First Grain of Sand — Page 180
164 FIRST GRAIN OF SAND the country, it is difficult to succeed in preaching. So I requested him to permit me to stay here in Baku for a while and he would see that I would fully follow his authority. However, the head officer said that since I entered their coun- try without a passport, if I first go back and obtain the proper documentation, I would then be able to return and stay here. However, as no religious missionary would be allowed to preach in this country, I knew that this statement was not true. Ultimately, I spent a few days in Baku's underground prison. As I reflected, I realized just how much time I had been kept in underground rooms. For example, in the Tashkent prison, I was kept in underground rooms for many months. In Moscow, on many occasions I was kept in underground cells. And now here in the Baku prison, I was once again forced to stay in a cell underground. After a few days in Baku, I was taken on a ship to the Iranian port city, Anzali. The journey on the ship lasted 24 hours, or per- haps slightly more. While I was aboard the ship, it occurred to me there is a possibility that, just like the Soviet government, the Iranian government may also accuse me of being a spy, and who knows how long I would then spend inside an Iranian prison. Consequently, when I saw the port of Anzali from a great distance while sitting on the ship deck, I raised both hands and began pray- ing in great distress: 'O God, protect me now from prison and its hardships. ' I still had my hands up in prayer when several Iranian children and some Russians mistook me for being a beggar and began to put money, bread, and some other items in front of me. Certainly, how could they ever realize the state of my heart at that