(Clearwisdom.net June 25, 2003) Mr. Effner of Missouri has been practicing traditional Chinese medicine for 15 years. He traveled to Chicago recently for the fourth Falun Dafa Experience Sharing Conference held in the city. Another purpose for going, he said, was to provide guitar accompaniment for his daughter Sara, who sang at two Falun Gong concerts in downtown Chicago.
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| Mr. Effner and his daughter Sara | Musician Qi Xiaochun from California is performing Erhu, a two-stringed bowed instrument |
Mr. Effner first heard about Falun Gong on July 20, 1999, the day China began the brutal persecution. On that same day, Sara arrived in China to work and study at a Chinese medicine company. Curious about the practice and why it was being persecuted, Mr. Effner called Sara in China and told her about what was happening. Later, he looked for other practitioners in the United States, and eventually attended a 9-day Falun Gong seminar along with his wife and daughter.
Sara Effner also came to Chicago to attend the Experience Sharing Conference and to use her musical talents to help awaken more people to join the effort to bring Jiang to justice. One of the songs she performed, written by a Chinese practitioner in the United States, told the story of a mother and baby who were tortured to death in China because the mother practiced Falun Gong. Several audience members were moved to tears by the tragic story.
600 more Falun Gong practitioners simultaneously gathered in front of the Chinese Consulate to hold a peaceful sit-in appeal.
Ms. Qi Xiaochun from Los Angeles performed her composition "Spring," on the Erhu. Her performance won a warm response from the audience. Qi graduated from Shanghai Music College majoring in Erhu. She said that practicing Falun Gong has made her performances more pure. Her musical compositions contain deep meanings under a peaceful surface. She said that her inspiration came from the years of practicing Falun Dafa. "I hope my music brings pure beauty to the audience and lets more people realize that Jiang has been persecuting the most beautiful things. The persecution is extremely cruel."
The wife of famous Chinese medicine doctor Hu Naiwen, Mrs. Huang Xiuzhen also attended the activity wearing a pink Tang dynasty costume for a Fan Dance. She said her husband changed a tendency to be impatient after practicing Falun Gong. Seeing the good effect on her husband, Huang started to practice Falun Gong too. The exercises made her look younger and her life was happier too. In stark contrast to the beauty of Falun Gong that she has experienced, Mrs. Hu points out that, "The dictator Jiang wants to persecute these good people who want to be unselfish, always tell the truth and be healthy. A kindhearted person will not tolerate the persecution."
Category: Karma & Virtue
