During the weekend of March 9-10, workshops were held to introduce Falun Dafa to the people of North Dakota and the northwestern part of Minnesota. The city of Fargo was the site for what is believed to be the first Dafa workshop in the history of the state of North Dakota on Saturday. Fargo is the largest city in North Dakota, and it is the largest metropolitan area in a large expanse of the northern U.S. states.
12 practitioners from Minnesota and South Dakota drove through bitter cold, high winds, and drifting snow for several hours to reach Fargo. They maintained their righteous minds throughout the hazardous driving conditions, knowing how important the day was for the people of North Dakota. They witnessed several cars that lost control and slid off the freeway, but no practitioners had any accidents. They arrived in time to eat lunch together at a local Fargo Chinese restaurant. There they had an opportunity to clarify the truth to restaurant staff and give them Chinese-language materials.
During the afternoon workshop, new students watched a short video on the practice of Falun Gong, heard from practitioners their understanding of the practice and the persecution in China, and were given instruction in the five exercises. The hosting organization graciously received copies of the books Falun Gong and Zhuan Falun, as well as many copies of the newsletter "Forbearance" and other literature.
After the workshop, practitioners briefly visited the campuses of two local universities to leave stacks of "Forbearance" and survey the situation for future visits. They ate dinner together at another Chinese restaurant and gave several copies of truth-clarifying materials for restaurant staff to read, which they all eagerly read while in the back of the restaurant.
Most of the practitioners went to the house of a local practitioner in a peaceful rural area. They spent a couple of hours studying the Fa together and discussing their understanding. Newer practitioners and veterans all learned a lot.
Then they had a frank discussion about the workshop that afternoon. Although it was a good workshop, the practitioners saw many ways in which they could improve. Here were some thoughts they had:
- Sit in a circle so that all can see each other. On Saturday, practitioners were scattered all across a room in a dispersed fashion, some sitting behind the new students in a way that made the atmosphere unfocused and uncomfortable for the new students.
- Everyone participate mentally. Even though one practitioner guided most of the discussion, all practitioners can maintain a righteous and alert mind, and help out with the discussion and exercise instruction. Even those practitioners who don't say or do anything externally can participate with righteous thoughts.
- Help each other and act as one body. Listen to each other. Watch what's happening and consider others first.
- Have confidence in yourself to say and do something good for the Fa, no matter how much or little everyday experience you have in making presentations. Studying the Fa diligently together is the best preparation and experience for conducting a workshop.
- Don't wait for other practitioners to do something, just do it if you see it needs to be done, or say what needs to be said--but don't interfere with what other practitioners are doing, and coordinate carefully.
They realized again the significance of these words: "So in clarifying the truth, don't wait, don't rely on others, and don't just hope for changes in external factors. Every one of us is creating history for the future, that's why everyone is not only participating in group activities, but also taking the initiative to look for work to do. As long as something is good for Dafa, you should take the initiative to do it, take the initiative to work on it" ("To All Students at the Nordic Fa Conference").
The next day, Sunday, the practitioners sent forth righteous thoughts together before going to the next workshop in the small town of Park Rapids, Minnesota. Although the external form of the workshop was similar to that of the previous day, the group acted as one body and a more harmonious effect was achieved. The workshop attendance was much better than the previous day and participants relaxed and lingered to chat informally afterwards.
The meeting space on Sunday was in a basement room of the public library. It was not as well decorated and attractive as the location of the previous day's workshop, which was a sunlit room with polished wood floors and fancy artwork. But the atmosphere was more positive and powerful, due to the righteous, focused minds and improved understanding of the body of practitioners there.
Several new students expressed their delight at finding Falun Gong. One commented that the workshop was "the answer to a prayer," and several wanted to get copies of the books or practice the exercises regularly.
The practitioners realized the vital importance of studying together, discussing our understanding together, and sending forth righteous thoughts together. If we want to eliminate the evil and work together as one body, we cannot neglect any of these.
On the way home, some practitioners stopped for dinner at a Chinese restaurant, where they gave truth-clarifying materials to the manager, who said she was the only person there who could read Chinese. The practitioners had found addresses of a few Chinese restaurants in this city by looking them up on the Internet, and also saw one not listed on the Internet as they drove by a busy shopping district.
At these restaurants, practitioners stopped in and asked if any employees could read Chinese, and would they like some materials. During this process, as the practitioners felt progressively more comfortable and sure about the righteousness of this activity, the reaction of the staff grew more positive at each place. The practitioners enlightened to the fact that if they are happy and smiling themselves as they walk in--knowing that they are offering something wonderful to the Chinese people there--then they receive a better response.
The practitioners learned a lot as they were helping to spread the Fa and clarify the truth to many people in a large geographic area. They could feel that many people are waiting for the Fa all over, and know that they have much more work to do, but they realized it was a successful weekend, especially because they realized the value of studying together, advancing together, and acting as one body.
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