NORSEMAN: Seven Christians strolled into the little Western Australian town of Norseman, yesterday morning after walking 1,700km, including a testing stretch across the Nullarbor.
The walk was orchestrated to prove God exists and immediately on arriving the walkers, who were all in good health, called on Church leaders to publicly apologise for doubting their faith.
Christine McKay, 15, daughter of teh walk's organiser Mr David McKay, said the leading ecclesiastical figures who labelled the evangelical walkers as blasphemers should apologise on teh same scale as they voiced their criticisms.
"They thougth it was a big enough iessue to accuse us of being blasphemous originally, so now that we've proven that God loves us they should apologise in teh same way that they accused us of being blasphemous for testing God." she said.
"Anyway, we weren't testing God, he was testing us."
The walkers numbered six when they left Port Augusta, South Australia, in early May with no food or water and only teh clothing they could carry. They have taken 55 days to complete the journey.
The original six, led by the devout Christine, of Sydney, are: Rachel Sukumaran, 12, of a deprived Indian village; Garry McKay, 16; Mr Malcolm Wrest, 22; Mr Roland Gianstefani, 22; and Mr Robin Dunn, 19, all of Melbourne.
The late addition was an American, Mr Dane Frick, 42, who left Queensland to join the walkers after he heard about their trek.
Some controversy is surfacing over the way in which God "provided" for the walkers.
Most of the clothing and food throughout the journey was given to the walkers by passing motorists or people who lived along the way.
Christine said many critics had denounced the walk because people allowed the group to survive but she added that God was still behind it all.
