X

St. Helena

1995

What a joy to arrive by sea at this wonderful little island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

This is the place where French Emperor Napoleon was exiled. We started carrying the cross in the little town where we had landed by zodiac (small rubber boat).

The people were friendly and welcoming.

Denise took a taxi up to the top of the mountain and visited the home where Napoleon was kept in exile. I carried the cross up the winding road. Many people stopped in their cars to talk.

StHelena3I will never forget that at the top here came Denise, my wife carrying her backpack and mine! She had water and our food and she was simply covered in supplies! She was a sight to behold especially with her walking stick!

At last we arrived at the town and people gave us cool water and we went to the little supermarket. A crowd had gathered around the cross and we had a powerful witness and prayer with the people. We had a glorious time in the town of Jamestown. Gave out all the Jesus stickers we brought onto the island. Gave away over 2,000 stickers and hundreds of gospel papers. It was just a Jesus explosion! Glory

All the South Atlantic Islands

Falkland Islands, South Georgia Islands, Tristan da Cunha, St. Helena, Ascension, Cape Verde and The Canary Islands:

For just over a month my wife Denise and I carried the cross in these six remote Atlantic Islands. It was one of the most glorious trips filled with awesome in beauty in nature. There was the peace of being at sea and experiencing the wonder of God’s creation.

We flew into the Falkland Islands from Chile. Carried the cross there in the Falklands and then boarded a ship to take us to the other islands of this trip. The name of the ship was “The Explorer.” It held about a hundred people. Most of the passengers were members of the Century Travelers Club.

The way it worked was for us to sail for a day or two or even a week to an island group. Then we would go ashore by zodiac (small rubber boat). We would go back and forth from the landing to the ship. Most of the time it was very difficult and dangerous to get on the zodiac because it was bobbing up and down in the water. You had to go down the side of the ship on some shaky steps then leap onto the little boat. We would wait till last so we could have the cross handed down to us on the bouncing boat!

The cross is six feet across and twelve feet long.

The crew was so nice to us and happy to have the cross. Most were Catholic from the Philippines. They wanted me to do a special mass for them. We planed it and most of the crew came and heard me speak of Jesus and salvation and they prayed to receive Jesus. Then we had the Bread and Wine of Holy Communion!

The people of the Century Travelers Club asked to hear us so we spoke to that group one day. Two of the travelers gave their lives to Jesus.

On board the ship both Denise and I were seasick most of the time! On land we were great but get the ship rocking and we were ill. Only Jesus could get me to do something like this. This was not one of the big cruise ships but an old icebreaker used most of the time in Antarctica.

This was our home for a month. We loved it and praise God. What a privilege to carry the cross in the remote Atlantic Islands.

Pilgrim followers of Jesus,

Arthur and Denise Blessitt,
Luke 18:1