PureInsight | June 14, 2004
[PureInsight.org] Back in January I had a window of opportunity to travel. I was traveling to help find products for a small business that I am starting and to visit a friend of the family in one area...but, mainly, my heart was set on introducing Dafa to some places that may have never heard about or seen this wonderful practice. Teachers said:
So you should consider saving the world's people as the primary objective of clarifying the truth.
(From "Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Atlanta Fa Conference")
This trip sort of started planning itself when I had my mind made up and the destination spots just presented themselves one after the other so I followed along. Master had already started to arrange everything. Paris was the first stop as to help with the Chinese New Year. Egypt, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Mauritius, then to Buenos Aires for the South American Fahui, and finally Peru, all became part of my journey. I traveled alone. I would like to share some of my experiences about the trip and the very special people along the way. Starting out I made info packages for all of the government leaders in each country (except Paris, Argentina, and Peru). I sent e-mails as well. Then with the help of a fellow practitioner we made many flyers in French, Arabic, English, and Chinese. I would get Spanish flyers in South America. I loaded up my one backpack and left on January 20th into the unknown…
When I arrived in Paris the weather seemed very grim. My language in any foreign country is limited to: hello, water, and bathroom. I met a restaurant owner and bartender that helped me in many ways. After they learned about Falun Gong the bartender went to most of the activities with me and helped pass out flyers. He learned the exercises and received the book, Zhuan Falun.
During the parades the streets were lined with people five feet deep happily reaching out for thousands of flyers and material. Afterwards people surrounded us wanting to learn more about Falun Gong. In the evening practitioners lit up Paris under the Eiffel tower with the Chinese words: Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. Many tourists, including Chinese, took materials.
The last day, on a train to Versailles, some Chinese men in suits saw the Falun Dafa pin on my backpack and asked me sharply if I practiced. I told them of course and Falun Gong was very good and offered some material, which they refused and turned away. I just smiled and said, "You don't know what you're missing." When I got to Versailles the practitioners who were to meet me did not come and a blizzard had started. I walked around the castle and saw the Chinese men again, freezing in the blinding snow. I had an umbrella and was protected. They saw me and shook their heads and smiled. I offered my umbrella and they shook their heads no, still smiling at me. I waved good-bye and they waved back as they ran to find shelter. It was a beautiful last day even in the blinding snow.
When I arrived at the Egyptian airport a government tour operator approached me and asked if I was traveling alone. He offered me a tour package. I would have a private driver and guide for the next few days. I gave the tour agency all Arabic flyers and they said, "Where can we learn this in Egypt?" I said, "you could learn on the internet for now if you like." They all said, "This is very good!" Many wanted books and videos.
The next day the driver learned all about Dafa and out of his own initiative he helped me pass out and make hundreds and hundreds of flyers. He then helped explain in Arabic to those who wanted to learn more when we were passing them out. He was an independent guide so he worked at many different tour companies throughout Egypt. He told me one day when he picked me up that he gave each tour company and all his tour guide friends the flyers in Chinese, French. English. He told each place and guide to please especially let the Chinese tourists who come to Egypt know that Falun Dafa is great and to give them material. He alone passed out hundreds of flyers to companies and other guides. In the desert, we came upon some camel herders. We passed out flyers and the head of the group told me "Every night we have a gathering of about 50 to 60 camel herders, please I will tell everyone tonight that this is a special practice for us. We know this is good!"
It was like that all over Egypt…you tell one man he will go and tell 10 to 20 more that he knows... "I will tell everyone I know!" they would say and off they would go to tell their friends! Many shop owners put the flyers in their windows. One evening at a Temple in Luxor another guide prayed at prayer time, which was the same time for Righteous Thoughts. I explained Righteous Thoughts a bit to him so the two of us did our own special practice side by side. Some tourist took our pictures. When we finished he said, "I prayed for the practitioners in China."
The day before I was to leave we went into a store and gave out flyers as usual, and the owner looked at me and asked about China, so I told him about Jiang Zemin and what he had done. He gasped and became very angry. He said, "That evil man is coming to Egypt tomorrow!" I could not believe it and said, "Are you sure?" He said very loudly, "positive!" Everyone in the room assured me, yes, Jiang was coming tomorrow, as they had seen his ugly face on TV! They wanted to know what they could do. I said, "please let others know about him." They said they would tell everyone in their Mosques that this killer was coming and they did not want him in their country, someone who kills women and the elderly! The one guide said I will make a sign that Falun Gong is good and hold it up high!
We then went to Old Cairo and in the market passed out hundreds of flyers that seemed to vanish in seconds. All out of flyers and moments before leaving, I looked at the guide and knew he was different from everyone else. He was tall and very muscular. He had a very red tint to his skin. His eyelashes were long and his eyes were wide and big. He looked just like the hieroglyphics. He said, "I am a vanishing race. I am Feronian, the last of the real Egyptian ancestors. Please tell your Teacher I said hello and please thank him deeply for coming to Egypt."
A friend of the family has a safari company in Arusha, Tanzania. She had wanted us to visit for many years and was very pleased that someone was brave enough to make the trip over. She had booked me on two safaris. She was very interested in Falun Gong and wanted to learn everything but had to leave for America right away because of an ill parent. I told her I would send books and a video. On the safari the driver/guide would look at me reading Zhuan Falun as we drove through the Serengeti National Park and would watch me whenever I did the exercises. The driver then asked me if I would read to him while he drove, so I would read and he would smile and shake his head and repeat after each paragraph, "Yes, oh yes, that is very true." We were traveling with a Dutch couple on honeymoon. They had heard of Falun Gong in a negative way and so they asked me many questions. By the end of the Safari they took Dafa materials even though they were very Christian and finally agreed Dafa was very good. One day we stopped at a Maasai village and the villagers had their first glance at the Falun Dafa exercises. Many tourists came into camp that night and saw the exercises and took material.
Back in Arusha in a public park many people swarmed around after the exercises to get material. Passing out over a hundred flyers in English we were lucky to have a person in the crowd happily translate to those who only spoke Swahili. Everyone wanted more info and a few people took the opportunity to learn exercises while others watched closely. Since we have no flyers in Swahili it caused a bit of a problem. I expressed my concern to the guide. The next day when I got back to the safari company the guide surprised me by showing me the English flyer with an attached Swahili translation! We were all very happy!
I left Africa with the feeling that so much needs to be done in this big place of wide-open spaces and ancient culture. With this new flyer it may be easier to reach these great people.
Zanzibar is the Spice Island off the coast of Tanzania. It was used heavily on the slave trade routes and has a sad history. Most of the people are African and speak Swahili. Many are Muslim. I met a bellboy in my hotel that offered to help me pass out flyers as he thought Dafa was just what Zanzibar needed. Together we would walk the streets of Stone Town till dark passing out flyers to everyone we met. Zanzibar is not a real safe place for a female at night and because of this bellboy, Dafa was spread to those who only come out at night for the beach time cooking feasts. On a tourist beach people had a chance to get material and view the exercises. It was a short stay but we passed out hundreds of flyers in this small town and many people were very glad to know about this great practice.
Mauritius is a small island off the coast of Madagascar and also has a sad slave history. Its people are of Indian, Chinese, African, British, and mainly French decent. People mainly speak French Creole. Before I left for the trip practitioners told me that someone there had contacted us and wanted to learn the exercises and requested Zhuan Falun to read. I told this person I would be coming there soon.
After landing in Mauritius it was late. I had nowhere to stay. A taxi driver suggested a spot on the other side of the island which all tourists loved the most. I was tired and said, "Sounds good to me." The next day I started to pass out flyers and get to know the surroundings. One of the first persons to get a flyer was working in a small clothing shop for tourists. He looked at the flyer and then invited me to meet his family that night for dinner. His father, after reading the flyers and watching the VCD, was just shocked and sat me down. He said these words, "all my life I have wanted to learn a teaching from the Buddha school, have a real live living Master so no one could mess up the teachings, and have a practice that did exercises...so tell me what are the chances of this being brought to one's door? This is a miracle for sure!"
The same day he told me that the skin problem that he had had for 7 years had started to clear up. Next we contacted the person who wanted the book and all of us set a time and place to do the exercises together. It was rainy and we did the exercises in the little shop. Many people took information as they strolled by and many just watched us. We passed out hundreds of flyers in all the days there. We talked about many aspects of Dafa and how important it is that they work together with practicing and obtaining the Fa. Mauritius had its first little practice site started. The next time we had the practice on the beach on a busy Sunday morning. They took pictures and they were very proud.
Later the only TV station came to do a short interview on police brutality, and so the police brutality towards Falun Gong in China was reported on TV. Also, we contacted the only two newspapers: Le Mauritian and Le Express for interviews. (Le Mauritian published an article the week after I had left).
As I was leaving the father looked at me and said, "Please tell Master we are very glad that he came to save us...Please tell him when you see him."
Buenos Aires was the place where the very first South American conference was to be held. Many practitioners came from all over the world. There were many activities and parades through the parks. We passed out thousands of flyers and did the exercises for all to see. We gathered in front of the Chinese Embassy. A German practitioner and I went inside to clarify the truth. We requested an appointment to see a counselor. We told her our friend Charles Lee was detained and told her about the persecution of Falun Gong. We told her we practice Falun Gong and how great it is. She listened carefully and seemed very concerned. She even gave us a number of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to call. In the end she accepted all our materials and shook our hands and wished us good luck.
The conference was very special and the South American practitioners' big hearts opened up wide in their very good understanding of Dafa and Master's Fa-rectification. All of us from other countries were very impressed and moved. I was glad to be but a small part of such a big history-making event.
Many practitioners went on to other surrounding cities such as Cordoba. I took off on my own again to Peru.
Peru was the last stop for me and I flew into Cusco, a small city nestled in the heart of the Andes Mountain range. A friend was always coming here to Machu Piccu for spiritual awareness and telling me how wonderful it was. I thought, what a great place to spread the Fa! Cusco has a very strong Catholic influence from the Spaniards and it also has its strong Shamanic influence from the Inca culture. From what I could see at my level, it was in desperate need of the Fa. Many tourists come here to seek Shamans, to worship things and gain energy. Everyday I went through hundreds of flyers and did the exercises in the small plazas around the city. There are no real grassy parks so, to say the least, it was challenging. After clarifying the truth to the police in the area, I was allowed to do the exercises on the only grassy area. A village woman took the opportunity to help for three days passing out flyers and telling those in Spanish about Falun Gong while I did the exercises. She said, "the more I watch the exercises the more I know this is very special and I will help you when I can."
I climbed up to Machu Piccu and met many people who were interested in Dafa. During meditation many took flyers. It was a grand site.
Many wanted to know when a practice site would be coming to Cusco and wanted books. After passing out hundreds of flyers the people happily accepted the Fa into their hearts. As I sat still I could see in the surrounding hills the huge rainbow colored Inca gods smiling happily as a true teaching has finally returned to Cusco.
Throughout the trip there was some interference. It was not always easy getting copies or a copy machine that worked. Many places are very poor and cannot get access to computers and do not have VCR's or VCD machines. I had to practice without music most of the time because the adapters for electronic devices would not work. I had to keep a close eye on my behavior as not to fall into to just becoming a tourist. It was important to keep a very open mind and just go with the flow and not over evaluate too much. Trusting Teacher opened up many avenues.
On all the airlines, hotels, taxis, restaurants and everywhere I went I passed out material, as some places such as Dubai, Nairobi, and Johannesburg were places that I only stayed for a few hours or a day. Teacher has mentioned that any country that does not have practitioners or the Fa would have trouble in the future. Yet these places were still of great importance.
The whole trip took about two months. The most incredible thing is that I was just there with the material for these great people who were waiting to establish their mighty virtue. They all came one by one taking the grand opportunity to go ahead and give wonderful futures to their own countries and themselves.
Finally, I would like to thank my fellow practitioners for making this trip possible, as it was they who helped with my areas of responsibilities when I was away and encouraged my decision. Please kindly correct any misunderstandings.
