(Clearwisdom.net) On Saturday, December 8, 2007, twelve Dafa disciples organized truth-clarification activities in Lille, an industrial city in northern France. Lille is the fourth largest city in France, and also the capital of the Nord-Pas de Calais region. Its population is over a million, but there are only two practitioners here--another practitioner and me. This was the first time we had organized a group truth-clarifying activity.
During preparations for the activities, the evil tried to interfere. The other practitioner coughed severely and I had an upset stomach. Later, as we applied for permits and organized the event, we encountered tests to our righteous thoughts. We requested the permit at the end of October, but it was not approved for over a month. The activities were originally planned for December 1, but had to be postponed to December 8. Because of the change, practitioners from elsewhere who had planned to support us could not come because they had other activities.
We were disheartened and even considered giving up. The other practitioner was very steadfast and said, "If there are only us two, we can do it ourselves. Each of us has a mouth. We should save the sentient beings even with only our mouths. We can distribute materials together." I suddenly realized that my thoughts were being led astray by the evil. Their purpose is to make us fail. Whatever happens, no matter how many people we have, if we just do it, we are saving sentient beings, disintegrating the evil, and purifying our environment. So we continued to send righteous thoughts to the Lille area. The situation changed totally on the night of the last day. Practitioners who could not come before all came and brought large banners, exhibition boards, and more truth-clarifying materials. We knew it was Master who strengthened us.
The activities lasted from 2:30 p.m. Until 6:30 p.m. It rained the entire four hours. We checked the weather report in advance and the temperature was supposed to be 8ÂșC. On the actual day, the temperature was below zero. Practitioners distributed materials, clarified the truth, and did the exercises in the rain. In the end, we were soaked, and our hands and feet were frozen numb. But all the practitioners persevered to the end, since we knew the opportunity was very precious. Although it was raining and cold, there were many passersby. We clarified the truth and sent forth righteous thoughts. The environment was purified gradually. At first the passersby were not interested in taking our materials, but eventually more and more people not only accepted materials, but also stopped to look at our exhibition boards
I took many photos that day. The next day when I checked the photos, I was astonished. On one photo, many small Falun are falling from the heavens. Their color and shape can be seen clearly. There were also turning Falun. I took this as encouragement from Master.
From the experience of applying for a permit and preparing for the activities, I understood that righteous thoughts must be the foundation. We should remember Master's words, "Dafa disciples are the sole hope of salvation for the beings in each region and each nation. " ("My Thanks to Sentient Beings Who Have Sent Greetings")