Finland: Falun Gong Photo Exhibition Tours Lapland (Photos) -- Part 1

By a Finnish practitioner

(Clearwisdom.net) During the spring of 2005, we contacted several libraries in Lapland and made inquiries about holding a Falun Gong photo exhibition. Several librarians were interested in holding an exhibition during the spring and summer. Most of them knew about Falun Gong already and those who didn't were interested in holding the exhibition and in finding out more.

The first exhibition was held on the 2nd of May in a local government library in Inari, which is in Ivalo. In Finland, it gets very cold in the winter and cars have to be specially modified for the extreme weather. It was almost spring-time in our hometown and all the snow had almost melted, so we had changed our cars from the winter system to the summer system. We packed the pictures and exhibit materials into the car and headed to Ivalo with our small caravan. We had to drive several hundred miles.

During the trip the weather changed and became cold, and the scenery and landscape started to look like winter again. Finally, it began to snow. Even through it still was winter in Lapland, we continued the journey with our summer system car.

When we got to the library at Inari and began hanging up the pictures, I noticed an elderly lady watching us. She asked if the pictures were from China and then told us about her many trips to China and Asia. I told her about Falun Gong and how the Chinese Communist Party persecutes Falun Gong practitioners. This woman already knew a lot about the human rights abuses happening in China.

When we made phone calls to the different libraries, we had plans to avoid some libraries in the most Nordic part of Lapland, because they were just too far away. But deep down in our hearts we knew how important it was to let more people know about the persecution. We decided that no place should be left out. With strong determination, we made plans as to how to use our time in the best way, so that the most Nordic part of Lapland could also hear about Falun Gong.

After two weeks, we again left for Lapland, first to pick up the pictures from Ivalo and then to take them to a town near the border of Norway, to the most northern city of Finland called Utsjoki, a town with 1,400 inhabitants. We drove even further this time. Most of the inhabitants in this area spoke Lapp.

The landscape of Utsjoki

At this time of the year, the sun never sets in this part of the world and it is daylight around the clock. But the nights are still cold and snow covered the ground. In the morning, we practiced the Falun Gong exercises. It was very quiet and peaceful, with only the sounds of nature. The exercises helped us to continue with our trip and left our bodies and minds feeling light and peaceful.

The librarian in Utsjoki was very interested in the photos and the practice of Falun Gong. She helped us to spread news of the exhibition to the locals by putting leaflets on notice boards.

The exhibition in Utsjoki Library

We told her that when we returned on the 25^th of May, we would teach the five sets of Falun Gong exercises to those who were interested. Upon our return, there were several people eager to learn the exercises. We came to an agreement to return again in autumn, to hold another Falun Gong class.

During our trip, the weather was our biggest challenge and it tested our forbearance. The rise of the temperature made the snow melt quickly and it resulted in flooding. It was difficult to drive and sometimes it was very stormy. But, as practitioners with righteous thoughts and strong determination, nothing was going to stop us, and we continued our trip as planned and reached our destinations smoothly.

Source: http://clearharmony.net/articles/200506/27060.html
Originally published in Finnish at http://fi.clearharmony.net/articles/200506/2851.html

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