Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

The bicycle ride is delayed for a week or so in Raleigh, NC because of a leaky camper shell which the company has agreed to replace with a brand new one built from scratch, especially for my truck.  This, unfortunately or perhaps fortunately, takes time.  As a result, Jamie and I are on a side road trip up the East Coast until next Wednesday, hoping to preach the Gospel on the streets in several major cities along the I-95 corridor: Richmond, Washington, Philadelphia, and Baltimore.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, I was able to do some street preaching in downtown Raleigh.  The first day, my grandfather accompanied me, and God also placed some other street preachers in my path.  Four of us worked this corner out by the state courthouse.  Numerous tracts went out, and the Word of God was preached.  Interestingly enough, one of the major news networks was filming their midday report right where we were preaching.  One of my Gospel banners was right in the path of the television camera AND God's Word does not return void (Isaiah 55:11).

On Wednesday, I took Jamie and a young man named Chad back to the same general area.  Chad is the sixteen-year-old son of friends of ours who attend Living Word Baptist Church, our sending church home.  It was truly a blessing and an encouragement to have him along with us.  For a high school kid, he is pretty bold for the sake of the Gospel.  There is a chance that he might ride with me for a couple of weeks as we make our way across Virginia and into West Virginia.  We are praying that the Lord works this out.  Please make this a matter of prayer also.  Anyway, I did some preaching on Wednesday in front of the courthouse, and we also talked to numerous folks, one-on-one.  In two instances, fellow believers were edified, and in others, salvation was proclaimed.  Please pray for the salvation of John Miller.  Those of you who financially supported our Coast to Coast 2003 ministry actually helped provide Mr. Miller with a room and meals for a week.  He is a homeless gentlemen completely abandoned by his family.  By the end of our lengthy encounter, he had been confronted with the plain truth of the Gospel and had a Bible in his hand.  We pray that the Word of God does not return void in his heart.  I also had a real interesting discussion with a local landlord who agreed to rent a room out to him for the week.  She claimed to be a Christian, and I really believe that God had our paths cross so that she could be encouraged in the faith.  It is amazing how mysterious and seemingly indirect the ways of God often manifest themselves.  We are learning very quickly that it is fruitless to do to much planning from day to day. The Lord always leads us down unexpected roads to proclaim His Word.

Last night, I had the privilege of preaching at Living Word Baptist Church in Creedmoor, NC—our sending church home, as mentioned.  This body of believers holds a special place in our hearts.  We attended church there while I was in seminary at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary from 1998-1999.  They were there for us at a time when I was discouraged by the harsh realities of ministry and the lukewarmness of so many other churches.  They will always be for us a church home away from home.  For once, it was nice to preach in an environment where I did not have to worry about hecklers, rejectors, and vociferous objectors.

Today, Jamie and I drove up to Richmond, Virginia and spent most of the day walking around downtown.  Unfortunately, there were not many people on the streets, so I found no legitimate opportunity to preach.  Nonetheless, we were able to talk to several people and distribute a few tracts.  Jamie was especially bold down on Cary Street where she had an extended conversation with these two young girls who claimed to be athiests.  The Gospel went out, and the Word was sown.  Please pray that Tram and Renee will come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and the Word of God.

Tomorrow morning, we plan to go back downtown and then head up to Washington, DC.  Please pray that God will send us people to whom I can preach.  He has already graciously provided us with a place to stay in D.C. tomorrow night.  A friend of my uncle's agreed to let us use her apartment while she is out of town, and her place is right smack dab in the middle of the city.  Thus, we will be able to park the car, hit the metro, and preach the Word all around the structural and symbolic representations of our nation's government.  Just pray that God sends the people.

We covet your prayers, and until next time we are most affectionately yours for the testimony of Jesus Christ and the absolute truth of the Word of God,

Jesse & Jamie Boyd