prayers coveted

Greetings, beloved brethren, in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. An amazing truth is this: “And by him [Jesus Christ] all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:39). For the born-again believer, as Charles Spurgeon once wrote, “We are now -- even now pardoned; even now are our sins put away; even now we stand in the sight of God accepted, as though we had never been guilty.” Oh, what soul-transporting thoughts! Oh, what liberty and surety that religion can never grasp or digest! What shall we do? Again, I quote the renowned preacher Spurgeon: “Let present privilege awaken us to present duty, and now, while life lasts, let us spend and be spent for our sweet Lord Jesus.” Woe is me if I do not preach the Gospel!

Your prayers are earnestly desired for the coming days. In my last e-newsletter, I discussed upcoming missionary work with Bishnu Shrestha (Full Proof Gospel Ministries’ national partner in Nepal) in New York City; Northern Quebec & Labrador; and Canada’s Maritime Provinces--culminating in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, where we will be helping the believers of Faith Bible Church to develop a strategy for reaching the immigrant communities, including Nepali-speaking Bhutanese refugees, in their local area. Bethany and I were supposed to leave here back on May 11th, but unforeseen difficulties (not the least of which are political troubles and nationwide strikes in Nepal that have forced Bishnu to change his fly dates) have delayed us. Lord willing, therefore, Bishnu will be arriving in New York City on Monday afternoon. Please pray for traveling mercies and for the security of his family in Kathmandu while he is away, especially during what are very precarious times in Nepal. Some Nepali contacts in Brooklyn will be picking up Bishnu at the airport and helping him to apply for a Canadian Visa upon his arrival. Please pray for this. Without that visa, he cannot travel with me up into Canada, and obtaining it is far from certain. I shudder to think about ministering to Nepali-speaking families on Prince Edward Island without his help. I am also unsettled with regard to traveling the long lonely highways up to Labrador and witnessing in the fishing villages without his presence, just me and my six-year-old daughter. We’ll do what we have to do, but please just pray that the Canadian Consulate shows him favor and grants the tourist visa.

Lord willing, Bethany and I will leave here on Wednesday morning, bound for New York City. There, I’ll pick up Bishnu, with Canadian visa, hopefully, in hand; and we’ll make a beeline north to Montreal and then up through Quebec City and along Route 389 to the Trans-Labrador Highway (approximately 700 miles of gravel that eventually intersects with the pavement along the Labrador Coast). All along the way, as our custom is, we’ll be seizing opportunity to proclaim Jesus Christ in the streets and lanes of the cities and the highways and hedges, distributing the Word of God and Gospel tracts unto another uttermost end of the road system. From fishing villages in Labrador, our route will turn south as we ferry over to the island of Newfoundland, target more villages along its western coast, and then eventually ferry back to the Canadian mainland in Nova Scotia. In Halifax, we’ll meet up with Jamie and my other two children (Please pray for them as Jamie will be alone with two babies trying to change planes at JFK International Airport in NYC of all places) and then transition on over to Prince Edward Island to labor with the folks of Faith Bible Church. Lord willing, we shall return home by the end of June.

Friends, ‘tis a long and arduous missionary journey ahead (approximately 3,000 miles from FPGM’s base in Vale, NC to the Labrador Coast) with many obstacles, not the least of which is gas money and other inevitable traveling expenses. As I mentioned back on April 29th:

Over the past six months or so, we have seen our committed monthly support dwindle, undoubtedly due to a sagging economy and financial hardships for many. As a result, FPGM finds itself in a position where normal monthly expenses are exceeding our committed monthly support by several hundred dollars, and this doesn’t factor in the inevitable costs of looming itinerant outreach that is at the core of our calling to “make the Gospel an unavoidable issue for as many people as possible all around the world and just around the corner.”

Please pray that the Lord makes financial provision for this worthwhile excursion and our ongoing ministry. It will not be the first time we have hit the road short of the gas money at the outset to complete a missionary journey. But, God has always proven faithful, bringing to fruition every good work that He has begun in us (Philippians 1:6). Why should now be any different?

I asked everyone to pray about a vehicle in my last update. Thank you, for the Lord faithfully answered those prayers. I sold the ministry Subaru for more than I thought I could get out of it, and I got a great deal on a Nissan Pathfinder that has the room to carry all of us, including Bishnu. The vehicle has 60,000 miles on it and a few quirks. But, I should have these ironed out soon, and she’ll be ready, Lord willing, to take the Gospel to the end of the Trans-Labrador Highway.

The Harris Family, by the way, safely returned from Argentina and are trying to re-assimilate back into American culture. Please continue to pray for them as they seek out a place to live and the Lord’s direction forward. They have a piece of land in California that they really need to sell before heading back to the mission field. In fact, it has been on the market for a very long time. Please pray that the Lord sells this property.

With utmost sincerity, I thank all of you who read these updates with interest, concern, and an open heart. I write, not only to give testimony of God’s workings and the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but as a witness to the lost and to exhort and shake up the Remnant Body of Jesus Christ unto awareness, spiritual discernment, and boldness for the faith in spite of the lukewarm “churchianity” that infests the American Church in these dark days. As you know, I am not short on frankness, and as the Word of God causes offense, so does our preaching of it--whether it be on the streets, behind a pulpit, or through an email update. FPGM has lost financial support, some recently, because we commit to taking a stand and proclaiming the whole counsel of biblical truth without compromise and watered-down platitudes. Please pray that we will never be tempted by financial support to concede this calling. Like Tower, Cotlet, Huss, Savanarola, Wycliffe, Luther, Beza, Calvin, Wesley, Cartwright, Whitfield Livingston, Nat Taylor, Finney, Mueller, Moody, Spurgeon, Darby, Billy Sunday, Morrison, Smith, Scofield, Booth, Norris, Mordecai Ham and countless other faithful preachers of old, I love the Remnant Body of Jesus Christ far too much not to call things as I see them with the Word of God as the plumbline (Amos 7:7-8). FPGM has done this since day one, and, by the grace of God, the heralding will continue. If my words have ever seemed brash and bereft of charity, please forgive me. Know that it is genuine love for the lost and for the Bride of Christ that constrains me to be forthright and report openly concerning the sad state of things both in the world and in the Church as we encounter such out on the road. I do not expect anyone to read every word of these updates or to always be “caught up” with what is going on. I simply hope, when and if you do get around to reading something I have written, that you are exhorted, encouraged, able to rejoice in answers to your prayers, and compelled to be a bold witness for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Well, I better wrap things up. There is much packing and preparation yet to do. Please don’t forget to pray for Bishnu regarding the Canadian Visa. As for me, I find great joy knowing that so many of you faithful servants of God will cover us with your prayers as we go out yet again for the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ. Stay tuned for the answers to these prayers from the road.

Without the prayers and financial support of God’s people, all for which FPGM has given testimony, going all the way back to that coast-to-coast bicycle ride in 2003, would not have been possible. I love you all. Jesus loves you more.

Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus,

Jesse Boyd

Full Proof Gospel Ministries