I could walk without any problem.

Another time I fell from the roof of my house while getting some onions. My wrist was broken, but I did not go to a hospital. Instead, enduring the great pain, I made the broken bones heal.

When I experience severe tribulations and conflicts, my mind is always firm with one thought, "I should be fine because I practice Falun Gong. Master is there to protect me, and a miracle will happen."

On April 25, 1999, at 3:00 a.m., my husband and I got up and prepared to walk to a bus station half a mile from our house. My son had promised to take us to the bus station, but he was not ready at 3:30 a.m, so we decided to walk. It did not take us long to get there. By the time my son showed up with his bike, we were already seated on the bus. Once we got there that day we did nothing but stand around Fuyujie Street in Beijing for more than ten hours. We were so proud and fortunate that we witnessed this significant and memorable event on April 25, 1999.

On July 21, 1999, my husband, daughter and I went to Tiananmen Square and prepared to go to the Appeals Office. Many practitioners before us were arrested, but the police didn't touch us. Suddenly a woman shouted to a tall policeman in front of us, "Hey, those three (she pointed at us) are also Falun Gong practitioners," but the policeman ignored her. My husband grabbed my daughter and me and walked west. The tall policeman shouted at us, "Hey, you! Go this way (he pointed east, toward Tiananmen Square) if you don't want to be arrested." We then walked east. We asked a policeman for directions, and none questioned us. We got home safely.

In 2001 I went to Beijing again along with other practitioners to appeal. At Tiananmen Square we unfolded a banner reading, "Falun Dafa Is Good!" We were later arrested and illegally detained at a local detention center for more than six months. I escaped from the brainwashing center with the power of righteous thoughts. It was a memorable event and is engraved in my heart. Before July 20, about twenty of us practitioners at the detention center made an important decision. We wanted to do something to validate Dafa that day.

Two days before July 20, we collected hot pepper paste (red), toothpaste (white), some white and black cloth, and white bedsheets that could be made into red banners. Early in the morning on July 20, 2001, we quickly hung the banners from the window and door and to the walls of our cells. They read: "Falun Dafa Is Good! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance Is Good! Falun Dafa Is the Righteous Law!" The detention center consisted of four ranch houses at each of the four sides and a big yard in the middle. What we did really got the attention of the guards and other detainees. There was an uproar. Some people read the banners aloud, some whistled, and some put their thumbs up in response to us.

The guards became afraid when they found out what was going on. More than twenty of them rushed into the yard and took down the cloth banners with Dafa words on them. They conducted a body search and forced some of us to take off our clothes. One female guard slapped a woman practitioner's face and attempted to take off her underwear but was unsuccessful. Guards forced us to leave the room, but we sat side by side in the lotus position, holding hands. Some of us were carried away and dropped on the ground, and others were handcuffed.

That evening we protested the persecution by refusing to return to the cell and by requesting unconditional release. Our clothes, blankets and quilts were taken away. We sat on the concrete ground in the yard. The criminal detainees were moved by how we persisted in our faith and had great respect for us. They sent us clothes, blankets, and even some instant noodles. They remained with us to eat or to help us put clothes/blankets on and said, "You are heroes of the world. We support you." Some said, "I will practice Falun Gong after I get out of here." Despite the brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, people were not fooled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and used their words and actions to assimilate to Dafa and made for themselves good fortune. In the meantime, practitioners used their righteous actions to validate Dafa and save more people.

Later we realized that the detention center was not the place for Dafa practitioners. We held a group hunger strike and requested unconditional release. Our family members went to regime officials, demanding our release. Outside practitioners posted messages and flyers to expose the evil persecution, and we sent righteous thoughts. Finally, the CCP officials compromised, and we were transferred to a brainwashing center. We all escaped, and the center closed down.

In our region, clarifying the truth about Dafa and exposing the persecution began in 2004. I did not fall behind because of my age. When the other practitioners and I went to validate Dafa, the youngsters wanted to help me when we were going up or down a hill. I said to them, "I can do it by myself." I also went with the other practitioners to the countryside whenever they asked me to go. I felt a responsibility to save people, no matter how bad the weather was or how far we had to travel.

In 2004 I teamed up with my husband to validate Dafa in a nearby village. My husband took me along on his bicycle. Later we changed to an electric bicycle. One time we traveled to Li Village, not knowing how far it would be. We thought that we were there and then realized we had to climb another mountain to get there. We didn't give up. My husband held the bike in the front, and I pushed from behind. We rested several times while climbing up the mountain. We were so tired and sweaty. Getting down the mountain was even more difficult. It was so steep that his toes hurt. His toenails were injured and eventually fell off. Although it was very hard for us, we felt a sense of reward when we thought that many people would understand the truth and be saved.

One day we passed by a road construction site, populated with many out-of-town workers. We realized that they came here to learn about the truth of Dafa, so we decided to do something. Every day my husband and I went to the site to clarify the truth and encourage them to quit the CCP and its affiliates. Our efforts paid off. Each time we arrived, we were able to convince a dozen people to quit the CCP. I was talking to the construction workers one day when a young man asked, "Can I have one of your flyers?" I asked, "Are you a member of the CCP or the Communist Youth League?" "Yes," he said. "Why don't you quit? If you do, you will have a safer future." He said, "OK, please help me to quit." With flyers in his hands, the young man went happily back to his work.

My husband and I were a good team. I did most of the talking. Since I can't read and write, my husband recorded their names. Sometimes he also helped me with a few words. He still had some fear, and when others refused to listen, he stopped me and told me to leave immediately. Usually I didn't do what he said. In my opinion, as long as there is still the slightest hope, I will make an effort to save them. These people came to the world for Dafa, and saving them means saving all sentient beings in their worlds.

Another day I went to the countryside with another practitioner in her 70s. We encountered a man in his 40s. When he saw us distributing flyers to the public he said, "If you dare to continue, I will report you to the police." We were not afraid, telling him with a smile, "We are offering you salvation by giving you the flyers. We are both in our 70s. We had to pay our bus fare to get here in such cold weather, and we don't charge you a penny. What's our motivation if not for your own good? You even want to report us to the police. Are you sure you are doing the right thing?" The man said, "You are so brave!" Then he left.

On another occasion, a practitioner twenty years younger than me went with me to the countryside to clarify the truth. Before we entered a village I saw a cloud that looked like a rectangular-shaped plate with many words on it. But I couldn't read anything. I told a villager, and he also saw it. As we walked, the plate followed us. I thought it was Master's way to encourage us. In the afternoon on our way back, we didn't take a bus. We walked along a road. That day I didn't feel any pain in my legs and walked at a fast pace. The younger practitioner had a hard time keeping up with me. After a few kilometers a mini van approached us from behind. The van stopped to give us a ride after we waved. I knew Master was taking care of me by arranging for the van.

In 2006, practitioners in our area began an effort to clarify the truth to villages where there were no practitioners. We rented cars. I told our coordinator, "I want to go with you whenever you go." I made several trips with them. Sometimes we stopped by four villages in one day, and we had to walk about thirty kilometers of mountain road. It was amazing. When I was clarifying the truth, I never felt any pain in my legs, no matter how much I walked. I could walk very fast and squat easily. But as soon as I returned home I began feeling pain in my legs and had trouble squatting. I know that saving people is the most righteous and most sacred thing to do. Master was protecting me by bearing the pain. The reason I felt the pain afterwards was to let me pay back my karma during tribulations and strengthen my belief.

When we clarify the truth we should have solid righteous thoughts and have strong faith in Master and Dafa. When we encounter any trouble, we should remember to send righteous thoughts. Before we go to a village or someone's house, we should eliminate our fear by sending forth righteous thoughts.

The day of this year's Dragon Boat Festival my husband died in a car accident. Facing this sudden tragedy, I almost lost myself. My children spent a long time with me, and fellow practitioners told me not to treat this accident with an everyday person's mentality. They encouraged me to give up my emotions. I also did my best to control my emotions and not to cry in front of people.

After I calmed down I began thinking about the tragedy with rational thoughts. I understand that nothing in cultivation is accidental. Although my husband believed in Master and the Fa, he did not pay attention to Fa study. As a result, his viewpoints on many subjects were not based on the Fa. I like to read Zhuan Falun and read the book many times. He said, "You only read one book hundreds of times, but you still did not attain any higher meaning." He preferred reading Master's new lectures, the "Minghui Weekly" and other informational materials.

After we installed a satellite dish to received NTDTV programs, he began to focus on the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and some prophecies. He paid a lot of attention to current social affairs and was attached to a time line of when the Fa-rectification might end. He often wondered why the end was not coming. He also had fear of the persecution. Sometimes when the TV signal was cut off, he felt restless. I think he was not very clear on the Fa principles and was too attached to the end of the Fa-rectification. He did not want to suffer pressure and pain. As a result, the old forces took advantage of his loopholes and took away his life. This was a hard lesson learned.

Whenever practitioners worked on projects, I supported them with my best effort. Occasionally, when the persecution situation got tough, I encouraged others to stay calm. Practitioners often came to my house to share experiences and discuss issues. My three sons and a daughter and their families were supportive and appreciative of Dafa. My older daughter-in-law and her daughter are practitioners. One time, when my third son didn't see practitioners at our house for while, he asked, "Mom, how come other practitioners are no longer coming here? Tell them to come to study in our house. I am not afraid of anything. I support Dafa."

Other practitioners commented that I treasure the special relationship between practitioners and try to help others in any way I can. Once, an elderly practitioner suffered from a disease karma tribulation and was unclear about it. To help her overcome the test, I went to her house several times to study the Fa with her. Soon this practitioner overcame the tribulation. Another practitioner had returned from a forced labor camp several years prior and had experienced several major cultivation tests. I helped her whenever she was struggling with hardship. A couple of plain words boosted her righteous thoughts to prepare her for a test. This practitioner realized that Master had arranged this to help her.

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Master's boundless compassion can save everyone, young or old, educated or not. The experiences of Ms. Chun, an older woman who had no schooling, is a good testament to Dafa's mighty power.