(Minghui.org) I was doing the Falun Dafa exercises alone in a park in Cumana, Venezuela when I noticed a woman sitting on a bench and watching me carefully. She looked in her mid-70s and had long, white hair.

I felt a connection to her and occasionally opened my eyes a little to see if she was still there. I finished the four standing exercises and saw that she had moved to a more distant bench but was still watching me. I thought she would come to ask me about the exercises, but when I finished the hour of sitting meditation, she was gone.

Later that week, I saw the same woman while waiting at a bank. I asked if she was the person from the park, and she said yes, with a huge smile. Then, while I talked about Dafa with another person, she approached us and told me she wanted to learn as well. We agreed to meet in the park the next day.

Juanita's Account

One morning, I felt quite depressed due to my poor health: I had seven herniated discs, severe scoliosis, arthritis, and osteoporosis. A medical board diagnosed my condition as progressive and irreversible, with total disability predicted within three months.

I felt a strange impulse to leave, not knowing where to go or which direction to take. Little by little, I began to walk. I passed the park and stopped. For a moment, I hesitated, but finally I entered.

I walked awkwardly until I saw a gentleman making smooth, harmonious movements. I decided to sit down to watch. Absorbed in watching his movements, I didn't realize that my anguish and anxiety had disappeared. My pains were gone, too. Meanwhile, a great peace grew within me, producing a wonderful sense of well-being and inexplicable joy.

He suddenly looked at me, and I understood that he was somehow producing that energy. I thought I was stealing the energy, so I moved to another bench farther away. I continued looking a little longer without disturbing him, and then I left.

I could not believe or understand what was happening in me. There was a big difference between how I entered the park that morning and how I left it. I was happy, refreshed and optimistic!

A few days later, I found that man at a bank. When we met at the park the next day, he slowly taught me the exercises. I started to feel very light and painless. In fact, I have not needed to take painkillers since that day.

It has been more than a year since I started practicing Falun Dafa. My children, family and co-workers were pleasantly surprised by my huge change, which seemed like a miracle.

Even greater than the physical changes was my inner transformation: studying the book Zhuan Falun has drastically changed my attitude toward life and its challenges. Dafa granted me the peace and inner serenity that allows me to live a full and truly meaningful life.

I have infinite gratitude toward Falun Dafa and Master Li Hongzhi for the many blessings I have experienced. I will continue to cultivate in Dafa and refine myself for the rest of my days. I also hope, somehow, to give back by doing for someone else what that practitioner in the park once did for me.

Juanita practices the third Falun Gong exercise.

Falun Gong practitioners in Cumana, Venezuela meditate in a park.