leaving america
Greetings, beloved brethren, in the name of the LORD God who “hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen” (Psalm 98:2).
Well, the time has come for us to leave America and go and make known His salvation to the nations. On Monday morning (May 23), Ricky Springer and I will be leaving North Carolina. After a day in New York City open-air preaching at Union Square with a Jewish brother in Christ and some hours preparing a large supply of Bibles and Gospel materials for transport, we will board the flight for Johannesburg, South Africa. Lord willing, Ricky and I will be in Southern Africa for about a month. Should the Lord grant us suitable visas to a closed country in South Asia, we will visit the brethren there before meeting up with Jamie and the children in Delhi, India sometime in July. Our plans at that point are to return to Ladakh and Jammu-Kashmir and then transition over into Nepal for ten months. Please remember us in your prayers.
Let me pause and give special thanks to Almighty God for some specific answers to our former prayers. Recently, I spoke of the need for funds to carry two extra pieces of luggage filled with Bibles to South Africa. Bibles are very expensive and hard to come by in quantity on the African Continent. The local brethren we will be laboring with have mentioned to me several times that there are believers in their congregations who do not own a Bible because they cannot afford one. Well, the Lord made provision, not for two excess pieces, but double what we anticipated. Thus, we will be transporting a total of 8 checked bags (four allowed, four excess specifically for Bibles and Gospel materials). All the materials are waiting for us in New York City where we will then bag them up for the journey. By God’s grace, we will be carrying with us 125 complete Bibles, 77 New Testaments, 120 Gospels of John, 50 John/Romans, 24 Hebrew New Testaments (i.e. for encounters with Jewish folks), 7,500 Gospel tracts, 15 Romans, and some discipleship materials--all earmarked for the local believers and our upcoming joint-efforts to publicly proclaim the Gospel in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland. A special thanks goes out to those of you who, through the Holy Spirit, were directly involved in the financial provision for the excess baggage fees. The amazing thing is that we could purchase the materials here and pay to transport them for half of what it would cost to buy the same materials at the Bible Society in South Africa. What an honor to transport God’s Word to the ends of the earth. Pray that these materials will get through customs without incident and ultimately into the hands of men.
I also offer up praise to the LORD for his provision of suitable plane tickets for Jamie and the children. He rose up a believing family in Texas, one member of said family an employee with American Airlines; and these offered to add us to their non-revenue friends list. To make a long story short, my family will be able to fly standby from Charlotte to Delhi for less than the cost of one regular fair one-way ticket. Moreover, a firm date does not have to be set for departure until the day before. This will allow us some much-needed flexibility in terms of staging our rendezvous in India sometime in July. Thanks for your prayers in this matter.
I moreover rejoice that the Lord has provided Jamie and me with some housesitters while we are out of the country. A solid Christian couple who will be newly married when Jamie and the children depart are going to step in and hold down the fort. This will help us greatly in terms of bills and rent. Glory to God.
On this eve of another overseas missionary journey, we would greatly appreciate your continued prayers in a few additional situations. Last week, I was let go from a 5-year "tentmaking" position I held with TCK Sports and TCK Slog Series. Thus, at a time when traveling expenses will be high, the supplemental income that has helped sustain us and the ministry for so long has suddenly and unexpectedly vanished. Due to the politics of the situation and the recent unethical business practices of this company, I must admit that I have found a strange liberty in this, a freedom that I pray will allow us to more acutely focus upon the upcoming labors of Full Proof Gospel Ministries as we vigilantly wait for the Lord’s provision. Please pray for us. Losing a secular job changes nothing in terms of our commitments to the Lord; it just means we will be taking a slightly bigger step of faith onto the airplane that will transport us to the uttermost corners of the earth. With regard to my former job, there are some unsettled legal issues that I am being forced to pursue. Please pray that these will not be a distraction. What’s really sad is that I know the wicked and deceitful practices I have encountered in my little job (i.e. at the hands of those that call themselves “Christians”, believe it or not) are but a microcosmic picture of what pervades the American economy these days, an economy that of late has built itself upon endless debt, poor stewardship, guile, greed, and an attitude of entitlement (No, I am not subtly advocating socialism, that is even more wicked). I am reminded of God’s indictment against Israel in Amos 2:6: “For three transgressions of Israel and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver and the poor for a pair of shoes.” There is no way America can continue to structure itself upon such wicked business and political practices and not suffer the wrath of a righteous Creator. We, as a nation, have sold the righteous for silver and the poor for a pair of shoes. God Save the United States!
There is an urgent matter that covets your prayers and your help. Back in 2008, when my brother and I were arrested in downtown Hickory, North Carolina, simply for distributing Gospel tracts, the local District Attorney promised to handle the expungement of our arrest records once the charges were dropped. To this day, the same D.A., who was recently reelected, has not made good on this promise. Back in February, as I attempted to apply for a tourist visa into a closed country, there were some delays and interrogations that I thought strange and proved problematic. I believe these were directly tied to my public arrest record that District Attorney James Gaither (a supposedly “conservative” Republican) promised to eradicate. Going forward, this arrest record, if not expunged will prove problematic in terms of obtaining foreign travel visas and will undoubtedly raise suspicions with the United States Government as I try to re-enter the country. I recently spoke via telephone with one of the assistant district attorneys: he promised that if I could show written proof that D.A. Gaither gave assurance to take care of the matter, then the D.A. would prove himself a man of his word. I submitted the proof, a letter from him dated in August of 2008; but since, the office has decided to ignore our correspondence and contact efforts made by our attorney. Unfortunately, there seems to be no legal recourse for us to force this public official to act. After all, it’s not illegal for politicians to make promises and utterly fail to keep them. However, such is unethical and immoral, and we need to hold our public officials accountable, especially at the local levels, in matters like this. Please pray that the Lord will convict this man to honor his word and that our arrest records will be properly expunged, as they should be following an unlawful and reprobate arrest in violation of a citizen’s first and fourth amendment rights. Putting pressure upon his office, I believe, will help expedite the process. Please contact District Attorney James Gaither’s office on our behalf (i.e. Jesse & Matthew Boyd) and demand that this public official honor his word and expediently expunge our arrest records. Use the opportunity to communicate your disgust with politicians in America who utterly fail to keep promises and thereby heap dishonor upon the constituents they are supposed to represent. Remember, this guy claims to be a conservative Republican. I really believe that there is power in mass phone calls and emails from Christians in matters where fellow believers have been the source of mistreatment at the hands of government officials. Below is the contact information:
District Attorney James C. Gaither Tel: 828-695-6110 Email: james.c.gaither@nccourts.org
Well, I could write much more, but rest assured that reams will soon be coming from the front lines in uttermost corners. Pray for me as I am separated from my family for a few weeks, and pray for Jamie and the children as they make the overseas journey alone to meet Ricky and I in Delhi, India. Here’s an outline concerning how to specifically lift us up in the coming days:
Safety and ease of travel for Jamie and the children as they fly to meet us in South Asia sometime in July
Divine provision to make up for the supplemental income lost upon my recent job termination
Closure to the matter involving our arrest records from June of 2008
An entry visa for Ricky into the closed country that granted me a visa; we will be applying for this in Johannesburg
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
Provision for Ricky Springer and his traveling expenses. He is making a big step of faith in coming alongside the work
Thanks in advance 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.
Lord willing, my next post will be filled with rejoicing, answers to prayer, and tales of the Gospel going forth at the bottom of the African Continent. Only the Lord knows when we will return to America. When we do, may we find her in a spirit of repentance and humility, turning away from her national sins back to the God of our Fathers. We love and will miss you all.
For the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ,
Jesse M. Boyd