Greetings, dear friends! I have a question. It’s the same question the famous Baptist missionary Adoniram Judson asked after the LORD turned his captivity from harsh persecution in Burma in 1826. It’s also the same question the Psalmist asked under inspiration of the Holy Ghost:

“What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me (Psalm 116:12)?”

The last time I penned a ministry newsletter (and I do apologize for the long lull), it was July 16th and we were not far from the Puget Sound in Washington State. I reported:

“As the crow flies, we are very close to the Pacific Ocean off the Olympic Peninsula, and we could literally finish in a relatively short amount of time on the same beach where my first bicycle missionary journey terminated back in 2004, but it still seems the Lord is directing us to get wet in the waters of the Pacific somewhere in Northern California. That being said, we have a ways yet to go. Your prayers for wisdom and discernment as to the specific route are much appreciated.”

At the time, we had logged about 300 walking miles and 100 Gospel encounters on the last leg of #TheLongWalkUSA. We were unsure about the route; we were facing an October 28th trial in Madison County, Montana on bogus and unjust charges; and my prayers to the LORD contained a plethora of questions marks.

Today, a little over four months later and on the cusp of Thanksgiving, all of those questions in my prayers have been answered with EXCLAMATION POINTS. Your prayers I requested back in July for wisdom and discernment were all answered with EXCLAMATION. We have much for which to be thankful. Here’s a very brief rundown of the timeline:

• JULY 24: We reached 7,000 miles at Baker Lake Dam in Whatcom County, Washington. VICTORY IN JESUS!

• AUGUST 11: My family flew out to Seattle to help strengthen and encourage us in the walk. Jamie, Charlotte, and Josiah helped us walk through Mount Rainier National Park. VICTORY IN JESUS!

• AUGUST 22: After walking 950 miles across Washington, we finally crossed the “Bridge of the Gods” over the Columbia River and came into Oregon, our 19th state. Aside from North Carolina (1200 miles), we walked more miles in Washington than any other state. VICTORY IN JESUS!

• SEPTEMBER 4: Eric & Mindy Trent and their family returned safely to the States after a very fruitful summer of ministry in Peru, both in Caja de Agua, one of the poorest and most dangerous barrios in all of Lima, and up in Huaraz where we used to base for summers of Israeli backpacker outreach. VICTORY IN JESUS!

• SEPTEMBER 19: We awoke one morning near Medford, Oregon to discover all charges against Eric, Bethany, and Carter had been suddenly and quietly dismissed in Montana. LOL, those prosecuting us said it was “in the interest of justice.” VICTORY IN JESUS!

• SEPTEMBER 30: We reached 8,000 miles on the Oregon Coastal Trail in Curry County, Oregon.

• OCTOBER 1: We walked from Oregon into California, our 20th state, and we did so on the same road I pedaled into Oregon two decades ago FROM California on my first bicycle journey across America. Sheer profundity, and VICTORY IN JESUS!

• OCTOBER 4: To our great surprise, John Lamb of Madison County, Montana drove over 500 miles out of the way on a delivery run and showed up in Crescent City, California to encourage us near the end. If it weren’t for the terrible hate crime done upon us in his home county, we wouldn’t even know this dear brother. This same morning, 5th District Judge Luke Berger issued a righteous order affirming the plain reading of Montana self-defense law in my case. The Montana AG tried to induce a District Court Judge to undo Montana gun law (Is the Montana AG Inducing a District Court Judge to Undo the MSSA’s Landmark Gun Law?). Judge Berger didn’t fall for it, and his order on the matter is now “the law of the case.” Now, there is case law that will undoubtedly benefit all Montana citizens who are forced to defend themselves from unprovoked attack. VICTORY IN JESUS!

• OCTOBER 6: Jamie, Josiah, my brother Matthew, Eric Trent, and Ken Lightsey (the brother from California who made both the original cross taken from us in Madison County and the replica replacement) met up with us in Humboldt County, California to join for the final 50 miles of our long walk. VICTORY IN JESUS!

• OCTOBER 10: After 8,118 miles, 20 states, 251 counties, and 3601 Gospel encounters along the highways and byways, #TheLongWalkUSA finally crossed a finish line at Humboldt Lagoons State Park. Back on July 16th, we were unsure, but the Lord truly was directing our steps. All 5 of us victimized that day in Madison County walked across that finish line TOGETHER. At that finish line, Eric Trent achieved his 3,000th mile of the journey. Bethany and I, who began at the starting line together, crossed the finish line together, opting joyously for a tie: 4,406 miles each. VICTORY IN JESUS!

• OCTOBER 21: While preaching outside the Office of the Montana Attorney General in Helena, Montana, the charge against me was DISMISSED. The motion filed by Assistant Attorney General Thorin Geist reads: “the State no longer believes that it can ethically proceed to trial. As such, the State respectfully moves the District Court for an order dismissing the case without prejudice in the interests of justice.” Within an hour, Judge Berger grants said motion and the unjust criminal case is closed. Immediately, we pick up the cross and walk a VICTORY LAP around the Office of the Montana AG singing, “Onward Christian Soldiers!” VICTORY IN JESUS, MY SAVIOUR FOREVER!

• OCTOBER 22: All of our property, including the original cross, is returned to us in good condition at the Madison County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia City, Montana. The captain on duty openly admits on camera that his department didn’t do things right on November 12, 2022. That night, we attended a big celebration in Helena with many of our Montana friends for life, folks we wouldn’t even know if it hadn’t been for that hate crime. VICTORY IN JESUS!

• OCTOBER 26: Along US 287 in Madison County, Bethany and Carter dropped me off at the same pull-off where our walk resumed on May 13, 2023 with about a hundred people in support. I took up the original cross taken from us on 11.12.22 and walked a VICTORY MILE to the very spot where we were attacked. Bethany & Carter waited there for me with the SAG vehicle, in the exact spot they were parked the day of the hate crime. I walked up; we packed up; and we drove out of Montana the way we first came in, leaving with fond memories and not bad ones. VICTORY IN JESUS!

• NOVEMBER 3: In the spirit of Hebrews 13:3, many remembered us in our Madison County adversity, including some persecuted believers who are sitting in federal prison or under house arrest even now for singing a hymn in a hallway and loving their unborn neighbors. In the same spirit, unto others as they had done unto us, we picked up both crosses and walked some ENCORE MILES around the federal prison in Thomson, Illinois. As we walked, prayed, and sang outside, Brother Cal Zastrow, unjustly incarcerated inside, was conducting a baptism service for fellow inmates who had committed their lives to Christ as a result of his faithful witness inside. We stayed out there until after dark, while 18 men were baptized inside. VICTORY IN JESUS!

• NOVEMBER 5: After a 5-month absence, 1600 miles of walking, and 20,000 miles of driving, we finally made it back home to Catawba County, North Carolina, passing by many spots on many highways we had once walked. VICTORY IN JESUS!  HE LOVED ME ERE I KNEW HIM AND ALL MY LOVE IS DUE HIM.

Again, “What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me (Psalm 116:12)?” Look, our trials and tribulations along a long and harrowing walking journey that spanned 3.5 years mightily paled in comparison to that of Adnoriam and Ann Judson in 1820s Burma. However, I can truly relate to the words penned by Mrs. Judson in her journal when the LORD turned their captivity:

We now, for the first time, for more than a year and a half, felt that we were free, and no longer subject to the oppressive yoke of the Burmese … For several days, this single idea wholly occupied my mind, that we were out of the power of the Burmese government, and once more under the protection of the English. Our feelings continually dictated expressions like these: What shall we render to the Lord for all His benefits towards us?”

I can’t thankful enough for all the prayers and support of God’s people throughout this long and harrowing work and especially since the Evil One tried to sabotage it back on 11.12.2022. The Lord is faithful and has kept every single promise He gave to me in His Word, not only going back to the starting line at Cape Hatteras, but from the day I got out of jail in Montana. All those promises have come true, and all quite literally. I and my family have so much to be thankful for this THANKSGIVING, and I trust the same can be said for you and your family.

I do want to share about some of those Scriptural promises and about the surprising encounters we had on this last leg of #TheLongWalkUSA with lost sheep from the House of Israel, incredible encounters orchestrated by the LORD, even a most unexpected one in the middle of a redwood grove the day before the finish line. But alas, I’ll save that for the next newsletter.

Please pray for us and our ministry in the coming weeks and for wisdom and direction as we move forward into 2025. The first week of December, Josiah and I will be doing some college campus outreach in Mississippi. I really want to get back on a campuses before the end of the semester, and it will be a joy to join up with some good Mississippi brethren, the same folks who made the long drive out to Madison County to join us in support as we re-started the walk following the hate crime.  One of those brothers, Dr. Coleman Boyd, was among the Christians unjustly charged, tried, and sentenced by the Biden Administration and one of irs puppet judges for singing a hymn in a hallway and loving their unborn neighbors ready to be slain at an abortuary in Nashville, TN. He is currently under unjust “house arrest” but allowed to leave for work. For the Christian missionary, there is always the work of evangelism to be done. So, we greatly look forward to coming alongside those brother in the work of evangelism while before the “house arrest” is up after the first of the year.

Eric Trent continues to be regularly involved in ministry outside local abortion mills as the face of our local church and of FPGM. Please pray for him in this very difficult work. Not all that long ago, the “Google Car” drove by while he and some others from our local church were laboring outside Planned Parenthood in Asheville. On Google Maps, this is what you see for the street view outside this murder mill. That’s Eric circled in yellow, LOL. Thankfully, that wicked place was shut down for weeks following Hurricane Helene, but now, sadly, it has opened back up.

Carter and Bethany are seeking the Lord for direction as to their future Great Commission movements. I’m excited to see where He leads them. I’m also so incredibly thankful for them and never could have completed #TheLongWalkUSA without their help. We shared so many special moments together on this last 1500-mile leg across Washington, Oregon, and Northern California. Getting my feet wet in the Atlantic with my daughter and then getting to do the same in the Pacific will forever be one of my fondest memories.

After the first of the year, I am praying about returning to labor in Israel. I’d love to take my son, Josiah, with me.  Pray for wisdom in this, the Lord’s direction, and His provision.

For now, God has been good to give us a bit of quiet as He gave the land of Judah during the early years of King Asa (II Chronicles 14). It’s the peace and quiet of victory, the peaceable fruit of righteousness at the end of a long trial, and the answer to many, many prayers of the saints. Undoubtedly, more trial and hardship will come; but for now, we breathe easy, rejoicing in the Lord and filled with thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

Jesse Boyd, the Walking Preacher
Full Proof Gospel Ministries