(Minghui.org) I live in a residential building for teachers. I have seen many residents come and go over the past 30 years. The building was previously maintained by the school. But after it moved, no one took care of the building. The hallways were always dirty with cigarette butts, paper scraps, and other trash thrown on the floor.
I am a Falun Dafa practitioner and felt I should take the responsibility to change the environment. Master Li (the founder) has said in his teachings many times that practitioners should be good people wherever they are.
Changing the Neighbors’ View of Dafa
I took the initiative to clean the hallway on every floor in my building every couple of days, and picked up trash whenever I saw it. Several months later, the hallways were cleaner as people littered less.
All of my neighbors knew that I practiced Falun Dafa, and many of them quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its youth organizations after I talked to them. One male teacher, however, tore down Dafa flyers whenever he saw them.
One day, he was coming upstairs while I was going downstairs to throw out the trash. He took the garbage bag from me and said, “Elder sister, thank you so much! Only you are cleaning the hallways.” Since then, he no longer tore down Dafa flyers.
I have been cleaning the hallways for more than ten years now. Whenever a new resident moves into the building, I clarify the truth to them.
Resolving the Building’s Electricity Problem
There are three units in the building that share one electric meter for the common areas, such as the lights for the stairs and hallways, as well as the building’s intercom system. In the past, the electric usage bill was paid by the school. But after the school moved, no one paid the bill, so the electricity bureau cut off the power.
As a result, the hallways were dark at night, making it difficult for the older folks to take the stairs. Visitors also had a difficult time getting into the building since the intercom stopped working. All the residents complained about the situation, but no one wanted to take care of it.
I thought to myself, “I am a Dafa practitioner who should think of others first. Doesn’t it just require a little running around and doing some talking?”
I went to the electricity office and talked to the staff who suggested that individual meters be installed for each unit. I thought that their suggestion would be too costly for the residents, so I went to talk to people who were familiar with this issue.
They came up with a simple and safe solution, which was approved by the electricity office. I bought an electricity prepaid card, and collected the fees from each resident to pay the bill. I also paid someone out of my own pocket to fix the unit’s door lock, and I replaced the broken lamps in the hallways and in the basement myself.
When asked who had taken care of our electricity issue, the residents would answer, “Do you have a Falun Dafa sister? Because we do.”
Validating Dafa with My Actions
The sewer well behind our building became clogged in the summer of 2019. People kept their windows shut due to the strong odor. I complained about the smell and questioned why someone hadn’t taken care of it. My resentment surfaced and I immediately realized that this thought was wrong. I shouldn’t act like an everyday person and complain. I should think of others and take the initiative to resolve the issue.
I found out that the problem was from our unit’s sewer system. In the past, the school took care of these issues. The sewer hadn’t been cleaned for many years, and had become full, pushing the well cover open. I immediately called someone to clean up the well and covered the overflown sewage with sand. I didn’t ask for help from the residents, nor did I ask them to help pay for the cost of cleaning the sewer. All the residents were moved and some said, “You are the head of this building without a title!”
