1992
Isim: We have driven about twelve hundred miles from Almaty, Kazakhstan to Siberia past Russian missile sites and atomic ranges, across an area not open to foreigners. God did it. The roads were dangerous with fast moving, reckless trucks. But we got gas by the grace of God. I carried the cross into Siberia. The area is flat with a lot of farming. It reminds me of photos I’ve seen of America in the ’30s. Men and women are working in the fields. In Russia, mostly women do the highway roadwork. Go to Russia and you’ll never believe women are weaker than men. Oh, what a tough life most must live here.
The houses are wooden and many are made of logs with blue around the windows. The wheat fields stretch for miles. The people were not very friendly, most completely ignoring me although we did give out a lot of material and had a good witness with some folks..
One very significant thing we did was to carry 12-foot cross over the Trans-Siberian Railway. This railroad that has carried millions of people to exile, prison and ultimately death has been a symbol of the evil heart of man. Denise and I walked together over the bridge spanning the railroad.
We prayed that never again would such suffering pass this way. “The Lord rebuke you Satan” in Jesus Name. We had some wonderful talks with the few people who spoke English.
We then drove on toward Moscow.
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During much of 1992 my wife, Denise and I carried the cross through Russia and all of the former USSR. The USSR was just breaking up after the fall of communism. We only had a tourist visa for two weeks in Russia and no permit for the Land Rover and no visa for any of the other countries! Jesus got us through all the borders and checkpoints with no visa or permit. We made it through over 250-armed roadblocks. God led us to places to fill up with gas, as only a few gas stations were open the entire trip. We went from extreme cold and snow to the desert heat all in one historic and glorious trip. The impossible had happened. The cross was carried in all the USSR. All glory to God. Many were saved as the cross was carried in all of these nations.
Denise drove the 4×4 Land Rover. She would drive up the road a few miles and wait for me to arrive carrying the 12-foot cross. I would have something to drink and eat and then walk on. In most of these nations we would drive part of the way and then carry the cross a few days or a week or so. We had Bibles and gospel material in Russian and local languages. The Land Rover was also towing a small trailer with food and the gospel materials. We carried many cans of gas on the Land Rover and inside was a stove. We slept in a pop-up tent on top the Land Rover. When we left England we drove and went by ship to Finland. We crossed over to Estonia and made a complete loop around the USSR and then drove back via Poland and back to England. We drove almost 11,000 miles and I walked many hundreds of miles in the USSR.
In order we carried the cross in the following countries on this crosswalk:
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Trans-Dniester, Moldova, Crimea, Abkhazia, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tadzikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Siberia and Russia
Jesus did it. All glory to God.
Pilgrim followers of Jesus,
Arthur and Denise Blessitt
Luke 18:1