(Minghui.org) Practitioner A was a middle-aged man who started practicing Falun Gong in the early days of the Fa's introduction. His belief in Master and Dafa were unwavering. He was born in a rural area of China. Through his hard work, he graduated from college and became a high school teacher. He was six feet tall, and had an upright and calm demeanor. Soon after the persecution of Falun Gong started in 1999, Practitioner A refused to be “transformed” and was illegally sentenced to three years of forced labor. In 2004, he was arrested again for telling people about the magnificence of Falun Dafa and the brutal persecution. Without any legal process, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison. While in prison, he maintained his devotion and never gave up his belief in Dafa. He was severely tortured and on the brink of death on many occasions. In 2007, when he was in critical condition, the guards sent him home so they wouldn't be responsible for his death. A little over a month later Practitioner A passed away.

Practitioner A’s wife, B, had the same strength of conviction as her husband. She was illegally arrested in 2004 and sentenced to 10 years in prison. By the time Practitioner A passed away, B had not seen her husband for many years. The guards did not tell B that her husband had died, nor did they allow her to see him before he died.

While the couple were imprisoned, their son, who had just started high school, and Practitioner A’s mother, who was over 70 years old and often ill, were left to fend for themselves. It was a struggle for the old woman and the youth to survive.

Practitioner A and B’s son was a good student and demonstrated good character. It is hard for anyone to imagine the trauma he suffered when both of his parents were illegally imprisoned. In order to comfort him, I often visited him. One time, he told me in tears, “Aunt ['aunt' is a term of respect used in China], after my mom was taken away, my brain became blank. I couldn’t even hear the teachers’ words clearly in class…” I did my best to hold back my tears and said, “Dear child, you must be strong. You need to study hard, and your mom will eventually return. I will come visit you every week, so you can have a break. If you need money, just tell me. Fellow practitioner uncles, aunts, and I will help you. We are your family, we all care about you. You must live and study well. Remember, son, your mom and dad are the best and most remarkable people in this world!”

After that, I took time to visit him every week. I took him out and ate meals with him. We talked. I tried to encourage him and also gave him some pocket money so he wouldn't feel so lonely and in pain. This went on for three years, until he entered college.

During the years he was in college, fellow practitioners and I raised money for him. His relatives also helped some.

At the same time I was taking care of Practitioner B’s son, I also visited his mother often. The grandmother lived by herself for many years. She has high blood pressure and late-stage diabetes. Several of her toes became infected, and her doctor suggested that they be amputated. Her feet hurt so much that she couldn’t walk downstairs. All the daily necessities were bought for her by kind neighbors. In order to make her feel better, I also called her “Jiajia” (a nickname for maternal grandmother used in this region). I told myself I would care for this old woman like a daughter. Every time I visited her, I brought vegetables, noodles, buns, and other food items. During the first year that Practitioner B was imprisoned, other fellow practitioners also visited the grandmother often. But the old woman was deceived by the evil lies of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). She missed her daughter and worried about her. She didn’t understand Dafa disciples. Whenever she saw fellow practitioners, she scolded them and Practitioner A, saying that A taught her daughter to practice Dafa, which resulted in her being in prison. She even said bad things about Dafa and Master, refusing to listen to any explanations. As a result, several practitioners dared not visit her anymore.

However, I continued to visit her. At each visit I waited for her to finishing scolding. Then I tried to comfort her. I told her, “I understand that you are sad from losing your family, but we hope you will take care of your health and not be too sad or worried. You daughter will be back. Before she does, you need to take care of your grandson so there is someone here when he comes home from school.”

Things went on like this for two years. I went to visit her one day, and she finally told me, “You people are so kind to come and visit me, but I feel sad and just want to scold you. After you leave, I always cough up blood.” So I took the opportunity to tell her the truth about Falun Gong. I told her directly, “Falun Gong is the Buddha Fa, and Master is here to save people. Your daughter and son-in-law are remarkable people. You cannot keep badmouthing them; it will bring you karma. If you stop scolding, you won’t cough up blood.” She seemed to take in what I said.

When I went to visit her again, she didn't scold anymore, and instead she started talking with me. However, whenever she brought up her daughter, she became really sad, “I am almost 80 years old. She will be in prison for 10 years. It’s only been two years. My health is not good. I may not be here when she returns home. I have so much to tell her. What am I going to do?” I assured her, “Please don’t think that way. Your daughter will be home before then. But you need to take care of your own health. Please believe me, when you are thinking of your daughter, just recite sincerely ‘Falun Dafa is good,’ ‘Truthfulness-compassion-tolerance is good’ and ‘Master Li, please help my daughter come home soon.’” The old woman asked skeptically, “Does it really work?,” I replied, “As long as you recite them sincerely, there will be a good effect.”

When I visited her again, she told me delightedly, “I have been reciting the phrases you taught me every day. Master Li is really taking care of me. I am not coughing up blood anymore and my toes are fine now. I feel much better.” I was really happy to hear that and was grateful to Master for his compassion. Since then, the grandmother treats me like a member of her family and tells me everything. Whenever I visit her, she happily chats with me for hours. She also told me, “Falun Gong practitioners are all good people. When my daughter comes home, she may practice it at home however she wants.”

In 2011, Practitioner B showed very severe illness symptoms in prison as a result of the persecution she suffered there. The authorities allowed her to be released for medical reasons. The old woman, who was by now in her 80s, finally saw her daughter again.

Many local practitioners went to visit Practitioner B then, but the old woman was still very scared and refused to let them into her home. Other practitioners told me, “Only you can visit Practitioner B. You must help her to resume Fa-study and the exercises so she will recover physically and join us in helping Master with Fa-rectification.”

In order to avoid being monitored, I kept sending righteous thoughts to eliminate any evil that was trying to continue persecuting and isolating Practitioner B. At the same time, I kept eliminating my own fears. I went to B’s home. When the old woman saw it was me, she quickly opened the door and said happily, “You have finally come. I only trust you.” And I finally saw B who had been severely persecuted for over seven years. Through my conversations with B, I came to know about some of the persecution she suffered in prison. I was so moved that she still firmly believed in Dafa and Master. Because she hadn’t read any of Master’s teachings for many years, she didn’t know how to keep up with Fa-rectification. What a remarkable practitioner she was! As I was leaving her home, I told the old woman, “Jiajia, please rest assured that we will protect your daughter so she won’t be hurt anymore. If you don’t want her friends to visit her, I will tell them not to come. As long as you and your daughter are well, we are happy. We don’t want you to be distressed.” Her mother was very happy to hear that.

I then quickly bought Practitioner B an MP5 player. I downloaded Master's lectures and articles, the Falun Gong exercise music, and electronic books such as Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, etc. A few days later, I took it to B. She treasured it and used it to study the Fa until late in the night every day. Her physical condition recovered relatively quickly. A few months later, she was able to leave her house to buy daily necessities, and she could take care of her mother, too.

One thing worth mentioning: After B came home, she eventually learned that her husband had passed away four years before. One can only imagine her grief. After a period of struggling with the painful loss, she kept studying the Fa and adjusting herself. She got through it and gradually caught up with the progress of Fa-rectification in just over a year.

All this may seem to show that I did very well. The truth is not so. For example, when Practitioner A came home from detention, I didn’t visit him because he was closely monitored and I also had fear. I didn’t help him to overcome the severe tribulation. So a month after he came home, he passed away. His death shocked me and woke me up. I no longer feared police monitoring, and other practitioners and I worked together to arrange his funeral.

From now on, I will listen to Master and cherish the sacred predestined relationships with fellow practitioners. I will treat fellow practitioners' tribulations as my own, so that these practitioners and their families can live a little better. I often think that every practitioner in China knows a practitioner who has been imprisoned or is currently in prison; their families are being persecuted as well. If we could persistently help practitioners’ families with compassion; let them know the truth about Falun Dafa, and be on the side of fellow practitioners, then not only do we save the practitioners’ families, we also help establish a more relaxed cultivation environment when practitioners return to their homes. This helps prevent fellow practitioners from encountering tribulations caused by family members who do not know the truth after they return home from persecution of prison.

Thanks to merciful Master!