(Literally) carrying the cross, part one

A new movie, "The Cross: The Arthur Blessitt Story," has just been released. It tells the story of (surprise!) Arthur Blessitt, a man who has carried a 12-foot wooden cross around the world for nearly 40 years.

The Charisma Web site reveals that Blessitt simply started his journey on one street:

Blessitt began his ministry on Sunset Strip and became known as the 'Sunset Strip Minister.' Because he loved the people he met on the Strip, he was reluctant to leave when he sensed God calling him to walk around the world carrying a wooden cross. But God reminded him that Sunset Strip stretches around the world.

Blessitt was ready to obey. Two weeks before he was to leave Los Angeles, however, doctors discovered he had a brain aneurysm. He explains in the film that circumstances don't change the call of God. Facing possible death, Blessitt decided he would rather die while in God's will than to live out of it. He left on schedule—Christmas Day 1969.

Blessitt's journey has taken him to the far reaches of the world. He has traveled to 315 countries, walked more than 38,000 miles, journeyed through 52 war zones, and been arrested 24 times. But God has been with him every step of the way.