(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners in St. Louis, Missouri, gathered at Vlasis Park on May 8, 2021, to celebrate the 22nd World Falun Dafa Day on May 13, which also marks the 29th anniversary of Falun Dafa’s public introduction.

Prior to the event, State Representative Bruce Degroot and Senator Bob Onder issued resolutions to recognize Falun Dafa’s contributions to the community. The mayors of O’Fallon, St. Peters, and Wentzville also sent proclamations in honor of Falun Dafa Day.

Missouri practitioners celebrate World Falun Dafa Day

Practitioners received resolutions recognizing Falun Dafa’s positive contributions to the community from both the House and Senate of the state as well as proclamations from three cities in Missouri.

Ms. Fan has been practicing Falun Dafa since 1998. She was born into a big family and her mother sometimes asked her to help cook for the family of over ten people. If she couldn’t finish things on time, her mother, who was exhausted from all the housework, would hit her on the head with a wooden stick, which injured her. Throughout her life, she struggled with constant headaches.

By the time she took up Falun Dafa, she was in her 60s. When she was reading Zhuan Falun, the main text of Falun Dafa, she saw Falun (Law Wheels) circling around her head and her headache went away soon afterwards. Even though she is 86 years old, she is still full of energy and lives on her own.

Similar to Ms. Fan, three sisters of the Jiao family have also benefited from practicing Falun Dafa. The oldest sister, in her 70s, recalled something that happened when she first took up Falun Dafa in 1995. She got a big fishbone stuck in her throat. She tried and tried to get it out but to no avail. She wasn’t worried and simply studied two lectures of Zhuan Falun. Then she went to bed. By the time she got up the next morning, the bone had disappeared and she didn’t have any pain.

Nate Gaefcke, an art professor who was introduced to Falun Dafa by his college roommate, said, “I was anxious all the time due to stress at school. About four months after I was introduced to Dafa, it came a time when I needed to make a serious decision about whether I should continue this or not. The moment I decided that this was the path I wanted to choose, I felt the dark cloud above my head suddenly disappear. I felt very light and full of joy.

“Dafa answered many of my questions about life and helped me let go of the burden I had been carrying with me. Whenever I’m under stress now, I go study the Fa and do the exercises, and I feel the negative substances being removed in my field. Thank you, Falun Dafa, for bringing peace and calm to my life,” said Nate.

Nick heard about Falun Dafa from his mother’s colleague about ten years ago. Doing the exercises helped him alleviate the back pain he had been struggling with for years. He also credits Dafa for helping him quit many bad habits he’d had since he was a child. “Thanks to Dafa, I’m enjoying much better health and living a more positive life now,” he said.