Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ, before whom every knee will one day bow (Philippians 2:10-11). I want to fill in the details from Saturday in Washington, DC. It truly was a blessed day, but it turned somewhat ugly after I penned the previous post (more about that later). Friday had been tough, so we asked that you all pray for us on Saturday as I tried to go back to the US Capitol and the Supreme Court to publicly proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That morning, Jamie and I prayed specifically that God would flood our path with encouragement. This came almost immediately.

SEEMINGLY happen-chance, we got off the Metro smack dab in the middle of the National Mall and decided to mosey down toward the Washington Monument. This day, we were carrying large signs with Gospel proclamations as we walked. It made us feel somewhat like fools, but we took heart in I Corinthians 1:21 and 3:18. We immediately saw this elderly gentleman standing on the street corner with two large sandwich boards hanging on his shoulders and across his front and back sides proclaiming the simple truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He was handing out tracts and quietly preaching the Gospel to the innumerable passersby. We decided to go speak with him, and what we received in return were two hours of blessed encouragement unto spiritual edification at the feet of a godly messenger who had been publicly proclaiming the Gospel on the streets of Washington, DC every Saturday morning for 17 years. Bob was raised a devout Roman Catholic but was born again over 20 years ago. Like us, he became convicted about becoming a public witness after the manner of Paul and the other New Testament Christians. For 17 years and through much persecution, he has been faithful. Ah, the stories and the spiritual advice were so nourishing! Without a shadow of doubt, I believe the Father put him in our path to restore boldness and determination. If you can remember, please pray for this servant. He is on the streets in downtown DC every Saturday morning alone. He is just a simple man who works a regular job but loves the Lord Jesus enough to be a fool for the Saviour.

Immediately after this divine encounter, Jamie and I walked around and out toward the Jefferson Memorial displaying our signs as we went. Some idiot drove by and screamed that I needed to get a real job. I thought, "What better job could there be than to be an ambassador for Jesus Christ?" (II Corinthians 5:20). Another berated: "You are wasting your time!." Offering the free gift of salvation to the souls of men is not wasting the time but redeeming the time (Ephesians 5:16). After talking to Bob, coupled with your prayers, the insults seemed not to sting as much as they did the day before.

We then walked back to the National Mall near the Smithsonian Metro Station where crowds of people were hanging around and milling about. For about an hour, I stood along the pathway and preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Numerous tracts went out and the Word of God went forth (Isaiah 55:11). On one occasion, a group of young Christian guys approached, inquired of my doings, and surrounded me so as to offer up prayer for our ministry—another gift of edification and encouragement.

After this, we carried the signs back up toward the White House, then walked down Pennsylvania Avenue to the US Capitol. Once again, there were not many people about, and the opportunity to preach seemed illusive. However, the Lord gave me a peace about this (Philippians 4:6-7). This ministry is not about me; it is not about us; and it is not about methods, plans, and what I think is best. It is about publicly proclaiming the Word of God on the streets of America while being sensitive to the conviction of the Holy Spirit as to how to go about delivering the message. I hung around the Capitol for awhile and handed out Gospel tracts to several people that walked by. Encouragement and edification #3 then came along—I met two Christians from South Africa who were vacationing in America. The conversation was uplifting and I think they too were edified. I also gave a Korean tract to a young Korean man who saw me later at the Supreme Court and told me: "I read your paper. Thank-you." May the Word not return void in his life. I also witnessed to some Indians and gave out some Hindi tracts. When I saw this group of Indians, I was pressed in my Spirit to witness to them but did not know how to go about initiating the conversation. As I was praying about this, one of the young men in the group accidentally bumped in to me. This was the springboard. The Word went out. God's ways of answering prayers are often weird but ever faithful and for the best (Romans 8:28). I found that one of the best ways to get people's attention at the Capitol and later in front of the Supreme Court was to mention: "It was James Madison who once said, our national security in America is dependent upon our ability to follow the Word of God with all our hearts” [my paraphrase of course]. If we do not heed this advice and turn back to God in America, we cannot hope to prevail. We only stand united when we stand united under God and the biblical principles upon which this nation was founded . . ." I also threw in Psalm 9:17 followed by Psalm 33:12 and II Chronicles 7:14. At least such proclamations gave folks something to think about.

After witnessing at the Capitol, we walked over to the Supreme Court. Hardly anyone was around. Yet, after praying for our nation and its leaders on the steps of the Court we stood around and were able to distribute some Gospel tracts. I had a real good opportunity to witness to a security guard out front as well as a man who was walking his dog. May God's Word prove itself effectual in their lives. On one occasion, I actually had some "Christians" get upset with me for witnessing to them (at least they claimed to be Christians). I will never understand such an attitude. Alas, the churches of America are sick and Laodicean. God save us, God help us, God save the United States!

After about ten miles of walking, we called it a day and headed back to the apartment we were borrowing, satisfied in the Spirit with a day's work and thankful for the blessings of edification along the way. We grabbed some Indian cuisine for dinner and were then able to witness to this Bangladeshi waiter who listened attentively and took several Hindi tracts, promising to give them to his Hindi-speaking coworkers at the restaurant.

After such a blessed day, things turned seemingly ugly as I prepared to bed down around midnight. I decided to walk out to the truck which was parked in the parking garage adjacent to the apartment complex only to find the vehicle missing. Because of miscommunication and misunderstanding about which space we were supposed to be park, the vehicle had been towed earlier that evening. I will not go into detail about how this actually happened (a seemingly unavoidable mistake--of God?). I ended up having to call a cab at 2:00am to take me to some dark and dreary part of NW Washington where my truck was parked in a dingy, poorly lit lot. Fortunately, there was no damage to it, but I had to fork out $200 to get it back. The whole fiasco, though greatly frustrating and expensive, allowed me to share the Gospel with five people, including the cranky owner of the parking space in which I was accidentally parked. He/she had put a nasty note on my truck the day before which I missed along with the parking ticket because we had no need to go out to truck for two days (innocent and seemingly destined to happen--of God?). I was given this note at the towing garage, and it made me want to jot down some words blasting this person out of the water for insulting me and insulting the Gospel magnets on the tailgate of the truck. However, the Spirit prompted me to respond in kindness (Romans 12:20). So, as much as my flesh did not desire it, I left a note of apology on the windshield and enclosed a Gospel tract. I pray that the Almighty waters and gives increase to the seed thus planted. I guess I probably could have complained loud enough to the front office at the apartment complex so as to gain reimbursement for the trouble, but after praying about it, I honestly believed God wanted me to suck it up and witness to the front desk clerk and the security guard instead. This, I did, and both seemed open and attentive. I finally crawled into bed around 3:00am Sunday morning. We just thank God that I decided to go get my atlas out of the truck around midnight. Otherwise, we would have packed up the next morning, and while prepared to leave, would have discovered the truck missing. Not only would this have made the towing bill more expensive, all the accompanying logistics would have been much more of a pain.

The Lord's Day (Sunday) was mostly a day of rest for weary feet. Although there was no street preaching, the Lord was once again faithful to provide several witnessing opportunities. I especially recall two young girls and their mother operating a lemonade stand in a small Maryland town. May the Word of God not return void and may the seeds planted eventually sprout unto salvation (I Corinthians 3:7).

Though we found no suitable church in which to worship that morning, we were glad to praise the Almighty in the church of His creation—savoring the rolling green hills of central Maryland and the glistening grain fields of eastern Pennsylvania. Only the fool can say in his heart that there is no God (Psalm 14:1). It was also nice to trod in the steps of history as we revisted Gettysburg and napped on the green grass of the East Cavalry Battlefield beside some Confederate cannon. The sunset was so serene. On July 2, 1863 along the Emmitsburg Pike just outside the town of Gettysburg, one of my Confederate ancestors fought for the independence of his country and was captured. Interestingly enough, he did not own slaves, just like 97% of the Confederate soldiers who served from 1861-1865 (this fact immediately casts doubt on the typical revisionist history portrayal of the war). I love the American Civil War (though "civil war" is a historically inaccurate description of the contest: a nation was fighting for its independence; two factions were not fighting for control of one government) and always jump at the chance to saunter where battles once raged. That was a time in our history when men were men, they did their duty, and Almighty God allowed the triumphs and tragedies of a bloody brother war to bring thousands of souls to Himself, especially in the revivals that swept through the Confederate camps from 1863-1865 (over 100,000 reported conversions). Though on a slightly smaller scale, major revivals also swept through the Union camps. Unfortunately, this "Third Great Awakening" is all but forgotten in the typical revisionist history texts of today. Like the two Great Awakenings preceding the War Between the States, this Third Great Awakening was rooted in the labors of street preachers and colporters (those who distributed copies of the Word of God). We are honored to join the ranks of such a spiritual heritage. Ok, I will quit boring you with the history lesson. Outside the Bible, however, I do believe that history can and should be our second greatest lesson book. It has often been said that men who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it. This is true, but I say: Where Bible-believing Christians are concerned, those of us who do not know our history and our spiritual heritage may be doomed NOT to repeat it. This is one of our primary motivations (along with many other Scriptural mandates) for undertaking the New Testament strategy of public proclamation coupled with distribution of pure copies of the Blessed Word of God. Hebrews 12:1-2 is ever before our face.

Monday was spent in Baltimore, Maryland. Once again, God provided a comfortable place for us to stay. An old friend of mine who I had not seen in years graciously opened up his apartment for a couple of nights. He also accompanied us to downtown Baltimore where I was able to do some public evangelism right along the waterfront. It was raining on Monday, but surprisingly, there were quite a few people out on the streets. I preached for awhile, and we were able to hand out a good amount of Gospel tracts. The response was largely cold and indifferent, however. At such times, we must ever be mindful of Isaiah 55:11 and Hebrews 4:12-13. It is these truths that drive us. The Lord also gave us Galatians 6:9 for spiritual comfort. Please pray this Scripture for us on a daily basis.

Today, we drove back to Raleigh, early enough to beat the horrendous morning traffic around Washington, DC. Now, we sit and await the camper shell situation to fully and finally come to a conclusion. Lord willing, I look forward to being back on the bike by Thursday or Friday morning. Either way, I will not have much time to pedal the 165 miles to Roanoke by Monday. That afternoon, Jamie has her first OBGYN appointment with regard to the pregnancy. Please pray that all goes well. The next couple of days will be utilized for much needed "do nothing" rest. It is already apparent that this journey will go well beyond the fall and into the winter. We are not discouraged; there is no time limit. Rather, we savor each and every day of this never-ending adventure.

Until next time, Blessings from the Father of Lights, "with whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning", be upon you all (James 1:17).

Jesse & Jamie Boyd
Full Proof Gospel Ministries

washington, gettysburg, & baltimore