Greetings, and grace to you all from God the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ.  Jamie and I are now five days into Coast to Coast 2003 and have covered about 165 miles.  We are closing in on Raleigh and will be staying there for a couple of days so as to revisit our sending church in Creedmoor. We are also having some trouble with a leaky camper shell on our truck that needs to be fixed.  The rest is welcome nonetheless. 

It has been really hot the last couple of days, and not many people have been out on the streets.  Nevertheless, God has given us numerous opportunities to share the blessed Gospel with folks we seem to "accidentally" come in contact.  On Tuesday, a young man came to Christ down on the Neuse River where I had stopped for a quick swim.  His name was David Anderson, and his grandmother is a Christian who had long been praying for his salvation.  We were greatly encouraged by this unexpected fruit.  We gave him a nice Bible and were confident that he would get some follow-up discipleship.  His grandmother lived nearby and attended a local Baptist Church.  He promised to call her with the news that night.  In some ways, encounters like that have to be left up to the Lord.  If He can save a man, He can most certainly see to his spiritual growth and sanctification.  Well, today should be a slow day--only about 25 miles in the sultry southern heat.  Pray for us as we plan to publicly proclaim the Gospel in downtown Raleigh over the next few days.  In the financial district during the week, there are always people milling around, especially at the lunch hour.  We should be down there on Monday around noon.  Please remember us at this time.

Well, that is all for now.  Later, I will lay out a more detailed rehashing of what God has done thus far, from where it all began in Surf City.  The first day, in particular, was an amazing demonstration of God's protection and our dire need to trust Him.  So far, we have been blessed every night with the a comfortable bed and a hot shower.  We know this will not always be the case, but it sure is nice to enjoy little blessings that we have often taken for granted.

Pray that we may speak boldly as we ought to speak.

For the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ,

Jesse & Jamie Boyd

I Peter 2:19-22