Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the World,

I am writing you all from a public library in Mentor, OH, a suburb of Cleveland.  Much has happened since I penned the last report in Hinton, WV with a tone of frustration.  Immediately after finishing that email (having expressed a frustration about a lack of people to witness to), I went out on the cobblestone streets of Hinton and decided to walk up and down them, looking for lost souls.  Jamie and Chad continued to play on the library internet for a few minutes.  After handing out some tracts, I saw these two elderly ladies on their front porch.  It was almost as if the Lord drug me up those stairs.  As it turned out, one of the women had been crying.  Her son had died several years ago, and she had been very bitter toward God ever since.  At that moment, she was crying about her son, and her neighbor was trying to help her get a hold on herself.  When I succinctly introduced myself and my purpose, Mrs. Frazier's mouth dropped almost to the floor, and she said, "You must be from God because I cannot think of a more perfect time for you to have walked up here.  Is there anything you can offer to help me?"  With a question like that, the ground was plowed and ready for sowing Gospel seeds.  We spent the next hour (Jamie and Chad joined me shortly after I introduced myself) instructing these two women in the simple truths of the Gospel.  Both were lost although Mary claimed that her husband was a devout Christian who had prayed for her salvation for years.  By the end of our time together, she was so close to accepting Jesus Christ but hesitant, clouded by bitterness regarding her dead son.  She asked that I  would pray for her right there on the porch.  No professions of faith were made by either of these two women, but I know it was a DIVINE APPOINTMENT, orchestrated by the Almighty himself.  Undoubtedly, seeds were sown.  Chad was also very instrumental in this.  His testimony had Mrs. Frazier in tears.  Please pray that the Lord will give salvation increase in the lives of these two women.  I was able to give each of them some literature and a Bible.  God's will be done.

We spent the night in Hinton, hoping that the rain would finally clear out.  IT DID NOT.  The next day was a miserable downpour.  I made it about 7 miles on the bike, then had to go find shelter under a Dollar General awning.  Earlier that morning, while waiting for a break in the clouds at another shelter spot, I specifically prayed that God would put someone into our path who would open up their home to us, so that we could stay dry.  Jamie and Chad found me at the Dollar General, and we stood there discussing our options.  There was no way I could ride much further.  I was cold, and everything was wet.  Moreover, thanks to the mountainous roads, my legs were like rubber.  As we stood there in the rain, an older woman approached and asked, "Who are you, what are you doing, and what is your purpose?"  After answering these questions, she replied, "For some reason, I believe the Lord wants me to offer you guys my home for the night.  I will feed you as well."  So, that night, we spent a wonderful evening at the home of the Mills Family. As it turned out, their house was right along my proposed bike route, about 18 miles up the road.  I decided to go ahead and bust this out, and the rain cleared up long enough to do it.  That afternoon, Chad and I went swimming in Lick Creek at a sweet swimming hole, and Mrs. Mills cooked us a wonderful country feast for dinner.  We had warm beds to sleep in, and a huge pancake breakfast the next morning. This kind sister also loaded us up on groceries from her refrigerator and her garden.  THE FATHER HATH PROVIDED ABUNDANTLY!  The blessing is indescribable. Mrs. Mills is a Bible-believing Primitive Baptist who most obviously loved the Lord and was sensitive to His leading. Her husband, on the other hand, is a self-proclaimed agnostic who really wanted nothing to do with Christianity.  Before entering their home, this sister warned me not to witness to her husband because it could make things real difficult.  She just wanted us to pray for him as she had been doing for years.  I honored this request and simply hoped that our example would make a lasting impression.  I do believe this was the case.  Please pray that this man gets right with the Lord and that his wife’s Christian witness will continue to sanctify that home.  It was hard to leave the next morning.  She was just like a grandmother to us.  Ah, the joys of Christian brotherhood.

The next day, things went from great to miserable.  I biked 45 grueling miles to Fayetteville, WV right at the rim of the New River Gorge.  The thunderstorms hit hard and frequent.  We ended up stranded at a visitor's center for over two hours waiting for the weather to subside.  Camping was out of the question, and all the rooms were booked in nearby towns because of the state fair (which was still over 60 miles away).  Finally, we found a room at a "hole in the wall" local establishment.  Definitely not fancy, but it was dry.  Most assuredly, Jamie and I will remember our sixth wedding anniversary spent cooking dinner on a picnic table during a short break in the weather and lodging at the Pines Motel of Fayetteville, West Virginia.  At least we were able to share the Gospel with the motel manager. And hey, I did hit 500 miles on my bicycle odometer that day, right outside Rainelle, West Virginia.

The next morning, Chad and I hiked out to the rim of the Gorge and worshipped the Lord in the beauty of his holiness.  Hebrews 11 is always a favorite of mine while on the trail.  After much prayer and consideration (including a glance at the weather report), we decided to put the bike ride on hold for a couple of days so as to allow this wet mess to clear out of the eastern seaboard.  We packed things up and are now on another sidetrip.  Later this afternoon, I plan to do some street preaching in downtown Cleveland.  Tomorrow, we will head over to Pittsburgh, PA.  Please pray that I will be bold to speak the Gospel and that someone will come to a saving knowledge of the Truth.  We have already had numerous opportunities to give out Gospel tracts.  Lord willing, I will be back on the bicycle by Thursday morning.  We pray that it will be blue skies in the mountains of West Virginia by then.  From Fayetteville, the bike route will go through Charleston, Huntington, and Portsmouth, OH where we plan to put Chad on a bus for home.  His presence has truly been a blessing.  Jamie and I are already praying that God will send someone else to accompany us on a subsequent leg of this long journey.

The sunset on Lake Erie was memorable last night.  The weather was cool, the sky was clear, the dusk moon was full, and the vast expanse of water reminded me about how finite I am.  All Praise to the Maker of the Mountains and the Maker of the Seas!

Well, I better go. It's time to head into Cleveland.

God's blessings to you all, and be bold today in the cause of the Gospel.

Jesse & Jamie Boyd, Chad Currin
Full Proof Gospel Ministries
Joel 3