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Benin

1973

I carried the cross from Sierra Leone through West Africa and Cameroon. I had a Land Rover with supplies and a bed inside to sleep. In each nation or language area I would get a driver that would also be my interpreter when I preached. I would stand on the hood of the Land Rover and preach. The driver would go in front for a few miles or to the next village and wait for me to arrive. Should it be a village I would preach there. Most of the time almost everyone in the village or town would gather to hear the messages and see the cross. Often in a day I would preach to a few thousand to tens of thousands of people. Many hundreds to thousands of people prayed the sinner’s prayer to receive Jesus as Savior and Lord and to become followers of Jesus.

Every day was hot. I poured sweat and had to drink, drink, and drink, not to dehydrate. Sometimes I was in open country but much of the time I carried the cross through bush trees with small farms along the roadside. Then every short distance was another village. I could see crowds of people around the Land Rover looking and waiting for me to arrive. I would arrive, get some water to drink then stand on the hood of the Land Rover and preach. Then I would do a brief Bible study of how to live for Jesus.

Then I would sit and rest a few minutes before walking on. People were crowding around trying to talk with me as I rested. Sometimes I used the interpreter but often the people who spoke English came up to talk.

In most villages and towns many people would walk through the streets with me. Sometimes I would have hundreds leave town with me walking and slowly I’d lose the crowd as we got farther out of town.

Oh, I loved the people! Often the village people were bringing me food to eat as I rested.

Late in the evening we would park the Land Rover in a village near a house and spend the night. I liked to sleep in the homemade bed we had constructed inside the back of the Land Rover. With the windows open I had a breeze and all my supplies were nearby. I had a radio and could pick up BBC and VOA radio. This was my way of keeping up with the world.

My main diet was canned food and fresh fruit. In each capital city you could find a store with western food. I would stock up.

I just lived each day in the Glory of God and in the presence of people. I remember that almost every night I went to sleep with people gathered around the Land Rover peeking in at me. Ha.

What a wonderful way to live. I walked from dawn till night almost every day. I would lie down and rest for about an hour or so at noon. This helped refresh me and also got me out of the hottest time of day.

I carried the cross into Benin from Togo and walked across the country on the coast road to Nigeria.

Had a wonderful witness in the capital city of Cotonou. My children Gina, Joel, Joy and Joshua were with me in Benin and waited for me in the capital. This was just wonderful.

I think one of the best meals I ever had was on the roadside with some missionaries who brought me dinner. Wow, what great food.

Preached in several churches and saw many saved on the roadsides, in the markets and at the church meetings.

God bless the beautiful people.

Pilgrim followers of Jesus,

Arthur Blessitt
Luke 18:1