Man carries wooden cross on spiritual pilgrimage from South Carolina to the Grand Canyon
A South Carolina man is on a 2,000-mile spiritual journey to carry a cross from his home state to the Grand Canyon while carrying a wooden cross on his back.
Acie Burleson, 34, said he had an epiphany to carry a cross after Christianity saved his life several years ago, The Associated Press reported. He built the cross himself, he said.
"When I got saved, God called me out to be a walking memorial for him," he told AP.
Burleson said he started out taking trips with the cross from one town to another before embarking on the "the big one" to the Grand Canyon — a landmark he always wanted to see, he said.
He left his home in Andrews, South Carolina, on March 11 and expects the pilgrimage to last another three months, he told AP. He hopes the imagery spreads the message to motorists about the sacrifices Jesus made, according to AP. He is carrying a small tent with him, but hasn't use it yet due to the kindness of strangers and churches he's encountered along the way.
Video posted by Corinth Today on Friday shows a bearded Burleson wearing a neon construction vest as he treks through Alcorn County, Mississippi, on U.S. Route 72, holding the cross over his right shoulder.
On Monday, Burleson walked 18 miles into west Memphis and expects to hit Arkansas on Tuesday, he said in a video posted to Facebook, emphasizing his exhaustion by saying he was "dragging feet."
"God is good," he said.
While Burleson has been met with some skeptics, the majority of people have been receptive to his street-preaching, he said in the video.
One woman along the way was stopped at a red light and told Burleson that she was "one block away" from killing herself, he said. On Monday, a group of children "flocked" to him and were "very interested" in what he had to say.
"That was about the best interaction I had all day," he said.
Burleson hasn't decided whether he'll throw the cross into the Grand Canyon when he gets there or keep it, he told AP.
"By the time I get there, I may be too sentimental about it," he said. "I may just keep it.”
