On December 30, practitioners from Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and other places gathered in the Gisborne City and started a 3-dayFalun Dafa introduction activity. Because New Zealand is the country that first walked into the new millennium, thousands of tourists from all over the world gathered here to welcome the first dawn of the new millennium. The local government also held a series of activities to celebrate this great moment including some outdoor activities in the Rose Garden and the Kelvin Park.
Practitioners held up banners reading "Falun Dafa" and "Zhen-Shan-Ren" on the beautiful riverbank and displayed some posters made by Singapore practitioners. Group practice of the practitioners was most attractive. Over a dozen of people wanted to learn the exercises on the spot everyday and also they would join the group practice right after they learned it. Many tourists stopped and watched. Those who showed interest would take the introduction flyer and even sign the appealing letter when they learned the injustice against Falun Gong practitioners in China. Many who got to know Falun Gong from the newspapers read the posters carefully in order to know more about Falun Gong. Some tourists even bought the books of Falun Gong.
Two Maori people living on the mountains that are 800 meters above the sea level felt very good after they learned the exercises and bought the books and videotapes on the spot. They also said that they would introduce Falun Gong to the whole tribe. Another Maori said that he felt very happy that he could get to know Falun Dafa. He carefully followed the practitioners to learn the movements and volunteered to help set up a practice site in the local area. On the evening of December 31, there was a tribal meeting, but he said it was more important for him to learn Falun Gong. He therefore stayed with us until 10pm. On the last day when we were ready to leave, he came with gifts he made to see us off. He said goodbye to every practitioner on the spot using his tribal etiquette. A practitioner said, "Although he is not Chinese, Falun Dafa drew us together." A practitioner gave a Falun Emblem to him as a gift. He was moved to tears. Several practitioners were also moved to tears.
During these days, some local residents left their contact information for attending the upcoming 9-session class and the upcoming practice site. Practitioners in New Zealand became more confident in organizing activities of introducing Falun Dafa and also felt that they need to do more to let more people to attain Falun Dafa and to let more kind-hearted people to know the truth.
At 5am Jan 1st of 2000 (i.e., Beijing 0:00am), practitioners practiced Falun Gong at the beach of Gisborne. Serene Falun Dafa practice music can be heard by tens of thousands of tourists. New Zealand Pioneer reported this activity.
On the same afternoon, the whole activity ended. A dozen of practitioners stepped on the new journey to spread Falun Dafa to the Southern Islands.
Category: Parades & Other Community Events
