***Walking by Mount Rushmore on South Dakota Highway 244***

Greetings, beloved brethren, from the highways and hedges of the United States of America: one of the world’s largest mission fields, the EPICENTER of the lukewarm Laodicean Church, and a nation in BIG TROUBLE with the God of the Bible. Oh how desperately we need spiritual awakening in our streets and genuine Holy Spirit revival in our churches! “Even so, come Lord Jesus (Revelation 22:20).

Another leg of #TheLongWalkUSA is in full swing. Since resuming from the Nebraska/Wyoming line west of Harrison back on August 27th, we have walked nearly 300 miles and just crossed the South Dakota/Wyoming line west of Belle Fourche. By God’s abundant grace, we walked out of the Nebraska prairie; we traversed the entirety of the Black Hills Range up to elevations higher than we have seen since the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina; and we have now walked back into the prairie again—what they call Wyoming’s No Man’s Land between the Black Hills and the Big Horn Mountains. Last week, it was very hot with temperatures in the 90s. Then, Friday was rainy with a high of only 45-degrees. Monday was a 33-degree early morning along Spearfish Creek where we had camped in a grove of tall spruce. I even think the Big Horns got the season’s first snow. None of us were ready for such a sudden change. Notwithstanding, “seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not” (II Corinthians 4:1).

***This heat coming into Edgemont, South Dakota turned real cool real quick by the time we got to Custer.***

As many of you know, our ministry is committed to the public proclamation of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and the free distribution of the Bible to the Jewish people FIRST, and also to the Gentile nations (Romans 1:16-17). We harbor a great love and burden for the people group through whom the God of the Bible gave to all the world the Holy Scriptures (Romans 3:1-2); the Messiah (Romans 9:1-5); the prophets and apostles (Ephesians 2:19-20); and the very first New Testament churches, pastors, and missionaries (Acts 11:19-23). We believe that we owe the Jewish people a debt of gratitude (see I Corinthians 10:11; Romans 15:4), and the best way to repay that debt is to seek out lost sheep from the House of Israel and to share with them the Good News of the real and authentic Jewish Messiah who was crucified, buried, and rose from the dead on the third day. This is the same Jewish Messiah who will one day come again to sit upon the Throne of David and restore the wayward nation of Israel in fulfillment of all God’s promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jesus Christ of the Bible is the Messiah of Israel, the Saviour of the Gentiles, and the ONLY REAL HOPE for both Israel and the United States of America.

One of the greatest blessings of seeking out lost sheep from the House of Israel is that it puts one into the path of a whole slough of Gentiles. In fact, preaching Christ the Messiah to Gentiles IS Jewish missions (Romans 11:11-12). We may be presently walking across America instead of preaching in Israel or hosting Israeli backpackers in places like Nepal, India, Peru, or Colombia as we have done in times past. But, our labors aren’t any less consistent with our calling from the LORD. Every single morning of this walk, we pray over the day’s route before we even take a step. And, not a day goes by when we don’t specifically ask the LORD to put a lost sheep from the House of Israel into our paths. God always answers those prayers—many times no, sometimes yes, sometimes yes in another light, and sometimes yes without us even knowing it. I always marvel at the Hand of Divine Providence. Our very first encounter on this entire journey was with a Jewish girl in a North Carolina gas station. There was an orthodox Jewish family in the Great Smoky Mountains. We’ve met and encouraged some FOUND SHEEP of the House of Israel along the way who believed upon the Messiah long before we ever crossed their paths. That happened in Arkansas, Missouri, and Kansas. There was an unexpected encounter with the great grandson of a Holocaust survivor along a dirt road once. There were two Israeli men that I met down near the starting line when my wife and I revisited during this last summer break. There have been others who I think were Jewish but unsure. God knoweth. And of course, there have been many, many Gentiles from many different places. In all, we have enjoyed more than 2300 Gospel encounters, and we have had the great privilege of distributing 122 copies of the Holy Scriptures—some in Hebrew, some in Spanish, and many in good ole’ King James English.

***Bethany and Carter witness to an Orthodox Jewish Family at Newfound Gap in the Great Smoky Mountains many hundreds of walking miles back.***

Almost a year ago, as we were walking in Eastern Kentucky, I penned a newsletter that explained what we mean by an “encounter.” I simply called it Encounters, and I trust that some who have recently been added to our communication list will be edified by it.

Since we resumed at the Wyoming line back on August 27th, we have enjoyed more than 160 such Gospel encounters. Walking through the Black Hills, we encountered folks from Florida, Virginia, South Carolina, Utah, Michigan, Nebraska, Indiana, Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Maine, Oregon, Ohio, Wisconsin, Alabama, California, and even a man who grew up not far from me in North Carolina. We crossed paths with some Germans, some folks from India, and even a group of motorcyclists from Holland. There have been ranchers, hikers, rock climbers, motorbikers, cyclists, cowboys, Vietnam War Vets, and a few Native Americans.

We spoke with these guys near “The Devil’s Bathtub” in Spearfish Canyon. The same wicked spirit in Washington DC that broke treaties with their Lakota ancestors in the Black Hills now openly mocks God and tells American sons that they can be American daughters. As we told them, the Lord Jesus Christ is our only hope.

In answer to our specific daily prayers, however, I want to zero upon a tale of two lost sheep:

Carter Phillips came out again to join us last week, and he will be with us until September 21st. He has logged almost 700 walking miles on this journey, and this time, it was a long drive from Missouri to join up, as long as the very first time he came alongside near the North Carolina coast. He drove all day, picked up a couple of pizzas in Rapid City and then met us in a pull off on the side of the road beside Mount Rushmore. After a long day’s walk, those pizzas hit the spot. As we scarfed down a few slices, he told us of an encounter that day in a Caseys gas station. He shared with the lady where he was going and about what we were doing. He then spoke bluntly of Jesus the Messiah. It turned out that her great grandmother was Jewish. She married a German SS officer before the outbreak of WWII, and this marriage, of course, protected her from ending up in the Holocaust camps. Indeed, this gas station clerk was a LOST SHEEP from the House of Israel, and she was very far from the Lord. She boasted of being into Norse mythology and pagan religion. Notwithstanding, Carter gave it to her straight, and she heard the Gospel. When we heard this, we rejoiced. We had prayed that morning, as is our custom, for a lost sheep to be in our path. It just wasn’t our walking path. It was the path Carter was taking to come out and walk with us. “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out” (Romans 11:33).

I’m not finished. This is a tale of TWO lost sheep, not just one. To make a long story short, there was a lot of inconvenience and aggravation that accompanied our coming into Spearfish, South Dakota and connecting with some old friends who live and work there. What should have been a simple connection proved very difficult, almost as if the Evil One was trying to hinder something. Instead of giving up and walking west, we kept our bearing north and were finally able to work things out—just not on our time schedule. When the door did finally open, we learned that my buddy who owns a carpet cleaning business had done a job for a novelty shop in Sturgis earlier that day. As it turned out, the owner was Israeli, and my friend was very blunt to speak to this man about the true identity of the Messiah. We finally connected with our friends when we literally walked up with the cross on their son’s junior varsity high school football game. As my buddy told me of this encounter, he expressed how he wished he had been able to give that man a copy of the Scriptures. Immediately, all the hindrance made sense. Of course, “Satan hindered us” (I Thessalonians 2:18). The next morning, Jon went back to this shop and took Eric with him while Bethany, Carter, and I walked through Spearfish and up into Butte County. The man was gone, but when the guy behind the counter called him, he drove back. What resulted was a very long and pointed conversation about the Scriptures, the God of Israel, and the Messiah. In the end, Nir happily and gratefully received a very nice copy of the Hebrew-English Scriptures (both Old & New Testaments) in a single hard-backed volume. He really was grateful. Nir’s grandparents were Holocaust survivors, and his parents completely rejected God “because of the Holocaust.” Nir was unsure. All one has to do is read Deuteronomy 28, and it is clear that the Holocaust not only proves that the God of Israel exists but that He does exactly what He says He is going to do. And then, of course, the Jews’ greatest revenge against the Nazi atrocities is grandchildren like Nir who live and work and prosper in places like South Dakota. Most importantly, in true Jeremiah 30:11 fashion, the Holocaust’s remaining fruit isn’t death and destruction and mass murder. It’s the birth and continued existence of the Modern State of Israel and the ongoing fulfillment of God’s promise to regather the Jewish people back into the Land in a state of unbelief (Jeremiah 30:3), before the Time of Jacob’s Trouble (Jeremiah 30:5-7), and ahead of the nation’s ultimate repentance, belief, and restoration (Jeremiah 30:8-9). Again, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out” (Romans 11:33).

***Eric and Nir in Sturgis, South Dakota***

So there it is, a tale of two lost sheep for which we praise the Lord.

It’s been a long and fruitful walk into and through South Dakota’s Black Hills. A kind Christian brother in Custer entertained us as strangers and showed genuine hospitality. He gave us a free place to stay for a whole week as we worked through the area. That was a huge blessing. A rancher in Northwest Nebraska gave us permission to walk across his land and up and over the highest point in Sioux County. He was a believer and very encouraged. Before we parted ways, he asked if I would take a moment to pray for our country with him. We did right there on the prairie. Walking right by Mount Rushmore was a treat as was the Needles Highway, one of the most memorable stretches of road from this entire journey. We also saw some real hostility for the first time in a long time. It only strengthens our resolve. A Custer State Park “conservation officer” with a badge and a gun actually had the tyrannical gaul to tell me that I was allowed to walk on South Dakota State Highway 87 (a public road) but that I wasn’t allowed to talk to anyone. I laughed at him and told him he had no authority to tell me such a thing. I asked him for his name and his badge number, but he refused to give it to me and drove off as I exhorted him to repent. In his honor, I stopped at the next picnic area and preached to the folks out there. A few took tracts. Another man got real irritated when I told him our country was in trouble. He threw the tract I gave him into the garbage can. We’ll just keep walking, and we’ll keep preaching. And like I told that “conservation officer,” it will take a whole battalion to stop us from reaching the Pacific Ocean.

***Walking through the Eye of the Needle on the Needles Highway at Dusk***

We walked segments of the Mickelson and Centennial Trails. We climbed up and over Harney Peak, South Dakota’s highest point, and had 28 encounters on that 9-mile stretch. We paused to do a little rock climbing along the road once or twice, and this brought an audience with whom we could share blunt truth.

***Climbing and rappelling off The Hitching Post on the Needles Highway got us an audience and some witnessing encounters.***

There was Adam from Southern California who took a Bible; Lyle from Colorado Springs tramping around in his van; 3 college girls from Boston; a couple of fire fighters looking for a reported blaze way out in the Black Hills National Forest; a garbage collector on Songbird Road; Mack, the father of a Catholic priest; a lady washing her dishes with the kitchen window open; two sisters and a brother who got off a school bus; and a Lutheran lady who drove by on a dirt road, stopped, backed up her car, and rolled her window down to ask some really good and pointed questions about sin, the Gospel, and Jesus Christ. There was also Harvey Hell (yes, that’s his real name) with his “Jesus Saves” belt buckle who rightly affirmed “If you don’t preach CHRIST CRUCIFIED, you are preaching another gospel.” AMEN. Just the other day, we enjoyed a first—an old K-9 friend joined us for a few miles. My buddy Jon Lane walked with us for the day and brought along Ruger, one of our favorite dogs in the whole wide world. I met Jon on my very first bicycle ride across the United States back in 2003; and we have been friends ever since. We have known Ruger since he was a pup, and he really loves Bethany. When Carter showed up, Ruger didn’t like it one bit.

***Mr. Harvey Hell and his “Jesus Saves” Belt Buckle***

***It was a blessing to have Jon Lane and Ruger walk with us for a day.***

You can CLICK HERE for some short video clips from recent days that you might find interesting. Moreover, here is a message I recently preached at my sending church back in North Carolina on the spirit of a biblical watchman taken from Isaiah 21. This was just a week before we came back out here to resume the walk. I pray the testimony from this walk and the exhortation contained therein will strengthen some soul out there unto God’s glory: WATCHMAN, WHAT OF THE NIGHT? Here it is on APPLE PODCASTS.

Please pray for us in the days ahead. The coming stretch will be remote and difficult. And, winter will be coming fast. Pray for the Lord’s provision. Things can get expensive out here in these remote areas. But as I told a man the other day, “The Lord always takes care of us.” Carter will be heading home to Missouri on September 21st. Please pray for that. Please pray for our wives and children back home who we hope can join us for a bit somewhere on this leg. Finally, we need to get to Yellowstone National Park before they close the roads to all vehicle traffic for the winter. That gives us about a month to get across Wyoming. The Lord’s will be done.

Regardless, be it known that we will keep preaching CHRIST CRUCIFIED to both Jew and Gentile and JESUS THE MESSIAH as the only hope for AmericANS in an AmeriCA that is already under God’s judgment.

If this long walk across America has edified you in some way, please consider sowing into our ministry. We have needs, and gas is real expensive these days. Anything you can share, if the LORD should lay it upon your heart, is a blessing that will be used faithfully and with account. All contributions are tax-deductible. Thank you in Jesus’ name. Learn more . . .

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4705 miles walked, 15 states, 299 counties, 2339 Gospel encounters, 122 Bibles and counting … in the spirit of watchmen upon a wall (Isaiah 21:11-12). GOD SAVE THE UNITED STATES.

Jesse Boyd and #TheLongWalkUSA Team