First Grain of Sand — Page 140
124 FIRST GRAIN OF SAND O Lord! People spend thousands of rupees to take trips abroad, whereas I have not spent so much as a penny upon myself, which is such an incredible favour from You. Two officers were assigned to take me, and we boarded the busi- ness class portion of the train. After coming on board, another thought arose in my heart that my God Almighty had especially appointed these two officers for my protection. I reflect back when I came to Qadian for my education, I was an orphan, and now due to the blessings of the Ahmadiyya Movement and the special attention of Hazrat Khalifatul-Masih II, I was travelling internationally in business class—something my father could not even experience during his life. At this time, my heart was full of contentment and gratitude. In Russia, I was never handcuffed as this was not their practice. As I boarded the train, I saw a rich young Turkish man in front of me who remained on the platform and kept looking at me. When the train started moving, then he finally left. Indeed, during my imprisonment in Tashkent, the translator who was appointed to take my statement during all interrogations was a very kind-hearted Turkish young man who was familiar with Persian, Turkish, and Russian. After just the third or fourth inter- rogation, he had already accepted my views, and he would secretly take my preaching from inside the prison and relay the messages to his friends outside the prison as well. I think the young man looking at me from the platform was his friend, who he must have told that I was being taken to Moscow today and, thus, this would be his opportunity to see me in person. After boarding the train for Moscow, the Russian officers