48-year-old Emyr Mathias, a builder from
Ceredigion, Wales, is preparing to embark on
an epic 200-mile journey carrying a 25-kg
wooden cross from St. Davids in
Pembrokeshire to the top of Mount Snowdon,
after getting a series of visions from the
Lord.
A devout Christian for the past 31 years,
Emyr says he is taking on the monumental
challenge in response to a calling he
received from God.
It all started a couple of years ago, when he
started getting these strange visions. In the
first one he was carrying a St David’s flag
from St David’s to Snowdon, but he
dismissed it as silly, telling himself “I’m not
carrying a flag on the road – that’s silly!”
Then, he claims he had a second vision in
which God told him “I want you to carry a
cross from St David’s to Snowdon,” but again
Emyr thought “I’m not doing that”.
Not long after having these visions, Mathias
met Angie Taylor who, after the loss of her
son, carried a cross from Land’s End to John
O’Groats with amazing testimonies of what
the Lord did along the way. After telling her
about God’s message to him, she said “You
daft bat! Get the cross made!” S o he did.
At 12-feet-tall and 6 feet wide, the cedar
timber cross weighs around 25 kilograms, so
getting it to the top of Mount Snowdon is
not going to be a walk in the park, especially
since Emyr is not in top physical condition.
So he is currently undertaking a training
program to prepare for the 200 mile journey.
“When people ask me what I’ve been doing
to prepare I just tell them I’ve been cross
training,” the devout Christian jokingly told
the South-Wales Evening Post. “But to be
honest, to start with I was a bit embarrassed
about carrying this cross with me. So I
wanted to find somewhere quiet where I
could get some miles in without drawing too
much attention to myself. I’ve been to Tenby,
Milford Haven, and as far away as
CwmB.ran.”
Getting the large wooden cross to the top of
the highest mountain in Wales is not going
to be easy, but Emyr is happy to have the
support of his family and friends.
However, he admits that his challenge seems
strange to a lot of people. “The response has
been fantastic,” he said. “Although there are
some people who think it’s bizarre. I
suppose you could say the reaction has been
mixed.”
Asked what he wants to achieve by carrying
the cross for 200 miles, Mathias said that he
hopes his journey will make many people
consider their faith and relationship to God,
as well as hopefully unite the churches he
comes across along the way.
Emyr Mathias’ “Crossing Wales” journey
begins on September 13th, 2016.
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