life in mammoth
Gazing & Praying Over Mammoth Lakes, Our Current Base of Operations
Greetings beloved brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. Unto those who “are sanctified by God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called: Mercy unto you, and peace, and love be multiplied” (Jude 1-2).
It has been awhile since my last update, so I thought I would bring everyone up to speed on what has been going on here. To begin with, the Lord is definitely doing something in Mammoth Lakes, but the details are difficult to perceive at this juncture. This is plainly evident by the activity of the Enemy. Mammoth is truly a place of indifferent spiritual darkness, and the attacks even seem to come from those here who claim the blood of Jesus Christ yet disparage the public proclamation of his blessed Gospel. “Nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day” (II Timothy 1:12). Last week, I attempted to climb nearby Laurel Mountain (elevation 11,812 ft.) so as to be able to look down upon Mammoth Lakes from on high and ponder over her after the manner of Jesus as he wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41) and admonished her (Luke 13:34). Unfortunately, I found myself swimming in waist-deep snow about two-thirds of the way up the southeast slope, so I turned around. Several days later, however, I was able to climb to the top of Mammoth Rock (elevation 9,110 ft). There, after a gnarly scramble up class 4 rock that had my knees knocking, I was able to gaze down, ponder, and pray over the community.
From the start, we have attempted to saturate Mammoth with Gospel tracts—leaving them on cars, park benches, pay phones, newspaper stands, in public bathrooms, inside bus stops, throughout ski lodges, etc. Psalm 119:113 proclaims: “The entrance of thy words giveth light.” Thus, we see these efforts as a valid means to pierce the darkness. The other day, as I was attaching a Gospel tract to a parked car, the owner of the car walked up with his friend and went ballistic. Initially, I felt sure I would find myself on the receiving end of a brutal assault, but in the end, the man calmed down and more clearly heard the Gospel as I reiterated it into his ears. All Praise to the Most High!
Yesterday, we received a fresh shipment of Gospel tracts from Fellowship Tract League out of Lebanon, Ohio. Their enclosed newsletter showed a picture of men praying over the boxes of tracts as they were being loaded into the trucks for shipment. A chill went up my spine as I realized that the Almighty was answering these prayers in a little California ski town called Mammoth Lakes. Our responsibility is grave.
By God’s grace, we have also been able to personally witness on the streets several times. Things really got started with two verses of Scripture that pricked my spirit:
“Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people” (Isaiah 62:10)
“Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth” (Psalm 60:4).
With these words in mind, I have begun to jog around town each morning while holding aloft the “Jesus Saves” banner (the same one that I attach to my bicycle) for all to see. I expected much mockery and disdain, but to my amazement, the first instance yielded at least five “thumbs-up” from passersby. Perhaps five Christians were emboldened by my seeming foolishness (I Corinthians 1:21) to be more effective witnesses of the Gospel. It is my goal to bear this banner unfurled along every inch of every street in this town. Once again, may the entrance of God’s Word give light (Psalm 119:130). Bearing the banner also gives me brief opportunities to preach Truth as I pause in front of bus stops or on street corners where people are milling about. Please pray for continued boldness in this area. Today, I ran up to Minaret Summit near the Main Lodge ski area on Mammoth Mountain. Many saw the flag, and I was able to place Gospel tracts all around the lodge. May the Word of the Lord not return void. One female skier stopped to ask me what my flag said. This gave me the opportunity to proclaim that only in Christ Jesus can one gain everlasting life.
Several days ago, I was greatly encouraged to see God work in the heart of another believer unto boldness for the sake of the Gospel. It was late afternoon when most people begin to come down off the mountain, so I decided to hit the streets. I told my friend that I would return later. I had only been gone for about twenty minutes when he pulled up beside me on the road in his jeep. The Lord had convicted him to join me, and he acted in obedience. Then, something amazing happened. He was pretty scared to engage people publicly, BUT he was WILLING. God honored this willingness and clearly gave him the effectual words to say. In the local post office, he engaged an elderly gentleman who was opening his mail and spouting off a plethora of profanity. I sat back and watched my friend go to work. In the end, this gentleman accepted a Gospel tract and promised to read it. Please pray for Hal; may the Lord save his soul from hell! We also engaged some employees on strike out in front of the local grocery store, a girl in a chocolate shop, a young snowboarder, a Spanish couple in their driveway, and another Spanish couple in a fast-food restaurant. I was so thankful for some companionship. His mere presence served to embolden me even more. Moreover, his example clearly demonstrated that the key to effective evangelism is WILLINGNESS and OBEDIENCE. It is not about special formulas or pre-conceived outlines. If we are willing and obedient to the conviction of the Holy Spirit when it comes to the carrying out of the Great Commission, the Lord will give us the right words to say and use us effectually.
On Tuesday nights, one of the local churches cooks tons of free food for the local snowboard crowd. They literally line up outside the door to get a free meal. Much of the snowboard crowd in this town includes young people who fork out an outrageous amount of money to be able to spend the winter here (rent can be extremely high). Some may pay as much as $500 per month just to sleep on a couch. This creates a common “hand to mouth” situation that involves lots of Ramen noodles and little luxury. Thus, a free meal can be quite a draw. Anyway, I showed up last week with the intent of boldly engaging these people with the Gospel as they ate. The Lord was good. Many tracts were given out; I was able to briefly preach to a room full of people; and a couple of conversations, I pray, had the appearance of leading to further contact. God’s will be done.
Tonight, I hit the streets again and was able to talk with at least three folks. I even saw some places where Jamie had laid out tracts earlier in the day. Some were gone (perhaps taken by hungry souls), others were trampled in the dust. Nevertheless, we press on. God’s Word is living and powerful (Hebrews 4:12). All we have to do is simply put it out there.
So many more stories from the past couple of weeks could fill these pages, but the above sampling will do. Please pray that the Lord will continue to use us in this community. We earnestly desire to surround ourselves with a core group of believers (new or old) who we can effectively disciple unto boldness for the Gospel, possibly forming the nucleus of a Bible-believing church that can continue the work in this area after Jamie and I depart. God’s will be done; your prayers are coveted.
Jamie and the baby are doing fine; and we earnestly await his/her arrival into this cruel world. We have already seen the doctor once, and everything was normal. Both of us were very impressed with the diminutive and intimate environment of the local hospital (they only have one delivery room with two beds). In fact, our approval spurned us to place Gospel tracts throughout the facility. We later discovered that a Christian nurse found one in the bathroom and was encouraged unto boldness. The nurse midwife who will be delivering our baby is very friendly and considerate of our expectations. Please pray that we can use the birth of our child to effectively speak the Gospel of Jesus Christ into her life.
I had an interesting conversation the other day with an unbelieving young man also staying where we are currently crashing. He mentioned something that was extremely convicting. He said, “I would expect Christians who claim that Jesus is the only way to heaven and that hell awaits all who reject the Gospel to boldly share their faith. If they don’t, then they really don’t believe what they claim to believe OR they hate the people who are not like them. Why else would one withhold the words of life?” I admired the honesty and the insight. If we really believe in hell, then we need to be proclaiming the message that will save people from such an end. When a man is trapped in a burning house, the firefighter does not ask him for a glass of milk. He yanks him from the flames. In the same sense, this generation of Christians is the spiritual fire department for this generation of souls upon the earth. Yet, we stand around with our hoses turned off asking for a glass of milk!?!
On a different note, we continue to await God’s provision where the truck is concerned. We saw an article in the local paper on child restraint laws the other day (California has some of the wackiest in the entire country). Such further confirmed the need for a truck with more interior space. We have had no offers on our current truck despite concerted efforts to advertise, and we simply do not have the resources to make something happen with a trade-in. Time is running out, but God has always proven himself faithful even when we doubt (II Timothy 2:13). Please pray that someone will buy our current truck for the price we are asking and that God will provide the funds to make the upgrade. It is getting to be crunch time, and we desire to have everything ready as much as possible before the baby comes.
We also ask that you pray for our efforts to make some inroads in the Jewish community in this area. So far, we have hit many dead ends. There is a Jewish community, but there are no synagogues nearby, and the contact information given in the local newspaper has led to nothing. If possible, we want to take the blessed Gospel “to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). Pray that the Lord opens some doors.
Finally, in addition to Mammoth Lakes, please lift up the nearby towns of Bishop, June Lake, and Lee Vining. The Lord has given us several opportunities to publicly witness in these communities as well. Moreover, these too have been saturated with Gospel tracts. May the Word of the Lord go forth and NOT return void.
Well, I better sign off. I fell asleep composing this email last night, and now I finish up with the sun of a new day bursting through the window. There will be opportunity this day: opportunity for God to make provision in our lives, opportunity to proclaim the Gospel to lost souls, and opportunity to edify fellow believers unto boldness and conviction. May we be vigilant, willing, and obedient. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
For the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ,
Jesse & Jamie Boyd
Full Proof Gospel Ministries
Ephesians 6:10