Junior Speech Contest Held in Brazil
Wish to Spread This Teaching to the World
In Brazil, a National Junior Story Telling/Youth Speech Contest (Portuguese) was held on April 22 at the Brazil Missionary Headquarters in Sao Paulo. The number of participants totaled 191. A preliminary contest was held at each missionary area and those who were chosen presented at the national contest. The following is a presentation at the Junior Story Telling Contest.
Maria Vitoria Marques Polo (age; 15)
I was born and raised in a Seicho-No-Ie family. From my younger age I felt that I was a little different from the people around me, and they told me so, too. As time passed, I realized that it was because I was raised in an environment of grand harmony which Seicho-No-Ie teaches.
Since I was a toddler, I participated in various Seicho-No-Ie events, such as the children’s gathering. The event that changed my mind completely was the Junior Spiritual Training Seminar. At the Seminar, I was able to find the answers to all my questions, my problems were solved and I was able to know what I should do. There was so much that I wanted to do that I was a little confused. Upon return home, I gave my parents a big hug and told them of my appreciation, saying “Thank you so much for conveying this wonderful teaching to me.” From that day I started to practice the Seicho-No-Ie teaching whole-heartedly. I practiced Shinsokan and conducted ancestor memorialization every day. I had a keen sense that my existence here owes to my ancestor. Many wonderful things happened after I started daily Shinsokan practice.
Now I am working hard to spread this teaching. I give away the monthly magazine, Mundo Ideal, to people around me and encourage them to participate in spiritual training seminars. I take ballet lessons. During my ballet practice, my teacher felt that I was a little different from the others. She later found out that I am a follower of Seicho-No-Ie. She was familiar with Seicho-No-Ie from the television programs. When I invited her to a Readers’ Meeting, she came and was impressed. She also attended the national convention and other events. Now, one year after that, she still attends events such as a leaders’ study class. She always tells me, “Thank you so much for introducing me to Seicho-No-Ie.” I feel that I was able to show her the way to the Truth. I am filled with gratitude and happiness.
In the future, I would like to become an Enlightenment Propagator and spread the Truth to every corner of the world.