(Clearwisdom.net) My parents and I started practicing Falun Gong on October 12, 1997. My father had severe back problems at the time, and a friend and his father mentioned Falun Gong, and spoke highly of it. My father and mother discussed the possibility of practicing Falun Gong. I had kidney stones and arthritis at the time so I joined them in the practice.

We were not aware at the time that Dafa was the righteous cultivation way that comes once in thousands of years. After watching Teacher's videotaped lectures, my father began to eliminate karma, and after seventeen days his symptoms completely disappeared! I too was healed after practicing. Teacher has been looking after me. Our family became overjoyed after realizing that Dafa was truly miraculous. Every day we studied the Fa, practiced the exercises, and actively spread Dafa to others. Mother doesn't read, but she could nonetheless read Zhuan Falun fluently with no problem. We immersed ourselves daily in the joy of knowing the Fa.

On July 20, 1999, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began its widespread persecution of Falun Gong. Fellow practitioners and I collectively went to our provisional government center to validate the Fa, but we were stopped and sent away. From that moment on, local police and county security regularly harassed us. After seeing other practitioners who have gone to Beijing to validate the Fa, my mother and father became afraid of lagging behind and failing to achieve consummation. Hence they headed to Beijing as well, but they carried with them heavy attachments. Upon arriving at Tiananmen, they witnessed first hand a police officer beating a practitioner from Shantung, and so they returned home fearfully, only later to feel remorseful, unable to measure up to Teacher's compassion. From time to time seeing fellow practitioners taken to jail and re-education centers, our entire family studied the Fa and practiced in secret behind closed doors.

Because we couldn't let go of our attachments of fear, we could not follow Teacher and Dafa with conviction, and for a period of time we were confused by lies. After hearing the news coverage of slanderous reports fabricated by the CCP, my father ordered mother and me to burn our Dafa books and cease practicing. It didn't occur to us that the fabricated reports described actions that couldn't be true, as they weren't in accordance with the principles taught by Teacher in Zhuan Falun. We were completely deceived by the lies on television. Mother was afraid of being disobedient, so with tears in her eyes, she burned every single Dafa book and thus committed a most serious sin. Overcome with extreme depression, I was too afraid to resist.

Without our books, we could no longer study the Fa. Mother could only practice the exercises from day to day, and she often blamed my father for burning the books. Since we stopped practicing cultivation, our illnesses returned. My father's back problems became more and more serious, and he had difficulty walking. His doctor advised surgery, but could not ensure that the treatment would work. My father had many sleepless nights, and was struggling through life every day in extreme pain and agony. When our neighbor came by to see him, my father stated, "In all my life I've never believed in anything, but I believe in Falun Gong."

As father finished his sentence with "I believe in Falun Gong," he could not help but remember the burned books, and he felt deep regret. At that moment, it was as though he heard a voice telling him, "The books are still there." Father shook his head and asked, "The books were burned, where else could they be?" He asked mother if the books were burned, to which she replied that they were. But father could still hear the voice say, "The books are still there." Ignoring his pain, my father got up and walked toward where the books used to be and he noticed there was something wrapped in a plastic bag. He reached inside and took out the contents. "They are all Dafa books!" Father excitedly handed the books to my mother. She was surprised beyond belief and asked where they could have come from. Father could not wait to tell me so he phoned me right away. I arrived and saw everything and was amazed. I knew Dafa was miraculous, as I also had many experiences myself, but this was simply astonishing. The books that once were burned had come back. With human logic, it was simply impossible to comprehend.

Teacher is indeed compassionate, so very compassionate. Our family cannot thank our venerable Teacher enough for giving us another opportunity for cultivation. We will study the Fa with resolve and redouble our efforts to make up for our shortcomings. We will do the three things well, help Teacher validate the Fa, not let down our venerable Teacher's compassion, and wash away our impurities to return to our new world.