While the President of Uruguay was busy being a polite host to Jiang Zemin, the local people were enthusiastically embracing the Falun Gong exercises and warmly welcoming the practitioners during their Easter week vacation.
Upon arriving in Montevideo, a small group of practitioners went to a very popular local park and exhibition center where Uruguayan people from all levels of society come to rest, play, and spend time with their families. We asked for permission to demonstrate the exercises to the people and explained that Falun Dafa is always free of charge. They kindly gave us permission and helped us find a somewhat quiet spot to demonstrate. For the rest of the day we continuously practiced the exercises, showing all 5 sets again and again. While most of us practiced, some of us handed out Falun Dafa material and explained the practice. Most people didn't wait for us to give them a flyer, but instead came up to ask for information or an explanation. The people in Uruguay, as we found in all the Latin American countries we visited so far, were extremely friendly, open hearted and sincere.
A Practitioner's Elderly Mother Steps Forward
One practitioner who came with us brought her white haired, elderly mother. Her mother had learned the exercises but did not practice daily. She wanted to come and help us introduce Falun Dafa. Even though she did not call herself a practitioner, she practiced the exercises all day long for hours without complaining or even stopping to rest. Many older women were inspired to try the exercises after watching her doing them so steadily. The next day she was surprised that she felt so good and was not stiff or sore from practicing for so long. She even read the book together with her daughter for the first time.
"Daddy, I want to stay and learn"
Several children ran up to ask what we were doing. When we explained Falun Dafa and Zhen Shan Ren, they listened very seriously. They all wanted to try to learn and were very diligent about it. After watching the young people between 9 and 16 years old learn the exercises, many adults came up and also wanted to learn. The environment was noisy and festive, with music blaring from different locations. After the children started to practice the exercises, all the music and noise in the area stopped. Even people's conversations stopped for several minutes, and the area became very still and quiet. One little girl, who was about 7 years old, did not want to go home and begged her father, "Daddy, I want to stay and learn." Her father kindly let her stay and learn the first exercise. Before she left, she asked for a flyer with the information. A two-year-old child started trying to practice after watching the group. He attempted to do the "Arhat holding the Mountain" and also did Heshi by himself while his parents smiled. This went on all day long. As one group finished learning, another group came up to learn. Everyone wanted to know where the practice site was and how to get the book. We gave out hundreds of flyers and taught about 75 people the exercises throughout the afternoon.
Falun Dafa Falun Dafa
A young man came up and read the words on my Falun Dafa t-shirt. He repeated "Falun Dafa, Falun Dafa" very slowly several times. Then he asked, "What is Falun Dafa?" After explaining it to him in Spanish, he looked very thoughtful and was quiet for a minute. Then he started repeating the words "Falun Dafa" slowly. I asked him if he would like to learn the exercises, but he said he had to go somewhere. So I told him to remember the words and one day we would be back and he could learn. As he walked away he kept repeating the words "Falun Dafa" very seriously.
Clarify the True Facts to Chinese People Wherever They Are
Later in the evening we went to a Chinese restaurant to have dinner. A young Chinese couple came into the restaurant with their Uruguayan friend. When they saw our group and our Falun Dafa t-shirts they kept staring and watching us with surprise. After our food came and we began eating, a Chinese practitioner traveling with us went over to them and exchanged some friendly words. The couple was from Mainland China and was very surprised to see Falun Gong practitioners in a South American country. The practitioner took a moment to explain the true facts about Falun Gong and gave them some materials in Chinese. After reading the materials and looking at the flyer about the persecution, the Chinese woman looked very upset and shocked. She just held her head in her hands and looked down at the table. She couldn't even look at us. It seemed that this couple had no idea of what is really happening in China. We were sorry to bring so much sadness to the women but we were glad to have the opportunity to clarify the true facts about Dafa to Chinese people everywhere and reach their hearts on this matter.
Category: Other Community Events
