(Clearwisdom.net) San Antonio is very close to Mexico and sixty percent of the city's residents are Mexican. Therefore the Guadalupe parade, which is dedicated to Mexico's Independence Day, is one of the favorite events in San Antonio. This year, practitioners participated in the parade and brought a surprising gift to the local residents--the beauty of Falun Dafa.
  Decorated float preparing to enter parade procession |
  Youth practitioners displayed a Dafa banner in the parade |
  A local TV station videotaping on practitioners' procession |
  Heavenly beauty troupe |
  A boy learning Falun Gong exercises |
On September 4, practitioners from Dallas, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio participated in the parade. Though southern Texas is very hot, local residents were still very enthusiastic. Now and then, spectators on both sides of the parade route applauded and cheered at the practitioners' procession. The local media also gave this event a high priority, as several media teams came to the parade site to cover it. Local TV station KVDA broadcast the entire parade live to San Antonio and other U.S. cities which have large Hispanic populations. The peaceful and gracious Falun Gong exercises and the "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" principles were thus watched and heard by countless families.
People are waiting for Dafa--many people took initiative to ask for Dafa materials, to listen to practitioners' truth clarification, and to condemn the Jiang regime's brutal persecution of Falun Gong. The occasional indifference that was previously encountered has disappeared, and 100% of the spectators accepted truth materials, and everyone's face was filled with joy. A 9-year-old boy came back several times to ask practitioners questions about Falun Dafa, and each time he left reluctantly. The final time, he asked where to learn Falun Gong, and if he could have a practitioner's phone number. The practitioner happened not to have a pen with him, and the boy said, "Can you wait for me a minute?" He then quickly ran back home and returned with a pen. Then he left happily with the practitioner's phone number. There was an old gentleman who found a practitioner who was distributing fliers far behind the practitioners' procession. He then went home and returned with his car to give the practitioner a ride to catch up with the parade.
Practitioners from other cities came to support this event despite their own busy schedules, and their attendance was a big encouragement to local new practitioners. A new western practitioner was deeply impressed by the fact that so many practitioners came to support the parade after only a 2-day advance notice. He said that these practitioners were so great. A western lady in her 70s just obtained Dafa recently, and this was her first time participating in a Dafa event. Despite the baking heat, she finished the whole parade and said that she felt wonderful, and that the experience was unforgettable. There was another westerner senior lady who had learned the exercises, but hadn't practice regularly for a while. In the past few months, she had been tormented by pains in her legs, and had difficulty even getting out of bed. The night before the parade, a practitioner called her and told her about the parade, and she said that she wanted to participate. She indeed joined the parade and felt extremely well. She told the practitioner, "After you called me, I heard some strange noises from my legs, and then I felt much better. It was a miracle." The practitioner told her that it was our compassionate Master who encouraged her to participate in the event and practice diligently.
