(Minghui.org) After my husband was imprisoned for his belief in Falun Dafa, I had to get a job in order to support our family. A practitioner's relative needed a domestic helper and I took the job.
It was a tiring and demanding job. The house was large and the family had twelve cats and dogs. I had to keep tidying up the place.
In the beginning, the elderly woman watched me like a hawk. She would criticize whatever I did and make me do it again. At times I felt humiliated, but I thought of Master Li's (Dafa's founder) teachings and tried to endure. Once she gave me a heavy winter coat and told me to wash it. I pointed out that it was so thick that I could wash it in a washing machine. She retorted, “I paid you to help with the chores, why do you want to use the washing machine?” I had to soak the coat in a big bucket of water, and bend over to scrub it clean. I almost cried, but I knew that since I was a practitioner it was an opportunity to practice forbearance.
My employer's daughter was a police officer. She seldom smiled and was cold and picky towards me. She doted on her pets and they had separate bowls for food and water. One time when I put the cat's drinking bowl back in its place after washing it, the older lady scolded me and told me to put it on a rack. When I bent over to pick it up, she kicked the bowl away. I quickly picked it up and put it where it belonged. I truly felt that cultivating my mind was hard. I reminded myself that no matter how challenging this job was, I had to tell the family about Falun Dafa.
While I cleaned the place, I discovered money had been left in several places as if it was done unintentionally. Sometimes I found hundreds of dollars, but I did not touch them. I later realized that the woman had done it to see if I would take the money. She marked everything including the rice and bread before she went out. When she returned home she would check carefully to see if anything was missing. As a Falun Dafa practitioner, I knew I had to be considerate of others and not take anything that didn't belong to me.
This woman was head of a department before she retired. She looked down on everyone and had the habit of putting her hands on her hips when she spoke. Her husband also had a domineering personality, but every time they had an argument, she won. Although the family was wealthy and one of the cats was worth a few years of my pay, they were not happy. The atmosphere in their home was oppressive, and the woman was in constant pain.
She accepted what I told her about Falun Dafa but she told her daughter what I said. Her daughter believed the Communist Party propaganda and became enraged. She criticized her mother in front of me for hiring someone who practices Falun Dafa. When I tried to talk to her, she pointed a finger at my face and warned me not to say another word about Dafa.
I did not give up and kept sending righteous thoughts to eliminate any interference. The daughter seldom spoke to me and her face was always devoid of expression. One day one of the cats could not move as if it was paralyzed. The woman and her daughter were very anxious. They gave it all kinds of medication but nothing worked. I suggested that they say, “Falun Dafa is good.” The daughter looked at me and did not say anything. Whenever the cat was around, I would loudly say, “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” Two days later the cat recovered and could walk slowly. The mother and daughter were delighted and asked me what I did. I told them their cat's recovery was proof that the phrase I recited had power.
They kept quiet but it was obvious from then on their attitude towards Dafa changed. The next time I talked about Falun Dafa, the daughter listened. When I asked if she would like to renounce her Chinese Communist Party membership she told me she was the only person at work who had not joined the Party. Her superior had filled out an application form and asked her to sign it but she refused.
One day, the woman got into a fight with her husband. He went out and left her fuming in anger. She asked me if I fought with my husband. I told her I used to but after I began practicing Falun Dafa I became compassionate. When she asked how a practitioner would deal with this situation. I quoted Master's words:
“While working, your tone of voice, your kindheartedness, and your reasoning can change a person’s heart, whereas commands never could!” (“Clearheadedness,” Essentials for Further Advancement)
Master also said:
“Coercion Cannot Change People’s Hearts” (Coercion Cannot Change People’s Hearts, Essentials for Further Advancement II)
She thought about what I said and replied, “I cannot control him if I don't use coercion.” I said, “You've been dominant for many years, have you changed him?” She thought for a while and said, “You're right.”
Gradually the family began treating me better. However one payday she did not pay my wages. I waited several days but I still didn't get paid. When I asked her she said it was because I had taken time off. I explained to her I had to take a day off because I had a child at home. I said that I'd have to quit if she did not allow me to take time off from work when I needed to.
She refused to give in. I said that since I needed to take an occasional day off, perhaps she should find someone else. She was upset and tried to dissuade me from quitting. She even gave me gifts to entice me to stay.
Although I needed these things I knew that my words and actions represent Dafa, and I could not accept them. Her daughter did not want me to go either and secretly offered to give me an additional 500 yuan.
However, I was worried about my husband who was still in prison and my child at home who needed me. I was initially embarrassed to tell them about my family but then I remembered that we had done nothing wrong. I told her about the persecution we suffered for practicing Dafa. I wept as I recounted what happened and the woman shed tears too. She apologized for treating me badly.
I took the opportunity to introduce them to the main book of Falun Dafa - Zhuan Falun, the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, and The Ultimate Goal of Communism. The woman said that she would think about learning to practice Falun Dafa.
That day, the woman gave me the keys to her house. I knew I had gained her trust. She said, “Falun Dafa practitioners are kind people.” I still work for the family, and they treat me well.
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