Dear fellow practitioners in Atlanta:

I want to thank you all on your encouragement in my attending the experience sharing conference this weekend in DC. I had a wonderful time and it was very beneficial.

It was really nice to see and talk to other practitioners around the country. Hearing their many varied stories encouraged me in my Dafa cultivation. And as Robert mentioned in his speech, I do, in fact, feel stronger, calmer, and closer to Dafa than before the conference.

I was moved several times during the speeches. When people were up there pouring their souls out for all to see with reckless abandon, I felt much closer to them as well as to Dafa. Hearing their stories made my own struggle for assimilation with Zhen-Shan-Ren seem more important.

While the indoor experiences were great, I think I connected better with some of the outdoor speeches. Perhaps this was because I was better rested and, hence, better able to receive, or perhaps I was just now more used to the environment. I remember hearing the sharing of a young girl speaking about going to China and hearing her tribulations as she tried to promote Dafa to various people and appealing to the government.

During this speech I noticed a young black boy running on the far side of the Mall. He was running as fast as he could toward us. I casually followed him as I listened to the simultaneous English translation in my head via radio broadcast. I watched him get closer and closer until he reached us. He came and sat down near the edge of the many people who were seated on the lawn listening to this young girl speak. He seemed very interested in what she was saying.

I was amazed at how long he sat there listening. I was pretty sure he couldn't understand Chinese yet he kept listening. I watched a nearby practitioner walk up to him and handed him some reading material which he promptly started reading. Every so often he'd ask his neighbor about something he was reading. Then he stopped reading and continued to watch the Chinese speaking girl. I was extremely touched by this sight and tears welled up in my eyes.

Dafa truly is great. When it can command this type of attention from this little boy, who didn't even understand the language...... Wow!

Soon, his mom showed up with his brother. She saw that by this time someone had given him his own radio/headphones and was now hearing the same thing I was. She sat down next to him and borrowed his radio and listened while he read the flier. She gave it back to him soon and when someone offered to give her her own, she refused. Just then an older Chinese woman took radio and approached the woman and just placed the earphones on her head without even asking. Then the other brother got his and I watched as the entire family listened. I could almost feel their yearning.

By this time a young gentleman was describing his experiences. He talked about the changes in his life, which were profound. But then he started talking about his mother, who was suffering from arthritis and asthma. She couldn't even read the book herself. He decided to read the book to her each night as she laid in bed. As he described this I watched the woman sitting across from me with her two kids hanging on every word.

When the gentleman wiped the tears from his eyes as he described that his mother's pains were washed away by his mere reading of Zhuan Falun to her she slowly turned to the flier that her son was reading and picked it up to learn more. My eyes welled up with tears again and I knew that this endeavor we were embracing was, indeed, tremendously powerful.

I can only hope to emulate the diligence and progress of the others I met who are further along the path to consummation than I as I strive to return to my true self with the help of Falun Dafa.

Scott