(Minghui.org) From January 3 to 5, Falun Gong practitioners from Russia, Ukraine, and Bulgaria assembled in St. Petersburg for the annual Russia Winter Group Fa-Study and Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference.

The group Fa study

Group exercises

Sending forth righteous thoughts

On January 3, after reading Zhuan Falun and “Fa Teaching Given at the 2014 San Francisco Fa Conference,” practitioners did the Falun Gong exercises and sent forth righteous thoughts together. The last two days, they shared experiences and understandings in cultivation and truth-clarification.

An Israeli practitioner talked about her truth-clarification trip to Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, with four other practitioners. They started telling people about the persecution of Falun Gong when they landed at the airport. While one of them did the talking, two sent forth righteous thoughts, and two collected signatures on a petition. Before passing through customs, they had already collected many signatures.

They also visited and submitted documents to the departments of Justice, Foreign Affairs, and Civil Affairs, the Attorney General's office, and the State Duma. Concerned government officials offered to help the practitioners.

Practitioners also shared their experiences of how to collaborate with one another, handling conflicts, and getting rid of human notions when dealing with daily affairs.The attendees expressed that they can see their own shortcomings from others' sharing and benefited greatly from the conference.

Before leaving, practitioners encouraged one another to cultivate more diligently in the new year.