The yearly Parade of Lanterns Festival was held in Brookings, South Dakota on the evening of November 24, 2001, Saturday. In this small city populated by few, it is considered a big annual event. The parade distance was short, about a half hour's walk, and it was not permitted to distribute materials during the parade route. However, the practitioners thought that it was a rare opportunity to introduce Dafa to the local residents and participated the parade anyway. A dozen practitioners from nearby areas were invited to support the activity due to the limited number of local practitioners.
For the last several years at this time, the surrounding area would already be covered with snow and have freezing temperatures. However, this year it was still warm like spring during this period. The weather forecast predicted that it would snow on Thursday, but it was actually clear. Later the forecast predicted there would be a snowstorm on Saturday. The practitioners thought that it was interference and then sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil, as every day now exists for Fa-rectification. On Saturday, it started out with a little rain in the morning which became heavier later. The practitioners continued sending forth righteous thoughts.
Due to limited conditions, the practitioners decorated a float outdoors in the rain. In the beginning, only three practitioners prepared stuff outdoors in the pouring rain and strong wind. It was so cold that their hands were frozen and could not move freely. After thinking of the fellow practitioners in China and those predestined people waiting for Dafa, the practitioners took the suffering lightly.
When everything was ready, all practitioners went outdoors to decorate the float. Soon the rain became lighter.
After experiencing these difficulties, the practitioners and the newly decorated float finally showed up and the rain stopped. Due to the weather, only a few floats participated in the parade. The Dafa practitioners' float was the last one but the most welcomed one. Some practitioners held banners and posters either in front of or behind the float. Some practitioners demonstrated the exercises on the float. Though the weather was not good, many people showed up to see the parade. The local TV station videotaped the whole process of the parade. Wherever the practitioners went, the audiences greeted them by waving their hands, applauding or honking horns. Some audiences said loudly, "It is my favorite float! I like Falun Gong!......"
After the parade, the practitioners shared their experiences and feelings about the parade. They realized the importance of improvement as an integrated body. They noted that when all of them stepped out to decorate the float in the rain, the rain quickly became smaller.
The snow storm predicted by the weather forecast did not start until the second evening. All of our practitioners already had returned home safely. On the third day, there was a heavy snow with 18" accumulation. The snow storm was predicted to start on Thursday, but actually occurred on Sunday. The practitioners felt the mighty power of Dafa again.
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