sweet reminiscence, part 1

After more than a month of silence: Greetings in the name of the “God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward (Deuteronomy 10:17).” Jesus Christ is His name (John 8:58).

Yes, I am safe and back with my family in Vale, North Carolina, having returned from South America and a very fruitful missionary journey more almost two weeks ago. We are busy around here, expecting a baby any day now. Please pray for Jamie and the health of the little one. Again, we are excited to be doing another home birth, so please pray that all goes well.

I sincerely apologize for the lull in communication since February 17th and am profoundly honored by all your prayers and concerns. With Dylan & Cheri Harris in Argentina and Chile, I was so occupied with an abundance of ministry opportunity that getting out an email update was hardly possible. Moreover, unforeseen trial greeted me upon my arrival back in the States and has further prevented this. With regard to the latter, I cannot say much at this time. However, I do implore you to pray for my parents and our family in the coming days. An example of Christian persecution, I believe, has reared an ugly head; and, if the LORD does not intervene, the consequences could be grave. As I am unable to say more, please pray specifically that the Lord would fight for us (Exodus 14:14); that we would stand still and see the salvation of the LORD (Exodus 14:13) and fully trust Him for our provision (Philippians 4:19); that righteousness and truth would prevail (Psalm 58:10-11); and that what man endeavors unto evil, God will use for good unto the furtherance of the Gospel (Genesis 50:20; Philippians 1:12-14).

And, let us not forget the much larger context--that of the demise of our society, the great falling away prophesied in the Scriptures (II Thessalonians 2:3), and the inevitable persecution that awaits all true believers in this untoward generation (II Timothy 3:12). This particular situation, and I say this without apology, is an example of a persecution that starts quietly, and if unchecked, could blindside true believers as a whole with the unthinkable. In Nazi Germany, persecution against the Jews and Christians began quietly in the workplace, burst forth in the decrees of government, and culminated in death camps. The same beginnings are festering here in America and smolder to an even greater degree in the rest of the West.

Another case in point (and another serious matter that warrants your prayers) involves a bold Christian witness and personal friend who was arrested last week in Glasgow, Scotland. Shawn Holes has a ministry much like mine and travels all over the United States in an RV with his family, preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ on college campuses and on city streets. You might recall that he and Jon Lane were arrested for distributing Gospel tracts on the campus of the University of South Dakota back in 2008. They were found guilty of “trespassing” on public property (an oxymoron) in that instance and later forced to pay a fine. In my opinion, the judge in that case should have been impeached, but anyway . . . Shawn was arrested in Glasgow, Scotland while preaching in the downtown plaza and forced to spend a horrible night in jail. Basically, he was preaching Christ when a couple young people in the crowd asked what the Bible had to say about homosexuality. Shawn, as I understand it, proceeded to read some Scripture and simply affirmed that homosexual behavior is a sin according to Jesus. Almost immediately, the police approached (as if this was a set-up), carted him off, and charged him with a hate crime. Shawn was basically forced to plead guilty to agreeing with the Bible and then pay a $1600.00 fine (i.e. 1000 pounds)! Only then, was he released from custody. I have heard rumors of this kind of stuff in the UK, and now I know it to be true. In Great Britain, if you read aloud Scripture that denounces homosexuality (as Romans 1 clearly does) and/or call this perverted practice a “sin,” you will be arrested and fined $1600! This is amazing because recently I saw actual footage of angry Muslims gathered in the streets of London publicly and outrightly calling for the death of the Queen, the death of the West, and death for the Jewish and Christian “infidels.” Yet, the authorities did nothing. Don’t be so naive to think that this insanity is not already festering in America. Remnant Body of Jesus Christ: “Hold fast the profession of your faith without wavering (Hebrews 10:23).” They can take our possessions, they can take our freedom, they can kill our bodies; but they cannot silence the truth, they cannot steal our eternal life in Christ, and they cannot thwart the return of the King to judge the world in righteousness (Acts 17:31). So, rejoice and be filled with the Spirit, speaking the Word of God with boldness (Acts 4:31).

As regards Shawn Holes, some faithful believers in Scotland came together and paid the ridiculous fine to get him out of jail. Lord willing, he will be able to return to his family this week, but he probably will blacklisted and unable to return to the UK. Next week, his family will be staying with us for a few days, and we hope to do some street fishing together. Pray for this brother, and may we follow his example of boldness on the streets.

Much more important than my current status or even a recap of my recent missionary journey are the requests mentioned above. Please commit them to faithful prayer. For that, I am most grateful.

Wow, I am already long-winded, and I haven’t yet begun to invoke sweet reminiscence of all that the LORD did down in South America in February and March. Such may have to be served in two parts, but let’s see how it goes. Suffice it to say that the Word of God went forth in abundance across four countries (Bolivia, Peru, Argentina, Chile) to both Jew and Gentile (Romans 1:16). Through partnership with Bruno Benoni (a Swiss missionary that I met in the Yukon last summer who currently lives in Santa Cruz, Bolivia) and Dylan & Cheri Harris (laboring for the Gospel out of Bariloche, Argentina until May), Full Proof Gospel Ministries was able to target seven cities (including Potosi in Bolivia, the world’s highest “city” at 13,123 feet and one of the poorest, according to the United Nations Quality of Life Index), fourteen towns and villages, and many points in between: from the high Andean altiplano of Bolivia to the lush fjords of Southern Chile; from the shores of Lago de Titicaca in Peru to the dusty barrios of Bariloche in Patagonia; from the sweltering jungle heat of Santa Cruz to backcountry refugios in the Andes; from Gentile climbing festivals to Jewish hostels. My head spins even now as I think about all of this.

At two churches (Santa Cruz, Bolivia & Bariloche, Argentina), the Lord gave opportunity to shake up the believers and provide some needed evangelism training. In both cases, it was well received, and I was encouraged by the Christian love and brotherhood. CLICK HERE to see a little footage of this at Iglesia Evangelica Christiana in Bariloche as well as some other ministry stuff from Argentina. Actually, I have posted several videos on FPGM’s YouTube Channel from the South America journey. Go to www.youtube.com/jboydfpgm to check these out.

Time nor space permit a play-by-play recap of all that the LORD did down in South America, especially since I am not skilled at concise synopsis. Dylan & Cheri do a pretty good job of summarizing our three weeks together in Argentina and Chile on their blog. You can read this entry, entitled The Last 3 Weeks, on their website (http://harrisfamilyargentina.blogspot.com/).

No, for my purposes, I think a more appropriate recap would be to highlight a few Scriptural truths with which I was confronted as I roamed the Southern Hemisphere. I pray these will encourage, exhort, and embolden you in the faith as they did for me.

“Finally, brethren, pray for us that, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men (II Thessalonians 3:1-2).”

There are many places in the world of today where the Word of God has free course and the freedom to preach the Gospel is far greater than in my own country, both legally and culturally. In recent years, I have discovered incredible open doors in places that, not too long ago, were under the iron fist of Soviet Communism (e.g. Russian, Romania, Estonia, Moldova, etc.). I have found free course all over Nepal, a predominantly Hindu country where Maoist thugs hold a majority in government. And as of this most recent missionary journey, Bruno and I were able to seize upon abundant occasion to spread the Gospel in Bolivia, a socialist republic controlled by Evo Morales, a dictator cut from the same cloth as Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and Fidel Castro in Cuba.

There, we preached openly in the plazas without incident. We distributed Gospel tracts en masse during La Carnival (a huge drunken orgy that takes place all over South America) without incident. While leaving Bolivia and crossing into Peru by land, we were able to distribute Gospel tracts to the immigration officers and openly share our testimony to government officials. Remember, Bolivia is a socialist republic with a narcissistic dictator. Can you imagine trying to share your faith or Gospel tracts with TSA officials when coming back into the States? You’d probably be arrested. Later, as Bruno and I crossed back into Bolivia some miles north, two Bolivian immigration officers actually listened for more than ten minutes as I preached the Gospel to them through a rope trick. When I finished, they applauded and took tracts. Would this happen in “the land of the free and the home of the brave” ? No way!

Even in more democratic societies such as Peru, Argentina, and Chile, the cultural freedom to carry out the Great Commission far exceeds that of the “good ole US of A.” In Desiguadero, Peru, Bruno and I went into restaurants and were allowed to distribute tracts to those seated over dinner. And, the people were very grateful. We preached and distributed on buses, and the reception was wonderful. Many heard the Word of God. At the airports in Bolivia, distributing the Gospel was easy. In Argentina, we could go street by street and house by house. No one cussed us out or chased us off. No one threatened to call the authorities, and no one harassed us (except for a handful of dogs). In Osorno, a pretty big city in Southern Chile, Dylan & I preached and distributed tracts to a line of people that started outside a bank and wrapped around the corner into a mall. The thought of being able to freely preach and distribute inside a mall in America is almost comical. Oh, I must not forget: every police officer (except one in Chile) that I encountered in South America received a Gospel tract with gratitude. When I consider such politeness and appreciation as compared to the brash arrogance and disdain for the Gospel, as demonstrated by the Hickory Police Department in 2008 when they arrested my brother and me for simply distributing Gospel tracts in a public plaza, I am astounded.

Yes, the Remnant Body of Believers in the once-free United States must pray with fervor that the Word of God may have free course in this untoward generation, and that we would be delivered from the unreasonable and wicked men in our society and in our oppressive government. It’s somewhat ironic: In the UK (i.e. the “democratic West”) last week, Shawn Holes got to taste the same cup that drove our Pilgrim Forefathers to flee those very shores and eventually settle here in America. He now stands in a long line of holy, tireless men who suffered for the pure Gospel on the British Isles over a span of centuries. Even on American shores, some of the earliest Baptist preachers (that fled England and the Continent to settle in Virginia) suffered such things (though not unto blood as in the British Isles). Right in front of me I have a list of more than 150 such examples, and in the description column, “Jailed for Preaching” appears time and time again. Quickly, these things faded on American soil as religious freedom was solidified and guaranteed by our Constitution (the same document that our President and Congress treat with less respect than the toilet paper they use to wipe their corrupt behinds). For our Founding Fathers understood clearly that in a society where men are free to worship or reject God according to their conscience, the Gospel of Jesus Christ can best thrive. And, it did. America soon became a beacon of Gospel truth to the entire world and sent missionaries bearing the Bible to the uttermost corners of the globe. She became a friend and an ally to Israel, and God blessed her for her faithfulness. But alas, this sun has set in the West; and all that remains is shadow. The Church is lukewarm, false gospels and false teachers abound, freedom is fleeing while men say nothing, and the Remnant Body of Jesus Christ is fast finding itself in the same situation that our Pilgrim Fathers once faced in England and the European Continent. As with the early followers of Jesus Christ that fled Jerusalem and Rome, these eyed distant shores, and their long journeys brought the Gospel to those that otherwise may have never heard. Should we be eyeing distant shores and uttermost corners today, looking to leave this polluted land and find freedom elsewhere and opportunity to preach to those hungry for truth in societies of far less affluence? Such places do exist. I have tasted the freedom; I have seen the hunger; I have been mobbed by crowds desperate to get a free copy of the Scriptures before our limited supply ran out. The day may come when I and my family will have to flee America, and if so, we will never look back. Ichabod!

Whoa! Where in the world did that diatribe come from? I now move on to my next point.

“A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps (Proverbs 16:9).”

It never fails. Every time I travel for the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ, I am amazed at the outworking of God’s sovereign hand and the divine Providences that manifest themselves in my path. This time, in South America, such was par for the course.

I already mentioned this in my brief update from Buenos Aires back in February: a husband and wife were saved in Viacha, Bolivia following an amazing set of Providential circumstances, going all the way back to my run-in with an ATV outside of Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory last summer. What man thought for evil in the Far North, God meant for good six months later and 6,500 miles south. Along with the hit-n-run followed other trials in the Yukon that I now look back upon with gratefulness. There was the church that treated Ricky and me with much less than hospitality as I tried to nurse my injuries. This caused us to leave Whitehorse and go down to Skagway, Alaska. There, we were harassed and threatened by the police for handing out Gospel tracts. This led us back to Whitehorse where inclement weather further delayed my bicycle journey. I finally went back to the place where I had been hit and started pedaling again, the route taking me on through Whitehorse to a little grocery on the Alaska Highway on the far outskirts where darkness and more rain forced me to stop. The next morning; we overslept, and I was totally frustrated, complaining the whole time as I reassembled my bike there in the parking lot of that same grocer. Delays, delays, delays, problems, problems, problems; and my attitude stunk. Then, in the midst of all this, a man approached in that parking lot on the Alaska Highway. It was Bruno Benoni, the faithful brother who would travel with me all over Bolivia six months later, preaching the Word of God in the plazas, on the streets, in buses and taxis, and to uttermost corners of the high altiplano. Had it not been for all those trials, I would never have met this servant of God; and Bolivia and Peru would never have happened. We would have missed the amazing blessing of meeting Pastor Valentino and his wife, Celestina. And, as a group of four believers, we would have missed out on the joy of leading Desiadero and Beti to Christ in a small altiplano village on the outskirts of La Paz. Wow! In this alone, Proverbs 16:9 proved itself, but more was yet to come.

Later, in Chile, having rented a car back in Argentina, Dylan’s family and I drove into fjord country, hoping to make a loop that would bring us back into Argentina near Esquel. After several days of fruitful itinerant evangelism, we found ourselves in a small town at the end of a very long and exhausting dirt road. It was the end of the line, and the only option for proceeding south was a horrendously long ferry that didn’t leave for more than 24 hours and would cost a couple hundred dollars. So, the option to go south turned out to be no option, as it would prevent us from getting the car back to Bariloche on time. Bummed, we found a cheap hospidaje for the night and bemoaned why we had driven all the way down there without checking out the ferry situation ahead of time. The next day, we would have to drive all the way back out the way we had come. What could God possibly be doing, I asked myself? Frustrated, I went for a walk, taking Dylan’s boy with me to play down by the water. The town, though quiet, at least reminded me of a seaside town in Southeast Alaska, and in this, I found some peace. Anyway, when I later came back to the hospidaje, Dylan was seated with two Middle Eastern men, and a Hebrew Bible was open on the table. Long story short: Two Israelis popped into a local internet cafe where Dylan was checking his email. They were looking for someone who spoke English and could help them with securing an address so as to be able to receive a package from Israel. Dylan overheard and offered to help. He then invited these young men back to our place of lodging, “so I can share with you how I am spiritually Jewish” (Dylan’s words). Interested, they agreed. Just minutes after they sat down and Dylan pulled out his Hebrew Bible, I walked in. What followed was an amazing couple of hours where the Lord allowed us to plainly lay out the Gospel for Leo and Ner, two young and very open Israelis who were traveling around South America after having just completed their two years of required service in Israel’s Armed Forces. We took them through Isaiah 53, Zechariah 12, and John 3, proclaiming Yeshua HaMessiach (i.e. Jesus, the Messiah)! They asked many questions, and in the end, received a couple of Hebrew/Spanish New Testaments, promising to consider the things that had been spoken. Dylan and I emphasized time and time again how honored we were to meet them and how much we appreciated the Jews. “For, because of your people, we can have knowledge of the One True God and of Yeshua HaMessiach. Thank You.” Please pray for Leo and Ner, two divine appointments. They are why we were stuck in that podunk town at the end of the road in Southern Chile. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9).” Needless to say, the drive out the next morning wasn’t bad all that bad. Giant ferns, far bigger than any I have ever seen, crowded the road side; and occasional pedestrians provided more opportunity to distribute the Word.

Before our encounter with Leo and Ner in Rio Negro, we had targeted a well-known Climbing Festival in the Cochamo Valley as planned. We had assumed this was something we could drive right up to and were concerned a bit about the timeframe. Unavailability of open seats had prevented me from flying into Argentina from Bolivia until February 17th, and I didn’t rendezvous with Dylan & Cheri in Bariloche until the 18th. We immediately set out for Chile and didn’t arrive into the town of Cochamo until the evening of the 19th. February 20th was the last official day of the climbing festival, and in the town of Cochamo (reminded me of Skagway or Haines, Alaska), we discovered that one could not drive into the Cochamo Valley. It was an 8-mile slog one way through what one man called “nasty mud.” He also warned us not to try and take Dylan’s wife and kids up in there or to even attempt it ourselves if it was raining. Well, rain was on the forecast, and we expected to bail on our plans. In fact, I, being weary with travel, desired it. Dylan had printed up a bunch of Spanish tracts that included the testimony of a hardcore climber specifically for this event. So, he didn’t want to give up, and rightfully so. Therefore, we sought the Lord’s will and determined to let the next morning’s weather be our sign. If it was raining, as it was supposed to, no way we were slogging up there. We awoke the next morning to a crystal clear blue sky, warm sun, and glorious weather (an extreme rarity in that part of the world). We had our answer. So, while Cheri and the kids waited for us back in the town of Cochamo, we slogged the 16-mile roundtrip and returned late that evening. To say it was muddy would be an incredible understatement. In places, we were in up to our knees with eroded trail walls higher than our heads. It was wild, thick, and wet jungle that eventually topped out in a beautiful Yosemite-like Valley with towering granite walls. I wondered what kind of crazy wild animals were out there and if there were weird bugs that could kill or disable me with one bite. In the end, the worst either of us got besides wet and muddy involved a leech that I pulled off my arm. Anyway, to our surprise, the witnessing opportunities were abundant. By day’s end, we had shared with a whole lot of Chileans, an Englishman, a very open young man from Germany who asked us to explain how one could know God, five Americans, and a Venezuelan Jew. Up in the Cochamo Valley, there were climbers’ tents everywhere. Knowing that the typical hippie climber is not an easy target for evangelism, we struggled a bit with boldness. Following a prayer for strength, we went from tent to tent, distributing the climber tracts that Dylan had printed and sharing Christ as God gave opportunity. We also left some Bibles at the nearby refugio. Many heard in that remote valley; and amazingly, by the end of the day, only one person had given a tract back to us, and that was after she had read it. In other words, we experienced almost 100% openness as the Spirit of God had obviously gone before us. There was even a group of Chileans filming a documentary about the Cochamo Valley. After giving them some tracts, they asked to interview us--asking what we thought about the valley, why we loved to climb, how Cochamo compared to other places we had climbed, and so on. On film, Dylan quickly turned to the spiritual, explaining that his love for the mountains is more about the Maker of the Mountains. He preached the Gospel boldly while the cameras kept running. Who knows what the Lord will do with it? According to God’s sovereign plan, we were meant to be at that festival on its last day. He prepared the way; He brought us there; and to Him be the glory! The hike back out that evening was long and arduous, but our rejoicing caused us to hardly notice the mud and the muck.

Yes, God’s divine Providences manifested themselves all long this journey--in Bolivia, Peru, Argentina, and Chile; and I could go and on in describing these. I won’t do this, but one final example is worthy of mention. As we barreled south toward Cochamo on dirt roads and through small lakeside villages, I commented to Dylan about how strange it was that many of our witnessing opportunities were people or families from Conception, most of whom were on their way back home from vacation. We chuckled about this and wondered a bit, but then forgot. The next week, a major earthquake, as you might know, took place in Southern Chile. At the time of the quake, Dylan and I were camped out up in the Patagonian Andes on the shore of a remote lake not far from the Chilean border. At about three or four in the morning, something strange woke me up. I heard a loud swooshing sound in the lake (like a toilet flushing) and then waves crashing in the northeastern cove. There was no wind; it was totally still; and I crawled out of the tent to find the air strangely heavy and thick. There was also a weird brightness to the moon that forced me to turn away. Looking at the moon in those moments was actually blinding (weird?). Something strange was going on, but I had no idea what. Drowsy, I crawled back into my sleeping bag and made the comment to Dylan that I thought a sea monster of some sort was making waves out there in the water. It wasn’t until the next evening that we learned about the earthquake, and only then did I realize that this had caused a mini tsunami up there on the shore of that Andean Lake. That is what woke me up out of a deep sleep. Anyway, I heard that the epicenter of the massive quake had been near Conception in Chile. I wondered if any of those people we had witnessed to the week before had been killed. I wondered if for some of those it had been the last time they were confronted with the Gospel. I wondered if the Bibles we had given away had reaped fruit unto eternal life in the hearts of some who would soon thereafter feel a shaking and then step into eternity. God knoweth. He is Sovereign Lord of all and “longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (II Peter 3:9).”

In all of this, we devised ways, but it was the LORD that directed our steps.

Well, I am not finished. John 4:35-38, Luke 14:16-24, Psalm 37:7, and II Timothy 2:2 also provided valuable instruction and were demonstrated in memorable experiences as I journeyed in lands far south. I yearn to share these things with you. However, I have already supplied much for your digestion, so these tales are best reserved for “Sweet Reminiscence Part 2.” Stay tuned.

Again, please pray for my family and the Holes Family according to the requests mentioned above. Pray for Jamie and the little one soon to be born. We will keep you all posted. Please pray for God’s continued provision for Full Proof Gospel Ministries and for wisdom in some upcoming decisions. For the moment, the path ahead is foggy and unclear.

Thanks for your friendship. I love you all.

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

Jesse Boyd