the flying drink club
Hello family, friends, and fellow-helpers to the truth of Jesus Christ (III John 5-8).
The last couple of days have been a virtual whirlwind of happenings and occurrence in this nomadic journey for the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ. Since I last penned a report in Hillsboro, Ohio, I biked another 55 miles over to Monroe. We have enjoyed a brief respite for the past couple of days in the home of new believing friends, a godly couple who has done everything to make us feel at home. Once again, we embrace the joys of Christian brotherhood and bask in the blessings of God. We are quickly finding out that things are actually more FUN when you walk by faith and not by sight (II Corinthians 5:7).
Let's go back to Monday, however. Early on in the 55-mile ride from Hillsboro to Monroe, I was indoctrinated into the "hit by a flying drink while biking across the country" club. I have heard this is common and to expect it. I was riding down state route 124 when this "Uncle Buck-mobile” rode up behind me and began to incessantly beep its horn. There was plenty of room to go around, but I guess some young punks just wanted to be obnoxious. After a few seconds of this, I turned around and gave out an icy stare. When the car passed by, the male passenger screamed some obscenities out the window and flipped me off. Perhaps wrongly, I yelled back, "Share the Road!" The car then pulled off a hundred or so yards up the highway; the rather large male jumped out of the car; and he beckoned me to come fight it out. At this point, I was praying, "Lord, I am going to keep riding; I do not want to get into a fight, but I will defend myself. I am giving this situation over to you." Well, I kept riding straight for this guy out in the road waiting on the Lord. I guess the dude got scared when he saw that I was not afraid and he jumped back into his car. Someone later suggested that maybe he saw some angels surrounding me with flaming swords just like they surrounded Elisha and his servant in II Kings 6:15-17. I don't know about this, but something scared him. Anyway, I rode on by expecting the vehicle to try and bump me or something. They drove on by; I let go another icy stare, and a full can of Pepsi came flying out the window at me. Amazingly, it only grazed my hip. The drink splattered everywhere, but not a drop fell on me. Now, had this can nailed me in the head (I was not wearing my helmet at the time) or in the bike wheels, there might have been a nasty accident. Perhaps one of those flaming swords knocked it out of the way.
After this, the land flattened out, the weather was cool and pleasant, and the ride to Monroe was completed in no time. That night, we had a home-cooked feast and a nice comfortable bed in which to crash.
Tuesday was a rest day. God's truck and trailer also got a much needed bath. Yesterday, Jamie and I went over to Fountain Square in downtown Cincinnati where I preached the gospel publicly for a couple of hours. Generally speaking, the response was cold, but nevertheless, God's grace was sufficient and numerous tracts/Bibles went into the hands of the public. In particular, we had a long discussion with an old man named Bill. He was so close to receiving Christ but balked in the end. I promised to pray for him, and he requested that we pray that he will not go to hell. We also got to witness to a National Park Ranger and a couple of homeless folks.
Jamie & Bill in downtown Cincinnati
Last night was amazing. The blessings of God were poured out. We wanted to attend church, so we made it over to this large church body that Mark Wright (son of the couple we are staying with in Monroe; we met him on the roadside back in Roanoke, Virginia) attended back when he lived in Monroe. There were about 2000 people present, and the atmosphere was quite jovial and pentecostal. Someone must have informed the pastors of our coming because right in the middle of the service, Jamie and I were beckoned to the front for a testimony of God's grace. I was able to preach for about 15 minutes. While I was sharing, people began to approach the altar in droves to pray for us and literally pile up gifts of support. In the end, these folks bestowed us a very generous love offering that will greatly aid in our ability to continue this journey from Coast to Coast. For a long time, we have desired to be able to financially help (as the Lord leads) those in need whom we come in contact with along our route so as to demonstrate the truth of the Gospel (I John 3:17). Now, we have some leeway to be able to do this. Please pray for God's wisdom in this.
Well, I must go. My time on this computer is up, and the library staff is heckling me. I will try to bring everyone up to date as soon as I can get my hands on another computer. We will be in Monroe until Saturday morning; then I begin pedaling for Michigan.
Tonight, I have been given the opportunity to preach to some youth at a juvenile prison facility outside Monroe. Pray that the Word of God will go out, and young souls will be saved. Sorry for the brevity; just got an icy stare from one of the librarians. Man, these people are uptight.
In the Grace of God through Jesus Christ,
Jesse Boyd
Full Proof Gospel Ministries