PureInsight | September 29, 2003
[PureInsight.org] Recently we heard of many "Car Tours Across America to Save Charles Li" activities. In order to support these activities and to clarify the facts to the public, our local practitioners initiated a car tour to save Charles Li. Although my contribution was small, I learned a lot. Therefore, I want to share some of my experiences.
1. Cooperate and Improve Together
In our locale, most of the practitioners live in close proximity, though there are also practitioners who live more widely dispersed. We took advantage of this when we arranged the itinerary for the car tour; we wanted to give more practitioners the chance to participate without upsetting their daily work schedule.
This is the 3rd week of the car tour. We chose 2 to 3 days a week and found that we could cover 5 to 7 cities each week. During the past 3 weeks we visited more than a dozen cities to clarify the facts. Given the good cooperation, practitioners from various locations were able to participate.
A few local Western practitioners also participated in the car tour. Due to the excellent cooperation of all, including securing drivers, preparing banners to poster boards, collecting media contacts, preparation of news conferences, faxing, calling and other activities, everything went smoothly.
For example, 4 days before one of the tours, one of the key practitioners suddenly lost his Internet connection, and none of us could figure out the reason. Unfortunately, he was the only practitioner from that area. After fellow practitioners heard about this, they divided the assignments and assumed the responsibility to contact the media. Although that practitioner's Internet connection couldn't be reestablished until after this particular trip, the local cities' car tour schedule was not affected.
There were about 3 or 4 news conferences each day, and each one was in a different city, approximately 1 to 2 hours drive from each other. Preparing the location for each news conference was essential. Needless to say, we were on a tight schedule. Yet, we managed to get everything ready on time. Although we experienced problems, all in all, everything went smoothly. Nothing untoward happened because of the tight schedule.
2. Fa-rectification Process
Many practitioners found that it was easier to clarify the facts than in the past. It used to take a lot of time and effort to prepare for news conferences, without many reporters attending. Now, things have turned around. For example, even on Labor Day, in the 3 cities where we held news conferences, TV news crews from 3 stations and reporters from 2 newspapers came. In one of the cities the mayor came to sign our petition.
The practitioners who talked to the reporters told us that many reporters were serious about learning the truth. We could tell that they weren't coming because it was their job, but they felt very sympathetic, and were against this persecution.
The response from the media was fantastic. They can tell the truth to hundreds of thousands of families. We felt that we should take advantage of this time to fully clarify the facts.
3. Maintain Righteous Thoughts
We experienced many conflict during our activities. For instance, it was very difficult for one of the practitioners to participate, especially since he had an accident the day before the news conference. He was fine, but the car was wrecked. This troubled him greatly and affected his ability to participate.
We experienced also some unusual incidents. As I mentioned earlier, a practitioner lost his Internet connection. With the help of fellow practitioners, it was found that rats had gnawed the cable.
In addition, winds frequently blew over the banners and posters. This reminded us that when doing Fa-rectification work we shouldn't be interfered with by ordinary ways of thinking. We have to maintain righteous thoughts. At the same time, we have to send forth righteous thoughts to eliminate any disruption.
I recall another incident. When one practitioner talked to a reporter and clarified the facts, he noticed that the reporter didn't pay any attention and didn't take notes. The practitioner searched within to see if there were omissions on his part. At the same time, he sent forth righteous thoughts. (We learned later that the newspaper reporter arrived at the same time as the TV crew. They were arguing as to who should interview us first. Of course, this is interference. But it showed clearly that we needed to improve ourselves.)
4. Practitioner's Sacrifices
What encouraged me the most was the practitioners' steadfast determination in practicing Dafa. A Western practitioner suggested the car tour, prepared materials, contacted the media and drove wherever there were news conferences. No one could have guessed that this practitioner had to work 2 jobs in order to make ends meet. He had to work 16 hours a day and take care of his family. Not to mention the time he needed for eating, sleeping, Fa study and clarifying the facts.
We saw that he had to drive his car in the hot weather with a broken air conditioner (he couldn't get it fixed because of his tight budget) for 1 to 2 hours to meet us. Shortly after he stepped out of his car, he began making phone calls to contact the media. Right after the phone calls he came over to help set up the banners. Right after that, he had to talk to the news reporter to clarify the facts. I saw the magnificence of fellow practitioners.
Fellow practitioners, let us improve together and walk the remaining path upright.
These are personal experiences. I hope fellow practitioners will point out any shortcomings.
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2003/9/4/23319.html
