South Carolina Man Walking to Grand Canyon With a Wooden Cross, Telling Others to Pray and be Ready for Christ’s Return

By Nancy Flory Published on April 30, 2019

“It’s all about Him,” said Acie Burleson, pointing to the sky. “Everything else is junk.”

Eleven years ago, Acie had a dream. In his dream, he heard the command to tell others “to pray and be ready for the coming of Christ.” He picked up a cross and began walking, telling others about Jesus. 

Why the cross? “It was a God thing,” Acie told The Stream. Acie and a buddy met up at the beach one day to evangelize. He noticed his friend had a small cross. Acie held it while he walked. Another guy showed up carrying a bigger cross. Acie walked with the larger cross on his shoulders. Not long after, they gave the cross to him.

“The cool thing about them giving me the cross is that I never told them I wanted [it], because I thought that was covetousness, you know?” They told him that the Lord told them to give him the cross. “They never knew I wanted it. It was just a God thing.”

So far, he’s walked through South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Texas and other states. Now he’s in Tennessee heading to Arkansas. His destination? The Grand Canyon. 

A Conversion and Other Miracles

Most of the time, Acie never knows who will or won’t accept Christ because of his witness. “There’s just one time where He let me see one person,” he explained. “I was getting discouraged. I was like, ‘Lord, I don’t see any kind of conversion.'” Then one day as he was walking, the Lord told him to go to a car dealership. He told him to walk over the next hill. “I’m like, ‘Father God, if there’s no [dealership] over this hill, I’m going back.’ As soon as he crossed over the next hill, he saw the dealership.

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As he arrived, a young teenager walked up to Acie. “God’s been dealing with me and I [saw] your cross,” he told him. “I want Jesus in my heart. I want Him in my life.” Acie told him, “Bro, look here, let’s do this thing right now, brother. Let’s come to the Lord.” They prayed and the young man accepted Jesus right then and there. Acie thanked the Lord. 

The cross has affected others as well. Two people told him that they didn’t commit suicide because they saw the cross. Two others saw the cross and broke down crying. “‘Jesus,’ that’s all they could say, is just ‘Jesus.'”

God’s Provision

Acie has also seen the provision of God. Not long ago, he had five miles to go to his rest stop but it was already 7 p.m. Five more miles would have meant three more hours of walking. “I was like, ‘Lord, I need your help. Father God, I would not be mad if you gave me a truck for someone to take me the last five miles. I would not be upset. But, nevertheless, Your will be done.'”

Two minutes later, a truck pulled up. A guy asked Acie what he was doing. He told him. “He said, ‘Man, you want to go to church with us?’ I was like, ‘Absolutely, I’d love to go to church with you guys.'” After church, they took Acie to his hotel. “I was like, ‘Thank you Lord!’ There’s little things like that that God does, you know? He’s awesome. God is awesome.”

God’s Calling

Acie’s given up a lot following his call from God. “I gave up everything. I was getting ready to make big money with my job [and] I owned my own little house. I owned it. I gave it all away to follow my call from God.” But he doesn’t regret any of it. “It’s just been a really big blessing,” he said, to see God at work. 

Acie expects to be on the road another three months. His wife supports him in his longest journey yet. She encouraged him to begin and encourages him to press on. 

As long as God has him on the road, his message will be the same. Pray and be ready. “That’s the biggest point, that people know that. Time is short. Time is real short.”

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