Greetings, beloved brethren, in the name of the Great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; “who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2:14).

Much has transpired since my last post almost two months ago, and there is, I say, cause for rejoicing: not only for what hath been, but for what is, and for what, according to the will of the Lord, is to come.

what hath been

Bishnu Shrestha, our national partner in Nepal, has continued to boldly and publicly proclaim the Gospel, distribute Project Jagerna Scripture portions, and train local believers in the work of the Great Commission. Just last week, I wired the funds God had supplied to print an additional 25,000 “Haven’t You Heard” Gospel tracts in Nepali. Pray that these will come off the presses and get into the hands of those that are perishing. Lord willing, my family and I will be with Bishnu and his family on the Nepal front lines very soon.

Concerning the domestic front, as anticipated in my last blog post, FPGM has continued to preach the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in the public forum, both locally and on the road. Since February, we have targeted a local college campus; the big St. Patrick's Day parade in Savannah, Georgia; the NCAA tournament in Charlotte, NC; and a "Prince" concert also in the Queen City. In these venues, the Word of God went forth in abundance, and the Lord gave us favor with the authorities.

Savannah was a particularly reprehensible milieu as mobs of people crowded on River Street St. Patrick's night. Revelry, booze, drugs, and hostile blasphemy were everywhere. In those hours, as I and the brothers who accompanied me attempted to labor in the spirit of the real St. Patrick (a street preacher and missionary to Ireland in the 5th Century), I felt ashamed to be an American and even endeavored to let the crowd know through the reverberations of our loudspeaker. Notably disgusting were the actions and proud words of so many U.S. military personnel that were out partying on those streets. One solider threatened to kill us and laughed about a day when he and his comrades could turn their guns on American citizens. Another claimed that "he" was the source of our freedom, scoffing at the idea that freedom is a gift from Almighty God. Others mocked the Gospel and threw beer our way. If what I saw in Savannah from U.S. military personnel is a reflection of our armed forces in general, then our nation really is in trouble. Such thoughts were only further confirmed several weeks later as I pulled up behind a marine driving his pickup truck in Northern Virginia. On the bumper was a sticker that boasted: "U.S. Marines - Travel to Exotic Places, Meet New People, KILL THEM." I wanted to throw up. Of course, why am I surprised that life has been horribly cheapened in the armed forces seeing as our society cheapened it in the mother's womb long ago. I fear we are doomed as a people, and the end is nigh. Therefore, true believers must get out and preach the Gospel as we did on River Street in Savannah that night and earlier in the day all along the parade route. The glorious Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is the only remedy for a society that is doing just what Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet premier, predicted the United States would do . . . and all this why the American church is asleep in the light.

At Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, NC, I and a couple of brothers recently found an open door where there had been trouble from the authorities previously. We targeted the campus two days in a row: many Gospel tracts went out, fruitful conversations transpired, the student body heard some solid doctrinal preaching, and fellow believers were encouraged. Here is a podcast of a sermon I preached on that campus from Amos 7: The Plumbline.

Just recently, I returned from a 2-week road trip in which FPGM teamed up with a group of solid street preachers in and around Washington, DC. There, we preached at the entrance to George Washington University, on the campus of George Mason University, at the Chinatown Gate, on the National Mall, at a local street market, on the subways, and right up at the gate of the White House. In some of these places, God gave us great favor; and I was astounded at the freedom we had to preach with amplification. Many heard. Behind the White House, we had a loudspeaker that could be heard two blocks away. We set up at the back gate without issue and called our nation and our president to repentance in the pouring rain, proclaiming Jesus Christ as the ONLY WAY to eternal life. Listen to a message from FPGM's podcast that I preached to our president and our nation at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave: Calling America to Repentance.

From DC, a smaller group of us transitioned up to Philadelphia where we preached outside a couple of local mosques, some strip clubs, at the Liberty Bell, and right in front of Independence Hall, all with the freedom of amplification. Michael Marcavage, the founder and head of Repent America joined us. Several years ago, he was arrested for preaching on the public sidewalk outside the Liberty Bell. Eventually, the Federal 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the verdict against him, and in effect, United States vs. Marcavage opened up national park lands to public preaching of the Gospel and further affirmed the free speech rights of Christian preachers in the public forum. As a direct result of this court victory, we were able to stand and preach Jesus right on the lawn beside the people lined up to see the Liberty Bell. Moreover, we were allowed to set up directly in front of Independence Hall. At one point, as we sung some old hymns together, the name of Jesus Christ and the tenor of His Gospel could be heard echoing off that place of great historical significance and bouncing all over downtown. Glory to God. Many heard, and Christians, including a church group from Maryland, were greatly encouraged. They even stopped to join us in a few verses of "I Surrender All."

In the Philadelphia area, we also targeted the campus of the University of Delaware. There, we enjoyed a couple hours of fruitful preaching and conversations, one of which involved a young man who initially passed by scoffing. I held my tongue and prayed for him. Not long thereafter, he returned and sat down listening as I attempted to answer questions from the group of students gathered about. Later, I asked him what he thought, and he revealed that he had never been in church, had never heard the Gospel, and had never even looked at a Bible, much less possessed one. The amazing thing is that this young man was not a foreign immigrant, he was a homegrown American whose grandfather had fought in WWII. Anyway, he seemed open and gladly received a copy of the Holy Bible, the first one he had ever owned. Please pray for him, what an honor it was to give someone a Bible who had never handled the Word of Life. Not long after this divine appointment, a couple of "Barney Fifes" with the campus police came up and threatened us with arrest if we did not leave the campus immediately. These were rude, woefully ignorant concerning the law, and downright thuggish in their approach. Still, we attempted to comply and headed over to an administration building to try and secure a "permit" according to their instructions. For some reason, however, they cuffed and arrested my three co-laborers anyway, charging them with criminal trespassing. Moments before, I had left the scene to take some important stuff back to the vehicle, so I avoided arrest. Still, I got a call from my friend who was cuffed in the police car (the officers failed to confiscate his cellphone) as I was returning to the scene. He warned me not to return and that the police were looking for me. I hadn't done anything and wondered for a moment if I was over in Bangladesh or in Russia. Quickly, I returned to my vehicle and stayed out of site. I got on Facebook, on the phone, sent out text messages, etc. Soon thereafter, the telephone lines at the University of Delaware Police Department were flooded with phone calls, demanding that the preachers be released. Thanks to the efforts of many believers, some of who may be reading this, the UD Gestapo eventually got the message. My brothers were released, and the charges were dropped. All praise to God. Notwithstanding, however, all four of us were banned from that campus FOR LIFE. That's the America we live in, my friends. And, an amazing irony is that the University of Delaware was founded by a Presbyterian preacher, Francis Allison. Still, getting a Bible into the hands of that young man who had never owned on was well worth the permanent banishment.

So much more could be said about this latest road trip. It is always a privilege to carry the banner of the Lord Jesus Christ into the public forum and to stand alongside solid brethren who likewise do the same on a regular basis. Judgment must soon be coming to this nation: for God never dispenses judgment without warning (cf Amos 3:7; it's called divine mercy, something lacking in the false god of the Quran), and the Lord seems to be raising up doctrinally sound street preachers all over this country to sound an alarm and call men to repentance (cf. Joel 2:1). Oh that our nation would respond like the people of Nineveh did at the preaching of Jonah. I fear our epitaph, however, will be quite the opposite, much like the people of Jesus' day: "The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and behold, a greater than Jonas is here" (Matthew 12:41).

Thus is what hath been. Thanks for all your prayers, and special thanks goes out to those of you who made a phone call on our behalf to the authorities at the University of Delaware. The pressure applied by fellow Christians directly resulted, I believe, in the charges being dropped.

Here is a little video I put together that highlights all the work described above. May it exhort you unto boldness for the sake of the glorious Gospel of the blessed God.

what is

Much planning, preparation, and trusting the Lord for divine provision encapsulates what is. Our overseas plans, as described in the previous post, haven't exactly played out as we had expected, but as is usually the case, the Lord knows better. For, "a man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps" (Proverbs 16:9). There is so much freedom and spiritual liberty in this simple truth.

Here's a long story made short: My passport was held up at the embassy of a closed country for which I was attempting to secure an entry visa. After long delays and a suspicious line of questioning, it seemed as if the request would be denied. It should have been denied, but almost two months later, my passport strangely showed up in the mail with a 30-day visa that must be used by June 30th. By the time the passport actually came back, however, we had already begun to enact Plan B. So, by the sovereign hand of Providence, Plan B has remained our design, but getting into that closed country may still be doable. We need your prayers for wisdom in this matter. For security reasons, I cannot speak much more about this aspect of the things transpiring even now.

Notwithstanding, these "problems" do make cause for rejoicing. In my last post, I expected to be traveling alone to a closed Muslim country before rendezvousing with my family in India sometime later. Now, however, Plan B has resulted in a faithful co-laborer who will be with me and my family for the long haul. Ricky Springer, the young man who drove my support vehicle when I pedaled a bicycle to Alaska during the summer of 2009, will be joining me as we first spend a month in Africa, laboring with a couple of local pastors in South Africa and Zimbabwe, an unexpected blessing at the hand of a Sovereign Lord that directs the steps of men. As for the brother in Zimbabwe, I have communicated with him for years, and the Lord has allowed us to support his work. Now, it seems as if Providence will allow me to see him face to face and labor alongside his flock in a very poor and downtrodden corner of the planet, a place where many Christians can't even get a Bible because they are so expensive and hard to come by. We have purchased the plane tickets, so Ricky and I will be leaving for Johannesburg on May 24th. Plan B is to preach the Gospel on the streets in Johannesburg with a pastor from a local church; join up with Pastor Kimberly Dube in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe for a couple weeks of village preaching and evangelism training in the churches; and then return to South Africa to labor in the countryside, possibly making a preaching tour through Nelspruit and Durban, as well as the neighboring small countries of Swaziland and Lesotho. Please pray for us in these matters. One of the things we are currently preparing for is the transport of a sizable supply of English Bibles to southern Africa (English is a national language in South Africa and Zimbabwe). In that part of the world, for some reason, complete Bibles are very expensive and hard to come by. I have calculated that we can pay excess baggage fees on the airlines and carry Bibles over there for less than half the cost of actually purchasing them from the Bible Society of South Africa upon arrival. Presently, we aim to carry 100 Bibles, 100 Gospels of John, and 5,000 Gospel tracts with us. It's possible to carry even more should the Lord provide the funds for additional baggage. An additional 70lb bag of materials will cost $140 with the airlines (i.e. New York to Johannesburg) plus media rate shipping costs (approximately $30) from North Carolina to a contact in New Jersey who will get them to us before our flight leaves JFK. If the Lord should lay it upon your heart to help offset these expenses, you can donate online (remember that all donations to Full Proof Gospel Ministries are tax-deductible). If you so note, we will make sure the funds are used for the transportation and dissemination of God's Word in southern Africa. In a recent email correspondence from Pastor Dube in Zimbabwe (a nation racked with inflation, a decimated economy, and a dictatorial government), I was informed that several Christians in his church do not own a Bible because they cannot afford one. He seemed overjoyed at the prospect of us bringing a supply to him.

As we prepare for departure and finalize the details, please pray that the Lord makes financial provision for this needful missionary journey. We are stepping out in faith on a one-way ticket and will be traveling on a shoestring, living as do the poor Christians with whom we will be laboring. Are we even worthy to come under their roof? I think not. There is still much that needs to fall into place, especially concerning things which are to come after southern Africa . . .

what is to come

We rejoice at what hath been, what is, and certainly concerning that which is to come. Lord willing, the day following our arrival in Johannesburg, we will be paying a visit to the local embassy of the same closed country that recently granted me a brief entry visa. Our goal will be to secure a tourist visa for Ricky. Should this be obtained, we will endeavor to fly into this country from South Africa sometime around the end of June (i.e. prior to the expiry of my visa) and there labor with another local pastor I have been corresponding with for years. As the Apostle Paul yearned to be with the people of the church at Rome face-to-face, long have we prayed about being with the church in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe AND the brethren in the closed country I have been referencing. Should the Lord show us favor at the embassy in Johannesburg, we may be able to do both on our long journey that will ultimately culminate in Nepal. In faith, we are carrying a hearty supply of Gospel tracts for this closed country, believing that the Lord will open the door to get these into that place. Should all go according to plan, we will spend a couple of weeks in said closed country and then transition over to India where, Lord willing, Ricky and I will rendezvous with Jamie and the children in Delhi. From there, after perhaps a brief stint in Ladakh, we will go into Kathmandu, Nepal where will be our home for ten months. Obtaining the plane tickets for Jamie, Bethany, Charlotte, and Josiah is presently a challenge. The cost is outrageous as inflation has led to what I see as price gouging by the airline companies. Right now, it's looking like the airfare for my family will run around $2700 (that's a one-way ticket)! Please pray that the Lord provides these funds as well as for a place to live in Kathmandu, something that still hasn't fallen into place.

In the coming weeks, I will relay more details about what is specifically going on and how you can pray for us. Again, Ricky and I leave on May 24th for Johannesburg, and by faith, we are trusting that the Lord, following our labor in Africa, gives us entrance to my Christian brother and his ministry in the closed country AND that we can rendezvous with my family in Delhi soon thereafter, traveling together onward to Nepal. Once in Kathmandu, there is much, oh so much, work to be done. How we are going to afford to get back to the States when the time comes is really not even worth giving a second thought, at least not for now. For, the Lord never guides where He does not provide. "And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing" (Luke 22:35).

On an interesting side note, I have strategically chosen the airline that will take us from New York to Johannesburg because the itinerary involves a 6-hour layover in a Middle Eastern country that doesn't require visas for Americans and is a place where there is a sizable population of Nepalis who come over there to work manual labor jobs. Six hours will be just enough time to leave the airport, take the tram into the city, and do some preaching and distribution of Project Jagerna Scripture portions amongst the Nepali day laborers. How's that for a layover? The will of the Lord be done.

So, my friends, we have cause for rejoicing not only in that which hath been, but in what is, and what is to come. The same should be for you, especially concerning "the things which God hath prepared for them that love him" (I Corinthians 2:9). With all the turmoil in the world, Remnant Body of Jesus Christ, do not forget our Saviour's words: "And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh" (Luke 21:28).

specific prayer requests

So, here is a summary of the specific matters needing prayer:

The student at the University of Delaware who received his first-ever Bible
President Obama, that he heard and will heed the message we preached to him and our nation on the loudspeaker behind the White House recently; he was in there, and that speaker was loud.
That God will provide the funds to carry a hefty supply of Bibles into southern Africa
Divine provision for plane tickets to get Jamie and the children over to South Asia
An entry visa for Ricky into the closed country that granted me a visa
Pastor Kim Dube in Zimbabwe and Pastor Emaneul Ndlovu in South Africa with whom we will be laboring
My pastor friend in the closed country where we hope to gain entrance
An affordable place to rent for ten months in Kathmandu, Nepal
Funds for traveling expenses in southern Africa and South Asia
Funds for the continued printing of Nepali Scripture portions in Kathmandu; we can currently print a John/Romans with a detailed Gospel introduction for about $0.14/copy. For more information.
Bishnu Shrestha and his family, our national partners in Nepal that we soon hope to labor alongside

Thanks for your prayers and support. If the Lord should lay it upon your heart to help our ministry financially in any of the above-listed matters, you can donate online or make a check out to "Full Proof Gospel Ministries" and send to the address listed on this website. All contributions are tax-deductible and will be used for the furtherance of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Before closing, recent outings we have made to abortion mills (i.e. killing fields) so as to preach the Gospel and speak up in defense of the unborn prompted me to put together a little video on behalf of the little babies slaughtered at a rate of 4,000/day in this wicked nation. Watch it and weep.

God Save the United States!

For the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ, Your Obedient Servant,

Jesse Michael Boyd