8,200 miles

Somewhere along an 8,200-mile Cross-Country Missionary Journey

Greetings, beloved, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace, mercy, and peace be multiplied unto you all.

I rejoice to announce that my brother and I finally made it back after an 8,200-mile cross-country circuit, whereby the Gospel was preached across this land. We arrived home after four weeks on the road, and finally, I was able to get all of our stuff out of Washington and back to North Carolina. Jamie and Bethany also returned safely from their journey to Guatemala. There, they enjoyed a blessed time with missionary friends; and seeds of the Gospel were sown in abundance.

Instead of rehashing every last detail of these missionary journeys (as is my custom), let me simply offer up a few highlights. This update will cover the leg of the trip from North Carolina out to Washington and some of the highlights from Jamie’s trip to Guatemala. The next update will detail the trip from Washington back to North Carolina. Enjoy, and join us in giving praise to Almighty God.

Many of you might remember that I requested prayer regarding the weather just before Matthew and I left out on our trip to Washington State. I rejoice to announce that these prayers were answered mightily. In the middle of winter, we journeyed many miles along a route that included the Midwest, the Dakotas, the Rocky Mountains, and the high desert. Only once were we forced to drive through falling snow. In the middle of nowhere in Central Nevada, we encountered one brief flurry. In the Dakotas and Montana, believe it or not, we enjoyed temperatures in the 50’s in January! These meteorological blessings truly helped us to carry on the work of the ministry, bringing people out to the streets and into our paths.

By God’s grace, my brother and I pulled out of this driveway on January 14th and returned four weeks and 8,200-miles later.

In Madison, Wisconsin, we walked the streets of downtown on a bitter cold Sunday morning. Temperatures hovered around zero degrees, but there were numerous people out and about, preparing for a noontime ski event. There was quite a bit of hostility, but we saturated the area with Gospel tracts, attaching many to parked cars. A runner and a female college student seemed especially open to the Gospel.

Later, we hit the streets of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Again, it was bitter cold, but there were plenty of opportunities. In St. Paul, we placed Gospel tracts all around the state capitol, witnessed to several people out on the streets of downtown, put out Gospel tracts all over the inside of St. Paul’s Cathedral, and attached many to cars parked outside while people were inside attending mass. We also attempted to engage people with the Gospel as they filed out of the evening mass. Over in Minneapolis, we saturated the Mall of America with Gospel tracts and witnessed to numerous people inside. Also, we hit the streets of downtown where fresh socks and beanies were given to homeless people in the name of Jesus Christ, along with the Gospel. I also had the privilege of standing on a street corner and preaching the Gospel to a crowd of people lined up outside a popular night club. The temperature was three degrees below zero. As I preached, Matthew engaged people one-on-one and handed out many tracts. Some people listened, some asked questions, and other mocked with disdain. In the Target Center (where the Minnesota Timberwolves play basketball), we had really good encounters with Emmanuel and Riso. Emmanuel was very open to the Gospel, and Riso had picked up a couple of the tracts we had previously laid out. He gladly received a Bible and allowed Matthew to pray with him. These were divine appointments. We also met Tony & Cynthia, a homeless married couple trying to find shelter from the cold inside the Target Center. As we were witnessing to them and offering them some food in the name of Jesus Christ, a security guard approached and made them go back out on the street. By God’s grace, we were able to secure them a motel room for the night. It was simply too cold to leave them out there. That night, we continued driving west and found a motel room somewhere in central Minnesota. As we unpacked the truck around 2:00am, it was 23 degrees below zero.

We also hit the streets of Bismarck, North Dakota (that state capital) . Not much was happening other than a strange warming trend in the atmosphere (temperatures climbed from below zero to above fifty degrees in a matter of 24 hours). We saturated the state capitol building with tracts and left a bunch out in downtown. Also, another divine appointment manifested itself almost immediately after we had prayed that the Lord would give us a sense of purpose in that place. Instead of that prayer being answered in the form of many people, God answered it with one person. We stopped into an empty coffee shop for a warm chai tea. The young man behind the counter was the only person around. What followed was a very fruitful conversation with Ryan. He was truly open to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and listened with open ears. Please pray for his salvation.

Street Fishing in Bismarck, North Dakota after 60-degree Temperature Swing

In western North Dakota, the weather turned absolutely gorgeous. This allowed us to enjoy Theodore Roosevelt National Park and an invigorating climb up White Butte, the state’s highest point. We left a Gospel tract and a Gospel message in the summit register. On one particular occasion, I pulled the truck off the road at a lonely highway intersection so as to take a bathroom break in the adjacent field. As I did so, my beanie (one that carries with it a lot of sentimental value) fell out of my lap and onto the ground. I did not discover that it was missing until several hours later. I merely surmised that it had fallen out at that stopping place. Bored in the motel room, I decided to drive back to that place (only about 30 miles away) under an amazingly clear night sky. All that afternoon, the wind had been blowing fiercely across the plains, and a fresh snow had fallen just to the north. From a human perspective, I figured there was little chance of finding that beanie. Nevertheless, I drove up to that highway intersection anyway, if anything just to have some time alone with the Lord. The drive soon turned from pleasant to amazingly worthwhile. Almost in an instant, the Aurora Borealis (i.e. the northern lights) spread out before me to the north in incredible banners of light. This time, it was far more impressive than what I beheld on the shores of Lake Superior in September of 2003 while pedaling across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I shouted praise to the Creator God. At the forlorn highway intersection, the beanie, of course, was nowhere to be found. Also, a fresh layer of snow had fallen in the intervening hours. I walked all over the place to no avail. Before giving up, I called on the Lord for help and headed southeast. The wind had been blowing out of the northwest all day, so the beanie should have been somewhere in the field to the southeast, that is, if it had not blown all the way back to North Carolina (very possible in that wind). While post-holing in some deep snow out in the middle of this forsaken field, I actually found the beanie. It was frozen solid and covered in fresh snow. This was a small miracle for which I was very thankful. Now, that beanie really has sentimental value! Before hopping in the truck, I left a Gospel tract in a nearby mailbox. The mail had not been checked in several days, so I slipped it right into the middle of the pile. Perhaps that was the whole reason I was supposed to be out there. Only God knoweth. This whole incident brought to mind the truth of I John 5:14: “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us.”

From North Dakota, we headed south into the Black Hills of South Dakota. My brother really wanted to see Mount Rushmore. There, we saturated the memorial and the downtown streets of Keystone with Gospel tracts. We had several witnessing opportunities in Keystone and engaged a park ranger at Jewel Cave National Monument. Interestingly, Christ Wilkinson grew up just down the road from where Jamie’s parents live. He went to a rival high school of mine and was very familiar with all the places that I am familiar with here in the Hickory area. This commonality, of course, solidly paved the way to proclaim the Gospel. He seemed open and received a Gospel tract. Considering the fact that some National Park Rangers have been very hostile when approached with the Gospel along our journeys, I considered this encounter to be a real blessing.

From South Dakota, we blazed across Wyoming. In Gillette, we stopped by Universal Athletics. Many of you might remember our encounter here back in the summer of 2004. To refresh your memory, let me just reproduce the excerpt from last summer’s email (as Jamie and I made our way back to Mammoth Lakes, California from North Carolina):

From Devil’s Tower, we pressed west along I-90 toward Gillette, Wyoming. There, we had a very important appointment. Ten years ago this month, my buddy and I drove out West for some hiking, camping, and climbing after our high school graduation. We hit Colorado, Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, and the like. On our way back, we had driven all night from Yellowstone and my buddy fell asleep at the wheel on Interstate 90 at about 7:00am. He went off into the median and then tried to jerk the car back up onto the road. The car flipped and was demolished. Amazingly, neither one of us had a scratch on us. Had I not had my seat laid back and had I not been asleep, I most assuredly would have been badly hurt, if not killed. The roof directly above my head was crumpled. Anyway, we were stuck out in the middle of nowhere, and a complete stranger (through a business connection my dad had in Bozeman, Montana) helped us out and took us back to his home for a couple of days. James also fed us and helped us rent a vehicle to make the return journey home. Ten years ago, I had only been born-again for a short while, so it never crossed my mind to share the Gospel with James. This time, however, would be different, and I wanted to reiterate my gratitude on this ten-year anniversary. We had no idea about how to find James, but the Lord directed our steps as we drove into Gillette. He was in his office at Universal Athletics and was astounded that I would return. I was able to tell him what I was doing out here and why I am doing it. Thus, the Gospel was proclaimed. He and his wife (who cooked us some wonderful meals ten years ago) recently went through a divorce, and he now has little peace with his daughters. It was obvious that he is lost and full of despair. I promised to pray for him and gave him a Gospel tract. He was very moved that we would come by and seek him out. There was a Christian girl (Jordan) working in one of the back rooms, and she heard our purpose and testimony. She told me herself that our coming was a “divine appointment” where James was concerned, especially because of his recent family trials. I exhorted her to follow-up on our witness. May the Word of the Lord sprout forth. Please pray for James and the reconciliation of his marriage. After all, he showed my friend and me more hospitality and charity than many Christians would do for complete strangers. Ten years ago, my mother told a concerned Jamie (my girlfriend at the time) that God had a purpose in this car accident. Perhaps that purpose was carried out a couple of days ago. On our way out of Gillette, we paused at mile-marker 109 (the site of the accident) and prayerfully pondered God’s deliverance with gratitude.

Anyway, my brother and I stopped in to check on James and let him know that we had been praying for him and his family. Unfortunately, he was out of town on a business trip, but I was able to leave a Bible, a further appeal to the Gospel in my own handwriting, and some discipleship materials on his desk. Please pray that these do not return void. Interestingly, this effort set up a worthwhile witnessing encounter that my brother had with one of the other employees in the store. Tim was very open. I also ran into Jordan, the Christian young woman whom we encountered last time. I rejoiced to hear from her what had transpired immediately after our previous encounter with James. He had actually called her into his office to talk further about what we had said to him. The door for the Gospel remained open, and she told me that the Lord seems to have been working on his heart ever since. Please continue to pray for James’ salvation and for healing in his broken family.

Stopping by Universal Athletic in Gillette, Wyoming

In Gillette, we also had an encouraging encounter in a Wal-Mart parking lot with a Christian brother from Charlotte, North Carolina. That night, we slept in the truck under a gorgeous night sky at the foot of the Wind River Range. The temperatures were surprisingly mild, and Crow Heart Butte stood out stark to the north.

In Wyoming, we also visited Grand Teton National Park (unfortunately, Yellowstone National Park was closed to vehicle traffic). The snow-covered basin of Jackson Hole and the icy Teton crags made for an incredible panorama. We left out plenty of Gospel tracts at the Visitor’s Center and had a couple of witnessing opportunities in the area. Also, for some much-needed exercise, we snowshoed out to this sweet natural hot springs along Polecat Creek. There, we enjoyed a nice soak amongst beautiful wilderness scenery. Two extremely large bison grazed not ten yards away. The weather was near perfect, the exercise was invigorating, the conversation was uplifting, and the moments were truly savored. Before heading back to the truck, I shouted at the top of my lungs: “ALL PRAISE TO THE MAKER OF THE MOUNTAINS!”

All Praise to the Maker of the Mountains!

From the Tetons, we journeyed over into the Snake River Plain of southern Idaho. It was again bitterly cold, and the late-night drive into Arco, a depressing podunk town, was exhausting. The fog was so thick that it was almost nauseating. In Arco (the first town in the world to be completely powered by atomic energy), the only food we could find was from a vile café in the local bowling alley. It was too cold to sleep in the truck, so we settled for an even more depressing motel room. Notwithstanding, the next morning dawned clear and beautiful. We saturated the small downtown area with Gospel tracts and had an interesting encounter with Marva in the local drug store over a refreshing Italian soda. She claimed to be a Christian, but I am not sure that she understood salvation by grace through faith. Nevertheless, it was communicated clearly, and she accepted a Gospel tract. She was also moved to tears as we stood there and prayed for her and her family. Down the road, at Craters of the Moon National Monument, we put some Gospel tracts out at the Visitor’s Center, attached some to parked cars in the parking lot, and attached one to the collar of a friendly dog named Blaine. Hopefully, his owner found it and was thereby born again into the Kingdom of God.

From Idaho, the route went into Missoula, Montana where Matthew and I hit the downtown streets on a Saturday night. We put out and gave out many Gospel tracts and had some seemingly worthwhile conversations. There was much hostility in this place; nevertheless we endeavored to labor faithfully. After Missoula, we hit the streets of Lewiston, Idaho and had several witnessing encounters along the final stretch into Yakima, Washington.

Street Fishing in Missoula, Montana on a Frigid Saturday Night

The Lord had truly been good, and much had been accomplished for the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ. In addition to the above, we also put out Gospel tracts at numerous highway rest areas and engaged many waitresses, waiters, motel clerks, gas station attendants, grocery store cashiers, and passersby with the glorious Gospel of the blessed God which is committed to our trust (I Timothy 1:11). Only eternity will reveal the spiritual fruit born from such labor. For now, we rest on the promises of Galatians 6:9 and Psalm 126:6.

Matthew shares the Gospel at a Highway Rest Area

Before signing off, let me briefly address the ladies’ trip to Guatemala. Again, the Lord was good. My mother, my sister-in-law, Jamie, and Bethany all journeyed down to Guatemala City where they hooked up with some faithful missionary friends who have labored in that place for many years. The majority of the time was spent helping to move a poverty-stricken Christian family (a single mom and her six small children) out of an inner-city slum and into a more suitable home. The ladies did a lot of painting, cleaning, and furnishing work. This mother and and her children were exceedingly grateful and wonderfully blessed, and Jamie was truly touched to have had the privilege of carrying out Galatians 6:10 in a very special way. Though there were communication barriers, Jamie thought it amazing to see how her spirit could bear witness with the spirits of other faithful believers in such a foreign and unfamiliar place—their spirits bearing witness with each other and with the Holy Spirit that they were truly the children of God (Romans 8:16) through the adoption that can only come from being born again by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jamie also had the privilege of handing out an abundance of Spanish tracts on the streets and in the marketplace. As for Bethany, she very much enjoyed her first real trip out of the country. All the little Guatemalan ladies were completely enamored of her. As for me, I must admit that I was a little jealous of my two special girls. I wish I could have been with them, but the Lord had other plans. Hopefully, he will allow me to tread the ground of this amazing country one day.

Jamie and Bethany in Guatemala

I’ll conclude for now. I wanted to be brief, but alas, I have failed … again. There is just so much to tell and so much that we can joyously report. Thanks for all your prayers. Stay tuned for details on the return trip from Washington to North Carolina. I will rehash these adventures in the next update. Be forewarned, it only gets better.

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

Jesse Boyd
Full Proof Gospel Ministries