(Clearwisdom.net, September 1, 2003) A series of relaxing summer camp activities were held by the Minghui School in Japan at the Niigata Bathing Beach from Aug. 13 to Aug. 16. Besides studying the Fa and doing exercises, playing together was also part of cultivation and improvement for the children. In addition, group exercises on the beach introduced more people to Falun Dafa.

When nine of the participating children got together on Aug. 12, it happened to be the day when the Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister visited Hakone. So, we took the children on the train to Hakone and distributed Dafa newspapers at major stations along the way. We took the children to all the attractions in Hakone. Because we got there in the afternoon, the road leading to the mountain was clear, but a long line of vehicles was backed up in the opposite direction. The children stuck their heads out of the window to greet the people in the traffic jam. When we took out the banners saying "Falun Dafa Is Great" and "Truth, Compassion and Forbearance," the children tried to be the first to hold the banners out of the window and show them to the oncoming traffic. They sang the song "Falun Dafa is Great' together. Some of them shouted, "Falun Dafa is great!" in both Chinese and Japanese. We had a rest by a beautiful lake that happened to have parking available. The name of the lake turned out to be Further Advancement. We took some pictures by the lake, and hoped that we would never stop making further advancement in our cultivation.

On Aug. 13, we left Hakone for Niigata. It was the first time that we went camping outdoors. Although there were many things that we could have done better, all the children had a very happy and rich experience at the summer camp. They studied the Fa and did exercises almost every day. Older children took care of the young ones when playing on the beach and in the sea. We also went out to eat and did some shopping. We were amazed at how well these children coordinated with a harmonious relationship by taking care of and tolerating each other.

Children's group exercise on the beach turned out to be an excellent Fa-spreading activity. When we corrected their movements, we didn't think their exercises looked that pretty. However, when we went to run an errand and looked at them from far away, the whole scene was so peaceful and beautiful. On seeing their group exercise, an elderly business owner at the beach came to give them two watermelons and loaned us his knife to cut them up for the children. We thanked him and gave him a Dafa newspaper. He didn't seem to be interested at first, but when we told him it was about the health-benefiting exercises the children had done earlier, he accepted the newspaper and said he would read it carefully.

Category: April 25 Events