Drunk Drivers & Don't Doubt Thomas

Hello from Nowy Brzesko in southern Poland. I began the week on schedule, had an unscheduled rest day half way & I'm now 2days ahead of schedule! That basically means that I've walked the sole off my boots this week with some huge distances. The beautiful sunshine & consequent lack of snow plus having walking poles again has made it possible to get to where I am. I hadn't planned to be here, it just sort of happened. I left the fantastic hospitality of the Lukasik family in Lublin last Wednesday & only made it 20km before I was set upon by 3 journalists - the kind of highway encounter that's welcomed. They had received a phone call from Fr Bogumil in Biala Podlaska & driven over 300km trying to find me. They were pretty pleased to have spotted me after so much driving & I was pleased to hear that they represented the national Catholic magazine & were looking to spread the call to pray for unity a lot further than my legs can carry it. We sat in a hotel for an hour & talked before I continued walking & they followed me at a distance trying to get a good photo. The next day I was walking 35km to a town called Anopol but with no hospitality on offer & the motel bankrupt I had to walk off into the twilight to a hotel some 15km further on. I bought a new head lamp in Lublin along with the poles so the night was a little tamer than previous weeks. I arrived at Orozow at 8pm but the hotel there was full. The next hotel? Well, it was another 26km on at a town called Sandomierz. I was really looking forward to a bed & feeling so tired that the thought of walking 26km on top of the day's 50km thus far wasn't particularly nice. I sat in the restaraunt there & ate a large meal, re-stocked my food & water supplies & started walking at around 9pm. It was a quiet, narrow country road to Sandomierz & the full-moon was so bright in the night sky that the head lamp made no difference, I could see at least a km up along the road. It was very peaceful walking & I took the opporunity to spend an hour in prayer. While praying & thinking about our Lord carrying the cross up Calvary I was joined along the fence line of a small cluster of houses by a group of dogs who barked & snarled at me for a good 100m. I thanked the Lord for the help in visualising the ugly path up Calvary but asked if it be ok if we skip the visuals & audios for the crucifixtion. I was only joking but I was soon lamenting my joke when a man drove past me very slowly & pulled over up ahead. I was well passed the houses by now & out in open space. As I drew near he crossed the road & started saying something to me. He walked straight up to me & put his hand on my chest. After the past few weeks of 'encounters' in Russia & Belarus I was ready for anything. I backed away a little & he just kept talking. It was at that point that I got a whif of his toxic vodka breathe & realised he was more than a little under the weather. He could speak a little english & so managed to get his question across; he wanted me to get in his car with him & go back to his place for a drink. It wasn't exactly a tough decision but he wouldn't take no for an answer. He knew how to say please & so he just kept pleading. I told him what I was doing (the only thing I can say in Polish) & that I had to keep on moving & praying. He suddenly became quite excited & 'really' wanted me to go back to his house so that he could take a photo of me & call his friend form the Gazette. A few more minutes of "Pleeeeeasse!" from him & I wished him well & said goodbye. I extended my hand to & asked what his name was. He shook my hand & said, "Thomas". I walked on quickly & turned my head lamp off in case he decided to drive after me. And he did. About 3km later he flashed past me but not having seen me until the last minute he pulled over a good 200m ahead of me (reactions time from alcohol was probably a factor as well). I couldn't be sure if he was still alone or had picked up friends & I was in a patient mood so I just stepped off the road & sat behind a bushy tree. I'd either wait until he left or passed out & then continue. After a few minutes he staggered out of the car & looked up & down the road, probably a bit confused, & then hopped back in, turned around & drove back to whence he came. I stood up & walked on out across the moon-lit country side. A car would come from Thomas's direction every now & then so I'd step off the road until they'd passed by & then resume. He didn't ever come back but a car from the other direction spotted me & pulled over (I wasn't stepping off for the north-bound traffic). He was driving a brand new white hatchback, which for some reason comforted me (I've since come to the conclusion that gansters don't drive new white hatchbacks). He wound down his window & in perfect english asked, "Do you need help? My friend Thomas called me & said you are walking around the world?" The man's name was Michael & would you believe it, he was a journalist for the state's newspaper. Thomas actually did want to help. Michael wanted an interview the next day but was concerned about me walking along that particular road at night. I assured him that it was actually a nice road to walk along & the only problem I'd had was a drunk Thomas. He looked at me sharply, "He's drunk?" At that moment none other than Thomas rang on Michael's mobile & Michael started to get into him a bit, "You're drunk! You are. I can't believe you're drunk!" Michael was very friendly & after he'd given Thomas an ear full he appolgised, gave me his business card & headed back to Sandomierz. I arrived there at around 1am & as I hobbled down the main street looking for a hotel, the new white hatchback re-appeared & Michael was back to make sure I was ok. He offered to take me on a tour of the town & so off we went at 1am around Poland's oldest township. It was great. I was struggling to stay awake but it was great none the less. There was a church there that first opened it's doors in the 700's & is still in full use. All the modern buildings where erected in the 1400's. It was incredible. Michael had a side business as tour guide during the summer months so he new the place well. He dropped me off at a hotel at 1:30am & I finally slept. The next day we met & spoke about the mission & Raphael, the newspapers photographer, took some shots. It was over 40km to the next hotel & with it being close to 3pm (I sleept in a lot) by the time we finshed talking I decided to stay there a 2nd night. I walked on to Polaniec (with people waving at me the whole way having read Michael's article in the paper) & then to Opotowiec last night. Around 15km from Opotowiec I stepped over a number plate & for the sake of something to do, memorised the number, repeating it over & over as I walked on. 5km later I detoured into a petrol station to re-fuel my water supply. A brand new BMW was roaring out of the exit but the driver caught sight of me, slammed on his brakes, ripped it into reverse, lit up the tyres & swung around up beside me. I wasn't wuite sure what to expect. The man driving jumped out of his car, "I have a problem! I saw you walking this morning. I've lost my number plate, have you seen it?" I can't tell you how smart I felt when I reeled off his number & told him exactly where it was. He nearly hugged me. He asked me to come with him to show him where it was & without a second thought I jumped into the hotted-up BMW. My pride soon disappeared though as we took off down the road & I realised that this guy was also drunk. I don't think I need to point out that alcohol & fast cars don't mix. I was holding on for dear life. Thankfully the plate was only 5km away. As we approached the plate I told him to stop & stop he did - as fast as anti-lock braking will allow you when you slam your foot down on the brake at full force. He jumped out, grabbed the plate & kissed it, holding it aloft like heavy-weight champion of the world. I was a little more concerned about getting back to the petrol station alive. We took off back down the road as fast as his traction-control would allow when you slam your foot down on the accelerator (are you getting the picture of how this guy was driving?). He had an un-nerving habit of turning to me when he wanted to say something & his hands would follow. Twice in 1min he had to swerve back onto the road. I almost fell out of the car when we pulled up at the petrol station as fast as anti-lock braking allows when... you get the idea. From now on I am not even going to look twice at a number plate as I step over it. I have a feeling that fellow might be putting his BMW safty features to the test pretty soon. So, the sun is shining, my knee is feeling a lot better, the country side is spectacular & the walk continues. The reception at the churches I've past hasn't exactly been pleasant. Some have welcomed me but others have actually pushed shooed me off the property like a rabid dog. One priest even threw my calling card back in my face & closed the door. I was very thankful to meet Adam, the pastor of a church in Sandomierz. He came & visited me at the hotel & we spoke for a while & prayed together. Please continue to pray for unity & hopefully I'll be logging in from Slovakia next week. God bless! Sam.
"Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap." Luke 21:24

Rejected at Belarus Border & 'Babar'

So it turns out that the visa issued to me for Belarus in fact wasn't. For those who didn't catch the final blog from Canada, I had a lot of problems with my passport & trying to get a Belarus Visa. When I finally did get my passport back (having already missed my flight to Russia) I had the Russian visa in my passport but the Belarus visa wasn't there. What I did have was 4pages of official documents written in Belarussian & a receipt for the Belrus visa. I assumed it must be the visa but was a little suspicious. While travelling on the trans-siberian railway with Justin we met a lady who worked on the Russian/Chinese border at passport control. I handed the documents to her & asked if she knew what they were. She shook her head at first but then said, "Oh, it's a visa for Belarus." I was glad to hear that but thought that the big test would come when I crossed the border into Belarus. On that particular day the guard asked for my documents, not caring to even view my passport. He read through the 4pages & wished me the best in my walk. I then of course had the run in with the intelligence agent (KGB) in the midle of the country & he too went thruogh all my papers & passed me to continue. All of this strongly indicated that I was indeed holding official visa documentation, but that wasn't the case. When I went to cross the border from Belarus to Poland the guard passed the documents back to me sighting that it wasn't a visa & he gave me an address in the city of Brest (10km away) where I had to go. That address turned out to be the police headquarters, not the public office but the no sign, no front offie, big dark building with massive padded doors headquarters. After a few helpful dircections from passing officers I found myself sitting at the desk of a passport officer on the 2nd floor. He asked what the problem was, I explained everything, showing him all the documentation (including receipts) & the problem that had now arisen. He flicked through everything & then peered up at me & uttered those oh-so-heart-warming words, "You are in very big trouble." I wasn't sure at that point if that meant I was going to prison or being flown home at my own expense but I figured I'd get a bed either way so I'd just sit tight for the time being. Apparently the 4 pages of documentation where nothing more than a request from a Belarus Hotel for a visa. Why did I get through all the security checks then? I think it was a combination of Holy Spirit & the fact that there are so few tourists in Belarus that they weren't sure what they were actually looking for. The officer led me down the hallway to the Chief of Police & we talked for a short time. I wasn't sure of what the outcome was but I was led back to the first office & asked to hand over my passport. I was asked if I had money, which I did, so he offered me my ticket out. For $200 he would issue me an on the spot visa so that I could leave the country. I am very thankful that that particular officer was friendly & actually had a sense of humour (He thought it was brilliant that my dad has a Belarus tractor on the farm in Tasmania). A second offier escorted me to the bank & all the papr work was completed. I had to sign off on a few documents & then my hand written visa was stuck into my passport. They then drove me to the train station because I wasn't permitted to cross the border on foot. Getting through customs was an adventure as well. I still don't know what the problem was but my line had to be shut down while they processed me. There were officers coming from everywhere, checking my passport, my visa & looking me up & down. I just stood there & smiled for half an hour while they debated something back & forth. The clock was ticking for my train departure. It almost appeared as thy they got so frustrated with what ever the problem was that they just stamped my passport & told me to get out there. I was happy to oblige. I made the train with a few minutes to spare. The short 7km train ride across the border finally landed me in Poland & I am continuing on my way. As I walk I sometimes entertain myself by coming up with a 'Top Ten List' on any particular topic. The other day I had a go at the top ten things to do while overseas. Number one... "Walk across an anti-western dictatorship without a valid visa!" Try doing that on your day off. Poland has been a pleasure so far. Winter has set back in for a few days so it's very white once again but I'm told this is the last expected snow fall for the year. The people here have been very hospitable & have fed me well. I'm struggling with the language a little though. I saw a road sign 3days ago & the 7 letter word on it contained only one vowel. That's just mean. Father Bogumil & his youth group in Biala Podlaska tried to teach me some helpful Polish phrases (& they have been) but they asked me at one point if I knew what "Babar" was. Babar is a cartoon in Australia & so I said, "Yes! of course, Babar is the elephant." They roared with laughter, some of them even blushing tad. Ok, so "Baba" (no 'r') actually means, "An old Woman" in Polish, not an elephant. I've tried not to stick my foot in it since then but there's a lot ore time to pass yet. In the next town of Radzyn Podlaska I was invited to speak at one of the numerous Sunday masses & to share about the mission & the invittion to pray for unity. The problem though was that none of the four prists spoke English & I don't speak Polish. One priest, however, spoke Italian so we ended up wih this bizzare situation where I spoke to a congregation of Poles in Spanish, which was translated by the priest into Italian & then again back into Polish. I think we got the message across. The faith is strong here & people have been very welcoming of the call to pray for unity. I was completly unaware that therre were people waiting for me in the city of Lublin until I was only 20km away. Good timing. I'm now having a rest day with new friends here in this busstling little city & heading off to their prayer meeting this evening, which I am really hanging out for. My body is still faulting & my knee has seized up solid a few times. I'm heading out this afternoon to try & find replacemet walking poles to ease the stress & hoopefully allow it to heal. I was offered to be taken to a doctor today to have it checked out but I declined. I'll only be told to rest it :-) For anyone following the walk in Poland, please be aware that I am trying to make up for lost days so my schedule will most likely change between Lublin & Krakow. That's about it for now. Thankyou to everyone for the blog comments & emails of late. It has been very uplifting. Please pray on & I hope you have a blessed week. From Lublin in eastern Poland, it's goodbye for now. God bless! Sam.
"You will see it with your own eyes & say, 'Great is the Lord - even beyond the borders of Israel!'" Malachi 1:5

Twilight Pursuit, KGB & a Dark Forest

G'day all! How are you doing? As the title susgests, I've had another 'interesting' week on the road. The sort that makes me think that an office job isn't such a bad life after all! Where to begin... Ok, so I left Minsk after a fantastic rest day at the Waterman's apartment. They invited around a small group in the evening & I was able to extened the invitation to pray for unity without leaving the building! That's such an easier method. I had a translator, Olga, who did a great job & at the end of our meeting Rose Waterman brought out a birthday cake & everyone started to sing. I joined in, not knowing whose birthday it was & just before we got to the person's name I leant over to Olga & asked who's birthday this was for. She shrugged her shoulders but I was a bit stumped a few seconds later when they sang the name - it was mine! My birthday was another week away but Rose had thought that I probably wouldn't get a cake where ever I happened to be so she'd organised one for me. It was great :-) Thanks Rose! As I walked out of Minsk it was drowned in mist & it added a real character to the streets of centuries old buildings. I stayed that night in a neighbouring town with the Waterman's friends who vistied the night before. They live in a typical communist bloke of flats & there was very little room, particularly with their 4 children, with whom I shared the only bedroom. Mum & Dad slept on the fold-out couch in the living room. The kids were classic, ranging in age from 1 to 10 years. The 1yr old, Matthew, spent most of his time giving his food to the dog & then taking equal portion back from the dog's scraps. The 2nd youngest ate half of my dessert while I had my back turned & the 3rd had a tendancy to smile at me & then punch me in the groin. Thanks mate. I really appreciated their hospitality. From there I continued on towards the Polish border but the walk started to get a little tougher again. The weather was great, around 7degC most days, well above the February average of -2. The air was crisp & the green grass beginning to break through the dormant fields. The only thing that wasn't filling me with a sense of peacefullness though was the 2 guys running through the forest off to my side. I caught a glimpse of one shodowy figure flash across a clearing off to my right as I headed down a deserted country road. Straight away I got that sinking feeling that I was about to have another unpleasant encounter & sure enough, about a minute later, out they came. They exited the forest 20m behind me & I did a quick shoulder check on them to see them running at me. As soon as I did the shoulder check though they quickly slowed to a walk & pretended to be just 'out for a stroll'. Great, they appear to be dumb as well. Pretty quickly they'd caught up & flanked me on either side. I didn't stop walking & I didn't stop praying. They asked if I had a cigarette for them, the answer to that rather obvious, & then proceeded to ask me if I was carrying any money, you know, as you do in general conversation with a complete stranger. I turned, walking backwards, & told them to go home. That was my 1st real look at them. They were in their mid to late teens & 1 was about half my size & weight. The other though was a descent size but what made him a little scarier was everytime he got within a metre of two his right hand would slide back to something tucked into the back of his trousers. I don't know what he had but for that reason I didn't let them get too close. They hounded me for nearly a kilometre & I was just waiting for them to make their move. It was almost tempting to stand & fight but I wanted to avoid confrontation & try & do a little better than last week. So, I tightened the straps on my bag, swallowed some pride & started running. Unlike last week though, these guys weren't drunk so they were quite able in keeping up. After a good 400m I slowed down & they were still on my tail. I started to run again & they gave chase again, jibbing me the whole time. They got within a metre of me so I made a sudden stop & fronted as though to fight them. They cowered away very quickly & I turned & kept running. They caught up again pretty quickly so I double-backed in between them & crossed the road just before a line of traffic came past. We both contiued on down the road on either side with them being at least 30m ahead of me the whole time. Eventually the opportunity came for them to cross but they were too busy watching the traffic in the other direction as they crossed that they didn't notice me cross back over. I gave them a smile from my side as they looked at me in frustration. At next chance though they split so that they had one on either side. Stupidly though the little guy came to my side so I just ran at him flat out. He predictably stepped aside & I kept runnning up along the road. They gave chase once again but this time started hurling rocks at me but thankfully they either missed or hit my poor old backpack. It was nearly 3km in all before they finally stopped running - 4km before I stopped. I'd walked 30km already so having to run 4km stop-start made my legs turn to jelly. I was longing for a shower, some food & a bed. I was shown to a hostel by friendly gentleman upon arriving in Stovbcy but my dinner didn't last long. I was sitting on my bed eating when a knock came at the door. It was the hostel's receptionist with a man dressed in a three-piece suit & carrying a brief-case. She said something to me but I have no idea what. I simply thought he was occupying the other bed so I just let him in. I sat down on my bed to resume eating but he sat down in the rooms only chair & began firing questions at me. I looked at him with my fork half raised to my mouth & thought, "Damn it, he's not here for the bed." I quickly explained that I didn't speak the language & he was a little frustrated at that. I put my food down & brought out my documents. He asked for my passport & began to write down from it all possible information. He then asked to see my documentation, itinerary, insurence, purpose for being here etc. It was a tad intimidating. Then he began to write down addresses of people who I've met along the journey & kept a note of in my little book. Even though he was intimidating I hadn't seen any i.d. & had no idea who he was so thought it best to check that he was someone official. I asked if he had identification. He looked at me & said, "Yes" & continued writing. I really should have just left it at that but I pressed & asked to see it as I with-drew my little book. That ticked him off incredibly & very reluctantly & with a very mean scowl on his face he pulled out his Belarus Army identification. It sounds dumb that I'd do that, but in the situation, I had no idea who this fellow was & he was acquiring personal information (he'd also asked a lot of questions about the members of my family). He was effectivly the Belarus equivalent of the old KGB. I handed back my book & co-operated with him fully (which I had done to that point anyway). After a nerve racking 30mins he handed all my personal belongings back, packed up his brief-case, smiled for a tenth of a second, thanked me & left. As he was leaving I asked him if everything was ok. He simply replied, "Yes", & that was that. I looked back over at my cold dinner, but I didn't have much of an appetite by then. The next day started late (bad sleep - I don't fit in the beds here) & ended up walking 2 days in 1. There was nothing at the end of the scheduled 1st days walk so I pressed on into the night to arrive in Baranavichy at 11:30pm. It was around 59km & my archilles tendon felt like it was about to explode. Mind you, I aggrivated it the most whilst doing a one man congo-line down a pitch-black, deserted country road. Yes, I was trying to keep myself entertained, it was a long walk. So anyway, I arrived in Baranavichy, got a good nights sleep & woke to a view from my 6th storey room; the army was on display in the city centre. They were lined up in their divisions & marching just like you see on the old Russian documentaries. I didn't hang around for long. That day I was heading into nowhere with no idea of how the day would end because the next town was 73km away. It was nearly 10am before I hit the road after calling into a few churches as I left town it really wasn't going to be a big day of walking. More than likely I would walk until sundown & thumb a lift in either direction, sleep & then return in the morning. However, once out on road P2 I discovered that there was one almighty straight road, an expanse of forest & no civilisation what-so-ever. I car would go past about every 20mins so I knew that hitching aride at the end of the day was going to be difficult. Then I discovered that I had once again left something behind, except this time it was my head-lamp. I had no torch. I have no idea where it is but it's presumably somewhere in Baranvichy. My back-pack has a few broken zips & holes so it managed to escape at some point. As the sun began to set I began to try a thumb a ride but after 2hours & 5 cars I was still walking. The sky was clouded over so without a torch it was about as dark as the night can get. I couldn't see the edge of the road, I couldn't even read road signs when they were right in front of me. The one thing I did have was my camera, which has night vision on it (good for about 5m) so I was able to use it to correct my path or find signs at intersections. My mind was flashing back to Venezuela when I came across a Pume at night time. Their are no Puma's here, but the forests are full of wolves, brown bears & I'm told Bison as well. I prayed quite a lot & sang to warn anything I couldn't see (which was everything) that I was coming through. I prayed for a little bit of comfort as I walked & then around 2min later, there was a huge clearing through the forest & 1km away at the other end was the M1 freeway with cars in abundance. I kept singing loudly & used the night vision on my camera to make my way through & up onto the freeway. It was a massive dose of comfort to have the car headlights flashing past every few seconds & I continued on down the road, not even contemplating trying to get a ride. I still wasn't sure where I'd end up but I simply kept walking & kept praying. In the end, at 3am, I finished off the 73km to the town I'm in now, which I'd love to tell you what it's called, but I can't pronounce it & so don't know how to translate it. The final 20km last night was painful. I had to stop about every 500m to rest my back & hip joints so it was slow-going. I've shouted myself a rest day today (well, considering I didn't get to bed until 3:30am it would have been a short day anyway) & I'm enjoying a day of recovery on this, my 29th birthday. I'll hopefully see you from Poland next week. God bless & pelase pray for the unity of Christians, Sam.
"ay your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant." PS 119:76
ps: Thank you to everyone who has sent me a birthday greeting and/or condolances for the passing of 'Mumma'. It's brought a smile to my face!

Drunken Assault, Goodbye Russia & no Snow

Hello from Minsk, the capital of the Republic of Belarus. I'm taking my 1st rest day today since leaving Moscow 17days ago & I am really in need of it! I crossed the Russian/Belarus border last Wednesday but not before having a rather unfriendly farewell from two men who thought it would be a good idea to try a belt me up & take my backpack. It was a bizare set of circumstances. As I approached an interchange on the highway I could see another guy with a backpack in a 'Rumble in the Jungle' fist fight with a guy dressed in black. I couldn't believe how severe there punches were & that they were both still standing. The fight quickly broke up, the guy in black retreating back up the highway exit & the guy with the backpack running up the other side of the highway past me while trying to thumb a ride. I yelled out across the highway asking if he was ok & he half acknowledged me but kept moving. As I walked past the exit I looked up & there was the guy in black, running back down with a mate by his side. They locked on me & increased there pace. I knew they had the wrong guy but how to tell them! They stopped at the highway because of traffic & as they looked up the road noticed the other fellow with a backpack & they were visibly confused. They had a quick discussion & then must have decided that I was closer & thus a better target because they promptly ran across the highway to me. I kept walking as they fired a few questions at me. I didn't understand a single word they said & explained that I didn't speak Russian. I had both walking poles in my left hand with one strap firmly around my wrist. After a quick discussion & it looking like they weren't going to be any trouble at all the 2nd fellow made a sudden lunge at my poles & tried to reef them from me while the 1st bloke scruffed my backpack. It was on. I couldn't let go of the poles very easily because of the strap around my wrist but I certainly wasn't trying to hand them over either. I pushed the 1st guy away with my right hand & with my hand around his neck held him at arms length for a short time. Eventually he twisted in closer & grabbed hold of my backpack chest strap, ripping it clean off. At that point I got a huge wif of alcohol & realised they were heavily intoxicated. There were fists & boots flying everywhere but incredibly not one landed on me. I'm not quite sure how it happened but somehow, at one point, I ended up with the 1st guy in head-lock & the 2nd guy pinned to the ground under my foot at the same time. He still had hold of the walking poles though & eventually they gave way, breaking at the middle join. The force of the poles coming apart sent me flying back down the road a few metres in the direction I wanted to head so without a moments hesitation I brought my strength into play & ran. It appears that a 12kg backpack is less of a hinderance than a litre of vodka because I was able to out run the guy giving chase. A 3rd guy then came into play (bottle in hand) as he ran down the highway exit. I didn't hang around & as painful as it was to run with my strained archilles tendon & stiff knee I reckon I put in a pretty solid 400m before eventually feeling a little asthmatic! I was concerned that they may come back after me (do something stupid like jump in a car) so I was really on edge as I hastily made my way up along the highway through thick snow-covered forest. I was still holding the walking pole handles & realised that blood was dripping down along them. The webbing between my thumb & fore-finger had been torn & blood was running down across the Canadian smiley-face stickers I put on there at Christmas. What played on my mind a lot at that point & right through to today is that at that very moment I was meditating & praying on the passion of Christ, in particular, his silence before his oppressors. There was a point during the fight where I had both men at arms length (that's called multi tasking I think) & I was thinking, "This is not what Jesus did!" I realised that I may have the strength to fend off two men but I don't have the strength to be silent under persecusion. "Lead us not into temptation" means a whole lot more now. It was around 2hours worth of shoulder checking & quick walking before I finally reached any form of civilisation, a petrol station. While I was about 200m off from it a bus drove past me & in the front seat was the 1st young man in black. He was staring at me as the bus went past & then the indicator came on for the bus to make a stop. I put my head down & started running for the service station, hoping to make it there before he made it to me. As I approached the entry I was dismayed to find that it was under construction & not yet open! I looked up & watched the man in black step off the bus. He looked at me & then walked off down a dirt track. I looked again, it wasn't him at all! Then on the other side of the road 3 men walked out from the forest, all dressed in black & staring at me, again, I thought I was them & I started to run for the bus but as i did they sat down on the other side & cracked open a drinking thermos. It was like a horror movie! Everyone looked the same & there was no safe place. They were all wearing the same black clothes & had similar haircuts. Up close it was easy to tell people apart but from a distance it was a different story. I eventually gained a little composure & with some prayer, walked on down the highway. That evening I slept at a truck stop in the truckies hostel & found that I had lost the ability to move my left hand. It had the pole strap around it & all the pulling & heaving on it had, I think, sprained it. I couldn't even undo my shoe laces. The next day, with a gimpy ankle, knee & wrist & minus walking poles I hobbled across the border into Belarus. I was at a lose as to where to go (it wasn't as neatly set up as other borders) but thankfully Gabriel was standing there, a Polish man I met last week at a hotel. "You made it!" He was a welcome point of familiarity. He's a truck driver & was on his way back home. He found all the information I needed & got me on my way with his address in my pocket for when I pass his place in 2weeks time. Belarus has a been, unexpectedly, a very different story to Russia. Belarus is the last remaining dictatorship in Europe & very anti-western in their policies, however, that sentiment has not, in any way, filtered through to the people. Of all the non-english speaking countries, the Belarussians are the most patient & helpful people I've met. I've been blown away with their generosity & willingness to at least try & communicate with me. While walking down a back street in Barysav I came across a mother & her two daughters trying to get their cat down out of an oak tree. One of the daughters was up a rickety old ladder reaching out precariously trying to grab the scared tabby. After a few minutes with no success the mother asked me if I could have a go. So up I went, mum holding the ladder firm on the iced footpath, and I introduced myself to the cat. It took a few minutes to gain its trust but eventually I was able to reach out & pick it up & as soon as it was close enough it dug its claws into my shoulder & sat there quite happily. Once we reached the bottom it was very quick to run back inside the yard & hide under the gate. The mother then sent the two girls off with me to show me the way to the towns hostel. They happily showed the way through the town & wished the best in the limited english they had. The people here are very genuine. I'm pleased to report that the weather is making a few turns for the better. After two days of rain (not snow) I enjoyed two days of sunshine & watched the snow all but disappear. The countryside is looking green & ready to burst into spring. I haven't come across many chruches this past week & so most of the invitations to pray for unity have come through the everyday meeting of the people here. The walking has been tough & the loss of the walking poles has added a new pressure to my feet. My knee has seized up a few times again & I usually have to physically hold my leg & bend it into action again. It's pretty painful. I'm looking forward to a few more rest days :-) I was thinking that everthing I used to protect myself against the Puma in Venezuela has now been stolen. The torch was nabbed in Costa Rica during the mugging & now the poles are gone & the chest strap had built into it the high-pitch whistle that I also used. So I hope I don't come across any more big fury animals because I'm running low on defenses. I do still have that one lonely glove (see last weeks blog about the whereabouts of the other) so perhaps I can use it if I come across a brown bear of a wolf. I could present the glove, slap it around the face & declare, "I challenge thee to a dual!" It'd be funny, but I just may get myself mauled doing that. I'm staying with Dan & Rose Waterman here in Minsk (thanks for the contact Heather & Ernest!). They are originally from Canada & are english teachers here at the Minsk International School, where I'm headed off to right now to meet the 30-odd students. I'll hopefully be in contact again next week, so until then, God bless & peace be with you. Sam.
"If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic." Luke 6:29