Full Proof Gospel Ministries 2008 Travel Blog

Prayer Coveted at Year’s End

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 17:19:52 -0500

Greetings, dear friends, in the matchless name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the ONLY WAY to heaven (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Hebrews 2:3). After a month of silence from my end, I apologize and trust that all is well for you--that you are being edified and taught by the Holy Spirit in the Word of God, enjoying sweet fellowship with Christian brethren, and eagerly preparing to celebrate the First Advent of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. What better way to celebrate the Incarnation of Almighty God than to be a bold witness for the Gospel Message (i.e. repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ--Acts 20:21). Make the Gospel the topic of conversation this Christmas season, and be willing to take that message with boldness “into all the world” (Mark 16:15).

Speaking of “all the world”, things never quite panned out for another cross-country evangelistic venture this Fall; the Lord led in another direction. For this, we petition your prayers. In January, FPGM will be taking an evangelism team over to Romania, Moldova, and the Ukraine for about three weeks. There, we will be partnering with some local pastors and their church bodies. As is our custom, the time will be spent preaching and witnessing on the streets, distributing Gospel tracts and Bibles, and providing evangelism training in local churches. A mere twenty years ago, it would have been very risky and difficult to do such work in these former Communist-bloc nations, Soviet satellites where Christians once knew real persecution. Today, ironically, there seems to be an openness and a liberty to share the Gospel in this part of the world that, like Nepal and other areas in South Asia, seems to surpass even America. We therefore rejoice in this opportunity.

Here’s how things will break down, subject, of course, to the sovereign hand of Almighty God: On January 7th, Paul Langford (a long-time friend and my martial arts instructor who has labored with me numerous times on the streets here in the Hickory area) and I will be flying into Bucharest, Romania and making our way overland to Cahul in Moldova. For the next week, we will be working with Pastor Anatol Dunas of Emmanuel Baptist Church. We will be engaged in street evangelism, evangelism training, and several martial arts demonstrations at a local Tae-Kwon-Do dojo. Anatol’s brother teaches Tae-Kwon-Do for about 150 students three nights a week. Paul and I will be given the opportunity in this context to conduct a couple of Teashikido (our martial arts style) demonstrations. Teashikido, an eclectic art, is highly influenced by Japanese Aikido and various fighting arts from Okinawa. However, we do share a historical affinity with Che-mu-kwon, a Korean art that is one of the foundational pillars of Tae-kwon-do. Therefore, it can be said that the two styles share a common ancestor. Anyway, the endgame of these demonstrations, having hopefully impressed and sparked the interest of the students, will be to boldly proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Please pray for us in this endeavor: as we train, perform, and proclaim. While Paul and I are in Cahul, we also hope to hit the streets of Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, and target some more remote villages where Pastor Anatol is involved in grassroots church planting work.

On January 14th, we will travel overland back to Bucharest, Romania’s capital. There, we endeavor to engage in a bit of street evangelism. That evening, Jamie (my wife) will be flying in, and she will stay until we both return to America together. Paul Langford will return to the United States on January 15th, and that same day, of team of four from South Dakota (including Jon Lane and Tony Allen, both of whom were part of last year’s Bangladesh Team) will arrive to join Jamie and me. For the next nine days, we will be laboring with Christian brethren in Pucioasa, Romania (a small city about 100km north of Bucharest), the Black Sea port of Odessa in the Ukraine, and places in between. We will also return to Cahul in Moldova to engage in continued work with Pastor Anatol. The South Dakota Team will return to the United States on January 23rd. Jamie and I will remain until January 27th, hoping to make our way down into Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey. Our ultimate objective will be to hit the streets with the Gospel in Istanbul, the ancient city of Constantinople.

Please pray for us in the coming days. This venture is just around the corner, and there remains much planning and preparation to be done. Please pray regarding FPGM’s finances, for the cost of this journey will be great. Pray that the Lord will make provision, not only for us and FPGM, but for those who are making real sacrifices to be a part of the team. We will be carrying a large amount of English, Russian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Greek, and Turkish Gospel tracts with us, as well as English Bibles, some discipleship materials, and supplies specifically requested by some of the brethren with whom we will be laboring. Tracts and Bibles are expensive and hard to obtain in quantity in these poorer Eastern European nations, so the more we can take in, the better. Since our itinerary will involve several international border crossings by land, a large amount of Gospel materials could raise suspicion, so pray that all these make it to their ultimate destinations safely. Also, though these countries are now considered open, at least compared to the state of things under former Communist regimes, there will be a bit of a risk with regard to the type of work we will be doing. Nevertheless, the Great Commission compels us, so pray for our safety and protection. As for Jamie and me, this will be the first time our children will be away from both parents for an extended period of time. Bethany and Charlotte will be left in good hands, but this will be difficult. Pray for us.

Pray for Jon Lane also. His court case regarding that ridiculous arrest on the campus of the University of South Dakota back in November will be taking place the day before he is scheduled to leave with the team. This whole situation has proven a mess for Jon and Shawn, but they have obtained legal representation and hope to see the charges ultimately dropped. Please pray for resolution in this matter and that the legal ramifications will not cause problems for Jon’s upcoming role in Eastern Europe. I understand that the judge presiding over the case is a real jerk, and the state’s attorney has already threatened thirty days in jail (the maximum sentence for the charges brought against them). It seems like some of the “powers that be” desire to make an example out of these bold soldiers of the Lord. Remember, all Jon and Shawn were doing was handing out Gospel tracts to passersby on the campus of a public university. If any of you wrote to the university to voice your concerns back when this happened and received a form response from the president’s office, don’t believe the spin put on the incident. It was complete bogus. There is a video of the entire episode posted online. Click here to see for yourself. Anyway, as many of you made supplication for us regarding the arrest in Hickory last summer, please intercede to the Father on behalf of these brothers. Shawn and his family are currently on the road and have been since the Fall, preaching the Gospel on city streets and college campuses all across America. This incident has been a real headache in the midst of already complex travel plans, but the Gospel has continued to go out as a result of his faithfulness.

Speaking of the arrest in Hickory last summer, Matthew and I have been chosen as some of Hickory’s “People of the Year” for an upcoming annual tribute that will appear in the Hickory Daily Record (Ironic, I would say, considering what went down back in June and July). I am always leery of getting involved with the press, but this will undoubtedly be an opportunity to give God glory and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Pray that we will be faithful to speak these things and not be tempted by the “glory” of having our names in the paper. Pray also that our words will not be twisted and/or taken out of context. We will be interviewed sometime on Monday or Tuesday of next week. Please pray for us.

As the year comes to a close, I think of several who have been connected with Full Proof Gospel Ministries in one form or another. These too are in need of prayer. Please continue to remember the family of Jim Jones who was killed in Grants Pass, Oregon last month. Jim, a bold street evangelist, was run over by a paving truck while out riding his bicycle. He leaves behind a wife and two small daughters. Pray also for Jon Craft, a missionary in Las Vegas with Friends of Israel. He and his wife, Linda, have housed us numerous times on various missionary journeys that took us to and through the streets of Sin City. Jon recently had open-heart surgery after the doctors found a very dangerous aortic aneurysm following a routine physical. Jon is presently healing, but is still experiencing some difficulty. Thank God this was found and treated when it was. Had the worst happened, many elderly Jewish folks in Las Vegas would have been robbed of a dear friend and true servant who labored faithfully to point them to Yeshua HaMessiach (i.e. Jesus, the Messiah). Please pray for the Craft Family in the coming days. Pray also for Bishnu and his family in Nepal. He has faithfully been proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ since I last wrote. Because of some of the financial support that comes from you all and goes his way, he was able to take a small team to a remote part of Western Nepal and preach the Gospel in numerous villages, freely distributing Project Jagerna Scripture portions all along the way. In one locale, eleven people, including an 80-year-old grandmother, forsook their Hindu idols, came to Jesus Christ, and were baptized in an icy-cold river. If it is possible to be envious in a godly sort of way, then that is what I am when I ponder upon things such as this. Oh, I long to return to Nepal--in the Lord’s timing, in the Lord’s timing. Please also pray for Eric Yaqub, a bold brother that I communicate with in Pakistan. His wife is pregnant and has been having some health problems. There has also been some trouble with Muslims. Pray for this brother’s wife, his church, and his boldness. I had the great privilege of praying with him and some of his congregation over the telephone the other day. Next year, Lord willing, I hope to go into Pakistan and labor in partnership with these spiritual brethren.

This year was a busy one that required me to be away from family far longer than I am comfortable. Notwithstanding, much was accomplished, and all the glory be unto the Lord. On the sound advice of many of you, I chose to take a bit of a sabbatical this Fall, limiting my focus to the local area. I tried to stray and throw together a cross-country journey in November, but God knew better, and this never came to pass. For the rest and the pause, I am grateful. It has been good: a bit slow, but good. Now, however, the itching has returned, and there is work to be done. I anticipate 2009 being very busy, and I believe the Lord has much in store. After returning from Eastern Europe, another major endeavor for the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ, much like FPGM’s very first missionary journey, is in the works. The team is being put together even now; my entire family will be involved; and there is much to pray about. Stay tuned for more details. Also, I hope to return to South Asia with my family in the Fall, an extended journey for the sake of Project Jagerna. Please help us commit all these things to prayer. As is customarily the case, events never transpire exactly as they are planned, but a Sovereign God controls all. “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps” (Proverbs 16:9).

Well, I better sign off. Thanks in advance for all your prayers. Stay tuned for updates from Eastern Europe. Again, pray for the team and our upcoming work in Romania, Moldova, the Ukraine, and possibly Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey. Pray that the Lord makes financial provision for FPGM and for all involved. To those who have faithfully supported this ministry with financial sacrifice throughout this year: THANK-YOU. May the Lord reward you richly according to your labor of love.

To all of you: MAY THE LORD BLESS YOU ABUNDANTLY AND EMBOLDEN YOU TO PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST THIS CHRISTMAS SEASON AND INTO THE NEW YEAR.

In closing, consider the words of an old ballad by Scott Wesley Brown:

Who would’ve thought that long ago, so very far away,
A little child would be born, and in a manger lay.
And who would’ve thought this little child was born the King of kings,
The son of just a carpenter, but for whom the angels sing.
And who would’ve thought that as he grew and with other children played,
This child with whom they laughed and sang would die for them someday.
And who would’ve thought this little child could make a blind man see,
Feed the hungry, make rich the poor, and set the sinner free.
And who would’ve thought this little child was who the prophet said,
Would take away the sins of man, and rise up from the dead.

Oh, I believe, and I will always sing: this little child is the King.
Oh, I believe, and I will always sing: this little child, he is the King of kings.

Many years have come and gone, but this world remains the same.
Empires have been built and fallen, only time has made a change.
Nation against nation, brother against brother.
Men so filled with hatred, killing one another.
And over half the world is starving, while our banner of decency is torn.
Debating over disarmament, killing children before they’re born.
And fools who march to win the right to justify their sin,
Every nation that has fallen has fallen from within.
Yet in the midst of this darkness, there is a hope, a light that burns.
This little child, the King of kings, someday will return.

Oh, I believe, and I will always sing: this little child is the King.
Oh, I believe, and I will always sing: this little child, he is the King of kings.

And who would’ve thought this little child was who the prophet said,
Will return to judge this world, the living and the dead.
Oh can’t you see that long ago, so very far away,
This little child, our only hope, was born a King that day.

Grace be with you all,

Jesse Boyd
FPGM HOMEPAGE

How are the Mighty Fallen

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 21:16:12 -0500

Greetings in the name of the Most High. Are you looking for “that blessed hope and the glorious appearing 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 1:13-14)?

This past summer, as Bishnu and I were traveling around America and preaching the Gospel open-air, you might recall the following tidbit from the August 7th email update:

“All that transpired prior to our late-afternoon arrival in Grants Pass, Oregon (a small city we wanted to target with the Gospel) insured our timely meeting with three solid local Christian brothers (Jim, Dave, and Darren) who were out evangelizing the same streets. They stopped at my car to muse over some Scripture magnets; I inquired; we partnered up in Grants Pass. Jim Jones, in particular, had an incredible testimony: Legalistic Seventh-Day Adventist to witchcraft to genuine believer with a heart for bold evangelism. Needless to say, Bishnu and I were greatly edified, and the Gospel did go out on those spiritually dark avenues. There, in the small downtown strip, I saw two witchcraft shops and a pagan temple. We left bold tracts on the front doors of each. Before leaving town, Jim bought us some dinner, and we spent some time together in prayer. As it turned out, he even knew the brothers we previously partnered with down in Las Vegas--a small world. Once again, God stepped in to again remind us that there are yet those all over America who have not bowed the knee to the Baalism of modern-day churchianity. So many followers of Jesus Christ, of like faith and like mind, has the Lord put in our path along this journey. I am humbled and emboldened, and Bishnu continues to rejoice.”

Since that timely meeting, Jim and I have stayed in touch, sharing one another’s newsletters; and I have been encouraged to see the Lord’s doing in and through his boldness. On Thursday (11/13), Jim Jones went home to be with the Lord. He was hit by a paving truck while riding his bicycle near his home in Grants Pass, Oregon. My heart sorrows, but I rejoice to know that this bold servant has seen the Lord face to face. Jim used to be a druid priest and was heavily involved in Wicca before God saved him. Having only spent one afternoon with this brother on the streets, it was plainly evident to Bishnu and me that he was a bold preacher of the Gospel, one of a very small remnant in America. “How are the mighty fallen” (II Samuel 1:19). Jim leaves behind a wife and two young daughters. Please pray for this family. Custom Tract Source, a solid tract printing ministry that FPGM uses on occasion, will be accepting donations for Jim’s family over the next few days, and CTC will MATCH any donation given up to $300. If you would like to help out, they have set up a donation page HERE. Back in August, the Lord put this brother into FPGM’s path at a time when we were battling discouragement with many miles ahead. I wouldn’t ask any of you to help in this situation if I hadn’t personally contributed myself. You can also check out Jim’s webpage: www.fool4given.com. Truly, these circumstances are very, very sad. As I think of all the miles I have pedaled on a bicycle over the years, laboring for the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ, it’s humbling to think that it could have been me. Time is short. Let’s be about the business of the Kingdom: “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light” (Romans 13:11-12).

On another note, the Election has come and gone. The party of Jefferson, Jackson, and Cleveland has become the party of Marx, Lenin, and Mao; and as I awoke the morning after, I found them to have claimed control (At least they think they control whether this country sinks or floats). The party of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and Reagan, on the other hand, forsook its roots in a lust for power and a trampling of values, and now, it finds itself wallowing in obscurity. I cannot help but chuckle, thinking about a scene I pass daily out here in the countryside of Catawba County. There are two outhouses, one stacked precisely on top of the other. The top outhouse has a sign on the front that reads “Politicians.” The sign on the bottom outhouse reads “Voters.” The image conveyed is sad but true? Still, America is not my savior, and she is no better than the rest of the nations of the world that forget God (Psalm 9:17). Judgment cometh swiftly for the country, and real persecution is on the horizon for the Remnant Body of Jesus Christ. Wake up Christians!

Many believers are undoubtedly troubled by the election results, and many other so-called Christians ought to be ashamed of the way they voted on November 4th. Notwithstanding, the words of Daniel 4:17 thunder loudly: “the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.” I have said it before, and I will say it again: politics, political parties, or self-appointed government “messiahs” cannot fix America or any of the other problems that plague a world corrupted by sin and iniquity. The God-ordained way (I Corinthians 1:21) to fight against the evils of this world and this nation is to "Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). When is the last time you made the Gospel of Jesus Christ (i.e. REPENTANCE toward God and FAITH toward our Lord Jesus Christ--Acts 20:21) the topic of conversation with a complete stranger? I trust such is a daily occurrence for you, and that because you believe, you therefore speak (II Corinthians 4:13). A Bible-believing Christian's lifestyle is not his evangelism. Rather evangelism and public proclamation of the Gospel message should be his lifestyle. This is what it is to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 4:31), and this is the scarlet thread that runs throughout the Book of Acts, a record of how the earliest believers understood and carried out the Great Commission.

I believe that two of the Church's biggest problems in America are greed (i.e. money) and lack of persecution. Add to this also the compromise of the Word of God, a watered-down social Gospel, equating worship with feel-good music and trance-like states instead of the proclamation of the Gospel and the discipleship of the believer, failure to be a bold witness, pews full of false converts, and hypocrisy (i.e. claiming to believe the Bible while doing what is right in one's own eyes and promoting much that the Lord hates). All this is a result of and can be adequately summed up as MAN-CENTERED MINISTRY. The New Testament has names for it too: the way of Cain, the error of Balaam, and the gainsaying of Korah (Jude 11). I encourage you to go learn what this means.

Nightly, I read a chapter from the Bible (in Daniel recently) to my four-year-old daughter, and I have been teaching her how to talk to the Lord in prayer. The day after the Election, she prayed these words without my prompting: “Dear Jesus. We will not follow or worship that wicked man. Please help him to repent and follow you. But if not, we will not worship or follow him even if it means we get thrown into a fiery furnace. Amen.” When it comes to who or what she was talking about, I don’t need to mention names. The mind of a child is an amazing thing. Bethany’s words (call it “brainwashing” if you like) only strengthened my resolve: As for me and my house, we will preach the Gospel. And in the spirit of Queen Esther, “if I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16).

But alas, the Church in America is no longer a beacon of light; no longer do the words of righteousness and truth thunder from the pulpits without compromise as they did in bygone days. In other words, the salt has lost its savor. Many churches and many pastors think themselves to take strong enough stands for the Gospel and against the evils of this nation, but the proof is in the pudding. As James said, “shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works” (James 2:18). Let evidence of my indictment come from two angles.

First, I was recently browsing the webpage of a popular mega-church. A presentation of the Gospel wasn’t easy to find, but when I found it, I was shocked. Nowhere in the lengthy diatribe was REPENTANCE even mentioned. I thought God was not willing that any should perish but that all should come to REPENTANCE (II Peter 3:9). Didn’t Jesus say, “except ye REPENT, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3,5)? Isn’t the Gospel REPENTANCE toward God and FAITH toward our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21)? A Gospel without repentance is a false gospel, and false gospels make for false converts. Go see what the Apostle Paul had to say about this in Galatians 1:8-9.

Secondly, I refer back to our arrest for handing out Gospel tracts in Hickory, NC this past summer. There was a remnant body of Bible-believers who came out at subsequent Hickory Alive events to take a stand for the Gospel and support our right to hand out tracts. For that remnant, I was very grateful and remain encouraged. The Lord bless you all! However, when one considers the number of churches in the Hickory area, especially the number of megas that claim to take a bold stand against the evils of this nation, it was troubling to see not a single pastor from the large community churches show their faces on the streets of Hickory as a means to be a bold witness, support persecuted brethren, and take a stand in this so-called democracy against the trampling of Constitutional freedoms and the Gospel message. Why? It’s called the way of Balaam (II Peter 2:15): A CAREER INSTEAD OF A CALL. Numerous times in my ministry, I have had to ask myself the question. Is what I am pursuing a career or a call? I asked myself this question while being beaten in Bhutan; I asked myself this question when a crowd of angry Muslims in South Asia told me that they were going to kill me; I asked myself this question when I was told I was under arrest in Bangladesh; I asked myself this question when the handcuffs were squeezed tightly around my wrists in Hickory’s Union Square. I can only pray my actions and my labor (insignificant and fraught with failure as they may be) shout a clear an unmistakable answer to that question.

In these dark times, the Christian leader has two choices: a call with a limited audience or a career with a limited message. Preaching the whole counsel of God and being a bold witness guarantees the former. Apostasy is the inevitable result of the latter. And apostasy behind the pulpit means apostasy in the church; and as goes the church in America, so goes the country. Is it any wonder why we are where we are today. GOD SAVE THE UNITED STATES.

It’s easy, fellow Christian, to take a bold stand for truth when surrounded by those who agree with you. Charles Spurgeon once wrote, “One of the earliest things a minister should do when he leaves college and settles in a country town or village is to begin open-air speaking . . . No sort of defense is needed for preaching out of doors, but it would need very potent arguments to prove that a man had done his duty who has never preached beyond the walls of his meeting place.” How many of us called to ministry will take this advice? Go preach the Gospel. America may perish, but the truth of the Word of God stands forever.

In closing, I thank God for the Remnant Body of Jesus Christ, those who take a real stand and live it as a bold witness. I think of my former pastor, who recently lost his wife. It was once said of him by a neighbor, “There was never a time that I went up to the hospital or over to the rest home when Pastor Terry wasn’t up there with his wife ministering to someone and sharing the Gospel.” For him, it went well beyond the pulpit. I think of house church elders and leaders of small churches around America whom I have had the privilege of interacting with. Many of these examples put mine to shame. There are the bold street preachers like Shawn Holes and Jon Lane who were recently arrested in South Dakota for simply handing out Gospel tracts on a public university campus (Please continue to pray for these; a court date is set for December 16th. If found guilty, Shawn and Jon could face a hefty fine or up to thirty days in jail. At least this is what the state’s attorney has threatened them with). There are those of you out there who have supported our ministry for years and have partnered with us in prayer and on the streets. There are the faithful who don’t settle for a lifestyle being their witness, but make being a bold witness an all-pervasive part of their lives. And, there are those like James Shelvy Jones who have gone on to be with the Blessed Saviour. Please pray for his wife, Kelly, and his two young daughters who have been left behind in Grants Pass, Oregon. How are the mighty fallen!

If anything, Jim’s passing reminded me that the time is short. There is much work to be done. Pray for FPGM in the coming weeks. There is a little more than a month before Christmas; gas prices our low; and a land in need of the Gospel stretches from sea to shining sea. We are currently seeking divine wisdom on how to proceed.

Grace, Mercy, and Peace,
Jesse Boyd

Sounding Another Alarm

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 21:46:00 -0400

Greetings, dear friends, in the name of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD” (Psalm 33:12). Alas, such is not America in these dark and troubling times. The warnings are clear: “Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34). Even more sobering: “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the NATIONS THAT FORGET GOD” (Psalm 9:17). Thankfully, the United States of America is not my savior and neither are blasphemous and self-proclaimed “messiahs” fraudulently campaigning for political office who profess to represent “change we need.” Ha! The nations of the world are but a drop in the bucket and less than dust before the Judge of the Universe (Isaiah 40:15), and the kingdoms of men in all their glory will be crushed by the Stone cut without hands and scattered like chaff on the summer threshing floor. The Stone, the coming Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, will then fill the earth as a mighty mountain (Daniel 2). Justice, my friends, will be served. Jesus Christ is coming back soon, and boy, is he mad (II Thessalonians 1:7-10). REPENT! GOD SAVE THE UNITED STATES!

The occasion of my writing this night is to sound yet another alarm: our freedoms in this nation are being taken away right under our noses. Yesterday, two close friends who have partnered with Full Proof Gospel Ministries on numerous occasions (Jon Lane of Platte, South Dakota and Shawn Holes of Lake Placid, New York) were arrested in a traditional public forum on the campus of a public university in South Dakota simply for distributing Gospel tracts (University of South Dakota in Vermillion). SMALL TOWN AMERICA, PEOPLE. Like Matthew and me in Hickory, these were charged with trespassing on public property. Jon Lane, being a South Dakota resident, was arrested, formally charged, and then released. Shawn Holes, however, was forced to spend time in jail and made to pay a $150.00 bond for release. Prior to the actual arrest, a “Safety Officer” from the university physically assaulted Shawn, grabbing and breaking his camera. Both of these brothers are gentle and humble spirits who are bold to share their faith. I have spent countless hours with these on the streets, and I am more than confident that both would have handled this situation with respect and decency toward the authorities or offended parties. Check out video footage of the incident to see for yourself. As was the case for me in Hickory, NC, this is a clear case of discrimination against the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and we need to speak out. The funny thing is this: Several years ago, when I pedaled a bicycle across the United States for the Word of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I pedaled through Vermillion, South Dakota and stopped on this very campus. There, I distributed Gospel tracts and witnessed to several students at a street crossing. Of course, I encountered no problems, but as the lyrics of an old Bob Dylan folk song go: “The times, they are a changin’.”

When Matthew and I were arrested in Hickory, it was your voices that ultimately led to the dropping of charges and the freedoms we were able to later enjoy at Oktoberfest. People from all over the area, the country, and the world flooded the relevant authorities in Hickory with emails and phone calls, expressing disdain and concern over what had transpired. I am asking you to do this again on behalf of these brothers. Circulate this information to as many Bible-believing Christians as possible, and let’s flood the contact information posted below with our concerns. I already made relevant phone calls today:

James W. Abbott
President, University of South Dakota
Tel: 605-677-5641
Email: president@usd.edu

Art Mabry
Chief of Police, Vermillion, South Dakota
Tel: 605-677-7070
Email: amabry@vermillionpd.org

Teddi Gertsma
State’s Attorney, Clay County, South Dakota
Tel: 605-677-7107
Email: teddi.gertsma@claycountysd.org

If Christians do not speak out now, while we still have Constitutional Freedoms, Constitutional Law, and an abundance of Case Law in our favor, it will soon be illegal in the United States to proclaim the Gospel. Still, I won’t shut up, and I pray the same will be said for you.
These are decent Christian brothers, my friends, and at least help them out by voicing your concerns. Shawn Holes is an evangelist after my own heart. He travels around America with his wife and two teenage children, sharing the Gospel on the streets of countless American cities. Jon Lane pastors a small church in Corsica, South Dakota that regularly supports our ministry. He has also served with me in Nepal and Bangladesh, and both of us were blacklisted from Bhutan for sharing our faith in that closed country. Your prayers, telephone calls, and emails concerning this matter, a matter that ought to gravely concern all Bible-believing Christians (especially when coupled with numerous other incidents like this all around America), would be most valued. Thanks in advance.
Last weekend, we ended up not attending the Barbeque Festival in nearby Lexington. The weather was lousy and ended up being the determining factor. Please continue to pray for us as we seek out other opportunities to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ with boldness. Lately, I have been pedaling my bicycle all over Catawba County while flying a Christian Flag that reads: “Repent or Perish. Prepare to Meet God.” It only seems appropriate with all the political claptrap in the air. It is almost comical to see those who tout tolerance, tolerance, tolerance get so angry at my flag. Others are encouraged. Today, a car followed me for awhile and then pulled up beside. An elderly lady handed me two twenty dollar bills out the window. I tried to refuse, but she insisted. I promised to use it toward the printing of Scriptures in Nepal. She thanked me for the message and drove on. What a blessing; $40.00 will print almost 300 copies of John/Romans in Nepali. For more information on this work, see Project Jagerna.
After the Election, we are considering a bit of traveling, possibly a jaunt outside of the country. Join us as we pray for wisdom. It’s hard for me to sit still too long when the Gospel needs to be proclaimed and the return of the Lord so near.
If you would like to send a note of encouragement to our brothers who were arrested in South Dakota, here are the email addresses:
Jon Lane: godspromise4us@yahoo.com
Shawn Holes: luketentwo@mac.com
Thanks in the name of the Most High God. Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied” (Jude 2)
Jesse Boyd
P.S. With regard to the upcoming election, I stumbled across a bold and gripping editorial the other day. I must say that I concur with adamance. To see for yourself, CLICK HERE.

Changing Times

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 21:39:06 -0400

Greetings, my friends, in the name of the Most High God, who “ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men” (Daniel 4:17). Brothers and sisters in Christ, let’s not forget this biblical truth come Election Day, regardless of the outcome. The politicians and the news media only THINK it’s up to them whether this country sinks or floats.

The occasion of this update is to announce great victory following Oktoberfest in Hickory two weekends past and the Apple Festival in Taylorsville last Saturday. Psalm 68:11 immediately comes to mind: “The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it.” All the prayers for boldness, an open door, and protection were answered. Thank-you!

Yes, there was triumph as we targeted Oktoberfest Friday evening, all day Saturday, and Sunday afternoon. There was opposition; there were hostile encounters; and very specific threats were made against us and Full Proof Gospel Ministries, but praise be unto the Lord: these did not come from law enforcement or city officials. To sum it up, I will post verbatim what I wrote in a letter to the editor of the Hickory Daily Record last week. Heretofore, the paper has chosen not to print this (Why am I not surprised?):

“I wanted to be the first to commend the Hickory Police Department for the way they conducted themselves throughout Oktoberfest. I and fellow Christians were able to share our faith boldly without incident. Not only did we distribute Gospel tracts, but we exercised our rights to open-air preach from our booth and in the surrounding traditional public forums. Never did the police issue warnings or threats, order us to stop, or tell us to keep moving. In fact, on one occasion, some teenagers were taunting and harassing us. The police made them leave, thereby stepping in to protect US. Apparently, the June 27th incident has served to properly educate the police department, and the city demonstrated this weekend that it would do what it promised in the latest correspondence with our attorney. City Attorney Arnita Dula wrote: ‘The City of Hickory recognizes the rights of the Boyds and others to engage in freedom of speech activities at Union Square and other public forums within the City of Hickory and will diligently work to ensure those rights are protected.’ Thank-you, Hickory Police Department, for respecting our freedoms this past weekend at Oktoberfest and for allowing us to openly and publicly proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are also most appreciative for your efforts to protect us throughout the festival . . . Going forward, as a result of this weekend, I feel much more comfortable that our First Amendment rights will be protected in Hickory, North Carolina; and other Christians in the area should be able to say the same. Of course, we and the Alliance Defense Fund will continue to maintain vigilance . . . I do think it a bit ironic and humorous: Mayor Wright made the statement back in July that if the City backed down from the charges against my brother and me, ‘we will get street preachers down there.’ Such nonsense only emboldens believers, and this weekend, there were numerous Bible-believing Christians who attended Oktoberfest and exercised their right to open-air preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Most of these were people I did not even know, and as a result, I have some new friends. Thanks, Mayor Wright. You are going to get street preachers down there, and now, it appears that the City will honor and respect our freedom of speech. This is cause for rejoicing . . . Of course, the matter still remains to be completely resolved. D.A. Gaither assured our attorney that our records will be expunged by the State, but there has been no confirmation that this has transpired. Soon, I have to apply for renewed visas to India, so I hope those involved pick up the pace with this matter. An arrest record could pose a problem with me gaining permission to return to India and continue the Bible printing and distribution work we have going on there and in Nepal . . . Anyway, I would like to see a follow-up story on this matter that expresses my appreciation for the way the Police Department handled itself this weekend and affirms the confidence we have regained in the City.”

Friends, I still go back to all the phone calls and emails that flooded the police department and the mayor’s office following our June 27th arrest. Christian people spoke up; the city backed down; and a door of opportunity for the Gospel of Jesus Christ has apparently been swung wide open. Thank-you. Believe it or not, the people still have a voice in this down-spiraling nation we call the “Land of the Free.”

At Oktoberfest, things began with an unexpected blessing. The booth reserved by New Testament Christian Fellowship, a local house church that often partners with FPGM, was originally to be located in a lonely corner that would see little traffic. When we arrived to set things up, however, it had been moved to a decent thoroughfare right across from the Democrat Party booth. Needless to say, our message did not go over too well with these, but all weekend, we did at least have an audience of one. A large life-sized cardboard rendition of Barack Obama stood staring at us the whole time, and he didn’t say much. Seriously, the location was perfect, and we were able to distribute loads of Gospel tracts and preach open-air to decent crowds who would stop to listen. We also displayed some pretty controversial banners and placards in hopes of pricking people’s consciences before Election Day. Consider a few:

-God Save the United States!

-In God’s Court, Abortion is Murder, and to Vote Pro-Choice Makes You a Guilty Accomplice.

-Attention all liars, thieves, blasphemers, athiests, homosexuals, Mormons, false teachers, cheaters, Jehovah’s Witnesses, hypocrites, adulterers, lesbians, murderers, backbiters, gossips, racists, false teachers, perverts, fornicators, humanists, idolaters, etc . . . JUDGMENT IS COMING. Repent & Trust Christ.

-This Moral Wrong (Showing graphic photos of an abortion) Should Never be a Constitutional Right!

-Voting Pro-Choice is a Sin Against God!

-Religion Leads to Hell. Trust Jesus Christ!

-The Party in Hell has been Cancelled Due to the Fire.

-Repent or Perish!

The graphic anti-abortion signs proved very offensive, even from so-called “Christians.” Many times I heard: “Children shouldn’t have to see this.” I would simply respond: “Our government should not allow this, and women should not do this.” It’s simply amazing to me: In our “church-going” culture, it’s OK for children to play all kinds of violent video games and watch savage movies and television programs, but God forbid they should have to see what real abortions (that actually happen in our society more than 400 times a day) look like. Truly, “judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street” (Isaiah 59:14). People need to be confronted with the horrible reality of abortion in America. Perhaps then, they will think twice before burying their heads in the sand. As mentioned before, there were some threats made against the house church and FPGM, some specifically relating to the IRS and hate crimes. Please pray for us. There was a day and a time when such threats carried absolutely no weight. Those days are gone. It’s funny: the Liberal Left touts tolerance, tolerance, tolerance. In truth, ‘tis for all but the Bible-believing Christian. There were those out there who literally wanted to see me dead; I promise you that. Even now, Bob Dylan’s words from a 60’s folk song are coming to mind: “The times, they are a changing.”

Not all was hostile. There were many positive encounters, and numerous Christians encouraged us stand firm. The abortion signs allowed us to talk to a lot of curious teenagers, and this issue served as a great bridge to the Gospel message. Kent Blalock and I preached open-air a lot using the paintboard, and many would stop to listen, even if only for a couple of minutes. Tracts & Gospels of John went out in abundance. I particularly remember one young man--Forrest. He had seen my sister walking around with a true but controversial sandwich board on Saturday and had tried to catch up with her. His effort failed, so on Sunday, he came looking for that particular placard. I questioned putting that sign up Sunday morning and prayed about it. Fear sparked my hesitancy, but I put it out anyway. All day, there was great opposition, but at the end of the day, Forrest stopped in. What transpired was a good conversation involving a confused young man open to the Gospel. In the end he took a tract and displayed conviction. He said, “The only reason I stopped to talk to you was because of that sign. I was looking for that sign, and if it had not been up, I would not have had this conversation.” Please pray for Forrest’s salvation. In this, I learned a valuable lesson: We need not be afraid of blunt truth; the LORD will use it despite the overwhelming opposition of man. As David said in the Psalms, “I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about” (Psalm 3:6).

On Friday and Saturday evenings, after shutting down the booth, a group of us men would go out into the crowds to preach and sign hymns from the street corners, distributing even more Gospel tracts and Scripture portions. I can honestly say that things are more orderly and calm in the Castro District of San Francisco on a Friday or Saturday night (I used to hit that neighborhood with the Gospel a lot) than what we encountered in the “quiet little town” of Hickory. There was only one way to describe it: SHEER RAUCOUSNESS, a microcosm of Sodom & Gomorrha.
The times, they are a changing.

Down in the “beer garden,” a Jehovah’s Witness tried to sabotage the preaching, drunks cussed us out, and many mocked the Word of God. Interestingly, we set up shop right beside the Hickory Jaycees booth (Remember them from Hickory Alive), and these said nothing. Because of the Christian Law Association and the Alliance Defense Fund, I presume they knew better. Praise the Lord! Even in the midst of all this, some listened, others thanked us for our boldness, and fruitful conversations went into clear presentations of the Gospel message. Names fail me, but numerous faces come to mind. Again, thanks for your prayers.

Another interesting twist to the weekend: It wasn’t only those “crazy fanatics Matthew and Jesse Boyd and Kent Blalock” out there “ranting and raving.” Other bold believers of like faith and like mind showed up to proclaim the Word of God. Two young men who live just a few miles down the road from me and a couple families from Albemarle were also busy about the Lord’s work, and we ended up partnering together. So, out of a tough but victorious weekend, we now have new friends. importantly, the Lord again demonstrated: “I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal” (Romans 11:4). Even in the midst of this darkness, there remains a faithful remnant. Regardless of what happens in America on November 4th, we can take solace in this. Be strong, my friends: “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression”
(Isaiah 58:1). They may maim and kill our bodies; but they cannot take our lives and truth cannot be stanched.

Here is a glorious note that made all the opposition worthwhile: On Saturday night, near a busy street corner, as we preached and the multitudes mocked, Stephen, a young Hispanic, knelt down in the grass and cried out to the Lord to save him. No, we did not have him repeat a prayer after us. We preached, he listened, his friends left, he clave to us, the LORD saved him. Please pray for this young man going forward. Too many churches, ministries, and so-called Christian still have not realized what Jonah came to learn in the belly of the whale: “Salvation is of the LORD” (Jonah 2:9). Salvation can only come when God acts (John 6:44), and when He does, not even the mockery of friends, the chaos of a crowd, and the cussing of church-goers can stop a soul coming to repentance. Ironically, several fights broke out in the street around this time, and the police soon thereafter shut the entire festival down early. The Lord’s timing was perfect.

Relish a few other scenarios from the weekend:

-Two “Christians”, having just left church and sporting shirts and ties, cussed us out on Sunday afternoon concerning our signs. I thought the one “Christian” was going to punch by brother.

-A group of believers gathered near us on Friday night as we preached and lifted us up in prayer. They stuck around for moral support and encouragement, and we all prayed together before going home.

-When confronted with the Gospel, countless “Christians” replied: “I go to church every Sunday” or “I am a good person.” Sheer profundity!

-Young volunteers at the Democrat Party booth voiced shame that our “brianwashed” children were “being forced” to hand out Gospel tracts. I replied, “We brainwash them after they’re born; you murder them before they’re born, right?”

-The favorite Scripture passage of the lost man, Matthew 7:1 (taken out of context, of course), was told to us on many an occasion.

-Three young men that I used to teach at a local Christian high school saw us preaching and were encouraged.

-A Catholic man from Catawba hung around us most of the day on Saturday. He listened to many an open-air sermon, and before we parted ways, he said that he would be leaving the false religious system of the Roman Catholic Church. I’m not 100% sure, but it seemed as if he got saved. The Lord knoweth.

-My four-year-old daughter and Matthew’s three-year-old daughter cried and could not understand why people would yell horrible things at there daddies.

Wow, I could go on and on about Oktoberfest. There was great victory, and the Lord answered our prayers and yours. The Hickory Police Department demonstrated that they would respect our freedom of speech; many heard the Word of God; a soul got saved; and we were counted worthy to suffer shame for the Saviour (Acts 5:41). What more can be said? Words cannot express how thankful I am for your prayer support.

This past weekend, having been stirred because of the triumph at Oktoberfest, we hit the Apple Festival inTaylorsville, a yearly event that draws 20,000 people. I was stunned by the crowds who showed up on the main street of this small hill town. Anyway, a group of us Christians, along with the believers from Albemarle we met at Oktoberfest, joined forces; and again, the Word went out in abundance. Loads of Gospel tracts were distributed; we open-air preached with the paintboard; and once more, we displayed the convicting abortion signs. Things started when we found a perfect spot near a grassy median that saw lots of foot traffic. After praying about it, we then planted ourselves there for the entire day. Only later did we discover that we were again across from the Democratic Party booth. Ironic? I promise this was not on purpose, and again, some of those people got pretty angry.

Sadly, the woman in charge of the festival tried to shut us down and got the local police and the county sheriff involved. She raved about the abortion signs, all the while spouting that she was a “Christian.” We actually have a little video footage of this: CLICK HERE. My brother is the one holding the abortion sign, and that is my mother in front holding Charlotte. Notice the sheriff telling us that we will be going to jail and then “refusing to argue” when questioned about what law we are breaking. Then, you see me come in and try to show him the letters from our attorney sent to the City of Hickory concerning this same type of matter and outlining Constitutional Law. He refused to look at them. This is “freedom” in America, my friends. Christians, WAKE UP! This footage is surreal and almost entertaining, especially the festival organizer ranting and raving about being a Christian. The city manager gets involved as well (man with sunglasses and plaid shirt). You cannot hear it, but he told Matthew that we could not display that sign. If you want to see the actual sign that caused such a stir and read an accompanying article that I wrote several years ago concerning the Abortion Holocaust in America, CLICK HERE. Also, visit www.abortionno.org. CAUTION: what you will see on that website is gut-wrenching, vomit-inducing, frightening, and legal in the United States. Who will speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves? Why would we display graphic signs such as this? The answer is simple: When abortion is hidden, it is tolerated. When abortion is seen in its real horror, everything changes.

Back to Taylorsville: We stood our ground, and in the end, the city manager backed off and issued us a permit, claiming that we were a “parade or public demonstration.” He even claimed that an individual needed a permit to share his faith in the town of Taylorsville. Because they issued us the permit, we chose not to fight this battle so the Gospel could continue to go out.However, issuing the permit took an ungodly amount of time, and during the interim, police officers formed a human chain and stood in front of my brother to keep people from seeing the abortion signs. It was comical. When he would move, they would follow. I will have to give the local police chief credit though. He went to bat for us with the city manager and got them to agree to issue us a permit. He then called the dogs off and made the woman in charge of the festival leave us alone. He understood the law, and I praised the Lord for his intervention. Once this was settled, the preaching went on long into the afternoon. We got to speak with a lot of young women about the horrors of abortion; many received Gospel tracts; and a lot of Christians expressed encouragement about our bold stand. In fact, when I finished up preaching with the paintboard on one occasion, a man from a nearby food vendor brought me a tasty fresh fish sandwich. He said, “Thanks for what you are doing. Eat this for some strength.” All in all, ‘twas a good day.

Before leaving, the woman in charge of the festival promised that we would not be allowed back there nextyear. She claimed that the city would be putting a clear law into their ordinance to prevent us from doing what we were doing. She also paid us what I considered to be a huge compliment: “We have been warned about you people and know all about you from other festivals.” Kent and I traded high-fives. Praise the Lord!

Ironically, looking back, the crowds mostly appreciated our presence out there. The only real opposition came from the Democratic Party booth, the festival organizer, and the town manager. Though the Lord did give us victory in Taylorsville, and though the preaching was allowed to continue, the town manager and his cronies made some very dangerous statements to us, the effects of which are chilling. Has the day come when one needs a permit to offer a tract to someone or share his faith with a passerby? Is it OK for law enforcement to preemptively arrest when no law is being broken? Is it satisfactory that law enforcement officers don’t know the law or the U.S. Constitution and claim that it is the court’s job to figure it out? The times, they are a changing.

Friends, last time your voice was a powerful component that led to victory in Hickory. I again call on you to voice your opinions regarding this matter with the Town Manager of Taylorsville. Let’s hold these officials accountable. Please flood Mr. David Odom’s office with phone calls or emails demanding that Christians have the freedom to share their faith in his town going forward, and that permits are not necessary for voicing opinion. We believe your help in this matter will help protect our freedoms and those of other believers in the future. With or without a festival, we have been known to hit the streets in Taylorsville and plan to do so again. Will we have the freedom to share the Gospel with the lost apart from city government harassment? Here is the relevant contact information:

David Odom, Town Manager
Tel: 828-632-7964
Email: townmanager@taylorsvillenc.com

Also, you may want to join us in thanking Police Chief Tony Jones for his role in protecting our freedoms last weekend. I am convinced that if he had not gone to bat for us, the town manager would have shut us down, and the preaching would have been stopped. Many would have not then heard the Word of God that afternoon. Here is Chief Jones’ contact information:

Tel: 828-632-2218
Email: policechief@taylorsvillenc.com

Believers from all over North Carolina, the United States, and the world spoke out last time. Please help us do it again. Pass this around like you did before. Thanks, and TO GOD BE THE GLORY.

Wow! The last two weeks have been a roller-coaster. Please continue to lift us and this ministry up in prayer. And, thanks to all of you out there who have been a source of financial support. Without such partnership, we would not be able to target all these cities, towns, and nations with the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. The victory is not only ours, it is yours, and it is the LORD’s.

I recently heard from Bishnu, FPGM’s national partner in Nepal. He, too, targeted a festival up on the Tibetan border with some fellow believers. And, it was monthly financial support sent to FPGM for him from a small New Mexico body of believers that allowed him to finance this trip and cover the expenses of the poor believers who accompanied him. Thanks First Baptist in Des Moines. I will let you read his story as it was reported to me (Remember, English is Bishnu’s second language):

“Thank you very much for your prayer. God helped us to glorify Him. I didn't leave to Tatopani until Saturday Morning. But God provided us, four people, one of them is a very you young brother in Christ, a private van, of course expensive, which did put us there at 10:15 am. Then we went to the border of Tibet and then started distributing Gospel of John from the border after dedicating ourselves in His almighty hands. We distributed 720 Gospel of John and 500 other tracts. It was good to reach the police officers who were in duty in that one of the most corrupt areas of the country. I'd taken three boxes of Gospel of John which was obviously more than needed in that small area. But God had different plan. When I reached a man in a bus, he happened to be a believer from a remote area of Mid western part of the country. He asked for some tracts and I could give him a box of Gospel of John. Actually, he'd just started a ministry in his village. He was very happy and it was amazing to see the way God works. Then we walked down almost 4 miles to reach every house on the both sides of the road. The festival was quite small but we could reach all the people. I'd taken some gospel VCD's and were distributed. As soon as we ran out of the tracts, we found a bus to KTM but was full inside and on the roof. We'd to leave that bus. Then God provided us a private van returning empty to KTM. So God provided us and kept us in that dangerous road. We praise the Lord after we got home at 7:30 pm. There were some intimidation from the local young people who seemed punk. Some said that Bible should be read whole not only a part, otherwise you'd be insane. Some said that the tract should not be taken otherwise you've to copy that as much as you can and distribute them. These are some of the false statements the hindus had preached against Christianity. But we could continue Father's work and give him glory. It was very good time to share the Gospel to the driver when returning back to KTM. I gave him a VCD and some chick tracts. Please pray for the seeds that they bear fruit.”

Such a story has me spiritually salivating again for Nepal. Please pray that the Lord will provide so I and my family can return there next year. There is much Project Jagerna work to be done.

Pray also for us next weekend. We may be hitting another festival in Lexington, North Carolina. The BBQ Festival has been known to draw anywhere from 250,000 to half a million people. Pray that the Word of the Lord goes forth boldly and that we are protected from the police. Wait a minute . . . I actually find myself asking prayer for protection from the police here in America. I thought only believers in places like Bhutan, Soviet Russia, Darfur, Iran, parts of India, Nepal, and Central Asia had to do this.

The times, they are a changing . . .

. . . but we WILL NOT cease to preach and teach Jesus Christ (Acts 5:42). He is the only hope for America and the world

Earnestly contend for the faith (Jude 3)!

Peace be with you all,

Jesse Boyd
Full Proof Gospel Ministries

FPGM HOMEPAGE

To Sigh and to Cry

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:25:09 -0400

Greetings, beloved, from the midst of a crooked and perverse nation amongst whom this ministry is trying to shine as an unquenchable proclaimer of truth. May the same be said for you and yours (Philippians 2:15). We are living in strange and crazy times, my friends, and I am quite confident that things will only wax worse. Like Judah and Jerusalem of old, America now declares its sin as Sodom and no longer even tries to hide it. The Creator is clear: “Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves” (Isaiah 3:9). Whatever transpires in the coming month, on November 4th, and in the years to come, America certainly deserves it (Psalm 9:17). Assuredly, persecution and troubling times will weed the plethora of false Christians out from the true believers, and we shall see that only a small remnant remains. As Jesus commanded in His Olivet Discourse in Mark 13, we must watch and pray. Endure (Mark 13:13; I Peter 2:19), “earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the saints” (Jude 3), speak the Word of God with increased boldness (Acts 4:31), and “be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life” (Revelation 2:10). As for me and my house, we will not shut up, we will not cease preaching Jesus Christ as the ONLY WAY to heaven. And as Esther said before going in unannounced to the king’s court to plead for her people: “If I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16).

PLEASE PRAY FOR US THIS WEEKEND (October 10-12). FPGM, in partnership with a local house church (New Testament Christian Fellowship) will be targeting Oktoberfest, a rather large street festival centered in Union Square in downtown Hickory, North Carolina. We have rented out a booth, but those in charge have stuck us in a corner where there will be little traffic (purposefully, I presume). Therefore, we will be going out into the streets to distribute Gospel tracts, open-air preach with the paintboard, and display signs addressing the need for repentance in America and the issue of our nation’s abortion holocaust. Given what occurred in Hickory back on June 27th, we still do not completely feel that our First Amendment rights will be protected. After all, the June 27th arrest is not completely resolved. Our records still have not been formally expunged (as promised by the City District Attorney), and the chilling statements made by city officials and Hickory’s Police Chief in a July 13th, Hickory Daily Record article have still not been rescinded or addressed to our satisfaction (For more information on the chilling nature of these statements, see Dangerous Statements out of Hickory). However, upon issuance of a demand letter by our attorneys from the Alliance Defense Fund, the city responded by stating “The City of Hickory recognizes the rights of the Boyds and others to engage in freedom of speech activities at Union Square and other public forums within the City of Hickory and will diligently work to ensure those rights are protected.” This statement is encouraging, but I still go back to the comments about the appropriateness of the police actions that night made by city officials and put out in the press. Please continue to pray for us in this matter and for the freedom of believers to share their faith in our small town. How we are treated this weekend will be a real test to see if the above assurance is true. More importantly than this, however, is that we have a unique opportunity to the proclaim of the Gospel message, the only hope in this vain existence (Ecclesiastes 12:8), before crowds of people from the local area. Please pray that many will hear and be open to the truth this weekend; pray that many Gospel tracts go out; and pray that we will have the boldness to preach in love and with conviction, motivated by a compassion for the lost and the horrible reality of hell (Jude 22-23).

Because of the upcoming election, we do plan to draw attention to America’s abortion holocaust by displaying graphic signs and urging people to vote pro-life at Oktoberfest. This horror easily bridges to the Gospel, and I sense that the Lord is leading FPGM to be more vocal about this issue as we consistently go out into the streets here in the United States. Please pray for us as we continue to seek guidance in this matter. I have said it before, and I will say it again (even if it costs this ministry support):

In God’s court, abortion is murder, and if you vote pro-choice in this upcoming election, you are a guilty accomplice. In other words, to vote pro-choice is to sin against God and makes you pro-abortion. As a representative of a non-profit organization, I run the risk of compromising our tax-exempt status if I mention or endorse candidates (Thankfully, the Alliance Defense Fund, the same legal organization that defended us in the Hickory Arrest incident, is currently battling this infringement on First Amendment Rights), but in this case I need not say a word. The choices are clear in our national elections and in many of our state and local elections. When you go to the polls in a few short weeks, please do not stop your ears to the cries of millions of the slaughtered unborn--their blood, like that of Abel, crying out to God from the ground. In my opinion, if a political race in your area does not offer the option of a candidate who stands for the unborn, you are better off to cast no vote at all. After all, if you as a believer cannot vote on biblical principle, what is the purpose in voting at all? Woe unto America, for we “have filled this place with the blood of innocents” (Jeremiah 19:4).

For more of my thoughts on America’s abortion holocaust, please CLICK HERE and scroll down to my appropriate commentary. Oftentimes we Christians, not understanding or shielded from the brutal realities of abortion, are prone to sweep this indictment against our nation under the rug or pretend that it doesn’t even exist. If you dare, visit www.abortionno.org and watch the video that appears on the front page. If you can watch this and still vote pro-choice on November 4th, you need to repent and be born again.

In Ezekiel 9, God shows the prophet divine judgment upon the city of Jerusalem. Six beings were sent out into streets, each with a slaughter weapon in his hand and one with a writer’s inkhorn by his side. The one with the inkhorn was told to go throughout the city “and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof” (9:4). These would be spared. Those without the mark were to be slain without pity, beginning with the religious elders who should have known better. God would judge the houses of Israel and Judah, His eye would not spare. Only those who sighed and cried for the iniquities of the land would escape. “And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me” (9:11). Do you sigh and cry for the abominations done in the government halls, the streets, and the CHURCHES here in America? Would the man with the writer’s inkhorn put a mark upon your forehead?

Be reminded: God loves not only loves the unborn in the womb, He loves the spiritually unborn, so much so that He gave His only begotten Son as the sole means to eternal salvation (Acts 4:12). “Ye must be born again” (John 3:7). You must not forget that the channel of God’s love for the world is Jesus Christ. Outside of Christ, white-hot wrath is reserved. “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation” (Hebrews 2:3)?

Since my last update, things have been a bit quiet for Full Proof Gospel Ministries. It has been good to have quality time with my family, to pray about the Lord’s direction, and to replenish our supply of Bibles and Gospel tracts. Please pray for us as we continue to seek wisdom about the next steps in our efforts to make the Gospel of Jesus Christ an unavoidable issue for as many people as possible all around the world and just around the corner. Our focus is the 75-55 window (i.e. from Tierra del Fuego to lands above the Arctic Circle). FPGM has proclaimed the Gospel in the northern and southern extremes of this window, but there are many places in between, and we will go wherever the Lord opens a door of opportunity. Recently, I have been asked to come work with some local believers in Liberia (a not-so-stable place in West Africa) and in Pakistan. Right now, these trips seem financially unfeasible, but the Lord never guides where He does not provide. We are also facing a longer-term return to South Asia sometime next year as our help is needed on the ground in Kathmandu with Project Jagerna. Updating expired passports and visas for my family will be a logistical nightmare as will the expenses of such a venture. Please pray for us in this matter as well. I am also contemplating another bicycle journey in the Spring and targeting some American cities and college campuses this winter. Simply put, there is a lot to ponder upon for the present, and we need to be “understanding what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:17). Finances are an issue in these economically tough times, so please join us in praying that the Lord continues to make provision for the work of this ministry. He has always proven Himself faithful.

Locally, this past month has proven fruitful. I was able to share at a missions conference, conduct an evangelism training at a local church, and ship a whole lot of Bibles to folks in response to requests from around the world. On FPGM’s website, we offer to send a free KJV Bible and some Gospel tracts to any who are interested. I never expected that this offer, a bit tucked away in the website, would generate responses from people all over the globe. FPGM has been able to send Bibles and Gospel tracts to eight foreign countries and to a few locales here in America. Sometimes, we naively think that people have access to the Scriptures if the Bible was at one time translated into their native tongue. This is sheer naivete. Even the English Bible, which I have discovered many prefer, is not readily available in many places. Truly the famine spoken of in Amos 8:11-12 is upon us. The Bible societies have failed to do their job, and sadly, many have allowed themselves to be motivated and corrupted by profit (Our situation last year with the Norwegian Bible Society and the Saami translation of the Bible is proof of this). But, that’s another topic for another day. Recently, I received a letter from Nigeria with a list of 120 names attached. It claimed that the message in one of our tracts, possibly “Haven’t You Heard”, was read online and passed around at the University of Ibadan. As a result, the letter claims, 120 people gave their hearts to Christ. The letter then begged me to send 120 complete English Bibles as the new Christians could not obtain them in their country. Of course, I was not able to send that many due to lack of supply and the incredible expense of postage for such a number. Though admittedly a bit skeptical, I did send six copies and a bunch of tracts. Not too much later, I was surprised to receive correspondence sincerely thanking me for the materials and affirming that the greatest problem for believers in Nigeria is a “lack of Bibles.” I also recently sent some Bibles to Ghana upon a specific request, and now, every Christian the guy knows, it seems, is writing asking for Bibles. I simply cannot keep up with the requests coming in and really hate to turn down anyone, but the postage is costing an arm and a leg. I was able to restock our Bible supply just today, and I am praying about how to proceed in this ministry. As things stand now, we cannot financially continue to keep up with these requests. Pray for us. There is truly a famine for hearing and obtaining the Word of God, and people are hungry all over the world. Notwithstanding, it has been interesting to see how a website can be used for the glory of God and as a means to reach people with the Gospel in the strangest of locales. Praise the Lord!

Bishnu has been busy in Nepal proclaiming the Gospel since his return home after a summer of ministry here in America. Here are a couple of recent reports in his own words from Kathmandu:

“First of all I would like to thank God Almighty for His faithfulness. And I would like to thank you for your prayer support. Yesterday, Friday 19 Sep, God led us to Ratnapark where we were persecuted and chased away by a angry mob and one of our friends was severely beaten up. Yesterday was the day to follow up the same place with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and blunter message of salvation. Yes, I with brother Laxmi went to Ratnapark and right after asking God for boldness and word to preach, I started to preach the truth of Sin, its wages, punishment and the way of escape God had provided through His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. My message was like this, "I'm here to preach the truth not for me but for your benefit. The Bible says: the wages of sin is death, not only the physical death, but also the spiritual death. Yes, sin is dragging you to the hell and you are going to die twice if you die in your sin. Sin is to lie, steal, covet, commit adultery etc. But God doesn't want you to perish in hell for ever where the fire is never quenched. So He provided a sacrifice for you and He is Lord Jesus Christ who came in this earth, lived a perfect, sinless life and died in the cross for our sins. Now you've two options: Either you've to pay for your own sins or you can accept the sacrifice Jesus gave on the cross was for your sins and He died for you and as you. Beware, if you die tonight would you be in heaven or in hell? Who'll pay for your sins? If you die in your sins, you're going to parish for ever. I've a book for you. It's free and it shows you the way God had provided. Take and read, its for free." People came and took copies of Gospel of John for themselves. We distributed 550 Gospel of John and 300 other tracts. One man asked for a Bible and I gave one. Also one English Bible was given to a person who was desperately searching for it. Four boxes of Gospel of John and Romans (almost 1000 copies) with other hundreds of tracts were supplied to two village pastors from Chitwan and Tanahu.”

“Thank you again for your prayer. Last week was also very good for the outreach. I went to a house of a government officer to bluntly share the gospel, with some people from my church. After sharing the Gospel comparing with the Hindu context, I gave each member a copy of J/R. I'm going to Pokhara tomorrow to meet up our families. I went to buy the bus tickets and the guy asked me that how I was going to celebrate the Dashain. Then I told expressly that I was a Christian and I bluntly share the Gospel which after I gave him a copy of J/R. Also last Friday, five of us went to Thamel to share the Gospel and to hand out the tracts. We gave out more than 800 tracts including 630 of Jagerna publications. I personally share the Gospel to three foreigners and gave out some tracts. Also I could declare to those rejecting the tracts that "Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven. Repent of your sins and believe in good news." It was very exciting and we came back home late evening. Also Saturday morning, I could share the gospel with the taxi drivers we hired to go to and come from the Church, and I gave them each a copy of J/R. God is good and he helped us to do all these things. Praise the Lord!”

Please continue to pray for Bishnu and his family and our Project Jagerna work in Nepal. Soon, we hope to be printing Gospels of Mark. Presently, our printing funds are nearly exhausted, but we trust the Lord will provide. Our mission with Project Jagerna is to preserve the pure Word of God for the Nepali people through translation, publication, and free distribution. This, of course, involves targeting Nepalis who live in Nepal and those who reside elsewhere. Recently, I was overjoyed to receive a request for Nepali Scriptures from a believer in Spokane, Washington. Apparently, about 21 Nepali families live in the area. My understanding is that a few of these have become Christian and are now involved in a small-group Bible study but are having trouble understanding the Scriptures in English. To make a long story short, the man who contacted me was doing an online search for Nepali Bibles, and FPGM’s website came up. Thankfully, Bishnu brought copies of John/Romans to me here in America when he visited this summer. Thus, I was able to send 50 copies out to Spokane, not only for the Nepali believers participating in the above mentioned Bible study (which just happens to be in the Gospel of John), but so that each Nepali living in the Spokane area can receive one. Again, our website proved its value, and I am humbled.

Well, I better wrap things up. Oktoberfest starts this afternoon, and I need to prepare. Please pray for us. and pray for our nation. I believe dark days are coming, and the Remnant Body of Jesus Christ will need to stick together and be bold witnesses as all the “securities” we have so long taken for granted crumble around us. This election, I believe, is key. Let’s see what happens and be prepared to suffer persecution. King Nebuchadnezzar learned a hard lesson in the Book of Daniel. God laid him flat on his face (Daniel 4) “till he knew that God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will” (Daniel 5:21). In this proclamation is comfort for the believer regardless of the outcome on November 4. Don’t forget it. Daniel reminded Belshazzar, Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson, of this in Daniel 5 as the king was forced to deal with “Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin” written on the wall. America, too, is weighed in the balances and found wanting. GOD SAVE THE UNITED STATES!

Fight the good fight of faith, and lay hold on eternal life.

Jesse Boyd
Full Proof Gospel Ministries

FPGM HOMEPAGE

Go West Young Men!

Thu, 7 Aug 2008 13:29:49 -0400

Greetings, friends and loved ones, in the name of the Most High God, “who created all things by Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 3:9). May you all “know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God” (Ephesians 3:19). Man, my time in Ephesians 2-3 was good this morning, right here in the high desert pines of Eastern Oregon as a thunderstorm approached.

It has been a little over two weeks since I last wrote, and then, Bishnu and I were preparing to leave Capulin, New Mexico, our gaze sighted west. Since, the call from our Lord has been “Go west young men!” Much has happened for the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ. Thanks immensely for your prayers.

NOTE: If you haven’t yet perused my open letter to the City of Hickory and its officials concerning dangerous statements made about our recent arrest, please follow this link: DANGEROUS STATEMENTS OUT OF HICKORY. Your response to the city contacts provided in this letter would be most appreciated. We are still weighing our options in this matter.

Back to the recap: From Capulin, BK and I could not decide whether to head for Las Vegas via New Mexico or Colorado. We sought for the Lord’s direction, and as the moment came for me to choose I-25 North or South in Raton, NM, I was distracted by an important telephone call. Inadvertently, or so I thought, I turned north. The decision was made before I even realized it, and our path took us across the San Juans in Southern Colorado. Later, the Lord made it clear that He was behind this (Isaiah 55:8-9). In the town of Alamosa, CO we stopped to cook lunch in a city park and do a bit of witnessing. We gave out some tracts to those who I thought would reject (How much a respecter of persons I often find myself ashamed to be--James 2:9). These did not. Then, there was Juray, a young lady we saw sitting alone and obviously depressed. This turned out to be a divine appointment, for the woman listened with intent as I laid a foundation in Creation, the Fall of Man, and the Law of God written on the human conscience. I then proclaimed repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ. She took a tract and a Gospel of John; I prayed with her; and as we drove off in the little Subaru, I saw her reading with ambition. Please pray for Juray’s salvation. Our work in Alamosa was done, a single divine appointment perhaps.

Our path next took us up into the San Juan Mountains to the same locale where I almost got struck by lightning in an apocalyptic Colorado thunderstorm and got my rental car soundly stuck in the mud far from civilization last August. You may remember the epic. Anyway, we returned to the Lake City area, scattered a few seeds, and the Lord allowed us to summit the Wetterhorn, a Colorado Fourteener. This involved miles of dirt road where I was thankful for all-wheel-drive and high clearance. As I passed by the spot where the little rented Dodge was stuck last August, memories of David from Iran, those two rock climbers, and the Lord’s deliverance from tribulation flooded my mind. “O taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8). The climb was a real slog, but it was nice to camp in a mountain meadow and place the Gospel in the summit register. Bishnu, who has very little experience in such things, did quite well on Class 3-4 exposed rock. I viewed this as training for our future joint-endeavors into the remote far-western Himalaya of Nepal. I have yet to actually take him with me into the mountains there for Jagerna distribution work, but he will be needed.

This time, we got out before thunderstorms hit with ferocity, also bagging the Ship’s Prow and Point 13,117 along the way. My heart yearned to bag the mighty Uncompahgre as well (another nearby fourteener), but the mission wasn’t feasible with the approaching weather. Notwithstanding, the mountains were awesome that day, a true testimony to the might of the Creator and a somber reminder of the truth of Isaiah 45:9: “Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker!”

After our San Juan adventure, which in a way closed the book on unfinished business from last Fall, we headed north toward Montrose where I knew there to be a Nepali restaurant with a few Nepalis. Enroute, a much-needed bath in a cold lake was a blessing. In Montrose, I cannot believe I paid $25.00 for two plates of Nepali food (this would have cost maybe $5.00 in Kathmandu). However, this gave us opportunity to speak the Gospel to the Nepali manager and his wife. Bishnu left them with a Jagerna John/Romans in their native language, and we trust the effort was not in vain. Last year, I happened upon this same restaurant and shared with the owner’s son. Later, I mailed him a Nepali Gospel of John. Though a bit out of the way, I sensed that I needed to return with Bishnu. Nothing spectacular happened, but I fall back on the subtle promise of Ephesians 3:20.

From Montrose, we drove long into the night. Endeavoring to go through Cortez and proclaim the Gospel, I accidentally took the wrong road. We unexpectedly came into Utah at dusk, beholding incredible lightning from a storm cloud that took forever to escape. Monticello, Blanding--nothing--we simply left a couple of tracts in a public restroom. Weary and frustrated, BK and I rode until almost midnight. I had prayed for a suitable place to camp but failed to wait on the Lord in faith (Psalm 27:14). Yet, He abided faithful, unable to deny Himself (II Timothy 2:13). Right as State Highway 95 exited a narrow canyon and began its descent from the mesa top, there was a crude pull-off. Oh, the stars and the Milky Way galaxy were amazing that night. Lightning to the south was steady, but it never approached. I slept in that place as I had never slept before, and I wouldn’t trade the experience for the world. The next morning, we cooked breakfast in a notch on a steep cliff and spent some time in the Word. The Lord took me to Mark 8. So many times He has provided. Why do I yet not understand, always seeking some sort of sign? We must take up our cross daily and follow him, willing even to lose our lives for His sake and the Gospel’s. Those were special moments in the cliffs, a respite we both needed. Far below, I could see my 2003-2004 bicycle route winding toward Monument Valley. We would join that route for most of the day, revisiting places where memories of labor for the Lord returned in droves.

There have been times along this journey when we have simply thrown schedule and task to the wind, desiring only to be available and seeming to proceed blindly. It has been in these times that God has wrought most abundantly. July 24th was such a day. We headed blindly for Monument Valley and the Grand Canyon not knowing where we would sleep that night or where there would be opportunity to proclaim the Gospel. By the end of the day, as we bedded down in the car in the pinion pine forests north of Flagstaff, Arizona during a thunderstorm, I sighed with satisfaction. In Mexican Hat, we sipped on coffee and distributed some tracts to a few foreign tourists. In Kayenta (an Indian reservation town where I failed to stop on my Coast-to-Coast bicycle route), we stopped to do some laundry and noticed a flea market. There, we gave out a lot of tracts (including to all the vendors), and we were able to use a rope trick to preach Jesus to a bunch of kids. Later, in Tuba City, AZ (another Indian reservation town), we set up the paintboard in a skateboarding park. Ironically, we gathered a good crowd, mostly punks and strange goth-types. A few mocked, some left, but others heard all. Tracts went out as did my painting to a grateful child. I think of Lorenzen. He was big and scary but humble. Bishnu was bold. Lorenzen showed us scars from a recent suicide attempt; we prayed with him, asking the Lord to intervene. He was thankful and took a couple of tracts with a Gospel of John. If for this young man alone, the preaching was not in vain. Then, there was another young man with a big hoop in his nose. Initially he mocked, but when we offered the crowd fresh socks in the name of Jesus, he was humbled. Pray for his salvation. I am sad when I think of all those kids, so seemingly helpless and hopeless. They are without the Saviour as are so many others across this “Christian Nation.” All Bishnu and I could do that day in Tuba City was preach repentance and faith, trusting the Lord to use it. He must act (John 6:44), for salvation is of the Lord (Jonah 2:9).

From Tuba City, we raced toward the Grand Canyon so as to catch a glimpse before sunset. Delays, delays, delays everywhere. Finally, we arrived at the edge of an amazing panorama. Bishnu, to say the least, was awed, and not only by the scenery. As we pulled into Grandview Point, the Lord showed us that everything had been timed perfectly that day by His Sovereign hand. As we putzed around the canyon rim, we ran into two people who were heading for their car. These were Nepalis who live in New Jersey! They were marveled by my ability to speak their language, and Bishnu witnessed with boldness. Suresh and his wife took one of our Project Jagerna John/Romans editions with gratitude. Please pray for their salvation. Wow: every delay, every road, every encounter that day led to this climax. The Lord is good. As darkness fell, we snuck out to the edge of the canyon and cooked Nepali food--a fitting end to a fine day in service to the King of Kings.

The next morning, we bagged Humphreys Peak in Arizona, my 39th State High Point (Check out my annals here: A PEAKBAGGER’S OBSESSION). It was a real slog, but BK and I enjoyed the fellowship and the mountain vistas. That afternoon, it was a long drive to Las Vegas. Enroute, we drove down to the edge of the Colorado River a few miles after it exited Lake Mead at the Hoover Dam. We were in desperate need for a bath, and it was 115 degrees outside! In an amazing circumstance of contrast, the water was so cold that we could barely complete the bathing process. Strangely, it felt even colder than the waters of the Arctic Ocean in Northern Norway where I went for a swim last September. Refreshed, we crossed Hoover Dam and made straight for the Strip.

There, in the heart of Las Vegas, we hooked up with some solid street preachers (Scott Smith, thanks for the contacts) and would spend the next two nights proclaiming for hours in front of the Bellagio Casino. As some of you might know, the Bellagio boasts a water show every fifteen minutes right there in front of the hotel. All night, people gather on the sidewalk to watch, and there is a fifteen minute window between each show when one can preach Jesus to a crowd that is not going anywhere. Man, it was great. We alternated preaching for hours, and many Gospel tracts went out. The second night, I actually set up the paintboard, and the work lasted until midnight. Thanks, Frank & Doug, for your partnership there in Las Vegas. Your boldness, your example, and your faithfulness in such a spiritually dark cesspool of iniquity was real edification to both Bishnu and myself. If you are interested in viewing some of our preaching out there on the Las Vegas Strip, follow this link: YouTube-Frank333F’s Channel. Under videos, there are five of me and a couple of Bishnu. Enjoy, and all glory be unto Almighty God.

The second night of preaching, a very interesting thing happened. We were on public property completely within our rights to preach the Gospel, as myself and my comrades were in Hickory, NC on June 27th. However, Bellagio security approached in their black suits and ties and tried to shut us down. They never really spoke directly to us but did call Las Vegas Police. When the police arrived, security asked them to make us leave. A ranking officer made this statement to the bouncers: “Sorry guys, these men have a right to be here doing what they are doing. We cannot make them leave.” Praise the Lord for law enforcement officers who know the law and enforce it correctly! Chief Adkins, Hickory Police, Mayor Wright, Hickory City Officials, et al: Take a lesson from those who do their job rightly. Stop the persecution of evangelizing Christians in my hometown! Anyway, it is somewhat ironic: In Sin City, Constitutional Law is honored, and we were allowed to keep preaching. In Hickory, what Mayor Wright terms “a very church-oriented city,” we cannot even pass out Gospel tracts at a free public access event on public property without being arrested. Sorry to beat a dead horse, folks, but the irony is stunning.

In Las Vegas, we also enjoyed sweet fellowship with Jon & Linda Craft, missionaries to Jewish people with Friends of Israel. As always, I was blessed by their hospitality and the fellowship of exhortation. Many times they have housed us in our cross-country journeys for the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ. Please pray for their very difficult work with a people that is very difficult to reach (Romans 11:25; II Corinthians 3:14-16). Notwithstanding, the Gospel is “to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16).

Wow, Las Vegas was great for both me and Bishnu. Thanks for your prayers regarding our travels. The Lord answered them in abundance. Fellowship there with like-minded brethren was sweet, the preaching was bold, many heard the Word of God, and we were able to give testimony at a local Baptist church about the work in the Nepal. Through this, the Lord provided enough funds to print almost 800 Nepali John/Romans editions.

From Vegas, we headed over the mountains, across Death Valley, and up US Hwy. 395 on the east side of California’s Sierra Nevada (the best mountain range in the world). This was my old bicycle route, and many memories came flooding back from those days I may have taken for granted. All the toiling hours on the bicycle climbing huge hills with my precious wife in support, the weeks and months in the Mammoth Lakes area, lots of climbing in the Sierra, Bethany’s birth, the time with Chad Currin doing the work of evangelism. The Lord used all that. Wow! And, many of you were faithful prayer partners in those days as your are now. Thank-you.

That afternoon, it was 121 degrees in Death Valley, but where we slept that night on the shoulder of White Mountain at about 11,500 ft., in an area that geographically made me think I was in Ladakh or Tibet, it was in the upper 30’s. What a contrast! Thankfully, we had warm sleeping bags on that stony ground under an amazing panorama of stars. I will never forget that night sky as I tried to find slumber on the alpine tundra. We gave out a few tracts that day, leaving a few on parked cars; cooked dinner in the Alabama Hills outside Lone Pine, California; and drove the long dirt road to the trailhead on White Mountain. The next morning, we slogged a 15-mile roundtrip to bag a California Fourteener and leave the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the summit register. The scenery was barren and very much like Ladakh, India--amazingly beautiful in its own way. On the way back down, we ran out of water, and there was none anywhere to be found. Still far from the car, the air was dry, and we were parched. Amazingly, as I walked along the trail, I looked down and noticed five or six unopened bottles of bottled water. Our Heavenly Father provided in a most amazing way. Up there in the Whites, I also got to show Bishnu the world’s oldest trees, the gnarled bristlecone pines, some of which date back to the days of Noah’s Flood. ‘Twas eerie and quiet in that lonely forest on Sheep Mountain. Those trees were meant to endure--a strange, yet powerful testimony to the varied handiwork of an omnipotent Creator. BK loved every minute of it.

From White Mountain, we camped at a secluded natural hot springs outside Mammoth Lakes. The bath was much needed, and we awoke to an amazing sunrise on Banner, Ritter, and the Minarets in the Sierra. After praying about it, we opted out of a direct beeline to Bend, Oregon and decided to target the streets of Sacramento; visit the Chapman Redwood Ranch (Many of you might remember the Chapman’s joining us at the end of Coast-to-Coast 2003-2004 and down in South America with Dylan & Cheri Harris) up in Humboldt County; and give Bishnu an opportunity to dip his feet in the Pacific, having done the same in the Atlantic up in New York back in June. Along the way, he was able to behold God’s handiwork in the Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite Valley, the mighty Sequoia trees, and the tall Coastal Redwoods.

Some Gospel tracts went out along the way as we continued to parallel the old bicycle route. In Sacramento, we hit the streets downtown and along the river. I struggled with being bold, but quite a few tracts did go out. I did some short preaching at a bus station and to a group of teenagers hanging out in a park. I think of at least three who were humbled and convicted--two girls and a guy dressed like a gangster. Please pray for their salvation. We tried to make it up to the Chapman Ranch that night, but I stopped briefly at a rest area along Hwy. 101 to stretch my legs. The next thing I remember was waking up in my car at 6:00am the next morning. I vaguely recall a couple arguing very loudly in the parking lot around 3:00am, but I was too drowsy to care.

The time at the Chapman Ranch, as was the case along my 2003-2004 bicycle journey, was again one of rest, good Christian fellowship, and rejuvenation. Bishnu loved the redwoods, swimming at a secluded waterfall, and soaking in the old-school cedar hot tub. Helping load up a trailer with firewood and summitting Kerr Peak provided good exercise; and we got to proclaim Christ boldly before a few that were out at the ranch. I especially think of a 13-year-old boy (Cody) who is living with his mom at a small bunkhouse on the ranch. The Chapman’s took them in until they can get back on their feet financially. He went swimming with us, and Bishnu was very bold with his testimony. I also exhorted unto repentance and trust in Jesus Christ. Cody listened with intent and then wanted to hang out with us the rest of the time we were there. Please pray for his salvation. We gave him a Bible. That encounter was no accident, and hopefully seeds previously planted by our friends were watered that day. Mark and Tammy, thanks again for your kind hospitality. I was able to add another sweet chapter to all the adventures we have shared in various places around this hemisphere. Truly, our time there, though short, served to rejuvenate us for the long road yet ahead. Friends, please pray for the Chapman’s. They live in a very spiritually dark corner of America, and they exist there to be lights illuminating the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In a way, it’s easy for me to travel around and witness to different people in different places. To be a consistent testimony in one place before the faces of those that disdain the Gospel day in and day out is a much more difficult endeavor.

The night before we planned to leave Humboldt County bright and early and make a beeline for Bend, Oregon, Mark Chapman encouraged me not to set an alarm: “Quit being so schedule-oriented and just go when you get up. Let the Holy Spirit guide your path tomorrow. You will get to Bend when you get there.” Looking back, I am so thankful I heeded that advice. We ended up not getting away until after 9:00am, and all day the hours seemed to flee. The mighty redwoods were amazing, Bishnu got wet in the cold waves of the Pacific, and the old bicycle route continued to flood my mind with precious memories. Sauntering through Lady Bird Johnson Grove in Redwood National Park and cooking lunch under the shadows of a mighty arboreal giant with about a fifteen foot diameter took a lot of time as did a much-needed nap alongside Hwy. 199 in Oregon. I found myself fretting about the late hour in which we would arrive in Bend.

However, when all was said and done, and I as finally bedded down just before 2:00am the next morning, God’s perfect timing was evident (Thanks for the advice, Mark). All the transpired prior to our late-afternoon arrival in Grants Pass, Oregon (a small city we wanted to target with the Gospel) insured our timely meeting with three solid local Christian brothers (Jim, Dave, and Darren) who were out evangelizing the same streets. They stopped at my car to muse over some Scripture magnets; I inquired; we partnered up in Grants Pass. Jim, in particular, had an incredible testimony: Legalistic Seventh-Day Adventist to witchcraft to genuine believer with a heart for bold evangelism. Needless to say, Bishnu and I were greatly edified, and the Gospel did go out on those spiritually dark avenues. There, in the small downtown strip, I saw two witchcraft shops and a pagan temple. We left bold tracts on the front doors of each. Before leaving town, Jim bought us some dinner, and we spent some time together in prayer. As it turned out, he even knew the brothers we previously partnered with down in Las Vegas--a small world. Once again, God stepped in to again remind us that there are yet those all over America who have not bowed the knee to the Baalism of modern-day churchianity. So many followers of Jesus Christ, of like faith and like mind, has the Lord put in our path along this journey. I am humbled and emboldened, and Bishnu continues to rejoice.

After Grants Pass, BK and I had to make a slight detour to the rim of Crater Lake, despite the lateness of the hour and the moonless darkness. Still, the lake, Wizard Island, and Mt. Scott were silhouetted under a sky with innumerable stars. Like up near White Mountain, the milky cloudiness that we typically see as the Milky Way was actually in focus. That “milk” was all stars. Our finiteness as human beings was abundantly evident, and I will never forget the scene. Finally, we arrived in Bend to the warm coziness of Dylan & Cheri Harris’ high-desert domicile.

Just a few short months ago, Bishnu and I were laboring with the Harris’ in Nepal and I with them in Bangladesh before that. In June, we met up with them in New York City for a bit of evangelism. Now, we have rendezvoused again, this time in their backyard. The time has been a real blast. Yesterday, we hit the streets at the downtown Farmer’s Market in Bend. I set up the paintboard and open-air preached for a time. It did not seem like many stopped to listen, but Bishnu maintains that a lot of tract went out. Dylan & Cheri helped as did a couple of local Christians. Some hecklers, a crazy man who claimed he never sins (though he did boast of having 19 kids by four different women), and a few unregenerate souls I had previously encountered in the area were all confronted with the exhortation to repent and trust Christ. I trust the Lord will use it, and I do not believe the outing was in vain. I remember walking those same streets and handing out tracts back in 2004 along the bicycle journey. ‘Twas a privilege to return. Oh, by the way, a policeman came by on a bicycle but said nothing as I continued to preach. Like Hickory, it was a public access event on public property. Unlike Hickory, we weren’t arrested. Praise the Lord for law enforcement officers who know, understand, and care about the law and the rights of free citizens. Thank-you Bend Police Department.

Here in Bend, it has also been a privilege to bag two big Cascade Volcanoes with Dylan, my long-time climbing partner. Mt. Washington required a helmet, ropes, and a harness while Broken Top involved some nice exposure on rotten Class 3-4 rock with an exposed low Class 5 move. We also nabbed the summits of nearby Pilot and Black Buttes. All praise to the Maker of the Mountains (Amos 4:13)! Bishnu is having the time of his life, and it’s is a real joy to be a part of helping others experience the wonders God’s creation.

Tomorrow, having ventured almost as far west as possible in the Continental United States (i.e. in Humboldt County, California), Bishnu and I set our sights to the east. We are scheduled to be in Platte, South Dakota on August 14th. That weekend, we will partner with Jon Lane to target a couple of local festivals with the Gospel and give testimony at The Lighthouse in Corsica, one of our supporting churches. Between here and there, however, will undoubtedly be many more opportunities to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ, Pray for us, and stay tuned for more recap of God’s answers to your prayers.

In conclusion, I praise God for an unexpected provision of food that has literally filled our cooler before we head out tomorrow. With the price of gas being so high, we have completely shunned hotels and mostly stayed away from restaurants. This has made for special camping and cooking memories, and we have seen the Hand of the Lord provide on many occasions. This particular time, the source of that provision was one in which I never would have imagined. “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).

For the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ,

Jesse Boyd

Ephesians 2:8-10

FPGM HOMEPAGE

Dangerous Statements Out of Hickory

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:46:16 -0400

Greetings to as many as will read and ponder these words. This commentary about the recent arrest of my brother and me in Hickory, NC should be a boisterous alarm to all Bible-believing Christians in America who still think we live in a land of freedom. Articles in the news media and recent public statements by City Officials demand a response. Please circulate this information around to as many Christians as possible, especially those living in the Hickory area. We need to continue to put pressure on the city to insure that this does not happen again to us or to you. I will not now recap the actual events that transpired on June 27th. For more information on this, review my previous blog entries.

True, there have been several positive developments since my last entry, but the matter is far from resolved. One must understand that there are two issues inextricably linked to this arrest. The first concerns the charge of trespassing on public property. The second and more important aspect, concerns infringement against the First Amendment Rights of believers attempting to share their faith. This past week, the District Attorney dismissed the charges of trespassing against Matthew and me, stating that his actions were in the best interest of “justice.” Strangely, the press knew about it long before we did. The D.A. also promised my former attorney that he would make sure our records are expunged. I still await confirmation on this one. This is definitely cause for rejoicing, and thank you for your prayers to that end. The City was dragging its feet, trying to justify the actions of its rogue police officers, but apparently, the District Attorney, when the matter reached his desk, saw that the City had no case for its frivolous charge. We did nothing wrong the night of June 27th, and no police officer has the right to arbitrarily run someone off of public property, just like he/she has no right to arbitrarily search your vehicle or your house. So, the issue of trespassing seems to have been resolved, though we still wait to have our records officially expunged. Praise the Lord for a District Attorney in Hickory, NC who knows the law and does the right thing. It cannot be said enough: thanks for all your prayers regarding this matter. I also believe all your phone calls and correspondences to the City expressing concern were a contributing factor. These, in a way, put pressure on city officials and forced the hand of the D.A. Thank-you for taking the time. On a recent FOX News Channel report, one in which I declined to make a statement, it was stated that floods of emails and phone calls had come in from all over the Hickory area, the country, and the world. Wow! I am humbled.

Unfortunately, as mentioned, the matter is not fully rectified. There still remains the issue of First Amendment infringement and the protection of the religious rights of evangelical Christians. Based on the public statements made by City Officials and the Chief of Police since the dropping of charges, it is abundantly clear that these have no idea about the protections afforded to us by the Founding Fathers in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. The mantra from these officials is like a broken record (These statements were cited in a news article that appeared in the Hickory Daily Record on July 18, 2008) :

“I believe the Hickory Police acted appropriately given the circumstances”
(Councilman Brad Lail).

“I think the police acted in the correct manner. The citizens’ safety was their chief area of concern. I stand firmly behind the Hickory Police Department”
(Councilwoman Jill Patton).

“I believe our officers handled the situation appropriately to maintain the peace”
(Chief of Police Tom Adkins).

Fellow-believers: Can’t you see that THESE ARE VERY DANGEROUS STATEMENTS, and such words indicate that we who attempt to share our faith on public property in Hickory, NC have no real First Amendment protection going forward. If the police officers acted “appropriately” the night of June 27th, then what is to stop these from doing the same to you?

So Chief Adkins, I guess you are telling us that it is appropriate to handcuff Christians, escort them down to a jail cell, and take their mug shots simply because they were peaceably handing out Gospel tracts in a traditionally public forum. I guess it is appropriate to frivolously order law-abiding citizens to leave a public place and cease doing what the United States Supreme Court has affirmed time and time again to be a Constitutionally protected act. It is also appropriate, I guess, to taunt Christians while they sit in a jail cell, to fail to read them their rights before demanding answers to personal questions, to deny them a phone call, and to hold them far longer than necessary until the event at which they were witnessing was done for the evening. Do your officers take teenagers to jail who are cited with trespassing along Highway 70 every weekend as many unlawfully loiter in private parking lots, or, do they only write them citations? Taking “trespassers” to jail is only for the Christians, huh?

Following Councilman Lail’s above statement, he said: “but I’m glad the charges were dropped . . . I support the Boyd’s right to distribute religious material.” Thank-you sir, but how can you have it both ways? If you support our right to hand out Gospel tracts, how could the actions of the police on June 27th have been appropriate? Which is it? Talk about riding the fence.

Let’s talk a moment about the issue of “citizens’ safety” and “maintaining the peace.” On the night of June 27th, whose safety was threatened, Councilwoman Patton? Chief Adkins, how was the peace disturbed? If we were causing a public disturbance of any kind, why didn’t your officers arrest us for disturbing the peace, inciting a riot, or harassment? Where was the concern for public safety the week before? On June 20th, we were also out at Hickory Alive trying to witness. A group of rowdy teenagers kept following us and shouting blasphemies in our presence. They lit Gospel tracts on fire and screamed terrible things about the Lord Jesus Christ. One young man physically pushed me twice. A young lady spit in my face. Paul Langford and I tried to walk away from this bunch, but the teenagers followed and surrounded us. Never did we respond in anger or with threatenings. We only spoke Scriptural truth and the Gospel message calmly. The police did nothing to stop this. One officer confiscated my driver’s license and then ordered me to leave. I explained that he had no legal right to confiscate my identification, and I would be glad to keep moving as soon as he returned my personal property. He flicked the license back at me. They blamed us for the actions of those teenagers despite the fact that the Hickory Code of Ordinances clearly says in Section 22.30: “It shall be unlawful for any person to physically interfere with processions, marches or meetings, or with the persons lawfully engaged therein in the use of any street, sidewalk or other public place, or to address profane, indecent, abusive or threatening language or other fighting words to or at such participants which would tend to provoke such participants or others to a breach of the peace.” We were not a parade, procession, march, or a meeting, but surely this principle would apply to all citizens. Why didn’t the police arrest these teenagers for threatening our safety and disturbing the peace? Furthermore, why have we been blamed for it, when all we did was tell someone about the reality of hell and divine judgment but then try to explain that there was escape through Jesus Christ? Hey, the message of Jesus Christ is exclusive, and the Gospel offends; but offensive speech is exactly what the First Amendment protects. By the way Chief Adkins: What happened on the night of June 20th (i.e. hoodlums harassing and threatening us, not vice-versa as your officers claim) has nothing to do with what transpired on June 27th. There was no peace being disturbed that night. Many people took tracts appreciatively, and there were several good conversations before your officers approached and violated Constitutional Law. “Our officers handled the situation appropriately to maintain the peace.” Man, what fabrication. It’s almost comical.

In actuality, some bigwig with the Jaycees, possibly the individual listed on the arrest report as the “owner” of Union Square (This description in and of itself is laughable. How can a single person own public property built with taxpayer money?), probably hated the Gospel message and screamed loudly to the off-duty officers that his organization hired for the night. Then, these officers with authority complexes, likewise disdaining the Gospel message, thought it would be worthwhile to intimidate and religiously discriminate against us while acting like Hitler’s Brownshirts or the Soviet KGB. Wait a minute, you might say: “Religious discrimination”? Those are strong words. Friends, this is clearly what was involved. The taunting statements by the police officers following our arrest (i.e. statements disdaining the Bible, Jesus Christ, and our faith) and the fact that they told Kent and Paul we could stay if we ceased handing out “those tracts” are proof enough of this. This line coming out of the city that we were told we could stay as long as we distributed outside the “yellow line” (i.e. the area roped off to keep people from bringing alcohol in and to insure the Jaycees would make money selling their booze) is an utter lie. We were told the entire public square was “private property just like Wal-Mart.” Kent asked where we could do it, and they told us “nowhere.” What about the arresting officer who came outside the police station where a group of Christians had gathered to pray for us as we sat in a jail cell? While believers were quietly praying, he walked around whistling obnoxiously loud with the intent to disturb and intimidate. There were numerous eyewitness accounts to this, by the way. And, they want us to believe this was not religious discrimination??? This was appropriate action to maintain the peace??? Come on, we are not that dense. These were rogue officers using bully tactics, not good men who handled a difficult situation appropriately. There was no “situation” that night. There was no run-in with anyone that night. Those officers ordered us to leave. They refused to look at the 2006 letter from the Christian Law Association explaining citing Constitutional Law and our right to witness in Union Square. They refused to look at the City Ordinance that I had in my backpack that night. Is this doing one’s best considering the circumstances?

Could the truth be that Mayor Rudy Wright was less than honest when he said: “Hickory is not anti-christian” (as printed in a July 17 Hickory Daily Record article). Maybe the city officials are not anti-churchianity. But, when they maintain that arresting two law-abiding citizens for peacefully distributing Gospel literature and hauling them down to a jail cell at the police station is “appropriate action,” one has to wonder. Lots of people call themselves “christian” but know nothing of what the Scripture says or what it means to be born again. Sure, maybe Hickory is not anti-“this type of christian.” But, the statements of city officials and their defense of rogue officers who were clearly imposing religious discrimination lead me to believe that it may be anti-Bible-believer or anti-evangelism. If what you say is true, Mayor Wright, come out and denounce the statements that maintain our arrests were appropriate action. Hold the officers that were involved accountable; censure them so that this does not happen again; rebuke them for the lies they are telling about what transpired that night.

Mayor, what about the Magistrate who sanctioned the phony charge of trespassing? Unbelievable. Shame on Mr. Roseman. Matthew and I heard him and the officers trying to concoct a charge to justify our incarceration as we sat there being denied a phone call. Read the arrest report, and you will see proof of this. Is this appropriate behavior? Come out and denounce such frivolous abuse of authority if you mean what you said in the news article, Mr Mayor.

In the same article, Wright also stated: “We are a very church-oriented city and we will stay that way.” If this is true, then it makes the arrest and the statements that such was appropriate action all the more ludicrous. Wright went on to say “Our police officers do not serve as judge, jury, defense attorney or the Supreme Court - they are simply there to keep the peace.” What peace was violated that night, Mayor Wright? If we were disturbing it, why weren’t we charged for this? Moreover, why weren’t all five of us arrested? Is it appropriate action to charge someone who is guilty of disturbing the peace with trespassing on public property? If so, I guess it is appropriate for the Hickory Police Department to frivolously arrest anyone for anything and charge them with whatever. The police officers may not serve as judge, jury, defense attorney, or Supreme Court; but they sure acted like it the night of June 27th. Shouldn’t your police officers know the law, Mayor? We tried to show them a 2006 letter from the Christian Law Association that explained the law and our right to witness in Union Square at Hickory Alive. They refused to look at it. I appealed to the Hickory City Ordinance that I had in my backpack. They wouldn’t look at it; instead, I was put in handcuffs. Watch the videotape, Mr. Mayor. At once, I am reminded of what a Hickory Police Officer said to me once: “Son, I don’t care what you think the law says. I will arrest your $%@& and let the courts decide what is the law.” Is this the way it is supposed to work? Is it the courts that make the law in this country, and is law enforcement able to arrest on a whim, defy constitutional law, and then plead indifference to that law? When I wake up in the Hickory area every morning, do I wake up in the United States of America or in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics?

Mr. Mayor, I urge you to denounce these statements and give us assurance that Constitutional Law does matter in Hickory, North Carolina. We are unconvinced. If you will not do this, then your political opponent in the next election would do well to take note.

In a July 12th Hickory Daily Record article, Mayor Wright said “We are not going to be anti-Christian here in Hickory. We’re simply not going to be that way.” Fellow Bible-believers, let’s hold Mayor Wright accountable for this statement and urge him to denounce the claims that these arrests were appropriate action. Such claims, especially by the Chief of Police, unavoidably make this a test case. If it was appropriate then, it will be appropriate next time. It will happen again. All the police have to do is claim a breach of peace for any ridiculous reason in the same vein that pro-abortionists throw around the “health of the mother” clause to justify all kinds of brutal slaughter, including partial birth abortion. I mean “health of the mother” is applied to the “inconvenience” of having a child, mental stress, financial stress, and all sorts of other garbage to justify murder. What will the Hickory Police Department deem “disturbing the peace” next: wearing Scripture verses on a T-shirt, having church in one’s home, homeschooling our children, having Christian bumper stickers on our vehicles, having a conversation about the things of the Lord on a public sidewalk, reading a Bible on a park bench??? Surely this does not sound too off-base, for freely distributing Gospel tracts is considered “disturbing the peace” by default if arresting those doing it was considered handling “the situation appropriately to maintain the peace.”

Below, I have posted Mayor Wright’s contact information. Let’s again let him know where Bible-believing Christians stand:

Mayor Rudy Wright
Tel: (828) 466-1044
Email: signs1320@charter.net

A couple of statements made by Jeff Spears, president of the Hickory Jaycees, in a July 12th Hickory Daily Record article also demand a response. “He said groups pay a fee to display posters and signs for upcoming events and to hand out fliers promoting those events, but the Boyds and their friends do not.” Uh, Mr. Spears, since when are free citizens of a free nation required to pay to disseminate FREE religious literature in obedience to their faith on PUBLIC PROPERTY? Sir, when you host Hickory Alive, A FREE PUBLIC ACCESS EVENT, you do not own Union Square in downtown Hickory. It is public property, and you have no right to deny anyone access based upon race, national origin, or religion. Did you forget to read Rule #19 in your permit application? It says: “Applications must comply with any and all local, state, and federal laws pertaining to equal opportunity and should make every effort to make events accessible to the disabled public. In addition, applicants shall not deny access or a vendor’s booth to any
group based on national origin, race, religion, age, sex, or disability.” Besides this, Mr. Spears, you should educate yourself on the difference between soliciting and free speech. Unlike your vendors, we were not promoting any event or selling anything. I was invited to your Hickory Alive Celebration just like every other resident in the area (Your ads directed to the general public all around town are proof of this). I came with a couple of my friends and used the opportunity of a large crowd to share my faith by distributing Gospel tracts from person to person.

The same article also stated: “The Hickory Jaycees pay off-duty police officers to provide security for the event, he [Jeff Spears] added. Since alcohol is served, the officers’ main duty is making sure the attendees behave themselves and don’t get out of hand.” Off-duty police officers arresting us and taking us to jail for handing out Gospel tracts? This is even more incredible. And, the powers-that-be want us to believe religious discrimination was not involved? Why weren’t these off-duty officers protecting innocent people from getting hurt by insuring that intoxicated attendees weren’t leaving the event and getting behind the wheel of a car? Instead, they were down at the jailhouse taunting a couple of Christians. Why weren’t the off-duty police officers making the drunks who threatened us the night of July 4th behave themselves or restraining hoodlum teens on the night of June 20th? There is a lot more that is “out of hand” down at Hickory Alive than a group of Christians sharing their faith.

The article also reads: “The first line of the Jaycees creed states, ‘Faith in God gives meaning and purpose to human life,’ and Spears said many members of his organization are Bible-believing Christians who would never deny someone’s right to share their faith.” Oh really, Mr. Spears (I am trying not to laugh here). If this is true, publicly denounce the arrests and the statements by City Officials who maintain that this was appropriate action. Instead, all you can say is that the arrest “was blown way out of proportion.” Is it really blowing it out of proportion to demand that the City of Hickory be held accountable for unlawfully and frivolously arresting two Christians who were doing nothing wrong? Is it really blowing it out of proportion to demand a real answer as to why two law-abiding and tax-paying citizens with no criminal records were put in handcuffs and hauled to a jail cell for simply handing out a few Gospel tracts? Sir, your statements are pontifical smoke, and nothing more. It’s pretty sad that members of your organization would claim to be Bible-believing Christians and yet participate in promoting an event that encourages public drunkenness and a cesspool of festering iniquity. It’s OK with you, Mr Spears, for people to perversely pole-dance out there in front of little children, to shout profanity from the stage, to be so drunk that they can barely walk, or to threaten Christians with physical assault. Sir, you don’t know God and you blaspheme His name when you claim that faith in him gives meaning and purpose to your life. Moreover, I guess the “Bible-believing Christians” in your organization forgot to read I Corinthians 6:9-11. It was your people who demanded that the police get rid of us that night. The police saw us out there long before you complained, and they never said a word. Don’t tell me your organization would never do anything to deny someone’s right to share their faith. On June 27th, YOU DID! I am immediately reminded of the Jaycee who was in charge of the event back in 2006 (Maybe that was you, Mr. Spears. I don’t know what you look like). He got so angry at us for doing the same thing and got the police involved. Whoever was the police supervisor at the time had some sanity about himself and eventually told his officers to back off because we were not breaking any law. Still, that angry Jaycee told us very loudly, curtly, and rudely: “I hate your message, and I am going to do everything in my power to stop it from being spread down here.” Should that be the words of someone from an organization that maintains faith in God gives meaning and purpose to human life? Perhaps their god is just an idol they have created in their own minds to serve and justify their own lusts and pleasures. He is certainly not the God of the Bible. I saw this same Jaycee from 2006 out at Hickory Alive on July 4th (the week after our arrests). He grimaced at our presence, but he could not stop the Gospel message from going out (Was that you Mr. Spears?).

Folks, I know I have been very blunt in this memorandum, and I apologize if I sound a bit vexed. Heretofore, we have made virtually no public statements to the media on the advice of our attorney, yet the City has said much in an attempt to besmirch the characters of peaceful evangelists and justify a terrible law enforcement mistake. The most recent string of statements by City Officials deeming the actions of the police to be appropriate are utterly disturbing, and they should be so to you. I am not out to defend myself, my brother, or the other men with me that night; I will let the Lord do so. However, we have been put in a place where we should fight to insure that other Christians are not subjected to the same type of treatment and that my children will be able to one day share their faith with the lost in their own hometown. Bible-believing Christians are losing freedoms quickly in America, and if we do not wake up and hold our elected officials accountable, all will soon be lost.

Some may say that the recent statements by City Officials were simply made to save face. “Politicians have to do that sort of thing. They won’t bother you again,” one person said. No, I do not believe this. Two months ago, I never would have believed that I would be arrested in Hickory, NC for distributing Gospel tracts. Why should I now believe that what has been termed appropriate action will not happen again to me or to you? Besides, I am sick of politicians. Where are the godly statesmen that used to run our local, state, and national governments? It’s time to start holding our politicians accountable. And, it begins for us in Hickory, NC.

At this point, I am unsure about the exact nature of our course of action. We are very grateful to the Christian Law Association for their assistance in helping us to deal with the issue of trespassing. They accomplished our goal in that matter and got the charges dropped. Now, we have to face the second issue--the trampling of our First Amendment rights on June 27th and getting assurance that this will not happen again. The statements cited above are proof that the City of Hickory does not understand the basic rights guaranteed to all American citizens, and the logical outflow of such statements is that this can and will happen again. In our view, there has been no true resolution. Please pray for us as we seek to be obedient to the Lord. Again, this is not about us; it is not about money; it is not about fame. In anything we do, may it be done heartily as unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23), and may the Lord Jesus Christ and His Gospel of salvation get the primary attention.

Please assist us in holding the city accountable by continuing to express concerns, especially regarding recent statements by the Police Chief and City Council Members that the actions of the police department in this arrest were “appropriate.” It was us on June 27th; it may be you next time.

Below is relevant contact information:

City of Hickory
Tel: 828-323-7400
Email: action@ci.hickory.nc.us

Hickory Police Department
Tel: 828-261-2600 (This number will get you straight to Chief Adkins’ office)
Email: tadkins@ci.hickory.nc.us

Also, voice your concerns to the local news reporter with the Hickory Daily Record who has been covering this story:
rgould@hickoryrecord.com

The official press release put out by the City of Hickory after the charges were dropped is as follows:

“City of Hickory officials have been informed by the district attorney’s office that they have made the decision to dismiss all criminal charges against Jesse and Matthew Boyd. The overriding issues center on the need to protect the constitutional rights of citizens, to include freedom of speech and of religion, while taking into account the expression of these rights cannot impede the rights of others. Considering all the facts involved, the district attorney’s office has made the decision to dismiss all criminal charges.”

“In this case, Hickory police officers were challenged to decide if those constitutional rights interfered with a permitted event on Union Square,” said Hickory Chief of Police Tom Adkins. “I believe our officers handled the situation appropriately to maintain the peace. However, continued discussion in our community is needed to ensure the rights of those delivering a message and those receiving the message in a public place are both properly protected.”
More than anything, I am disappointed in Chief Adkins. He really seemed like an honorable and fair man with a real desire to make this right. Apparently, he would rather support the bad mistake of his officers and call it “appropriate,” insinuating that we were disturbing the peace. Chief Adkins has shown his true colors, my friends. Let’s hold him accountable for it.
The officers involved have a reputation anyway as does the department. Ask a believer I know who simply took his dad’s car out to fill it with gas. He was recently cited for a noise violation on Hwy. 70 and accused of having a faulty muffler on a vehicle that had just passed state inspection. Ask the father of a believer friend of mine who has been harassed by these same officers several times. Ask another believer who is a security guard at a local Hickory establishment. The night after the arrests, he overheard one of the arresting officers openly bragging about arresting two religious nuts for handing out literature. “They’re probably going to raise a fuss about it,” he said. Officer, you couldn’t have spoken more truly. This is America, and your badge does not give you the right to fabricate law, harass law-abiding citizens, abuse the authority entrusted to you, bully people and then lie about, or arrest frivolously and then brag about it. Chief Adkins, hold these men accountable so that the decent and appreciated officers on your police force aren’t tainted with a reputation created by the rogue actions of a few.
Christians in the Hickory area: Beware! If, in obedience to the Great Commission of our Lord and Saviour, you go out to share your faith in town, be extra careful. Carry a video camera, and keep your eyes open. The Hickory Police Department and its Chief consider it appropriate action to handcuff Christians, put them in a jail cell, and trump up a ridiculous charge of trespassing on public property in response to free Gospel tract dissemination. They have made it clear that sharing the Gospel and the Gospel message disturbs the peace, and they will arrest for it. The intimidation has already begun. Two Fridays ago, my brother was followed and watched like a hawk by one of the same officers who arrested us on June 27th. There were numerous eyewitness accounts of this. This is police intimidation, and we will not stand for it. There were no incidents as believers visited Hickory Alive on July 18th, but the threat, as derived from the statements cited above, remains. As soon as someone gets a little offended by the Gospel message, a believer may be arrested for “disturbing the peace.”
In conclusion, let me make say one more thing to the Hickory Police Department and Hickory City Officials. Let every news media outlet take note:
You can arrest me. You can throw me in jail. You can even one day take my life. BUT, I WILL NOT CEASE TO PREACH AND TEACH JESUS CHRIST. I WILL NOT CEASE BEING A PUBLIC WITNESS OF THE TRUTH OF THE BIBLE AND THE SALVATION THAT THE ONE TRUE GOD AND HIS SON JESUS CHRIST BROUGHT TO A WICKED WRETCH LIKE ME. I WILL NOT CEASE OBEYING THE GREAT COMMISSION AND TRYING TO POINT THE LOST TO THEIR ONLY HOPE: REPENTANCE TOWARD GOD AND FAITH TOWARD OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. AND, I AM NOT ALONE. THERE ARE MANY MORE CHRISTIANS IN THE HICKORY AREA WHO WILL STAND WITH CHRIST EVEN IF IT MEANS THEIR VERY LIFE. You folks can persecute Christians as many have done in ages past. But, the message will only spread farther and with more vigor. Watch out!
Does the Hickory Police Department persecute Bible-believing Christians who deem it important to share the Gospel? Does the City of Hickory sanction such persecution? You decide. Thankfully, there is an honorable District Attorney who does not and will not.

“Let God be true, but every man a liar” (Romans 3:3). Repent, or perish (Luke 13:3,5). Jesus Christ is the ONLY WAY to Heaven (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). The Lord is coming back soon, and boy is He mad (II Thessalonians 1:7-9). The party in Hell has been canceled due to the fire (Mark 9:44,46). Flee to Jesus Christ, He is your only hope (Hebrews 2:3).

A Fool for the Lord Jesus Christ,

Jesse Boyd

P.S. Christian brothers and sisters, in a softer frame of mind: Let’s not forget to pray for the salvation of our police officers and our city officials. This is of more importance than anything else. And, I would go to jail again after the manner of Paul the Apostle in Acts 16 if I knew it would result in someone coming to Christ or another Christian being emboldened to share his/her faith. If God were to use this whole incident in Hickory to draw one or more local persons or someone in city government/law enforcement to Jesus Christ in genuine salvation, then praise be to His Holy Name!

FPGM HOMEPAGE

Back on the Road

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 17:05:41 -0400

Greetings, beloved brethren and co-laborers in “the glorious Gospel of the blessed God committed to my trust” (I Timothy 1:11). I begin penning this update from the high desert mesas of northeastern New Mexico as an apocalyptic afternoon thunderstorm approaches. It is simply amazing to watch these mesas create their own weather--a true testament to the handiwork of an omnipotent Creator. The clouds are but the dust of his feet (Nahum 1:3), and no man has an excuse (Romans 1:20).

Things have gone extremely well for Bishnu and me thus far in our cross-country journey for the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ. Thanks for all your prayers. Sadly, I continue to be distracted with the legal issues in Hickory, North Carolina, and despite the D.A.’s recent dropping of the charges (I still don’t personally have official proof of this), the matter is far from finished. Public statements made by the Chief of Police and City Officials since the D.A. threw out the charges show that these still have no understanding of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Therefore, we have no real protection going forward and face the threat of arrest again. The City of Hickory needs to be held accountable. If the actions of the police officers the night of June 27th were “appropriate” as Chief Adkins described in the police department’s press release, then it could happen again to anyone who wishes to hand out a tract in our “All-American City.” Next time, will it be my wife, my four-year-old daughter, my friend, my pastor, you? Wake-up Christians! Be filled with the Holy Spirit and speak the Word of God with boldness (Acts 4:31). For more commentary on this matter, go to the next blog entry (i.e. Click “Next” at the bottom of this page).

Back to the more important issue for the moment: OUR JOURNEY. Again, thanks for your prayers and support. Thus far, seeds of the Gospel have been scattered and the Gospel has been publicly proclaimed in West Memphis, Conway, and Springdale, Arkansas; Tulsa, Bartlesville, Ponca City, Pond Creek, and Guymon, Oklahoma; Liberal, Kansas; and Capulin, New Mexico. And, in none of these places were we bothered by police. I guess normal police departments have better things to do than to harass a couple of Christians trying to hand out Gospel tracts and share the salvation found only in Jesus Christ. In downtown Tulsa, we actually set up the paint-board on a public plaza outside the courthouse. There was a small crowd loitering outside, and we were able to preach quite boldly. There were a couple of hecklers, but this actually peaked the interest of others, and in the end, many took Gospel tracts. Some homeless folks were sitting about, and when the message was finished, we gave them fresh socks in the name of the Lord. All were greatly appreciative. Please pray for Kay. At first, he was a bit obnoxious, but then he began to listen, even telling some other guys to shut up so he could hear. These others ended up threatening him with physical harm, and when all was said and done, we waited around with Kay to insure that these did not try to rough him up. Kay was convicted about the things of the Lord, and God allowed us to pray with him right there in the plaza. Again, please lift him up in prayer. Another lady wanted the painting; may it be a continual reminder to her of the Gospel message.

After the preaching, we went down to the bus station to hand out tracts. All in all, ‘twas a good outing, and several folks joined us from Baptist Chapel in Owasso, OK. Baptist Chapel has supported our ministry for some time, including the work of Project Jagerna (www.fpgm.org/ProjectJagerna.html); and it was such a joy to stop by and give testimony of the Lord’s work to those who had supported it. Bishnu preached with boldness, and many believers were edified. Thank-you, brothers and sisters at Baptist Chapel, for your show of hospitality, Christian charity, and support. Bishnu, especially, was greatly edified in the Lord.

Earlier in the week, Bishnu and I met up with the Youth Group from Baptist Chapel at a trailer park just over the Mississippi River from Memphis. These were hosting a Vacation Bible School all week in this trailer park as part of a summer missions trip. The last night, we set up the paint-board right there in the community and preached the Gospel. There was a good crowd of kids and parents who gathered to listen. Many tracts went out, and one lady was visibly convicted. Please pray for here salvation. And again, no problems with police. Praise be unto the Lord.

Here in Capulin, Bishnu was able to share boldly with two young ladies--exchange students from Italy and Kazakhstan studying geology here in this heavily volcanic area. The young lady from Italy literally knew nothing about God. And, the missions organizations tell us that Europe is reached??? The same people would say that America is reached, I guess. Bishnu, especially, would vehemently disagree. Anyway, she took a tract in the end and promised to read this book by Mark Cahill that we gave to her. Dana, the young lady from Kazakhstan, was a believer and seemed to happy to meet a fellow Christian from Asia. Bishnu exhorted her to be a bold witness. These were divine appointments, here in the middle of nowhere. Think about it: God used a former orthodox Hindu from Kathmandu to preach the Gospel to an atheist from Italy and exhort a relatively new believer (former Muslim) from Kazakhstan unto boldness for the faith. And, this happened in a remote corner of New Mexico. Such are the guiding steps of the Lord (Proverbs 16:9).

The past few days, we have been fellowshipping and sharing with believers from First Baptist Church in Des Moines, New Mexico. These have also been faithful to support the work of FPGM, including the printing of Scriptures in Nepal. It has been a joy for Bishnu to give testimony here about his conversion from Hinduism and how the Lord is using him in the work that these friends have directly supported, an on-the-ground perspective of sorts. I still marvel at how the Lord put these precious believers into our path back in 2003 when I pedaled a bicycle across America for the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ. I shouldn’t even have been on this highway out here, and I really should have never pedaled through this one-horse town. I almost did not go this way, but thankfully, I listened to my darling wife and her sense of discernment. We came through, we met believers, and I have been back here six times since. Who can know the mind of the Lord? Here in Capulin, Bishnu and I have also climbed a couple of dormant volcanoes, photographed some wildlife, and did a series of radio interviews that will go on the air across the area in about four weeks. Through these, may someone come to Jesus Christ.

From here, Lord willing, it’s on to Las Vegas, Nevada and possibly Bend, Oregon and Yakima, Washington. From there, we head to Platte, South Dakota to give testimony at The Lighthouse, another one of our supporting churches. Please continue to pray for us. Of course, there will be many places and locales in between where we will publicly proclaim the Gospel in the midst of a “crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15). Truly, Bishnu is having an adventure of a lifetime. I am excited to show him the Grand Canyon, the majesty of the Sierra Nevada (the best mountain range in the world), the vastness of the Great Basin, big Cascade volcanoes, Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore, and the Badlands. Whoa, wait a minute. I am getting ahead of myself, and we still aren’t exactly sure where the road will lead. Besides, the Lord always changes our plans, and as we look back in hindsight, we’re always glad He did.

Out here on the road, the serenity of camping in the evenings and long days of driving make for an environment free of distraction whereby we can continue our Bible translation work. Please pray for us as we seek to complete the Gospel of Mark so that these can be printed when Bishnu returns to Nepal. The work of Bible translation is a very serious and somber matter (Revelation 22:18-19). We must be very careful to remain faithful to the pure, preserved text and not let our opinions or personal theologies influence the translation. Pray that we might have wisdom and work in godly fear.

Well, I better sign off. We are cooking Nepali food for the Hall Family here in Capulin tonight. Soon, we should start preparing. Again, I have penned some thoughts about the recent developments in Hickory, NC on FPGM’s Blog. I do not want that issue to distract from what the Lord is doing out here on the road, so you can find it in a separate entry.

Until our circumstances yield more adventures worth recapping, we are most respectfully yours in service to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ, who will soon “be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (II Thessalonians 1:7-8).

Peace,
Jesse Boyd

Cooking a Nepali feast on the side of the highway.

Hickory Saturated Again!

Sat, 5 Jul 2008 16:55:40 -0400

Greetings army of prayer partners, faithful supporters, and fellow-laborers for the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ! Many of you are probably wondering what transpired on July 4th at Hickory Alive, and I apologize for dragging my feet as to getting out the news. I needed a break from this whole situation on Saturday, and I enjoyed spending the day with my family. Thanks for your understanding.

Undoubtedly, many were praying Friday evening all across the nation and the world. Emails from places like Ghana in West Africa, Nepal, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, and countless locales in America confirmed this. My friends, THE LORD WROUGHT A GREAT VICTORY (Numbers 23:23)! About forty believers showed up, some of which I had previously never met. Earlier in the week, the mayor had expressed concern about dropping the charges and doing what I consider to be the right thing concerning this whole fiasco. His comment to a concerned citizen went a little something like this: If we let this thing go, we are going to get street preachers down there! Last night, I wanted to make sure and oblige Mayor Wright with a little street preaching. Kent preached a few words to the believers gathered there, and then the Lord allowed me to share boldly and bluntly for about half an hour.

On a day marking the celebration of our nation’s Independence, I preached in the open air concerning deteriorating religious freedom in America, the biblical principles upon which the United States was founded, the Law of God as written on the conscience of every man, the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the command upon all Christians to preach the Gospel message even if it means persecution, imprisonment, and death (Mark 16:15; Acts 5:29). I quoted Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Patrick Henry, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, and others of our Founding Fathers who saw the Bible as the bedrock of American life. I explained that America and Americans can never escape the Ten Commandments of God. We can remove them from every courthouse lawn, every school classroom, every government building, every city park. We can adamantly deny their historical influence on American society and government. But, we cannot escape them. The same law, which was given to Israel on tables of stone, is written on the heart of every man, woman, and child (Romans 2:14-15). You have to carry it with you everywhere, and it’s called your conscience (something evolution has never been able to explain). The human conscience is a great alarm bell from the Creator God, a very personal message. Guilty, guilty, guilty the bell tolls. And, it leaves us helpless without a savior and hopeless if there is no savior. Glory to God, for the message of the Gospel shouts loudly that there is a Saviour: the Lord Jesus Christ (Titus 3:5-6; I John 2:2; 4:10). I concluded by warning believers that days of persecution would one day come. One day, sharing the Gospel openly, meeting together with other believers for worship, homeschooling our children, possessing copies of the Scriptures, etc. may be crimes in America that result in harsh penalties. But, I said, “IT IS NOT THIS DAY!” The Lord was good, and the gathered brethren, I trust, were edified. Several from the Hickory Alive crowd stopped to listen and clearly heard the Gospel message. May these come to salvation in Jesus Christ.

After the preaching, we gathered for prayer, and then everyone sallied forth into the crowds to distribute Gospel tracts. More than 1,000 went out as more than forty believers were faithful to share their faith. We also provided numerous small signs with convicting biblical messages. Believers stood quietly and peacefully with these signs in various places around the square as tracts were going out at the hands of others. Some of the signs read: “If you died tonight, would you be in heaven or hell?” ;
“Jesus Hates Sin!” ; “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” ; “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” ; “For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost” ; “How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation” ; “Do you want deliverance from sinful, pagan lives?” ; and “The Statutes of Liberty” followed by a listing of the Ten Commandments.

Many saw and commented: some with words of appreciation, some with cursings of disdain and rationalization for their sins. Notwithstanding, the Lord was very good. Not once did the police bother us or insinuate that we should leave or stop. As the night wore on, I even ran into additional believers who did not gather with us earlier but had come of their own accord to hand out Gospel tracts in response to the city’s arrest of Matthew and me last weekend.

As we were gathered at the outset of the evening, a spokesperson for the Jaycees came over to smooth things out a bit. He spoke of the organization being “Christian-based” and of their support of freedom of speech, etc., etc. When he finished his address, I simply responded in front of all: If these things are true, and if your organization truly stands behind them, then the Jaycees need to put pressure on the City of Hickory to drop the charges. Immediately, he backpedaled, and it was almost humorous to see through the facade of sincerity. These statements just further highlighted the ridiculous nature of last week’s incident. Later, I must admit, I sensed a bit of satisfaction as I saw one of the leaders of the Jaycees glaring at us as we quietly held Scripture signs. Back in 2006, this same man spoke brashly and loudly to us right there in public: “Yes, I hate your message, and I am going to do everything in my power to keep it from being spread down here!” Last night, as the Word of God went out and he glared, I was reminded of a little known historical irony:
Voltaire, a well-known French philosopher from the 18th century, was a theological skeptic who destroyed the faith of many people and one who openly hated the Gospel message. He once boasted that within one hundred years of his death, the Bible would disappear from the face of the earth. Voltaire died in 1728, but the Bible, as we know, lives on. The stinging irony is that fifty years after his death, the Geneva Bible Society moved into his former house and used his printing presses to print thousands of Bibles. Like Voltaire, the stinging irony of the Jaycee leader’s boast in 2006 is that in reality the Word has since gone out at Hickory Alive with greater boldness and greater power. “To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen” (Jude 25).

Chief Tom Adkins of the Hickory Police Department was out on Union Square last night, and he showed himself to be very friendly, respectful, and welcoming to the believers sowing seed. Thankfully, the particular officers from last week were nowhere to be seen, and those who were out showed all due respect. Some even took Gospel tracts from the hands of my four-year-old daughter. My Christian brothers and sisters, please pray for Chief Tom Adkins after the manner of I Timothy 2:1-5. He seems to be a very honorable and fair man, and I believe his desire is to do the right thing in this matter. After our experience last night, there is not a doubt now in my mind that had he personally been present the night of our arrest, there would have been no arrest, there would have been no harassment, there would have been no orders to stop distributing Gospel tracts, and there would have been no sitting in jail. Because the city and its policy makers fear a federal lawsuit, his hands may in some ways be tied. However, he still needs to hear your concerns, as does Mayor Rudy Wright.

I will say this. I can think of many things I would rather spend my time doing for the sake of the Gospel than sitting in court rooms over the next couple of years as a federal lawsuit grinds through a slow process. There is Bible translation work and Scripture printing the we are committed to in Nepal. There are evangelism teams that need to be taken into Bangladesh, Nepal, and India. There is some unfinished work FPGM has in Northern Europe and South America. And, there are plenty of lost souls that need to hear from Gospel on the streets of the United States. Avoiding this is the best scenario, for we are not motivated by fame, monetary remuneration, or an impulse to get back at the City of Hickory or the offending officers. All we seek is to have our criminal records expunged and to be left alone to share our faith freely and peacefully on the public streets, sidewalks, and squares of our hometown. After last night, I believe the right to proclaim the Gospel at Hickory Alive has been restored to us. I do not foresee that believers will again have a problem at this venue anytime in the near future. This is a victory for which we can now rejoice. Now, Matthew and I need to have our criminal records expunged, and if the city wishes to avoid litigation, then it will move to do this quickly so that we can be about our Heavenly Father’s business.

Please continue to put pressure on the city officials to move on this. Below is relevant contact information:

City of Hickory
Tel: 828-323-7400
Email: action@ci.hickory.nc.us

Mayor Rudy Wright
Tel: (828) 466-1044
Email: signs1320@charter.net

Hickory Police Department
Tel: 828-261-2600 (This number will get you straight to Chief Adkins’ office)
Email: tadkins@ci.hickory.nc.us

Hickory Jaycees
Tel: 828-322-2080
Email: hickoryjaycee@yahoo.com

Also, click the link below to send a letter to the editor of the Hickory Daily Record, demanding that the city drop the charges:

http://www.hickoryrecord.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=HDR/Page/HDR_ContentPage&c=Page&cid=1035488815629

Friends, mere words cannot express the gratitude and encouragement Matthew, Bishnu, Kent, Paul and I feel as a result of your support and direct involvement (i.e. by contacting the above parties to express your concerns). I actually heard that a couple of the above channels were so flooded with emails that the servers became clogged. That may be why some of you had your statements returned. Try sending again on Monday morning.

Until these charges are dropped, please continue to help us put pressure where pressure needs to be applied. Let the voices of Christians from all over Catawba County, the United States, and the world help insure that something like this does not happen in Hickory or anywhere else in America for a long time to come. But, if it does, may we be faithful to live godly and proclaim the Good News (II Timothy 3:12).

Pray for Bishnu and me this upcoming week. On Thursday, we will be embarking on a month long journey of more than 5,000 miles journey around the Continental United States. This has been planned for awhile, and our purpose will be to share testimony about our work in Nepal and Bishnu’s experiences on the streets of America. We will be speaking at churches in Oklahoma, New Mexico, South Dakota, and possibly Oregon and Washington. We also anticipate getting out on the streets in various locales to distribute Gospel tracts, open-air preach, and use the paint-board to point the lost to Jesus Christ. This, of course, will help us further Full Proof Gospel Ministries’ goal of taking the Word of God to the downtown streets of every significant city and town in America. We have come a long way, but there is yet a long way to go.

Please pray for our protection and that we will suffer no hindrances like what transpired in Hickory, NC on June 27th. Pray also as we prepare for this long journey, asking of the Lord that the legal issues in Hickory will in no way be a hindrance to what He has planned across America for these coming weeks. For Bishnu, this will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience as he seeks to carry out the Great Commission of our Lord and Saviour in a foreign land, a land that desperately needs Jesus. May many here the message of salvation, and may Almighty God guide our steps to many divine appointments. Stay tuned for email updates from the road!

If these recent updates have been forwarded to you from other sources and you would like to be added to FPGM’s email newsletter/prayer list, please request this by sending an email to jboyd@fpgm.org.

There is a Remnant Body of Bible-believing Christians in America that the Lord has reserved unto Himself in these days of darkness, open sin, wickedness, false gospels, lukewarm churchianity, and subtle persecution. That Remnant has spoken this past week. You, my friends, are part of that Remnant. THANK-YOU! We are humbled, honored, and edified. But, all the glory really goes to God and the Lord Jesus Christ, “who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father” (Galatians 1:4).

Specific Reasons We Can Rejoice Concerning Our Arrest:

1. The Gospel has gone out in more abundance as a result of this trial (Philippians 1:12-14).
2. Bible-believing Christians have banded together and spoken out against persecution in a free nation.
3. Many have been emboldened to share their faith.
4. We now have personal connections with many solid believers in our local area that heretofore we did not know from Adam.
5. Freedom to share the Gospel at a major event in our hometown appears to have been fully and finally restored.
6. The Word was preached open-air, and more than 1,000 Gospel tracts were distributed at Hickory Alive in celebration of our nation’s birthday.
7. We were edified and encouraged by the prayers and support of believers from all over America and the world.

Let’s see what we shall soon be able to add to this list as things further unfold and come to fruition.

Peace be with you all. Jesus loves you!

Jesse M. Boyd

FPGM HOMEPAGE

Hickory, the Pressure is On!

Wed, 2 Jul 2008 11:29:11 -0400

Greetings in the name of the Most High God. “For lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name (Amos 4:13).”

First, I want to express my deepest gratitude for all the encouraging emails and spiritual support we have received since last weekend’s arrest for the sake of the Gospel. The Hickory Police Department and the Jaycees have been flooded with emails and telephone calls, and certain wheels are now in motion. It is Wednesday, and the charges still have not been dropped; but, I am confident this will soon happen. Matthew and I have sequestered attorneys with the Christian Law Association, and the one we have personally been in contact with seems to be quite the firebrand. The CLA (www.christianlaw.org) is a solid organization that provides free legal defense for those facing difficulties for their Biblical faith. They helped me while setting up FPGM as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and they helped us in 2006 with similar bullying that came from the HPD. A letter has gone out from our attorneys to the Hickory City Attorney, the Hickory Chief of Police, and the President of the Hickory Jaycees, demanding that they refrain from infringing upon our First Amendment rights this Friday night, or face a federal lawsuit. This letter cites several Constitutional Law cases and clearly explains that we were and are within our rights to pass out free Gospel tracts and share our faith down at Union Square. To read the letter in PDF format, CLICK HERE: Attorney Letter.pdf. You will find it very informative.

Again, I am amazed at the stirring in this community. Word has gotten around, and believers that I do not even know have emailed or telephoned: some to pray for us, some to express support, and some to helpfully offer sources for legal assistance. Thanks to all of you. I wish there was time and opportunity to answer each individual email, and please do not be offended if I am unable. Just know that we are very grateful and spiritually strengthened by the voices of believers that have arisen. I was greatly humbled to hear that this situation was announced on Sunday from pulpits in places as far away as Pennsylvania and New Mexico and in many locales here in North Carolina. Even some State political figures have been in contact to voice their support. Truly, there are some nervous officials down in Hickory these days. My friends, we will surely one day lose our freedoms to openly share the Gospel of Jesus Christ in this nation, BUT IT IS NOT THIS DAY! Glory to God! Glory to the Living God!

If you have not had an opportunity, please contact the Hickory Police Department and/or the Hickory Jaycees to voice your concern over this matter. Thus far, your phone calls and emails are making a difference and creating pressure for the guilty parties. The contact information is as follows:

Hickory Police Department
Tel: 828-261-2600
Email: tadkins@ci.hickory.nc.us

Hickory Jaycees
Tel: 828-322-2080
Email: hickoryjaycee@yahoo.com

I have heard that Chief Adkins has actually returned some of your phone calls. This is a good thing and communicates something positive about his character. The Chief was not personally involved in this incident, but he needs to know about it and hear your concerns. The authority is in his hands to make things right. Apparently, he told some of you that he wanted to sit down and talk to me and Matthew so as to reach a resolution. We are willing, but as defendants facing criminal charges, our attorneys have instructed us not to have personal contact with the department.

It may prove important for you all to also contact the Mayor of the City of Hickory, Rudy Wright. He also needs to hear your concerns and be urged to quickly put an end to this matter. The mayor has been involved, but nothing has yet been done. Perhaps if he hears from you all, he will be forced to act.

Mayor Rudy Wright
Tel: (828) 466-1044
Email: signs1320@charter.net

Now, here is an important message for all Bible-believers living in the Hickory area who may be reading this. Please pass this information on to all like-minded Christians at your churches and in your community: WE WANT TO SEE AS MANY CHRISTIANS AS POSSIBLE COME DOWN TO UNION SQUARE IN DOWNTOWN HICKORY ON FRIDAY NIGHT DURING THE HICKORY ALIVE CELEBRATION. I understand that this is the 4th of July, and many of you may be out of town. However, what better way is there to celebrate our nation’s independence than to gather as freedom-loving individual Christians in a public square and share our faith by passing out Gospel tracts to the lost? I have heard rumors that the Mayor has cancelled the Hickory Alive on Friday night for fear of this. I cannot independently confirm these rumors, so we are going down there to witness nonetheless. Should we find the festivities cancelled, then we would like to use the occasion as Christians to gather in the public square to pray as a corporate body for our nation, our city and government officials, our persecuted brethren around the world, and for boldness as Christians to share the Truth of Jesus Christ. We may also have a time of worship and public testimony. Bishnu, my Nepali national partner, will be sharing about the freedoms he has in Nepal (a Hindu/Buddhist nation that is dominated politically by Maoist Communists) that seem to be absent here in America. If the Hickory Alive Celebration is on, I invite all to use the opportunity, following our time of corporate prayer and testimony, as individual Christians to pass out Gospel tracts to the masses that will be gathered. Last weekend, many individuals were grateful for the Gospel tracts they received. It should be no different this time. THE INVITATION IS FOR ALL TO MEET IN THE WHITE PLAZA AREA (an easy-to-find open area) AT THE EAST END OF UNION SQUARE ADJACENT TO 2ND STREET NW AT 7:30pm. Again, don’t let news of Hickory Alive’s cancellation stop you from coming. This will be a good time for the believers of this community to gather for prayer and public testimony in celebration of our nation’s independence. If there are no people with whom we can then witness, we will saturate the downtown with Gospel tracts (i.e. pay-phone booths, benches, storefronts, etc.). Listen, we are in no way suggesting a rally or a public disturbance. We are simply seeking a peaceful gathering of individual Bible-believing Christians as a statement against the freedoms being taken away from us and as an opportunity to corporately call out to the Lord in prayer for our nation and other persecuted brethren. We have no desire to break any civil laws, and the right to peaceful assembly and individual evangelism is clearly protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. If the police feel differently as they did last Friday night, they cannot possibly arrest us all. Let’s show the City of Hickory that Bible-believing Christians are a force to be reckoned with in this area. PLEASE JOIN US AT 7:30 AT THE EAST END OF UNION SQUARE IN DOWNTOWN HICKORY. MY EMAIL NEWSLETTER LIST IS LIMITED, SO KINDLY PASS THIS INFORMATION ON TO YOUR CHURCHES AND ALL YOUR CHRISTIAN FRIENDS WHO LIVE IN THIS AREA.

For those of you who live nowhere reasonably close to Hickory, North Carolina, please commit, wherever you may be at 7:30 Eastern Standard Time on Friday, July 4th, to pray for us, for this nation, for our government officials, and for boldness to share your faith. In the end, may the Lord have the victory. As John the Baptist said in reference to Jesus Christ: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).

Before signing off, let me also say something else. My reporting of this matter in no way serves to communicate that all law enforcement officials in America are corrupt Gestapo-like thugs. I recognize and affirm that there are many God-fearing, respectful, and above-reproach law officers all over America who would never attempt to hinder a Christian from sharing his/her faith. These deserve our prayers, our gratitude, and our support as do our troops serving our country in Afghanistan and Iraq these days. The Lord has given me and FPGM incredible opportunities to share the Gospel on the streets in numerous cities, towns, and communities all around America. There have been some encounters with law enforcement officials from time to time, but never in the same vein as what transpired in my own hometown last Friday night. I remember asking a policewoman in Portsmouth, New Hampshire one time if we could hold up a large sign and preach to masses of teenagers loitering about in the public square. Her reply was succinct: “You have First Amendment rights, do you not?” I then expressed that I wanted to make sure we were not in violation of any city sign ordinance. She replied: “I believe the United States Constitution trumps any city ordinance.” She then took a Gospel tract. There have also been police officers in places like New York City, Boston, Raleigh, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, etc. who never once bothered us while preaching, distributing tracts, or holding up Gospel signs. On Coney Island, we recently preached open-air with a microphone and a huge paintboard. The police were standing right beside of us and said not a word. I can also remember countless witnessing encounters with law enforcement officials who were respectful of the Gospel and took a tract. There was a security guard in Chattanooga, Tennessee one time who Jamie and I were able to share with. He turned out to be a believer, took the tract, was convicted about sharing his faith, and later was able to be a part of leading someone to Christ at his workplace. This young man is on my email list and may be reading this even now. God bless you, my friend. Thank you for your service.

There is a large United States map that hangs on the wall of FPGM’s office (see above photo). The blue dots are map tacks that represent all the locales where God has given us opportunity to openly and publicly proclaim the Gospel (either by preaching, one-on-one witnessing, or Gospel tract/Bible distribution). The yarn strings represent the two distinct bicycle routes I undertook to the proclaim the Gospel in 2003 and 2005. Only in Hickory, NC have we ever been harassed by the police consistently. The words of Jesus Christ ring abundantly true in Mark 6:4: “But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.” And, my friends, last Friday is only the culmination of numerous incidents. Many of you remember the threats back in 2006 over the same thing. We have been bothered for witnessing to kids loitering in parking lots along Hwy. 70. One time, an officer told us that we could not stop to talk to the teenagers hanging out in front of storefronts on a public sidewalk in downtown Hickory. We were told that we had to keep moving. After Friday night, however, we have determined: NO MORE! None of this has ever happened in the hundreds of other cities, towns, and communities where we have shared the Gospel.

Now, let me also say that there are decent officers on the Hickory Police Force who never would have taken such action. It is unfortunate that the reputation of the entire department has to suffer over an incident such as this. I remember a Hickory police officer giving us permission to preach open-air at Oktoberfest in the “beer garden” last Fall. He said we could preach as long as the crowd did not get too riled up and pose a public disturbance. He was respectful and had a proper understanding of the law. In 2006, when the same threats were made about our distributing of Gospel literature in Union Square, a police supervisor stopped the madness and told his subordinates to leave us alone. For men such as these, we should be thankful. Notwithstanding, the Hickory Police Department has a bit of a negative reputation in this community outside of this incident as do the particular officers involved. This is not the first time thug-tactics have been complained about. The offending officers need to be held accountable. Let’s pray that the Chief does the right thing and that the decent, honest, and reputable officers of the force are not inhibited because of the outlandish actions of their coworkers.

Again, thanks for all the encouraging emails, telephone calls, and voices of support. As is to be expected, there has been negative feedback from so-called “Christians” as well. CLICK HERE: Negative Letter.pdf to see correspondence from a local who claims to be a Christian but had not the guts to even sign his name. You may find his words and understanding of the Gospel quite comical. Such accusations need no defense. Read for entertainment purposes only.

Well, it is time to be about the business of the day. PLEASE, IF YOU ARE ABLE, COME DOWN TO UNION SQUARE ON FRIDAY NIGHT AT 7:30 pm at the east end of the plaza near 2nd Street. Such a peaceful assembly will only prove efficacious if Christians come out in droves. If any one wants to come in from out of town, we will find accommodation for you. Just let me know ASAP.

One final note, the Hickory Police Chief has said to many that the video clips posted on the internet only reveal a limited slice of the whole incident. Those videos began and ended with my personal involvement, and I was arrested. As I see it, nothing that transpired before is relevant to my arrest. My friends with whom prior interaction took place were not handcuffed and forced to sit in jail. Nevertheless, there is another video clip taken from a cell phone that shows the offending officers pontificating their complete misunderstanding of the law to my friend, Kent Blalock, a little earlier in the evening. I don’t think Chief Adkins wants this video on the web. For now, I am refraining. As one attorney said, “Even if the statements about this incident are only half true, it is still a slam-dunk!”

DON’T FORGET: EMAIL OR TELEPHONE THE HICKORY POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THE HICKORY JAYCEES TO EXPRESS YOUR CONCERN IF YOU HAVE NOT DONE SO ALREADY. AND, EVERYONE GET IN TOUCH WITH THE MAYOR’S OFFICE AS WELL (CONTACT INFORMATION IS LISTED ABOVE). LET’S KEEP POURING THE PRESSURE ON. DROP THE CHARGES!

ALSO, SEE YOU FRIDAY NIGHT AT 7:30 IN UNION SQUARE!:

“I think myself happy, king Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself this day before thee touching all the things whereof I am accused of the Jews” (Acts 26:2).

For the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ,

Jesse Boyd

P.S. My brother, Matthew, was also arrested and persecuted in this incident. Because I head up a ministry and have a long list of people on my e-newsletter list, virtually all the encouraging support has come for us through me. If you have an opportunity, please email Matthew directly (mboyd@twincityknitting.com) to voice your support and prayerful thoughts. He is a bold soldier of Christ and the epitome of one whose lifestyle is sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, in his workplace and on the streets of his community. I truly counted it an honor last weekend to be incarcerated in a cell beside my own brother. It was he who had the boldness, despite his personal disgust over the whole incident, to try and witness to the officers themselves down in the city jail. And, they hated him for it.

FPGM HOMEPAGE

Arrested in Hickory

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 21:49:14 -0400

Greetings friends and prayer-partners. It is truly a sad day in America, the supposed "Land of the Free." Last night, my brother (Matthew) and I were arrested for "tresspassing on public property" simply because we were distributing Gospel tracts freely at a free public access event on the town square in Hickory, NC (In the above picture, our group poses after Matthew and I were released. We are holding our arrest reports). I have the incident on video camera. We were accused of trespassing, and I simply asked "What specific law are we breaking?" twice. They gave me no real answer, so I then explained that I had a copy of the Hickory Code of Ordinances in my backpack and that I needed to know how we were breaking the law. I guess that was enough for them, for they immediately handcuffed me and led me away. My brother, who videotaped my arrest, was then arrested himself. He explained that he had every right to be in that place just as all the other people who were there for the event. He also explained that he was simply standing there; how was this in violation of the law? They arrested him too. We spent some time in jail cells late last night, and it was almost comical to hear the officers in the background debating with the magistrate on exactly how to charge us. In the end, we were cited with 2nd degree trespassing, and our court date is set for August 26.

There were three other gentlemen, including Bishnu, with us doing the work of evangelism last night. The police specifically told my friends they were trespassing by handing out religious literature. The ironic thing is that I initially got involved in a witnessing conversation with a Catholic when we first arrived. So, by virtue of the circumstance, I personally had not opportunity to give out a single Gospel tract. My entire time before the arrest was spent in conversation. As soon as the conversation was over, I saw that my friends were being hassled by the police. I simply approached, turned the video camera on, and asked about what was transpiring. I then asked a total of three questions, and for that, I was arrested. I, personally, was never told to leave, and I never refused to leave. I also had not had opportunity to do what they were claiming was in violation of the law. The charge against me reads that I was refused entrance to the town square by the man in charge of the event and two police officers and that I adamantly refused to leave, entering against their orders. Of course, none of these men ever approached ME with such orders. This whole thing is so ludicrous that I almost chuckle thinking about it. Earlier in the evening, as mentioned, my friends were told that it was ok for us to be there and talk to people, but we were not allowed to distribute Gospel tracts. This is amazing, because the Hickory Code of Ordinances says clearly in Section 21-2: "No person shall distribute any circulars or other advertising matter within the fire limits of the city, provided, THAT THIS SECTION SHALL NOT APPLY TO RELIGIOUS LITERATURE CIRCULATED FROM PERSON TO PERSON." At the root of the whole issue was Gospel tracts, and this is a right clearly protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution (follow this link to see how the U.S. Supreme Court has addressed this specific issue over the years: http://www.solidrockfaith.com/gospeltracts.pdf )

Christians in America need to wake up and realize we are losing our freedoms to share the Gospel despite the clarity and guarantees of the law. One of the officers summed up the present situation best: "We'll arrest you regardless and let the courts sort out whether or not you are breaking the law." Friends, did I wake up in the USA yesterday morning or the USSR? If Bible-believing Christians do not stand up and speak out, all will soon be lost.

Please pray for us in the coming weeks. We are currently seeking legal representation and believe that the Hickory City Police Department should be held accountable for their clear trampling of our First Amendment Rights. The event we have been targeting continues for several more weeks, and if we cease going to share the Word, they have won the battle. Pray for us as we seek wisdom on whether to return to those public sidewalks again next Friday night and continue handing out the Word of God, understanding the risk involved. In the end, my hope is that this situation mobilizes believers in Hickory to take a stand against a very thuggish and Gestapo-like police force. Also, may our labors and the stand we take for the Gospel of Jesus Christ open the door for young believers to openly share their faith on the public streets and sidewalks of Hickory for years to come.

Thanks for your prayers and support. Now, go preach Jesus Christ and serve your King.

For the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ,

Jesse Boyd

Below, are two video clips of the incident. The second clip picks up where the first leaves off. At this point, I handed the camera to Matthew while being handcuffed, and it had to be turned back on. Notice that we were never told we were under arrest. We were never read our rights. And, the people and music in the background shows clearly we were in a public place. Enjoy. This should make Bible-believing Christians pretty angry. Sound the alarm!

FPGM HOMEPAGE

Bishnu in America

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 14:01:11 -0400

Greetings, beloved brethren, in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. “Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name (Amos 5:8).

In a way, this email update is a great alarm bell for the Remnant Body of Jesus Christ living in these latter days. Persecution for true Bible believers is coming to this nation, and that quite quick. Are you ready? The Apostle Paul said in II Timothy 3:12: “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” Anyone who teaches that the Christian life is a bed of roses, prosperity, and worldly blessing has never read the New Testament.

Last night, we had a taste of such persecution right here in my hometown of Hickory, North Carolina. During the months of June and July, there are a series of outdoor festivals termed “Hickory Alive” that take place every Friday evening. These are free public access events that take place on public property that my local tax dollars pay to maintain. Four of us, including Bishnu (my Nepali national partner) went out there last night to mingle, distribute Gospel tracts, and preach Jesus. To make a long story short, the police threatened to arrest us if we did not cease distributing tracts. We were told that we were breaking city ordinance (something completely untrue, I have read the ordinance myself) and harassing people (despite the fact that a young man physically assaulted ME twice). I asked the officer two questions: “Are we breaking a specific law?” and “Are you going to arrest us if we continue giving out tracts?” He refused to answer the first question and eventually said yes to the second. I appealed to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution as well as various Supreme Court decisions that specifically protect the rights to distribute religious literature over and above the claims of any local ordinance (Check some of these out at http://www.solidrockfaith.com/gospeltracts.pdf). His response: “Son, I am not going to listen to you tell me what the law does and does not say.” The amazing thing is that this officer claimed to be a Christian, of course appealing to his church attendance: “I’m a Christian. I go to church every Sunday, blah, blah, blah.” I then questioned why he was taking the time to persecute believers who were simply trying to share the Gospel instead of protecting our rights to do so. No real response, he just got very angry, proving his unconverted nature. All in all ‘twas a sad, sad commentary on the state of things in the “Land of the Free.” Bishnu and my friend Paul were escorted off the premises by an officer waving around handcuffs. My brother and I remained behind as we were in the midst of good conversations about the Lord. Eventually, we met up again and remained down there for a few more hours.

One “Christian” who goes to a local megachurch where I used to attend got so angry about us offering a tract to his daughter. Ironically, she was interested in the Gospel as my brother challenged her assertion that she was a good person. He began to take her through the Ten Commandments and share why we need Christ and why our trust must be in Him, not ourselves. Her father approached and said, “My daughter is a good person and she needs to be affirmed in this. You people are preaching hate [a common, yet completely unfounded accusation often leveled against us], and I refuse to believe your doctrine. That’s not my God! [Therein, friends, lies the problem. His god is not the God of Scripture]. Matthew shrewdly responded, If you truly love the Lord, why aren’t you sharing your faith? In fact, why do you have your teenage daughter out here in the midst of all this reveling wickedness with no concern for the temptations and iniquity all around? Without an answer, he stormed off. Sad, but true--more so because it is undoubtedly a reflection of the false gospel being preached at a megachurch that was once a beacon of light in this community (i.e. God exists to make your dreams come true; all you need to do is pray this little prayer. It will only take five minutes of your time. Pray this prayer, and your are saved. Faith in Jesus is important, but you need to forgive yourself and be who you were born to be, blah, blah, blah . . . STOP THE TAPE! Have these people ever read Romans 8:8? James 4:4? Romans 1?).

It was a tough night, friends and fellowbelievers. Nevertheless, the Word did go out. Many heard despite police harassment, and there was obvious sign of conviction. One young man who was initially so disrespectful and blasphemous later calmed and listened for awhile as his friends mocked. He took a Gospel tract and was humbled. Another group of guys in a parked truck were silent with conviction as the Gospel was laid out plain. Matthew, my brother, prayed with all of them, and they thanked him for his boldness. Next week, we plan to return, quite confident that we are not in violation of any law. If any of you have any legal experience or contacts that might assist us in getting our information together so as to be properly equipped, it would be most helpful. Two years ago, as some of you might remember, we faced this same battle. An attorney from the Christian Law Association typed up a letter for us to be handed over to the police officer the next time we were threatened with arrest for sharing our faith. We did, and they ceased bothering us. Please pray for the work. We are only motivated by getting the Word of God out in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation. GOD SAVE THE UNITED STATES!

Yes, last night was rough, but thanks be unto God: “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).

Bishnu has been with us now for a little over three weeks, and for him, it has been quite a ride. I picked him up at JFK International Airport in New York May 29. We spent a couple of days in the city doing evangelism before heading up to Boston for the week-long Open Air Campaigners Evangelism Training. In New York, we were also able to hook up with Dylan, Cheri, and Ritter Harris for a couple of days upon their return from India. They were visiting a friend from Manhattan enroute to their home. The fellowship was sweet as we relived many good and hard times in Bangladesh and Nepal from earlier this year. The Lord truly used them in India after I returned to the States, and many were confronted with the Gospel. Thanks for your prayers concerning them. They are now safely back in Oregon.

The training in Boston was very beneficial for both me and Bishnu. Open Air Campaigners (www.oacusa.org) is a faithful and doctrinally solid ministry that believes in taking the Gospel of Jesus Christ (not a false “repeat a prayer after me” gospel but Repentance & Faith--Acts 20:21) to the streets intentionally and with boldness. We were both truly blessed, and the training was more than effectual. Not only were we taught how to use paintboards (In my last email update, I talked about using one of these down at the Mayfest Festival in Newton, NC) and other practical tools for getting a crowd, but there was a lot of open-air preaching experience gained down on the streets in Boston. We preached out in front of the old South Meeting House (a place where John Wesley preached years and years ago), on Winter Street, and down at Harvard Square. We also went into the projects in the afternoons to conduct kids programs. These were not planned ahead of time; we simply drove around looking for places where kids were gathered and set up right in the neighborhoods. Of course, the paintboard was a great means to proclaim a bold Gospel, and many heard the Word. Over the course of the week, there were a total of 49 open-air meetings conducted on the streets of Boston, and more than 500 people attended these meetings and heard the Gospel. Glory to God. Bishnu and I left the training invigorated and energized to preach the Word in season and out of season (II Timothy 4:2). Moreover, it was a spiritual shot in the arm to spend an entire week with a group of likeminded brothers and sisters who also shared a burden to be trained in open-air preaching and evangelism. Truly, there is a Remnant (I Kings 19:18).

Friends, let me applaud my national partner for a moment: I truly believe Bishnu Shrestha is the first Nepali in the history of the world that has come to America and preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ open-air on the streets. Many Nepali Christian leaders get visas to come here, but sadly they completely spend their time being wined and dined by their supporters in fancy restaurants and fancy homes while traveling around to churches only to ask for money (I know a couple of people like this). Evangelizing the lost and utilizing such an opportunity to carry out the Great Commission in a foreign land is the farthest thing from their minds. These only see the so-called “glories” of America and go back to Nepal thinking that we are a Christian nation. Their strategy is completely governed by how they can keep their American supporters happy so as to keep getting the funds. This is not Bishnu, my friends. He is certainly not being wined and dined, and though here to give testimony of the work of Project Jagerna, he is also here to preach the Gospel to the lost. These past three weeks, he has certainly done so.

After Boston, Bishnu and I returned to New York City for several days with a paintboard and an itching to hit the streets. There, we hooked up with a street evangelist friend of mine (Shawn Holes) and a couple of his friends (Thanks Scott and Patte for your encouragement and partnership). On a Sunday afternoon, we hit the boardwalk on Coney Island. The place was literally crawling with people. God held off the rain as we set up the paintboard and went to preaching. Many Gospel tracts were given out, and all of us, including Bishnu preached with boldness. At one point, as I wrapped up a message, I was surprised to receive a round of applause. That doesn’t happen very often on the streets. Ironically, the police were standing nearby and never said a word. And, we were even using a microphone. We can preach open-air with a microphone in New York City, but we cannot peacefully hand out Gospel tracts in Hickory, NC? Something is truly wrong with this picture.

In New York, we also preached and evangelized on the subways, down at Union Square, and in Brooklyn. At Union Square, things got very ugly as Shawn preached. People started throwing bottles and water balloons at him, and the mention of Jesus Christ brought out such blasphemy and hatred for the things of the Lord. Bishnu was shocked! In Nepal, such blatant disrespect would never happen, he maintained. ‘Twas another tough outing in service to the Lord.

Later that same evening, Bishnu shared his testimony of coming to Christ out of Hinduism to a bunch of people loitering on the plaza stairs. This was couched between Shawn and I preaching Gospel messages. He preached on the relationship between the justice and love of God as revealed in Jesus Christ, and I talked about the nature of the Bible as the Word of God. All of this, of course, created interesting conversations. Please pray for June, a Korean Catholic who was very open to the Gospel and showed true signs of conviction. I also think of Marta, the submissive partner in a lesbian couple who stood by and listened to everything being said. Her domineering girlfriend mocked the Gospel and boasted of her homosexual sin. I mentioned that her homosexuality was the least of her problems. Upon admitting that she had lied, stolen, lusted, etc. . ., I explained that she was condemned despite her homosexuality, and that it why she needed the Saviour. She mocked, but Marta truly seemed convicted. She took a Gospel of John in the end and let me pray with her right there on the streets. Please pray for her salvation. There were other encounters and divine appointments, and therein lies the victory. So many look for decisions; numbers; how many people they can get to go to their church, say a prayer, etc. . . . Biblical evangelism is not about that. We are commanded to preach repentance and faith (read I Corinthians 1). The results are up to the Lord (John 6:44; I Corinthians 3:7; Romans 9:16; John 1:12-13; Philippians 1:12-13). Anytime the Word goes forth, there is victory (Isaiah 55:11). And, when people get angry, that is evidence of conviction and cause for rejoicing. Many years ago, I became so upset at someone for questioning my salvation and calling me a hypocrite. It was done out of love, but my attitude was: “How dare you! I go to church every Sunday, I read my Bible, I am a Christian, blah, blah, blah.” I knew the truth--I WAS A FALSE CONVERT--and my angry response was really a result of conviction. I pondered those words spoken to me for quite some time, and later, this seed sprouted and took root. I gave my heart to Christ for real (not repeating a prayer and being a good person, but repenting of my sins and trusting Christ for my salvation), and I have been a changed man ever since. Today, I am thankful someone had the guts to describe me as I was in truth--A HYPOCRITE AND A FALSE CONVERT. So, even last night in Hickory, when there were so many mockings, threatenings, blasphemies, and harsh words, we can rejoice. There was conviction of sin, and perhaps one day, one of those youth will be like me. The anger will turn into sorrow, and “godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of” (II Corinthians 7:10). An angry response is so much better than apathy. Remember this when you share your faith.

Yes, New York City and Boston were good times with my partner from Nepal. We also hit the streets in Springfield, Massachusetts, gave testimony at a church in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and camped out in the woods of northwestern Connecticut. All of this experience only serves to improve his Bishnu’s English and better prepare him for the long term and needful work we have ahead of us in Nepal. In many ways, he is teaching me; I am not teaching him. Glory to God, Glory to the Living God!

Our travels ended as we made a beeline to a funeral in Creedmoor, North Carolina. My pastor and trustee’s wife, Linda Hall, succumbed to a rare brain virus a little more than a week ago. Thanks for all your prayers in this matter. Please continue to pray for Terry Hall and his children. This was truly an unexpected loss. Mrs. Linda loved the Lord and was taken home to be with Him. The true believer would do well to remember the great truth of Isaiah 57:1: “The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and the merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come.” Last Sunday and tomorrow, I am filling in for Pastor Terry at my home church. Pray for God’s grace in this matter. FPGM cannot afford to lose Brother Terry as a faithful trustee, and Living Word Baptist Church cannot afford to lose him as its pastor. Our prayer is that the Lord will give him the strength to continue in the ministry according to the exhortation of Colossians 4:17. There are not many left who proclaim the whole counsel of God, a Gospel of repentance and faith, and the absolute truth of the Word of God without compromise. Again, please lift up this brother and his family. Three of his children are grown and married, but the youngest is still a teenager in high school. Raising her alone will prove difficult.

This weekend, as mentioned, I will again be preaching at my home church. Pray also for Bishnu as he gives testimony at another church in Raleigh concerning our work in Nepal. This upcoming week, he will give testimony yet again at another local church, and we will again target Hickory Alive with the Gospel on Friday evening. Remember, all of these appointments at local churches are opportunities to preach the biblical gospel and exhort genuine believers to share their faith boldly. Pray that many will step up to the plate. Sometimes, believe it or not, I am never asked to come back.

Pray for FPGM and our continued partnership with Bishnu in the coming weeks. Our plans all along have been to travel for the entire month of July, preaching on the streets of many of America’s cities and giving testimony of Project Jagerna and the work in Nepal before several churches around the country that support the ministry. Unfortunately, the price of gasoline is putting a damper on these plans. The trip to Boston and back cost almost $400.00 in gas alone, and that was in a little Subaru wagon that generally has good fuel economy. You all know of what I speak. Undoubtedly, the fuel crisis is hurting all of us, especially those itinerant missionaries and evangelists that give their lives in faith to traveling and preaching the Gospel. Many names come to mind. At this point, it does not look as if FPGM can afford to make such a trip this summer. Our prayer is that if the Lord wills us to go, He will provide the means to pay for gas above and beyond the normal support that keeps the ministry operational and in existence. If He does not provide, we will stay in North Carolina. Join us as we pray and seek His wisdom regarding this manner. We need to make a decision in the next week or so. The reality is: Bishnu did not come to America to sit around for three months. He came to preach and to do the work of evangelism. I shudder to think that I might prove myself a less than adequate host.

Let me also say this: Thanks to all of you who sacrificially and faithfully support Full Proof Gospel Ministries every month, and thanks to those who have sent special unexpected gifts in recent weeks. These were all answers to prayer. Without such, we could not continue to carry out the work of the ministry. Oftentimes, when the prices of necessary commodities drastically increase and economic times get tough, the first thing that Christian people are forced to cut back on is their support of missionaries. This is understandable, and I know many missionaries right now who are suffering because of this. Some are even thinking about having to pack up and come home. This is not a testimony that I can give. Those who support us and have done so for so long continue to make this sacrifice, and for this, we are truly grateful. May the Lord reward you tenfold, no, an hundredfold (Luke 6:38). Pray for our steadfast missionaries and itinerant evangelists who live by faith to preach the unadulterated Gospel in America and many places around the world. Finances are a struggle for many at this time. Thankfully, we serve a God who never guides where he does not provide. For some real encouragement in this matter, go read a biography about George Mueller, a bold evangelist who cared for orphans in England during the 1800’s.

Before I sign off, please also pray for the Bible translation work in which Bishnu and I are engaged. We are trying to complete work on the Gospel of Mark before he returns to Nepal on August 5. Hopefully, he can return with the final draft in hand, and soon thereafter, we trust the printing will begin. Presently, our Bible printing funds are largely exhausted. Pray for the Lord’s provision. For more information, visit the website (www.fpgm.org) and peruse under Project Jagerna.

Thanks for your accountability, prayers, and partnership in the work of evangelism. Now, go serve your King.

For the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ,

Jesse M. Boyd

P.S. Again, any legal advice or attorney contacts regarding our current situation in Hickory, North Carolina would be most appreciated.

FPGM HOMEPAGE

Bishnu & MayFest

Wed, 21 May 2008 21:53:30 -0400

Greetings in the name of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour. “Mercy unto you, and peace, and love be multiplied” (Jude 2).

I write concerning an urgent matter that needs your prayers. Bishnu Shrestha, Full Proof Gospel Ministries’ national partner in Nepal, sits down for an interview with an American consulate at the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu on Friday morning (i.e. Thursday evening, Eastern Standard Time). He will either leave that interview with his paperwork stamped and an accompanying American visa, or he will leave without permission to travel to the States. We have invited Bishnu to spend the summer in America and have put a lot of hard work into assimilating all the paperwork and putting together a plan of action. We paid $300.00 just so he could apply for this visa, and this money is non-refundable, regardless of whether or not he is approved. From our side as well as his, we have done all we can do. The matter is completely in the Lord’s hands. It has been said that a lot depends upon the mood of the consular the day of the interview. But, we serve a Sovereign Lord who controls the affairs of men (Daniel 5:21). Please pray that Bishnu is approved for travel to the United States. It is very difficult for Nepalis to obtain American visas, and the amount of paperwork he is having to submit would make annual income tax returns look like little more than a formality.

There are several important reasons why we invited Bishnu to America for the summer: First of all, we would like to provide him with some formal evangelism and discipleship training that we believe will greatly benefit his labor for the Gospel of Jesus Christ there in Nepal. Secondly, we are planning some big-time outreach locally and across America in which his assistance and participation are needed. This includes targeting some locales where Nepalis typically reside and distributing Project Jagerna Scripture portions among these in their own language. Because Bishnu oversees our ministry groundwork there in Kathmandu, we believe that his personal testimony regarding the state of affairs in Nepal, the needs of Nepali churches with regard to the Bible, and his own evangelistic zeal on the streets of Kathmandu will greatly help us raise awareness amongst American Christians and Bible-believing churches concerning Project Jagerna (FPGM’s effort to faithfully translate, print, and freely distribute the Scriptures for Nepali people all around the world). Finally, we anticipate spending some time together in the labor of Scripture translation. Our goal is to complete the Gospel of Mark before he returns to Nepal. Then, with the Lord’s provision, we can print some thousands of these for distribution. More than all this, I simply want my Nepali friend to experience America and see first-hand how lost our society really is. Like American believers, Nepali believers are likewise commissioned by the Saviour to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth (Mark 16:15), keeping in mind that there are really only two types of people: born again believers and condemned sinners (John 3:18). We want help Bishnu take the Gospel of Jesus Christ beyond the borders of his own nation just as we here at FPGM have been privileged to do numerous times.

Again, my friends, please pray regarding this matter. Should he be approved, Bishnu will be arriving here, Lord willing, as soon as May 30. Shortly thereafter, we will be attending an open-air preaching training in Boston as well as partnering up with an evangelist friend of mine for several days on the streets of New York City. Should a visa not be granted, my summer will go down a completely different path.

Since I last wrote, our Project Jagerna John/Romans editions have continued to go out across Nepal. Recently, Bishnu sent a box with some believers out to a corner of Western Nepal where we have heretofore been unable to target. More were provided to missionaries for the work of evangelism as well as local believers in the Baglung District and Panchthar in Eastern Nepal. All the anticipated problems surrounding Nepal’s recent elections never materialized. The Maoists are in clear control of the newly formed Constituent Assembly, but things seem to be proceeding like normal. The door of opportunity for the Gospel remains wide open. Praise be unto the Most High God! Just last week, Bishnu went to some sort of political gathering where people were given a forum to question Maoist officials about various issues. There, he very boldly shared the Gospel with Barsa Man Pun, a Maoist leader elected to the Constituent Assembly from the Lalitpur District. This man was one of the chief planners of Maoist terrorist attacks during what the liberal media calls “The People’s Revolution” in the 1990’s. This guy was sitting in a place of prominence at this particular meeting. Bishnu approached, spoke with him for a few seconds, and left him a Gospel tract along with a Jagerna John/Romans edition (See him, the man with the orange garland holding it in the adjacent picture). Please pray for Barsa Man Pun’s salvation.

Having been home a little more than a month, I am finally getting settled back into the American routine, and for me, this is a bit scary. Notwithstanding, there have been several opportunities to take the Gospel to the streets. We have continued pressing toward our goal of taking the Word of God to the downtown strip of every single town, community, and hamlet in Western North Carolina, radiating out from Hickory. I recall some teenagers hanging out in a parking lot in Gastonia, loiterers outside a bar in Bessemer City, and a couple of folks in a laundromat in Cherryville. Please pray for the salvation of these.

This past Saturday, FPGM in partnership with New Testament Christian Fellowship, a local house church, targeted the Mayfest Spring Festival in downtown Newton, North Carolina. We rented a booth and used this as a platform to open-air preach as well as distribute Gospel tracts and Scripture portions. That day, close to a thousand tracts went out, and many heard the Word as repentance and faith were clearly preached in the open-air. Several hundred free bottles of water with an attached Gospel message were also distributed in the heat of the day. People seemed to really appreciate this, especially considering how expensive food and drink typically are at such events. More than anything, this created a clear opportunity to proclaim Jesus Christ. Amazingly, there was very little hostility from the public, and several times, there was a decent little crowd listening to the preaching. The police and event coordinators made themselves obnoxiously visible in our vicinity but never said anything. Thanks to my friend Kent Blalock who spent some quality time training me in the use of a paint board these past few weeks. For the first time, I employed the paint board while preaching, and this really seemed to catch people’s attention. I look forward to more of this in the future. Something visual like a paint board would prove a valuable counterpart to open-air preaching in the village setting in Nepal.

Well, I better sign off. It is late. Again, please pray for Bishnu’s visa interview. The ministry is at a fork in the road. In a little more than 24 hours, there will only be one way to proceed. Hopefully, this will involve my Nepali friend and partner here on the streets of America, Land of the Man-Centered Gospel and Home of the Pagans! “Preach the word: be instant in season, out of season” (II Timothy 4:2).

For the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ,

Jesse M. Boyd

FPGM HOMEPAGE

Returning Home

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 08:38:49 -0400

Greetings from the Homeland. Grace, mercy, and peace be upon you all from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Just days ago, I safely returned from South Asia and am now reunited with my family in Vale, North Carolina. Thanks for your prayers in this matter; the Lord was faithful. It has been more than two weeks since I last wrote, and then, I promised Part II of a recap of our work in the mountains of Western Nepal and laid out some plans that did not exactly come to pass as we had anticipated.

The overland journey from Kathmandu to Delhi via Varanasi never happened. As Nepal’s April 10th elections approached, the borders closed down, and leaving by land quickly ceased being an option. Therefore, the Harris’ and myself decided to part ways there in Kathmandu. It was a small miracle that any of us could get a flight from Kathmandu to Delhi at that time: all were overbooked as people were getting out before the elections. Nevertheless, the Lord provided. To make a long story short, the Harris’ path took them to Delhi and then up to Manali in the Himalayan foothills. Presently, they are basing out of this hill station, and God has continued to use their boldness to make the Word known. Please pray for them as they will be in India until sometime in May.

My path, on the other hand, unexpectedly took me through London for a couple of days. There, I hooked up with a Christian brother I had previously met in Nepal. This encounter, in and of itself, was interesting. After returning from Jumla, I drove my motorcycle over to Pokhara to deliver some Jagerna materials to local believers. There, I also rendezvoused with the Harris’ who had come from Nepalgunj by bus. While there, we went up to Sarangkot (a local viewpoint) at dawn to behold the mighty Annapurna Himalaya. That morning, I only had one clean T-shirt, and it contained a bold proclamation that I was a believer. I debated wearing it because it really did not match my only clean pair of pants (I can be OCD like that), but I donned it in the end, thinking that it could prove a witness. Anyway, at Sarangkot, a young man saw my shirt, approached, and asked if I was a Christian. Not much later, I was staying at this brother’s house on the outskirts of London as I made my way back to the States. Truly, the ways of the Lord are mysterious and past finding out (Romans 11:33). Something as simple as a T-shirt created an opportunity for me to fellowship with and encourage fellow believers in the UK and proclaim the Gospel on the streets of London, one of the world’s most influential cities. This also proved a profitable way to break up a long trip and help transition out of the madness of South Asia back into the placid affluence of the West. Strangely, even now, I miss the pollution, chaos, and frustrating aspects of Nepali culture. As I look around my hometown and see so much that is taken for granted, so many content in their pseudo-prosperity, so much rampant obliviousness to the world outside of one’s comfort zone, a culture that has forgotten the Creator God, and idolatry that rivals the false religions of South Asia, my spirit mourns. In Nepal, people would accept copies of the Scriptures with gratitude and in droves. Here, one does well to distribute a mere handful of Gospel tracts in a single outing. Notwithstanding, Jesus said, “Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). That includes our own backyard, and it’s obedience that should motivate the Christian, not results.

I’ll talk a little more about my time in the UK later. While I am thinking about it, however, do continually pray for the people of Nepal. The April 10th elections have come and gone without major incidence. However, it appears that the Maoist Party has overwhelmingly won the majority in the Constituent Assembly that will determine the new form of government and write the nation’s constitution. I don’t know exactly what this means, but the Maoists have long been communistic thugs who hate Christians and carry out their agenda with intimidation and violence. Just because they appear a little more refined in government does not change their nature or their ultimate objectives. Unfortunately, the people of Nepal apparently think so. Who knows if such a majority was fairly won anyway? Intimidation in the villages is a reality, and many people undoubtedly voted for the Maoist candidates out of fear. Until recently (maybe it’s still the case, I am unsure), Nepal’s Maoist Party was on the United States’ official terrorist list. So, a Maoist controlled government inevitably cannot be a good thing for Nepali Christians. Thus, the Lord will have to intervene if the door for bold proclamation of the Gospel and mass Scripture distribution is to remain open in Nepal.

While previously recapping our recent work in the mountains of Western Nepal, I left you all in Bumra early one morning as we saturated a nearby village and prepared to climb over another high pass. Dylan, Cheri, little Ritter, Yogendra, and I left that place and traipsed along the river before slogging up, up, and up only to drop down again. At a lone shop along a steep upward grade, we stopped for water, and I thanked the Lord for a packet of orange-creme cookies that we were able to obtain. There, a group of elderly men were positive toward our proclaiming the Gospel. We gave them fresh socks and Nepali Gospels of John. It was pleasing to share openly and have a captive audience. Scripture portions continued to go out along the trail.

That day, we broke for lunch in Chauta after losing precious elevation that we had struggled so hard to gain. It took forever to cook our daal bhat (i.e. rice and lentils), so we did a little distribution in town. At a nearby school, children mobbed us for tracts. One girl made a show by shredding up some tracts in front of everyone. I rebuked her openly in Nepali: “Why did you do that? That was the Word of God, and His judgment comes swiftly.” Still, we distributed more. Gospels of John went out to villagers and a few police officers. One old man was particularly fond of Ritter. He took him for awhile (a precious break for Cheri) and later, Dylan was able to invest in his life with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The man was very open. I also recall an encounter with a family from the Mugu district slogging back to their home. Distributing the Word to people such as these insured that it would go into places heretofore devoid of the Gospel. There was special satisfaction in this.

From Chauta, the route slogged steeply up a narrow valley to higher pasturelands that resembled the wildness of Wyoming. We lodged for the night at a place over 10,000 ft. called Bhulbhule, little more than a collection of residences with a disgusting outhouse. Trying to bathe in the icy village tap was frustrating, and again, the room was little better than a cattle stall. I stayed up late this night conversing with the locals and practicing the language. I pray the Lord used it. More of the Word went out, and even now, I momentarily recall a young boy in that place who was throwing rocks at a cow. I scolded him for doing so and then tried to jest with him a bit. Later, I discovered that the boy could not read; his parents had died of tuberculosis, and his relatives made him work instead of going to school like other village children. I pity this one who may never be able to read the wellspring of truth and wisdom that is the Word of God. Why should I be born amongst such blessing and prosperity while this one lives amidst such hopelessness? Why should I possess numerous leather-bound Bibles while this one cannot even read? I am overwhelmed. So much do we Christians in America take for granted. Before leaving Bhulbhule, I made a young girl promise to read from John’s Gospel to this young boy. I pray she does not forget her promise.

The route continued to climb up and over the 11,320 ft. Churchi Lagna Pass by way of a wide open vale much like what I have seen in Colorado or Wyoming. I knew not such beauty existed in Nepal. All praise to the Maker of the Mountains (Amos 4:13)! Atop, Himalayan giants were visible to the north. Momentarily, we enjoyed the view but then began the long 4,500 ft. descent into the Mugu District, one of Nepal’s most unreached areas. We passed through several settlements enroute to Gamghadi and continued to distribute the Word. At Gamghadi, the largest village in the area, our patience was tested. The village had a terrible water shortage, and everything was so dusty. Tribulation came from many directions, not the least of which was our discovery that pressing on to Simikot (Nepal’s most northwest permanent settlement) was dangerous and out of the question with a little one. A long road, a very high pass with much snow, lots of up and down, and a general lack of knowledge about the route amongst the general populace: These things made our decision for us. In other areas, too, we struggled. Notwithstanding, the Lord unexpectedly put some believers in our path, and we were able to find rest in the modest but cozy sanctuary of a local church. There, even in the midst of tribulation and adversity, the Lord again allowed me to give testimony before believers and nonbelievers over a late plate of daal bhat with a little goat meat. Meat, it had been so long in coming! The pastor and some believers in that church asked me to teach them. I was humbled and warned of “churchianity,” false teachers, and false gospels while exhorting the brethren unto obedience as a simple ministry strategy, boldness to preach the Gospel, and Jesus Christ as the only way to eternal life. There were special moments in that place.

Unable to proceed to Simikot with the materials alloted for such a journey, we sought the Lord and were honored to leave 400 Nepali Gospels of John. about 500 Gospel tracts, 200 Tibetan tracts, and some Gospel VCDs with the brethren in Gamghadi. Dadiram, the pastor, was overjoyed as he had been praying for such materials. We also left a few New Testaments, and this almost brought tears to his eyes. Again, we saw the reality that many Christians in Nepal do not have Bibles. I am confident that these materials will go out to places in Mugu that we could never access. Such was the right thing to do with these materials, though such did involve shelving our plans and our pride. Praise be unto the Lord.

From Gamghadi, we sent out porters home, and then headed up to Rara with Yogendra and a local believer. There, we would distribute the remainder of our materials, enjoy a little rest, and seek the Lord on how to proceed. As we left Gamghadi, a crowded and busy market town extended across a narrow ridge, it seemed as if we were sauntering the cobblestone streets of an ancient bazaar along the Marco Polo trail. There, we distributed many tracts. It was a 4,000 ft. slog from Gamghadi up to Rara Lake, Nepal’s largest. ‘Twas a long afternoon hike that put us on the lakeshore at sunset. Dylan, who grew up in Alaska, said that the scenery reminded him of his childhood home. We found a clean place for lodging just along the lake and on the other side of an army camp. There, we remained for a couple of days: washing clothes, bathing in the lake, and distributing more than 100 Gospels of John to passersby who were heading to villages west of Rara. On one occasion, a party of about 25 came through drumming up support for the Nepali Congressional Party in the upcoming constituent assembly elections. We openly criticized the Maoists (which they appreciated) and did a little political chakari (Nepali for “getting on one’s good side”): speaking of the importance of freedom and democracy in Nepal. Then, we turned the conversation to the topic of spiritual freedom. ‘Twas a great bridge to the Gospel that allowed me to preach openly to a group gathered to hear right there on the lakeshore. Dylan likewise shared his testimony. Many took the Word. Later, there arose a conflict between local villagers, some of the politicians, and a couple of “national park officials.” Apparently, some village farmers had beaten up a park official, newly appointed. We attempted to clean up his wounds and redress his terribly lacerated eye. He was grateful and open to hear the things of the Lord.

Soon, the daal bhat at Rara got old and it seemed that the Lord was confirming our work to be complete in Western Nepal. Thus, we left the lake and pressed toward a small airport that we heard was in the area, hoping to catch a flight out. Not knowing what to expect, we trudged around the eastern side of the lake, enjoying peaceful serenity, the calm lapping of the water, and snowy peaks all around. The last of our Gospel materials were distributed enroute to the airport and to army personnel and loiterers hanging around down by the dirt runway. The views from the dilapidated airport were astounding. There was a sick pyramid of rock on the northern horizon; oh how I wondered about the intricate details of that mountain wasteland. After many trips into Nepal’s mountains, I never can seem to set foot in such high and far reaches. Not in Langtang, not in the Solu-Khumbu, not in Mugu. The Lord’s will is done.

The way to Simikot was shut, and we needed out. In that place, God provided a small cargo plane, the last of the day. We bade farewell to our Christian friend from Gamghadi who we simply came to know as “Brother.” Who knows if we shall ever cross paths again on this earthly sod? “Perhaps not here,” I told him, “tara Parameshvarko rajyama, haami bhetnechhu” (Nepali for “but we will certainly meet in God’s Kingdom”).

As the plain rattled down the dirt runway literally cut into the side of the mountain, we all wondered if we had made the right decision. The pilot literally started bouncing the plane to get it to catch air; we floated off the cliff; and then the plane soared into the clouds. The work was done, and despite out excitement about getting back to civilization, there was an air of sadness. ‘Tis the way of things in service to the Lord.

The flight was extremely bumpy, and oh how happy we were to finally touch ground in Surkhet. There would be no overnight in this dump; we hopped on the first microbus we found heading to Nepalgunj. For the duration of the three hour ride back to the terai, I laid atop the bus roof. Chinchhu, Babai, Harre, familiar roads, familiar places, all too familiar. At one point, as we crossed a river and rounded a sharp curve, I caught a glimpse of three crosses in the forest. Yogendra revealed that these were Christian graves. Even in such dark corners, the Lord has His remnant, His servants. He does not need us, but we sure were privileged to be part of such an adventure. Many of you were also a part of this in and through your faithful prayers. Thank you, and ultimate glory be unto Almighty God.

The next day, I flew back to Kathmandu: Jagerna business called. Dylan, Cheri, Ritter, and Yogendra opted for a bus to Butwal. The Harris’ then went on to Pokhara where we would rendezvous several days later. Strangely, Kathmandu, after having been out in the hills for so long, seemed quite a paradise to me. Easter fellowship with fellow missionaries was nice, and I was moved to see many Nepali Christians take to the streets on Easter morning to declare their presence and their faith. Church fellowships marched together: distributing Gospel tracts, conjointly and publicly singing praises to the Lord, and displaying banners with Gospel messages. In doing so, Nepali believers were declaring their presence and their faith to the nation. I will not soon forget those images. Some Christians even took some of our Jagerna materials to distribute.

I want go into too much detail about the rest of my time in Nepal. It flew by, involving a lot of logistical work, the storage of our Jagerna materials, a last minute order of an additional 15,000 Nepali Gospels of John, and a motorcycle trip to Pokhara for the delivery of Jagerna materials (a trip that ultimately would change my route back to the States). I already spoke of meeting Johnny in Sarangkot and how that would direct me through the UK. I still marvel at the sovereign hand of the Lord. Pokhara also allowed a few witnessing opportunities with foreigners, good fellowship with the Harris’, and a return visit to Bishnu’s family (Hindus who live on the outskirts of town). Bishnu’s mom and dad are such sweet people, but lost without Christ. The Lord allowed me to again briefly share with them and leave a John/Romans edition to go with the Gospel of John I left last year. Please pray for their salvation. For Bishnu, it’s tough to know his parents are perishing without Christ, following useless religious rites that offer no real hope.

The four hour motorcycle trip to Pokhara was great as the road wound through a river canyon and up across a wide valley. Aside from being forced to wait out a nasty thunderstorm under a concrete overhang, all went smoothly. I have never heard consistent thunder like that in my life. For that trip, I had taken a bag of Gospel materials for distribution enroute. Sadly, I later discovered that the bag had fallen off the motorcycle. It was dragging the ground with a gaping hole in the side and no materials. At first, I was frustrated but then was reminded of a simple truth: God had distributed those materials in a way that He saw fit. Wherever they were laying on the road, someone would inevitably secure them, someone the Lord was drawing to Himself. I have seen such things far too many times to doubt (Isaiah 55:11).

The return trip to Kathmandu was a nightmare, a fitting way, I guess, to end my sojourn in Nepal. Suffice it to say that the incident involved a mechanical breakdown, being stranded in a roadside dump for more than 24 hours, real frustration with Nepali culture and a couple of incompetent mechanics who charged me an arm and a leg but never were able to fix the problem, a 4:00 am arrival in Kathmandu on a night bus after having hoisted the motorcycle and myself atop the vehicle and riding 150 km in chilly night air, and a bout of amoebic dysentery (probably from some roadside vittles I obtained while killing time in Demauli--a town to which I never aspire to return) that rendered me useless in Kathmandu for an entire week. Thankfully, Dylan remained behind in Demauli to endure with me (the Lord provided a safe way for Cheri & Ritter to return to the capital). No, I cannot soon forget about that place. Strangely, there were a few witnessing opportunities and a brief period of true relaxation (something I assumed impossible in Nepal) as we waited for the motorbike to get fixed (which it never did). Dylan and I went down to the river, bathed and napped on the rocks under a warm sun. ‘Twas memorable and a respite from the nightmare of wasted time and ultimately forking out 4500 Rupees (about $70.00) for nothing but faulty parts that were not the right size (as I would later discover in Kathmandu) and a bike that still would not crank. That night, at 10:30 pm, I ordered the mechanics to reassemble the bike, and we threw it on top of the last night bus that came through town. It took about ten of us to hoist it up there. What a sight that was! Even now, all of this is comical as I think back. This debacle will prove a good source of laughter for years to come.

Back in Kathmandu, the dysentery hit as we were hauling more than 150 boxes of Jagerna materials up four flights of stairs to a suitable storage facility that the Lord provided right under our noses in Bishnu’s apartment building. After everything was safely moved from the press to our new “office,” we all gathered to pray in that place, committing the materials to the Lord and ourselves to the work.

The Friday before the Harris’ and I parted ways, we did manage one more outreach in Kathmandu. Bishnu and Brother Laxmi joined us, and that day, more than 1400 John/Romans editions went out in Maharajgung and Naya Bus Park. At the latter, Cheri publicly shared her testimony, and I preached for a good while to crowds gathered under an awning while it poured rain outside. With the upcoming election on everyone’s minds, I spoke about corruption in government, beginning with mankind’s first government in the Garden of Eden and how it was corrupted by sin. I then explained how human government is tainted by sin and cannot solve the problems of society. This, of course, was an excellent bridge to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Many heard, and many received Gospel materials that day in a place where people were waiting to board buses that would take them to places all over Nepal--a strategic place to be. One believer approached and begged materials to take back to his village for distribution. We gave him and entire case. ‘Twas a fitting way for all of us to close our time in Nepal. The Lord be praised.

From Nepal, I journeyed on to London where I spent a couple of days encouraging and fellowshipping with believers and doing what little outreach the time allowed. I was initially unnerved about doing distribution in downtown London alone, but the Lord sent a helpmeet to join me in the effort. Scotty Lee from Australia, though a bit nervous himself, agreed to assist, and I trust my example somehow pushed him toward greater boldness. His presence was provision from the Lord as we showed ourselves to be like-minded in many things. Nothing glamorous happened on the streets that day. We handed out some Gospel tracts nears Trafalgar Square, and there were a few encounters. I think of Mohammed from Syria and a couple from Brazil. We also sowed around Westminster Abbey and in the vicinity of Big Ben. The chilly air was refreshing after all the smog and pollution of South Asia. Scotty and I tried distributing tracts on a bridge overlooking the Thames River, but few took them. Such is the West. At Speaker’s Corner, where I had hoped to open-air preach, there was no audience, only solitude. Perhaps I should have proclaimed nonetheless. Oh, well . . . Soon thereafter, I parted ways with Scotty, having been thankful for his company. I was reminded of many times the Lord unexpectedly provided a suitable partner at times when I thought I would have to hit the streets alone. Let’s see: There was Al in State College, Pennsylvania; Todd in Mammoth Lakes, California; Paul in Hickory, North Carolina; Frank in Cincinnati, Ohio; Jon in Mitchell, South Dakota; Carl in Yakima, Washington; a group of Christian youth in Chicago, Illinois; my sister in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Scotty in London, England; and many others.

After parting ways with Scotty, I inadvertently took the wrong train out to Tonbridge. On that train, I heard Nepali being spoken and then discovered that I had one Nepali Jagerna John/Romans edition in my backpack (the one I forgot to give my taxi driver when he dropped me off at the airport in Kathmandu several days earlier). I passed it on to three Nepali girls who were riding that train. These seemed shocked to receive something in their language in such a far off place. Undoubtedly, this was a divine appointment. You see, taking the wrong train is not always a bad thing.

The next day, I took a train over to Canterbury too see what opportunities the Lord would put in my path. Canterbury was a cool little medieval town with narrow streets and a huge Gothic cathedral. ‘Twas packed with tourists, and I, being alone, quickly lost my nerve. Boldness was a struggle for me all afternoon. Inside the mammoth Canterbury Cathedral, the center of the Anglican Church and one of England’s oldest structures (originally founded in A.D. 602), the architecture and the intricacy of the stonework astounded me. But alas, it also stunk of idolatrous religion. In that place, my spirit sensed the same heaviness that I had often felt in Hindu and Buddhist temples across South Asia. All the tombs, all the memorials, all the flowery language, all the shrines, all the icons: They bespoke self-righteousness and manmade religion. ‘Tis the heart of the Church of England, and it looked little different from Roman Catholicism or the pagan religions of the world. All religion is the same--hopeless systems of meritorious works that offer no salvation. Praise be unto the Lord, for Jesus Christ hath delivered me from the bondage of manmade religion! Needless to say, I conveniently and strategically placed not a few Gospel tracts in that place. May they not return void!

Shortly after leaving the Cathedral, I found great encouragement. Some faithful Christians, I discovered, were open-air preaching down in the public square. The message was bold, biblical, and solid. At that moment, I was convicted by my lack of boldness and edified by theirs. Some passersby mocked; some listened; the Word went out. In that encounter, I made some valuable contacts that may direct future paths. The Lord, as always, was behind it all. Rob, an Irish chap who lives in Holland was particularly intriguing. Perhaps I will hook up with him in Amsterdam sometime. During the long train ride back to London, I wondered about why the Lord had brought me to England. The visit was short, but the steps were ordered (Proverbs 16:9). In ways, things seemed as random as Platte, South Dakota or the Whitney Classic in 2001 seemed at their respective times (Jon and Dylan, you know of what I speak). But, I knew they were not, and I pray that the fruits prove as bountiful.

My last night in London, I was able to share some words of encouragement with a few believers gathered for a house group fellowship. These blessed me; and hopefully, my presence blessed them. Such is the nature of genuine Christian brotherhood. Truly, ‘twas special to fellowship, pray, and speak truth amongst remnant believers in yet another foreign land. Johnny and his mates proved very gracious and hospitable to me during my stay in London, a real blessing. The Brits seemed to really outdo us Americans when it comes to hosting strangers. The hospitality and the cozy bed were amazing. Thanks, my newfound friends! Truly, that “random encounter” involving a t-shirt in Sarangkot was no accident.

Well, the story ends as I finally landed in Charlotte, NC and was welcomed by my wife and 3-month old daughter who had changed so much in my absence. The Lord was good to bring me home again. Notwithstanding, the work continues. Please pray for us in the coming months as we seek His will and His direction.

Pray for Bishnu as he continues his efforts to obtain an American visa. I really want to provide him some training here in America this summer and utilize his presence to help raise awareness for our ongoing Bible printing work in Nepal. The matter is in the Lord’s hands. Also, pray for him and his family in Nepal as the political face of the country is changing. He recently wrote to me: “Yes, the Maoists won the election and everybody is wondering about what will happen in the country. The condition is uncertain and could be worse for the Christian. So Bimu [his wife] and myself are discussing and praying about what we'll have to do in such case.” Pray that these will continually be able to distribute the Jagerna materials left in their watch care. Yesterday, he wrote me of a recent outreach in Kathmandu with the very materials that some of you paid to help print. His recap might prove encouraging:

“Dear Jesse Daju
Greetings in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ!
Thanks for your help with the visa process. We went out today and here is a briefing.

Today, Apr 18, 2008 was a good day for Him as we went out for evangelism and God was with us. He led us to Koteshwar, a new place for us. Four of us took more than 700 tracts including 508 copies of the newly printed John & Romans, KJV edition. We prayed and started distribution with personal witnessing. We distributed those tracts in around 60 minutes and we thanked our Lord for the boldness, safety, and will for the evangelism. Later we discussed about the reaction of people. One man told me that all the religions are same. But I replied to him that this was false. All other religions are manmade and man tries to get rid of the guilt of his sins. But in Christianity, God came to mankind to forgive their sins and to reconcile them with him for eternity. Another man said that this was foreign religion and my friend told him that even Hinduism was a foreign religion as Ram and Krishna were not born in Nepal. One drunkard told brother Laxmi that the time was coming to arrest us and Laxmi replied easily that they were welcomed for that and he took one of our JR editions. Interestingly, one Indian faced mobile shopkeeper came to me and asked for a "diary." I was perplexed about what he was asking for. He told me again that he had these tracts and he needed a "diary." Then I understood that he was asking for a pocket Bible which I'd put in my bag 5 pieces. I asked him that from where he got the tract (i.e., John). Then, he told me that he got one in Ratnapark. Then I gave him one NT and two other persons asked me for a NT as I supplied them with JRs. One NT was given to an army person by one of our friends on the way back home on the microbus. As the place was a crowded bus station, one man jumped from a bus in front of me and asked for a JR and he went back to the bus hurriedly. One teenager told me that he didn't like that God. I replied that I was not talking about the god made by people out of wood of the jungle. I was talking about one true God. Then I told him that it was free and he took one JR. One man asked me whether it would be sinful to read that tract. Then I replied that in fact, this booklet showed the way to get rid of our sins. Then he took one. Also many of the footpath shopkeepers asked for a personal copy of JR. Today was a good day and we thanked God for using us once again for His glory. Thank you for praying for us.

In His field
Bishnu”

My friends, it is from such as these that we spoiled American Comfort-Zone Christians could learn much.

Please pray for us here at Full Proof Gospel Ministries. Since arriving in the United States, everything seems so much more expensive that when I left months ago. Pray that the Lord will continue to meet our financial needs as He has always proven Himself faithful to do. Again, we find our normal monthly operating costs exceeding our committed monthly support, and the recent journey to South Asia ended up costing much more than anticipated. May God supply all our needs in Christ Jesus. Also, our Project Jagerna Bible printing funds are virtually exhausted (a good thing). Thanks to all of you who contributed to Project Jagerna over the past year. All of that money went toward printing Scripture portions; the last of it was earmarked for an additional 15,000 Gospels of John ordered two days before I left Nepal. Heretofore, more than 100,000 Scripture portions have been printed in Kathmandu, and more than 70,000 of these have been freely distributed to the masses and/or local believers and churches for their distribution purposes. Glory to God, Glory to the Living God! In the future, as the Lord continues to provide additional funds, we will print more and distribute more. These days, we aim to work on the Gospel of Mark and have some of these printed before the end of the year. Pray that the Lord provides the means.

This summer, our plans are to continue our quest in North Carolina of taking the Gospel to the downtown streets of every city, town, and village radiating out from Hickory. We have come far with yet a long way to go. Thanks to Matthew and Paul who continued the work while I was in South Asia. In May, there is an opportunity for us to target a street festival in Newton. Also, I anticipate conducting some evangelism trainings around the country (please pray for opportunities) and hosting Bishnu for about a month as we obtain some unique open-air evangelism training ourselves and raise awareness together concerning the labor of Project Jagerna in Nepal. May the Lord bring this to pass. As always, the Project Jagerna translation work continues as does the implementation of bold proclamation here in the United States, one of the largest mission fields in the world. Our efforts to send free King James Bibles and Gospel literature around the world to those who request it via the website also continues. Just a couple of days ago, I was able to ship some stuff to a pastor in Sierra Leone, West Africa. Thus far, every shipment has arrived safely as I have heard back from each that has requested: Bhutan, the Philippines, Kenya, Zimbabwe, etc. This work can get expensive, so please pray for the Lord’s provision. One cannot put a price on getting the Bible to someone who does not have it. This particular form of ministry has again demonstrated that Christians around the world have little affordable access to their own copies of the Scriptures and Gospel materials for distribution.

Last but not least, please continue to lift up Dylan, Cheri, as Ritter Harris as they serve the Lord in northwest India until sometime in May. Dylan recently wrote of them distributing more than 1,000 Hindi Gospel tracts at a busy train station in Delhi and of doors of opportunity opened to them up in Manali. Man, they are bold, and I miss them. Undoubtedly, we will share many more adventures together for the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ.

Well, I better wrap things up. This is probably my longest email update ever. I apologize; there is just so much to tell and rejoice about. Having returned from much work amongst Hindus, Buddhists, and Muslims, it is only fitting that I conclude with a statement I found at the end of a missionary autobiography I obtained in Kathmandu. Jock Purves (a Scottish missionary who served the Lord in Baltistan, Afghanistan, and Ladakh in the 1920’s) wrote things that genuinely affected me in my Third World labor for the Gospel. I was convicted, refreshed, and edified as I read of bold evangelism in some of the very places the Nomad and I targeted in Ladakh last year--the same monasteries, the same villages. I was also given visions of new places. My heart yearns for the remote and closed corners of Baltistan, Central Asia, and Siberia, places where many perish daily without hope. The fields are white unto harvest. I am open, Lord, if thou wilt open the way before us. But alas, for now, I embrace the simple work of targeting the masses here in my own nation, a nation that has forgotten God, a nation that is doomed (Psalm 9:17). No, the labor is not in vain (I Corinthians 15:58), even as we have struggled in dark corners of the world where the devilry of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam reign with vengeance. Consider these words from a faithful laborer of bygone days. May they convict you unto boldness as they convicted me:

“The missionary task and call to it are ever with us, and with it the claim of the Redeemer upon us to dedicate ourselves completely to Him and to the preaching of the Gospel to all mankind. The religions which we have spoken of in this book may seem to their adherents to be suitable to them and to their world, but in them is no hope of salvation. This comes only from God in the Person and work of his only begotten Son. Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam, in there old and newer forms, are all without the message of redemption. In all of their theologies, theosophies, and moral codes (incomparably different from the revealed moral law of God in Scripture) there is no Saviour. Regrets and repentances for sin there often are, with attendant penances, pilgrimages and trying austerities, yet the void remains. The revelation of a Redeemer worthy in his Person as an acceptable sacrifice for sin remains unknown. There are no Glad Tidings, no Evangel. How different is the position of the Christian! He can say with the Apostle John, ‘We know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life’ (Purves, Jock. The Unlisted Legion (Carlise, PA: Banner of Truth Trust, 1977).”

Be Bold,

Jesse Boyd

FPGM HOMEPAGE

Go West Young Man

Wed, 2 Apr 2008 08:52:58 -0400

Greetings, friends and fellow-believers, in the Name that is above every name: The Lord Jesus Christ. “Wherefore God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name that is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow . . . And that every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).

Alas, it has been long since you all received word from me over here in Nepal, and much has transpired. First, thanks for all your prayers. The Lord continues to preserve me, and I have finally found downtime (while recovering from a bout of amoebic dysentery, that is) to pen this update.

For starters, pray for me and the Harris family over the next week or so. We are trying to get out of Nepal several days before the April 10th political elections (the first of their kind in Nepal’s history). There is much potential for unrest during this time, and we sure don’t want to run the risk of being stranded here. Our hope is to leave Nepal by land, undertaking one final Bible distribution from Kathmandu, over Daman Pass, through Hetauda, and down to Birgunj and the Indian border. There, Lord willing, we aspire to take a train over to Delhi by way of Varanasi and Agra, distributing Gospel tracts and seeking out witnessing opportunities all along the way. In Delhi, I will split ways with the Harris’ and travel back to America. They will spend another month or so in India seeking out opportunities to proclaim the Gospel and serve the Lord. Pray for them in this endeavor of sacrifice. Unfortunately, all these plans could come tumbling down as I have heard rumors that the borders are or will be closed during the election period. Thus, we would be forced into a much more expensive travel option with far less of an evangelistic impact: A pricey flight from Kathmandu to Delhi. The will of the Lord be done.

In my last update, I requested prayer for an upcoming journey into Nepal’s Far West. That adventure is now behind us, and quite an adventure it proved to be. Surely, the hand of the Lord through your faithful prayers sustained us. Things began in Kathmandu at 4:00 am on a Sunday morning as we loaded up a hired micro-van with boxes of Jagerna Scripture portions and Nepali Gospel tracts. Then, we made the long, arduous 500 km journey to Nepalgunj along winding and crowded roads and through trash dumps called cities in Nepal’s Terai Belt. Along this route, more than 1,000 copies of John/Romans were distributed, and many heard the Word. In Butwal, we were warned by one fanatic Hindu that we should leave or face trouble. His threats proved empty. Trial and tribulation (both of which would become familiar traveling partners) came early. Little Ritter was plagued with vomiting and diarrhea most of the way to the Gunj. Dylan would then sample a sugarcane drink that ensured trial and tribulation were around to stay (more on that later).

Finally, we arrived at “Traveler's Village Hotel,” our familiar haven of rest in the dump that is Nepalgunj. Some medicine had Ritter back on the right track by the next morning, so after supplying a local church with some Jagerna materials for distribution, we hired another micro-van to take us 100 km north into the hills to Surkhet. To save money, we agreed to let the driver take on a handful of additional passengers, and this created a wonderful witnessing opportunity with a young Nepali who spoke decent English. Dylan handled this as the Holy Spirit clearly spoke through him, and the young man left us under conviction, gladly receiving a Gospel of John. Please pray for his salvation. Enroute to Surkhet, we again stopped in Chinchhu (you may remember this place from our work with the New Testament Christian Fellowship Team that took place a couple of weeks earlier) and delivered a fresh supply of Jagerna materials to Christians we had previously discovered living there. These were again grateful and promised to distribute the Word of the Lord we had supplied into places we would never be able to go. Praise the Lord!

In Surkhet, we lodged at a place where I stayed last year as I assisted with a church planting training at a nearby fellowship. The young man at the hotel remembered me, and the Lord allowed me to again share with him concerning the things of the Lord. Last time, I was only able to leave him with a Gospel tract. This time, I left him a Project Jagerna John/Romans edition. In that moment, I was humbled and amazed at how far the Lord has brought the work here in Nepal in only a year’s time. The prayer and financial support of many of you has been a big part of this. I extend heartfelt gratitude.

Just outside the hotel room where the Harris’ and I stayed there in Surkhet is the very place where a Nepali brother and myself led Jaya, a young soldier in Nepal’s Army, to Christ more than a year ago. Perhaps you remember that incident: It seemed as if the Lord shut down an entire country so that one soul would be drawn to Him. I continue to marvel at His ways (Romans 11:33). God does not need me; He does not need Full Proof Gospel Ministries; He does not need Project Jagerna to accomplish His purposes and bring people to Himself. Oh, though, we are so privileged that He allows us to be a part of this.

Well, we spent a day in Surkhet, distributing the Gospel along the main bazaar and taking the opportunity to supply Jagerna Scripture portions to the very church where I had previously assisted with a training. Again, we were confronted with the sad fact that many Nepali Christians do not even have a copy of the Scriptures for their own.

From Surkhet, it was a bumpy puddle-jumper flight to Jumla, a population hub in a beautiful mountain valley, and a gateway to the more remote areas of Nepal’s far northwest. While waiting at the airport, we were able to share with some Army personnel and distribute a few more tracts. After conversing with the airline administrator, he ended up knocking off more than half of the normal cargo charges. This was an unexpected blessing that allowed us to transport all our materials up to Jumla much cheaper than anticipated. The flight was a bit hairy; at times, it looked as if one could reach out the window and literally touch snow-crested peaks as they passed by.

In a previous email, I mentioned how Nepalgunj has often been referred to as the rectum of Nepal, the place where one would stick a hose if Nepal needed an enema. If such is the case, then Jumla is definitely somewhere up in Nepal’s colon. This town was a literal sewer. Ironically, Jumla sat nestled in a gorgeous mountain valley that reminded me of high desert expanses in America’s West. Unfortunately, we were not able to appreciate this until several days later as we climbed out of that valley. It was a long slog from the village airport (after being interrogated by the police; they don’t see foreigners in this place very often) to a “hotel.” There, we rendezvoused with Yogendra, a 21-year-old Brahmin believer from Jumla District who agreed to accompany us in partnership for the work of the Lord. He was a friend of a friend of my American friend in Kathmandu, and his presence would prove to be extremely valuable and comforting in the midst of much labor and numerous trials. We had a most difficult time acquiring porters in Jumla, and this delayed us a whole day. This was definitely not a tourist area, so there was no system to accommodate the trekker (a good thing for Gospel work). This initial delay, however, did allow us to do some distribution in an outlying village of low-caste peoples. Initially, these got angry, ranting about foreigners who come through and take pictures to go back to the West and raise money for their relief organizations, never really offering any help to those whom they photograph. I thought of a group of Canadian women who trekked through the area a couple of weeks earlier “raising awareness about violence toward women” (whatever that means). This had been all over the Kathmandu papers, and the story stank of self-righteousness. Anyway, this is probably one of the encounters to which these low-caste untouchables were referring. We utilized the opportunity to share with them why we had come: “The salvation of Jesus Christ is for all peoples. He loves you as much as he loves the King of Nepal or the President of the United States, and God uses the base things of the world to bring Himself glory. This is why we chose to bring this message to you first.” We apologized for taking photos and explained that we weren’t going to sell them or try to raise support by showing them off. Rather, we wanted a visual reminder so that we and others could remember to pray for their village and their salvation. This settled the crowd, and many were then glad to receive copies of John/Romans in their own language. We prayed over the village as untouchables surrounded us, and we parted as village leaders expressed gratitude and welcomed us back anytime. The next day we returned, and it was there that we secured two porters to carry our materials up over the mountain passes toward Simikot.

Back in Jumla, it was a terribly restless night for Dylan, and we soon became aware that our initial delay in Jumla was of the Lord. Remember that sugarcane drink I mentioned earlier? Well, it proved a vice as Dylan came down with horrible amoebic dysentery. He passed a lot of blood, and we were real concerned for a time, thinking we may have to abandon the trip and return to Kathmandu. After prayer, some phone calls to missionary friends in Kathmandu (‘twas a miracle that we had cell phone service), and a visit to a district medical clinic (quite a joke in terms of medical care), we got him on the proper medicine. Fortunately, I had the right antibiotics in my first-aid kit. In less than 48 hours, Dylan was better--a supernatural answer to prayer, we believe. Had we left Jumla as we originally anticipated, the dysentery would have struck at high altitude and far from any real civilizational hub. We would have not known the proper diagnosis, and serious problems surely would have followed. The Lord is good.

So, we sat in Jumla for three days, wondering if our trek toward Mugu and Simikot would even happen. This delay, in and of itself, created opportunities to proclaim the Gospel. Amidst the boredom, Yogendra, Cheri, and I set out across the Karnali River and saturated a village on the hillside across the valley. There were some good encounters, and the rustling through the yellow-colored trees reminded me of the Indus River Valley in Ladakh. Some cherry blossoms were out, cows were grazing in front yards, and a handful of women were gathering water at the village tap. One family fed us some freshly picked apples as we laid out the things of the Gospel. We also found a lone believer living there in the midst of staunch Hinduism. How did this one come to Christ? He had no Bible; we gave him one .

Back in Jumla, while Dylan was recovering and being forced to deal with a hole in the floor called a toilet, we distributed around 100 John/Romans in the main bazaar as well as some Gospel VCDs. Later, I was saddened and discouraged to see many of these shredded up on the cobblestone streets. Fragments of John and Romans lay everywhere. One man was tearing pages out of one copy and serving food to others on it. We sensed defeat. The attacks of the Evil One were many: sickness, discouragement, hostility, threatenings, fatigue, discomfort. But, even now, the Lord reminds me that there are times when we have to appear to be defeated if we would have the victory! Calvary tells us this, for it too had the appearance of defeat. But, thanks be unto God, we know the end of the story. Back at the cave called a hotel, as rained fell in the night, the Lord allowed me to publicly share the Gospel with a room full of Nepalis. One girl said she wanted to become a Christian but was afraid her family would disown her. I was reminded of the sacrifice these people are asked to make in dark corners of the world as we plead with them to come to Christ. We in America are spoiled and know no such persecution, although such may be soon coming. Please pray for this young girl. I also shared with a couple of believers and hopefully encouraged them unto boldness, supplying them with some materials and Bibles for their personal use.

Many times during our stints in South Asia, we have gone out to target Tibetan Buddhists with the Word of God, and almost every time, the spiritual attack has been great. The very monks to whom we would share the message of salvation in their dreary monasteries would later conjure up demons and speak mantras against us and our work. Spiritual attack would follow: sickness, discouragement, rejection, threatenings, hostility, interpersonal conflict, loss or failure of tools/supplies, etc. Notwithstanding, the Lord always stood with us and strengthened us, that the preaching might be fully known (II Timothy 4:17). On this particular journey, we encountered but few Tibetan Buddhists, but the spiritual attack still followed as we attempted to minister amongst a dark side of Hinduism beyond anything we had seen in Kathmandu. Threatenings, hostile reactions, and other forms of conflict proved regular. Hunger, sickness, interpersonal disagreement, the difficulty of the route, the pathetic state of our accommodations, the difficulties of traveling with a one-year-old in tough circumstances, discouragement, and face-to-face encounters with rank idolatry added to the stress. But, as I think back, the hand of the Lord never left us. His Word did go out and pierce the darkness. Our plans did not play out, but His did. The trying of our faith was a blessing for which we now rejoice (James 1:2-4). And, glimpses of His grace, comfort, and protection were visible all along the way.

One of the first of these glimpses was the incredible scenery we encountered as we finally climbed out of Jumla toward the Khali-Lagna Pass. Jumla was so filthy. A Mexican UN worker we encountered there stated things accurately. Dylan had commented that the people seemed to live like animals, like pigs. The young lady replied, “Yeah, but pigs do not eat where they defecate.” Sewage ran through the middle of town, and people were literally eating beside it and washing their dishes in it. It’s a wonder all of us did not come down with dysentery. Wow, ‘tis a hopeless existence in such places, lands cursed by their idolatry. I recall speaking to some Hindus about the Gospel as they worked in the fields. These proclaimed, “We serve Vishnu; he provides for us. What can your Christ do that Vishnu cannot?” I replied, “Are you serious? Look around you, my friends. Do you call this provision?” I then spoke of forgiveness, eternal life, and the love of God, something the Hindu religion has no clue about. A few took Scripture portions and promised to read them. Only the light of the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ can pierce the religious lies of the Evil One.

Yes, it was so good to climb out of that valley and breathe the fresh mountain air. Quickly, the vistas grew amazing. This part of Nepal proved quite different than anything I had experienced in the Khumbu, Annapurna, or Langtang Himalaya. It was like we were in the Bitterroots along the Idaho/Montana border or somewhere in Eastern Oregon. We were actually on the frontier of wilderness as opposed to an overused trade route. The day we started climbing, the late afternoon was clear, and the Sisne Himal were gorgeous, a testament to the handiwork of the Creator (Amos 4:13). It was hard to believe that the bazaar of Jumla was so filthy, viewed from far above in that beautiful valley. I had heard that Jumla used to be clean and pristine, with horses regularly trotting along the cobblestone avenues and clear waters flowing through town. Then, the Maoists moved in and trashed the place in the 1990’s. It never recovered, and has been a political hotbed ever since. The army has a permanent presence there as does the trash.

Our team, including two porters whose ability to lug 100+ pound bags up steep trails amazed me, distributed the Word out of Jumla and to students as we traversed and took lunch on the grounds of a technical school. Dylan tried to witness to a couple of young guys, but one Maoist student became angry. He claimed we had no right to preach Jesus in the Jumla District and that we should leave. Yogendra and I rebuked him in Nepali, and ultimately, the situation allowed me to explain that I had found a great treasure in Christ. Why, I asked, would I share this with my enemies? “No,” I told the young Maoist, “I wanted to share this good news with my friends, and you are my friend.” He softened and took a Gospel tract along with a VCD. I was reminded of the truth of Proverbs 15:1, a truth I so often forget.

After the technical school, the route climbed steeply onto open pastures with groves of pine. Steep cliffs lined are right, and to the east were big peaks. After debating over whether to stop early or try and cross the pass before dark, we opted for humble beds at a farmhouse. The sleeping quarters were dank and dark, but the outside vistas were amazing. Dylan (feeling much better by this time) and I strolled around in the late evening. I could have sworn we were in Eastern Oregon! Back at the farmhouse, we ate another customary plate of daal-bhat for dinner in a smoke-filled kitchen with a dirt floor. Rice, lentils, a few potatoes, and some cabbage were our staples in these parts. There wasn’t much else. Occasionally, we could find some plain cookies, eggs, and had beans once. My body cried for protein.

In that particular farmhouse, a young boy lived with his aunt and uncle. His father had been killed several years earlier while out searching for his goat herd. Apparently, he fell from a cliff. The Lord allowed us to share the Gospel with this young one. He was open, and my prayer is that he will come to Christ. It was a long night in that place, but once, when I went outside to relieve myself, I was humbled by the majesty of the night sky. Psalm 8 came to mind: “What is man that thou are mindful of him?”

The next morning, we got started way too late. There was not a cloud in the sky, and the air was crisp. Leaving late was not the only mistake we dared not repeat: We also ate no breakfast. ‘Twas a long slog up and over the 12,115 ft. Khali-Lagna Pass on empty stomachs. Our only respite was a single packet of dry noodles shared amongst four of us. Several received Gospels of John and Gospel testimony as they passed by us enroute to Jumla, including those driving mule teams who were going for supplies. The morning’s scenery was awe-inspiring. The higher we climbed, the more snowy Himal giants came into view. I thought the top would never come. Our emotions were strained nevertheless, and it wasn’t long before Dylan, Cheri, and I were lashing out at each other. How weak and sinful we are. The Lord Himself suffered far more than us as He traversed the dusty roads of Galilee and fasted in the desert for forty days and forty nights, yet He did so without sin. How quickly fatigue and the stresses of days without customary comfort could lead us to temporarily forget why we were out there. Some of the villagers we encountered had never even been to Kathmandu, much less heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We repented of our sins and found grace from God in times of corporate prayer along the trails. Thanks be unto our Saviour!

The scenery at the pass was incredible, though we did not take much time to enjoy it. The air was cold, and there was a good amount of snow. As soon as we crossed the north side of the ridge, the landscape changed dramatically. Thick groves of pine opened up into glades of glistening white. The downward trail was sketchy and dangerous as we battled snowmelt and a route caked with slick and deep mud. This would prove to be a thorn in our flesh all afternoon, even after we descended into an unexpected canopy of huge virgin firs and gnarled and naked chestnut-like sentinels. It was a miracle that no one, including our porters, fell and broke a leg. There were many close calls, and the going was slow. One almost needed crampons for the mud. Just after the pass, we found food at a collection of houses amidst the snow fields. This first meal of the day at noon was much appreciated, meager as it was. We distributed some Gospel materials up there amongst the villagers and began the long downhill slog (3,300+ ft.) that we never thought would end. When we finally hit dry ground, I was truly grateful. As we neared the Nyawru River, some rain dumped on us mixed with snow. It was short-lived, and finally, we found sleeping-quarters and food at a “hotel” on the outskirts of Bumra. My spirits were low when I saw the upstairs rooms, but they took a sudden upward leap when the owner handed us some fresh, clean sheets. I never thought a set of sheets could change my perspective so drastically. It was also a blessing to wash some clothes and bathe in the icy river. ‘Twas painfully cold but worthwhile to be clean. Dinner involved all of us, our porters, and a small village crowd of Nepalis around a stove fire and distracted by a television. How in the world someone drug that up there I will never understand. Some police officers passed through that evening, and we were able to share Christ with them. That night, the half-moon cast a pale light, clouds dotted the sky, and some stars were visible. All was serene as the river flowed by. I cannot describe how wonderful it was for us to go to bed clean. Little Ritter had endured much and was quite the trooper. His presence was a blessing, and not a curse, for the cute little boy opened up many doors for sharing the Gospel. The Nepalis loved him, and I even think he slept quite soundly this particular night.

Before we left that place and started slogging toward another high pass, Dylan, Yogendra, and I headed out at dawn toward a hillside collection of houses with Ritter. There were a few people out for distribution that morning. The Word of God went forth.

Well, there is much left to tell about this adventure and subsequent events as we lead up to our departure from Nepal. I will save this for a subsequent update as this one has proven quite long.

Again, pray for us in the coming days. We hope to be out of Nepal by Sunday, April 6. Traveling by land to Delhi will allow for some unique evangelistic work both in Nepal and India, as we inevitably will journey through both Buddhist and Hindu hotspots. May the Lord bring this to pass. Also, we aim to go out Friday with some local believers for one more outreach here in Kathmandu. Our plan is to do some open-air preaching and distribution at the local bus park. Nowadays, thousands are going there to return to their home villages for the upcoming election. A distribution at this time has the potential to extend all over Nepal. Please pray for us. We want to go out of here on a strong note.

Also, please pray for Bishnu. He is applying for an American visa so that he can come and do some ministry work with FPGM this summer. I also want him to come and give testimony to our supporting churches about the Project Jagerna work that he manages here in Kathmandu. It is a difficult thing for a Nepali to secure an American visa, so this is in the Lord’s hands. Let’s commit to pray about this.

Speaking of Project Jagerna, the Lord provided us a storage room at an affordable price, and last Sunday, we moved more than 30,000 copies of John/Romans editions from the printing press to a safe haven across town and up four flights of stairs. It was hard work but gratifying. Some local Christians helped us, and we rejoiced that our latest printing was complete. So far, we have printed more than 110,000 Scripture portions, and a little more than 72,000 have been distributed to the lost and/or supplied to local Christians in Nepal, India, Bhutan, Finland, and even a few in America. All praise to the Most High God! Our storage facility happens to be in the same building where Bishnu’s family rents a flat. The nearness and safety of this proves an added blessing. We don’t intend for materials to be stored here for long. Pray for the salvation of souls and the discipleship of Christians as these continue to flow out to the masses, believers, and local churches. Our next objective is to complete work on the Gospel of Mark and print editions of these. In the meantime, I plan to place another order for at least 10,000 more Gospels of John this afternoon. With that, our funds will be exhausted for the present time. But, as the Lord continues to provide, we will continue to faithfully translate, print, and distribute that Nepalis can have access to the pure Word of God wherever they may reside all around the world.

Lastly, pray for me. I came down with amoebic dysentery a couple of days ago and am still recovering. There was a horrendous fever involved and terrible diarrhea, but we caught it early. I got on the proper medicine before passing much blood (unlike Dylan’s case) and, thanks be unto God, I am currently on the mend.

Our work here is almost done for the time being. As foreigners and missionaries, we have been used to supply FPGM’s national partners and encourage them in the work of evangelism. Now, it’s time to enact the exit strategy, backing out for a time that the Nepalis themselves can do the work as partners with us. After all, they can be so much more effective in reaching their fellow countrymen than we could ever be. I am so thankful for Bishnu, my national partner, and his faithfulness in leading this endeavor. It has been a true pleasure to live with him and his family. I will miss my humble little room. But alas, we are not gone yet. A few days remain, and we must go out with a bang! Pray for us. Stay tuned for more news and the conclusion to our Western Nepal adventure.

To God be the glory! The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

Jesse Boyd

FPGM HOMEPAGE

Team Nepal

Sat, 8 Mar 2008 09:14:55 -0500

Greetings from smoggy, polluted Kathmandu in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thanks much for your prayers these past weeks. A week ago today, the team from New Testament Christian Fellowship of Conover, NC departed Nepal after a very busy and fruitful time of outreach. All arrived home safely, and I rejoice when I think of all that was accomplished. Many thanks to the faithful believers who stepped out of their comfort zones and gave of themselves to partner with us in the unending work of the Gospel so needful in these spiritually black corners of the globe. In one week’s time, our team was able to distribute 13,200 pieces of Gospel literature: including 4,320 Nepali Gospels of John; 2,880 Nepali John/Romans Editions (Project Jagerna’s first batch off the presses); and 6,000 Gospel Tracts. Of these, more than 10,000 were distributed in village areas outside Nepalgunj in Nepal’s Far West, the gateway to the largest unengaged, unreached area of this small Himalayan nation. The remaining portions were distributed in various districts throughout Kathmandu: including one of the most orthodox Hindu neighborhoods; the Ratna Park area; and Swayambounath Stupa, a holy site of Tibetan Buddhism. All praise to the Most High God! To Him be the glory!

Well, the two volunteer teams I planned so much for have come to and gone from South Asia. Both endeavors, despite efforts at derailment by the Evil One, were incredible victories. Two teams, involving a total of ten souls, were able to distribute more than 31,000 Bibles, Scripture portions, and/or Gospel tracts over twelve total days of outreach. In addition to this, local believers were encouraged, churches were provided with materials for distribution, and the Gospel was proclaimed open-air in many hostile locales. Hopefully, these will be the first of many volunteer teams FPGM can bring into South Asia and/or other unreached corners of our field (i.e. the globe).

Before I recap some highlights from the past couple of weeks, let me again petition for your prayers. I need wisdom from the Lord over the coming weeks, especially with regard to the printing of our Project Jagerna Materials. Rolling blackouts have greatly slowed the printing process. We placed an order weeks ago for 45,000 Nepali John/Romans, 5,000 English John/Romans, and 16,000 tracts. Thus far, only the tracts and 10,000 of the John/Romans have been completed. I cannot leave this country until these materials are printed and safely stored for use by my national partners. Pray for us to find a suitable and affordable room for storage as well as patience for the Lord’s timing to play out.

On the inside cover of the John/Romans editions, we dedicated this particular printing of the Holy Scriptures to Carl Rogers, a lover of God’s Word who went home to be with Jesus on July 18, 2005. Carl was a friend of mine from Yakima, Washington. Several months ago, as we were praying for the Lord’s financial provision for the printing of Scriptures in Nepal, a check showed up in the mail from Carl’s Estate. He had left the ministry some money in his will, and we decided that the best way to honor his legacy was to use it exclusively for the printing of the Word of God. This, along with the faithful gifts of some others, allowed us to place such a large order. Pray that not a single copy is printed or distributed in vain. I am humbled to simply be a part of this.

On another front, pray for Dylan, Cheri, Ritter, and me as we will be out of contact for the next two to three weeks. Our plans are to return to Nepalgunj by road and saturate Nepal’s East-West Highway all along the way. Then, from Surkhet (90 km outside of the Gunj), we will fly into Jumla, a hill station in Nepal’s Far West, and spend a couple of weeks saturating unengaged, unreached villages northwest from Jumla up to Simikot and east over to Dunai. There are a lot of question marks as to the weather, availability of food/accommodations, and access. Our ultimate goal is to travel above Simikot to the Tibetan border, but permits for this restricted area are ridiculously expensive, and other government stipulations (e.g. the accompaniment of a Government liaison officer and/or official guide) would prevent us from spreading the Gospel. Therefore, in the spirit of Acts 5:29, we acknowledge that our only hope for entering this far corner of Nepal is in the Lord’s hands. Undoubtedly, there will be many miles of walking and a plethora of villages to saturate with Jagerna Scripture portions and Gospel Tracts. With the previously mentioned NTCF Team, we took the Gospel to the gateway of Nepal’s Far West. This time, we target the interior. This part of Nepal is virtually unengaged and unreached, the blackest corner of a spiritually dark land. This is quite an opportunity, and we will need your prayer cover. I am very thankful for the Harris family’s partnership over here. They are just the type of people who can make such a journey without difficulty. Do pray for little 1-year-old Ritter. He will be joining us, and undoubtedly, his presence will open doors in villages that rarely see foreigners. Pray for our health, strength in the journey, my ability to communicate where the Nepali dialect is a slight bit different, divine appointments, believers who can assist us as porters, and an open pathway up to Simikot and beyond. The will of the Lord be done.

Our journey into the West necessitates another prayer request: financial provision from the Lord. Things are so expensive in Nepal these days (Even our printing costs have risen to an uncomfortable level), and FPGM is having to spend way more than anticipated. The dollar’s depleted value on world markets, political tensions, and commodity shortages have all caused prices to rise. Thus, cost is now a bit of a barrier for targeting the frontier reaches described above. Nonetheless, we are stepping out in faith, for the Lord never guides where he does not provide (Philippians 4:19). Just pray that we will know His will and be led in a plain path (Psalm 27:11), having patience to wait for His provision (Psalm 27:14). If you are born again, have a passion for reaching the lost, and the Lord should lay it upon your heart to financially support FPGM’s efforts in South Asia, remember that all contributions are tax-deductible for U.S. citizens and should be made out “Full Proof Gospel Ministries.” These can then be mailed to the address that appears at the end of this update.

Finally, dear brethren, remember that one of the reasons for making this journey to South Asia was to embrace an opportunity to train Bhutanese brethren in the work of evangelism. Thus far, this has not happened as expected. I have had trouble getting in contact with K, and strikes in Nepal’s terai belt have made it impossible for these to travel overland to Kathmandu. I do not want to give up on these brothers, so I am praying that K makes some contact with me over the coming weeks. I may have to travel east into India to meet up with these persecuted brothers, and I want to be open to that. Again, I need wisdom. Your prayers are coveted.

So many of you that read these updates are true saints in the Lord, and knowing that we have your prayer cover is an incredible blessing and a stimulus to press on.

Well, let me recap a few highlights from recent weeks of ministry here in Nepal:

Two days before the NTCF Team arrived in Kathmandu, we had some nervous moments during our customary Ratna Park outreach. As usual, we began with some singing followed by open-air preaching to draw a sizable crowd for Scripture distribution. I was speaking from an elevated platform, while Anand, a faithful pastor and brother in the Lord, was translating. The Harris’ and Bishnu were nearby, along with a couple other Nepali believers. The crowd seemed interested as I talked about creation and man’s fall in the Garden of Eden. Suddenly, out of nowhere, an old man started screaming at us and demanding that we leave the premises He was especially angry with Anand for being a Christian and “spreading his religious poison.” He boisterously proclaimed that Nepalis are supposed to be Hindus and have no right to deny their heritage and follow the white man’s God. At first, the crowd was sympathetic, telling the old man to shut up so that we could continue to speak. We tried to ignore him, and when this did not work, we reasoned aloud that he had the freedom to leave without listening to our message. Unfortunately, there were YCL punks (i.e. members of a youth Maoist league) in the audience, and they began to stir things up. A friendly crowd quickly turned into an angry mob of several hundred people. They were threatening us and ordering us to leave. We hesitated to come down off the platform, but finally made for an escape. As I descended with Anand immediately behind, I turned to see people jumping up on the platform and beating him mercilessly. Right or wrong, I was unable to simply stand and watch my brother beaten to a pulp. Careful not to strike anyone, I started tossing angry Nepalis off the platform onto the ground while screaming “He is my friend.” A few who were sympathetic helped us get out of Ratna Park, but the angry mob followed. Again, Anand was grabbed and pinned against a fence while people smote him and tried to steal his belongings. Perhaps foolishly, I again plunged into the madness while pulling people away from this helpless brother. Strangely, no one ever attacked me. Finally, all of us got into a taxi, but the mob surrounded it, and we could go nowhere. A policeman stood nearby but did nothing. The old man who started all the trouble again showed up on the scene, this time with broken glasses. He had been trampled by the very mob he created, and in the fracas, his glasses were shattered. He started demanding that Anand pay to replace them. Finally, I went back into the mob and tried to reason with him. This was of no use, so I gave him 1,000 Rupees. This seemed to satisfy a bit, and the crowd backed off enough for us to make a getaway in the taxi. During this whole episode, there were those who shredded up our Gospels of John and threw the pieces in our faces. One time, I got nailed in the back of the head. Something like this had never happened to us in Ratna Park. Ironically, Bishnu and Brother Laxmi were able to fade into the shadows and complete the distribution after we had escaped. The episode did create some curiosity about the Gospel amongst a few, and 580 Gospels of John were distributed that day. It grieved me to see my Nepali brother in Christ beaten, but his spirits were high, rejoicing that he had been counted worthy to suffer persecution for the name of Christ (Acts 5:41). Back in the safety of the Christian bookstore that Anand and his brother Ashish manage, we gathered in prayer and thanked the Lord for His protection. Pastor Anand said to me, “Jesse, if you had not driven those people away, they would have killed me.” I was humbled. The next week, the Nepali believers were excited to return to Ratna Park with the NTCF Team, refusing to give the Evil One victory in that place we had frequently so many times. However, one of Anand’s relatives warned us not to return. He had gotten word that the YCL Maoists were looking for us. I don’t mind suffering persecution for the cause of Christ, but it is foolish to go looking for it. Thus, we shook the dust of Ratna Park from our feet and went to Jamal instead. There, 580 Jagerna John/Romans editions were distributed in the name of Lord.

Our journey to Western Nepal with the NTCF Team produced some interesting encounters, far too many for me to narrate. In several villages, we stumbled upon believers who had no Bibles. One lady said that she could not afford a Bible, nor could she read. She said, “My faith is in my heart, and this is all I can hold on to.” I gave her a Bible and asked how I could pray for her right there on the spot. She replied, “Pray that the Lord will teach me how to read. I so desperately want to know and study His Word.” She was so grateful for a copy of the Bible. Many believers in Nepal’s villages do not own Bibles because they cannot afford them, or they are unavailable. This is why Project Jagerna is so important. Not only can we print and distribute the Word of God, but we can supply village believers for their own use and for the work of evangelism. Our translation work continues, and if the Lord continues to supply the funds, we will continue to print and distribute.

As our team canvassed another village, we stumbled upon a house where six believers were gathered to study the Word. Six people were having to share three Bibles. To make a long story short, we were able to supply them with enough Bibles for everyone to have his/her own copy as well as a couple boxes of Jagerna John/Romans editions for distribution purposes. These Christians promised to get the materials out into villages that we were unable to access. Later, in yet another village, we stumbled upon a pastor who rejoiced to receive boxes of materials for evangelistic distribution. Earlier in the day, he had been praying: “Lord, I want to do evangelism in these villages, but I have no materials. Please provide.” Then, we showed up bearing gifts. Oh, the Sovereign Hand of the Lord is a magnificent thing. To Him be the glory.

We did a lot of open-air preaching in the West with the NTCF Team, and the Gospel was proclaimed house-to-house as we canvassed numerous villages--all the way out to the Karnali River and north up to Chinchhu. We also took rickshaws to the Indian border from Nepalgunj, and walked back, proclaiming and distributing the Word. Many army and police officers received Gospels of John, and when we were weary of walking the long dusty road in the shadows of evening, an ambulance gave us a lift back to our hotel. In many ways, the Lord proved Himself faithful to provide. Basing out of Nepalgunj, this was by no means a comfortable and easy trip for our team members. Someone once said, “If Nepal needed an enema, Nepalgunj is the place where one would stick the hose.” Notwithstanding, all were good sports, and our Christian camaraderie and partnership truly was special, even in Nepal’s rectal region.

Wow, I could write so much more. Time and space, however, bid me to refrain.

Let me conclude with one more episode. Yesterday, there was a huge Hindu festival centered at Pashtupati Temple in Kathmandu. The Shivaratri Festival involves hundreds of thousands of people, lots of religious nonsense, the burning of dead bodies along the River, and thick clouds of the ganja (i.e. marijuana). We decided to take the light of God’s Word into the heart of this darkness. With a hired van full of materials, the Harris’, myself, Bishnu, and five other Nepali believers headed for the madness. While the Nepalis distributed from the road to mobs leaving the temple, the Harris’ and I went inside to distribute Gospel tracts. The smell of burning flesh was nauseating, and there was so much pot in the air that I think we got high by default. Words simply cannot describe the spiritual darkness, the bondage of the Evil One in that place. Earlier that day, one of our missionary friends had gone down there to distribute. Proof of his presence was everywhere. Pieces of Gospel tracts, shredded in anger, littered the ground. Inside the temple grounds, there were a few nervous moments as people began to discover what we were doing, but there were also a couple of fruitful conversations with interested souls. As the ridiculous Hindu “holy men” sat around half-naked, smoking their ganja and collecting their money; as drums beat to the rhythms of devils; as bodies burned and were dumped into the river; as police beat back pressing mobs; as Satan was worshipped in the form of Shiva; and as thousands sought to earn merit and deliverance from a conjured-up cycle of reincarnation: the light of the glorious Gospel did go forth. Upon returning to the vehicle and rendezvousing with our Nepali partners, we noticed that many of our Jagerna Gospels of John littered the roadside. Some we could salvage, but most had been angrily shredded. We decided, therefore, to limit our distribution and preserve the remainder of our materials for another day. Like in Acts 13:46, many had deemed themselves unworthy of eternal life in the place. We shook the dust from our feet and turned our attention elsewhere. Admittedly, it was difficult not to be discouraged, but two particular sights lifted my spirits. I saw one man, after having perused a Gospel tract, stick it in his pocket to save for later. Also, as I went to pick up a discarded tract, a boy beat me to it. He took it for himself. That evening, I spoke with another Nepali believer who had been at the festival. He mentioned that he had seen evidence of our presence there. He had noticed our Jagerna Gospels of John in people’s hands. He made no mention of having seen these on the ground. No distribution of the Word of God is ever in vain.

Well, I better sign off. There is much preparation and packing to do for our upcoming trip to the West. Again, please commit the Harris’ and myself to your prayers these next couple of weeks. Pray also for my family back in North Carolina; I miss my girls terribly. Finally, join us as we continue to pray for the Lord’s financial provision to carry on the work. I look forward to relaying more news of victory, proclamation, and God’s faithfulness in the midst a spiritually dry and weary land. So, help us God.

For the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ,

Jesse M. Boyd

FPGM HOMEPAGE

Team Bangladesh

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 18:43:16 -0500

Greetings, beloved brethren, from the most densely populated country in all of the world. Bangladesh is roughly the size of South Carolina with more than half the population of the United States, and to say that Dhaka, its capital city, is intense and polluted is a comical understatement. To momentarily escape the insanity, I ducked into an air-conditioned A&W to enjoy a cold frothy root beer (about as close to the West as you can get in this place) and pen this update (though I may not be able to send it out to you until after I return to Nepal). Thanks for all your prayers this past week. Jon Lane and Tony Allen left for America this morning. Tomorrow morning, I will return to Kathmandu accompanied by the Harris family. As I reflect back over the past days, I realize that we have much cause for rejoicing. There was great trial and tribulation, and the Evil One tried to derail the efforts on more than one occasion. But, the victory is the Lord’s. By His grace, our five person team was able to distribute more than 18,000 pieces of Gospel literature. This included 11,000 Gospels of Luke and/or John; more than 3500 New Testaments; 1,800 audio tapes; and a whole mess of Gospel tracts. When one considers that more than 15 million people live in the greater Dhaka area, our numbers are merely a drop in the bucket. However, we know that the Word of the Lord does not return void (Isaiah 55:11). It is a fire and a hammer that breaks the rock into pieces (Jeremiah 23:29).

Throughout the week, there were a couple of nervous occasions, but God was good to protect us from the mob, the authorities, and angry Muslim imams. Yesterday, we targeted a couple of mosques in North Dhaka. With Friday being the Muslim day of prayer, we waited outside to distribute, as is our custom in Kathmandu. Many devout Muslims received a copy of the True Word of God before things got hairy. At the second mosque, a couple of angry mullahs surrounded Jon and started berating him. Then, they started taking the Gospels of John away from those who had received them. It was sad. A crowd who moments before had been eager to receive the Word was now in fear to keep it. The truth was evident: Islam can only exist by fear and intimidation. I tried to explain to one of the mullahs that if he did not like our books, he could simply refuse to accept one: “We are tourists who came to visit your country, and we simply want to give away some free gifts to the people of Dhaka. If you don’t like these books, it’s OK. But, don’t stop someone else from enjoying this blessing.” Needless to say, this did not go over too well. The ran us off from the vicinity of the mosque, so we persisted to distribute in the nearby marketplace. Soon thereafter, a woman came out and begin yelling that we were Christians. No one, she said, should take our books. People started giving them back. Still, we saturated down the alleys and into the shops. Soon, our interpreter (Rana, a Muslim-background believer with a real heart for bold evangelism) was approached by a young man who pleaded with us to leave the scene. He informed us that the mullahs had gone to the police, and these were on their way. “Big trouble was coming,” he said. As we sped off in the van, a handful of angry imams came charging down the street in search of us. I must admit, it was fun, and such threatenings still could not stop the Word from going out. All praise to the Lord for His protection.

Our timing for visiting Bangladesh was predicated upon an annual book fair that takes place down at Dhaka University. This institution has long been a political hotbed, and the annual book fair celebrates the Bangla language. Bangladesh is the only country in the history of the modern world that actually fought a war and spilled blood to preserve their language. Thus, the book fair is a prime target for the Gospel. Everyone is there to purchase Bangla books and celebrate their linguistic heritage. In the midst of this, our anticipation (as it was last year) was to freely distribute Bangla New Testaments to the masses. Last year, this came close to resulting in our arrest. This year, we were hopeful for more excitement and a large distribution each night of the week. Unfortunately, we were kept or hindered from this event every night except one. Either the Evil One was preventing us from targeting that place through unexpected trial and tribulation, or the Almighty was protecting us from unforeseen trouble. The Lord knoweth! Thursday evening, we made one final effort. Enroute, our van broke down, and yet again, our hopes were bleak. Finally, however, we made it down to Dhaka U. in another vehicle in heavy traffic. The book fair had closed for the night, but being Valentines (I don’t know why, but Bangladeshis love Valentines Days and make way more of a deal out of it than Americans), there were masses of people everywhere. A Sovereign God has us right where we needed to be. 3600 Gospels of Luke and/or John and 525 New Testaments went out that night, and there were no real incidents. I recall numerous fruitful conversations and opportunities to boldly proclaim the Gospel; and the whole team was very pleased. Praise be unto the Lord! With the Book Fair, things did not work out as we had originally planned for the week, but in service to the Lord, one must be ready always to accept and embrace the truth of Isaiah 55:9 and Romans 11:33.

There were many bright spots during our time in Bangladesh, and let me also praise my team. The Lord truly gave me four solid and bold evangelists to join me in this endeavor. None of the above could have been accomplished without their help. I look forward to traveling with Dylan, Cheri, Jon, and Tony again for the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ.

I really could write so much more. But, as time failed Paul to write of Gideon, Barak Samson, Jephthae, David, Samuel, and the prophets in Hebrews 11; so time fails me to recap in detail our amazing boat distribution on the septic tank that is the Buriganga River, episodes of open-air preaching in the darkest corners of Old Town Dhaka, distributions in heavy traffic, meaningful conversations with university students about the things of the Lord, the presentation of a really nice hard-bound Bible to a major in the Bangladesh Army, and days spent completely in the work of proclaiming the Gospel.

The Lord was good; your prayers were answered; and we have nothing whereof to complain. Jesus told his followers to be witnesses for Him even to the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8). If dark, crowded, and smelly alleyways in the far corners of Old Town Dhaka, dotted here and there by Satanic mosques bellowing prayers to a false god is not the uttermost part of the earth, I don’t know what is. God allowed us to speak light into the darkness at the ends of the earth. How blessed we are. Through your prayers and support, you too were a part of this and can share in our rejoicing.

I have already written more than I should. You all read my words enough; I wanted you to discern and appreciate the perspective of one of my team members. What follows is a recap penned by Cheri Harris. Enjoy not having to labor through my platitudes for once:

“After nine days in Bangladesh, I can’t say that I really have a good feel for the country. Our time was limited to just our experience in the crazy city of Dhaka, and that hardly paints a full picture of the rest of this impoverished nation. Dylan and I were part of a team that Jesse Boyd put together: It included us; Jesse; his pastor friend, Jon Lane; and Jon’s friend, Tony Allen.

We were intensively involved in evangelism: primarily mass distribution, though we did have several in-depth conversations. We fortunately had the help of local Christian translators that worked alongside us in street preaching and one-on-one, but even those situations were challenging. Thankfully, Jesse got us out of a few binds as he speaks Nepali which is similar to Bengali.

One area of distribution included renting a boat and traveling on the debris ridden, garbage filled, putrid smelling, highly toxic septic tank, otherwise known as the Buriganga River. We loaded up Bengali Gospels of John and Luke and passed them out to passengers on passing boats, those lingering around the docks, and to the masses of water taxis going from one bank to the other. The sun was intense, and the smell was overwhelming, but the people were thankful for the free gospels.... except for one very irate man. He was shaking with so much anger, yelling things that I’m thankful I didn’t understand and showing such hostility that I thought he would beat us if his boat could reach us. He showed us the biggest insult in his culture by taking off his shoe and waving it in the air, threatening to throw it. We motored away as soon as we could and though we were way down the river, he could still be seen ranting and raving, shoe in the air, and yelling something about Allah.

Another time of evangelism was through van distribution. We’d load up a van, drive to the end of a narrow street crowded with shops and people, then turn around and drive out, passing out the Gospel of John or bilingual Bibles through the window. No major mobs formed as long as we kept moving, though it was hard to get a copy into all the hands as we drove through the crowds. Hopefully they will end up in the homes and get passed around.

We also spent an evening at Dhaka University’s Book Fair passing out Bengali-English Bibles to students and the higher classes of the culture. We had some good conversations there and only wish that our Bible supply had been limitless. The only time we felt that there was some potential problems with the police and/or mobs was when the guys decided to pass out the Gospel after the mosque was finished with afternoon prayers on a Friday, the Muslim sabbath. As they sped away in a van, a group of angry mullahs came chasing, and the police were not far behind: all because free Bibles were being distributed to the masses.

This is all to be expected when you are sharing the good news of the Gospel in a Muslim nation. There was always a fine line between being bold in evangelism and being unnecessarily reckless in our strategy. Most Muslims do regard the Bible as a holy book, so the vast majority of people were not offended or upset about receiving the free gift. Overall, I can only think a handful of people that either were upset or gave it back to us, and considering we passed out almost 20,000 total pieces of Gospel material, I think our time in Bangladesh was very fruitful. The Word went out; people heard the gospel in written form, by way of street preaching and through one-on-one conversations; and I praise God for the opportunity to be here and further His Kingdom. Please pray for the Bengali people and for their hearts to be open to His Word and that the seeds would continue to be scattered even after our departure.

I especially enjoyed getting to know the Bengali culture and embraced some of the dress that the native women typically wear. It’s called a “3-piece” and consists of drawstring pajama-like pants (think MC Hammer 80’s style), a long shirt that falls to about the knees, and a scarf that is draped across the chest and sometimes wrapped around the head, depending on how conservative the individual is. I had one made to fit my tall frame for about $14 (fabric included) and I appreciated having it to blend in the crowds and fend off some of the stares that were inevitable with being a westerner and a woman.

The most memorable experience was actually last night when we celebrated Jesse’s birthday. We had shared the Gospel with a gal we met in a cafe and she in turn invited us to have dinner at her restaurant. We met Sara, the owner and her whole family as we all partook in a truly native Bengali meal. Sara and her husband spoke fluent English so we could ask them detailed questions about issues such as their government, the Liberation War, and cultural idiosyncrasies. The meal was unforgettable and they even brought out a rich, chocolate cake with “Happy Birthday Jesse” frosted on the top. It was a great way to wrap up our time in Bangladesh.

So, tomorrow we head for more adventures in evangelism as we head to Nepal with Jesse. Please keep us in your prayers for protection and boldness as we venture to the mighty Himalayan mountains and into yet another foreign culture.”

Friends, Jesse here, please continue to pray for the people of Bangladesh and the faithful workers that remain there in service to the Gospel on a long-term basis. Pray also for the national believers who partnered with us and risk far more than we do for their faith on a daily basis. I don’t know if Full Proof Gospel Ministries will ever return to Dhaka; the will of the Lord be done.

Now, it is back to Nepal with much work to be done. Another team of four, this one from New Testament Christian Fellowship in Newton, NC, will be coming to Kathmandu on February 23 and laboring with us here until March 1. Dylan and Cheri Harris are also with me in Nepal; their partnership will be valuable over the coming weeks. At the present moment, there is much unrest in this tiny Himalayan nation. Strikes have roads closed in the terai belt; everyone is without electricity for 8 hours a days; gasoline cannot be found; propane gas for cooking is sparse; some areas of the country are under curfew; and people are being killed in places. There is much potential for disaster. Just pray that we can get the team in here safely and do the work of the Lord without hindrance. I am not lamenting the problems themselves. Often, inconveniences of this sort create an amazing receptivity to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We simply want to be in the right place at the right time and trust God to bring this to pass. The rolling blackouts have greatly slowed down the printing of our Scripture portions and tracts. Please pray that we get enough materials for use with the team. Friday of this week, we head back to Ratna Park and the mosque. I have not been there since June. May the Word of God go forth in abundance.

Pray for me also as I miss my family. This day is beginning in Kathmandu (I didn’t finish and send this update in the aforementioned Dhaka A&W), and there is work to be done.

Grace, mercy, and peace be with you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

Jesse Boyd

FPGM HOMEPAGE

Kathmandu Beginnings

Thu, 7 Feb 2008 19:00:31 -0500

Greetings from Kathmandu, Nepal in the name of the Great God and our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Surely, He cometh quickly: This is the blessed hope of the believer (Titus 2:13).

It’s late, and I have to leave for Bangladesh in the morning, so this update will be brief. Please pray for me and the team over the next week or so. There are plenty of Scripture portions to distribute on the streets of Dhaka, and there will be security risks. Pray for our boldness and our safety. Remember, Bangladesh is a Muslim country and distributing the Bible and/or Gospel tracts is illegal. Notwithstanding, however, the masses are hungry for the hope that only the Lord can offer. The next few days should hold real adventure for the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ. Please lift up Jon and Tony who will be traveling in from South Dakota and the Harris’ who are coming in form Thailand. Pray also for the national believers and the long-term m’s that we will be partnering with in Dhaka. Friends, I cannot emphasize too strongly that your prayer cover over the coming days is of real importance. So, help us God. I look forward to updating you from the field.

My travels thus far have been good and busy. Coming through Delhi allowed me to share the Gospel with several on those chaotic streets. And, my arrival in Kathmandu brought back many memories. Since last Sunday, I have been laboring diligently with Bishnu Shrestha, my national partner, in the work of Project Jagerna. By God’s grace, we completed translation of the Epistle of Romans, and today, an order was placed at the printing press for 45,000 John/Romans editions in Nepali; 5,000 John/Romans editions in English; and 16,000 Gospel tracts. All praise to the Lord for providing the funds for such a printing! Thanks also to many of you for your contributions to Project Jagerna. The more funds the Lord provides, the more we can continue to print. Droves of people are without the Word in Nepal and all of South Asia, so we can never print and distribute enough. When I return from Bangladesh on February 17, we will have our distribution work cut out for us.

Please also pray for us as we are trying to obtain a suitable, safe, and affordable storage facility for all these materials. Right now, we have no place to put them, even for a short amount of time, and a base here in Kathmandu for supplying local pastors and believers is desperately needed. The will of the Lord be done.

Nepal, my friends, is a country of problems. Load-shedding means many hours each week without electricity. Lines for gasoline make the fuel problems in 1970’s America look like a minor inconvenience, and FPGM’s motorcycle is on empty. Everything seems to be getting more expensive, and as usual, there is political unrest. Nonetheless, such instability creates an open door for the Gospel; pray that this door remains open. Pray also that the Lord will continue to provide for our financial needs. Already, for various reasons, I have been forced to spend a lot more money here than anticipated. But alas, one cannot put a price on the proclamation of the Gospel.

Yesterday was an incredibly clear day here in Kathmandu, and the Himalayas dominated the skyline in a way I have never seen before. The majesty of these immense and jagged peaks brought a passage of Scripture to mind: “Fo lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name (Amos 4:13). Sadly, many here worship and serve the creation more than the Creator. That’s why we must boldly proclaim repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21): even if such is illegal, invites persecution, is expensive, or results in real sacrifice.

Well, I better go. There is so much more I could write, but the hour is late. Much lies ahead, and I greatly look forward to sharing more updates from the front lines. Pray for my family back home; I miss them terribly. Also, pray for my national partner here in Nepal. Bishnu is a real blessing, and a lot of what has been accomplished with regard to Project Jagerna can be attributed to the Lord working through him. For Bishnu, there are risks and sacrifices that I may never know.

Grace, mercy, and peace be with you all.

Respectfully yours in the Truth of the Holy Bible,

Jesse Boyd

FPGM HOMEPAGE

Homefront Sundries

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 19:08:59 -0500

Greetings, dear brethren, in the name of the Lord: “To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen” (Romans 16:27).

This will not be a lengthy email update, for there is so much to do in the coming weeks. Please pray for me as I will be departing for Nepal on January 29. I will be traveling alone to Kathmandu for about a week. Then, it’s on to Dhaka in Bangladesh to meet my volunteer team for a week of mass saturation and proclamation of the Gospel in one of the most intense cities in the world. From there, I return to Nepal to welcome another volunteer team and engage in translation/printing/distribution of the Scriptures. I look forward to sharing updates with you all from the front lines.

More important than this, at least for the present moment: I would like to announce the birth of Charlotte Hope Boyd (7lbs. 10 oz.). She was born at 4:46pm on January 14 at home. Mom and baby are doing very well, and the entire birthing process was without trouble. It was so special to experience this natural part of life in the privacy and comfort of our own home. The Lord was very good to allow this to happen. The little one is sleeping peacefully beside of me right now, even as I write. Bethany does not hardly know what to do with herself. She is excited about being a big sister.

I am just realizing how difficult it will be to leave my family in two weeks. Please lift us up in prayer. I am truly being tested by the words of Christ in Luke 14:25-34.

In the past weeks, we have assumed a little bit different of an approach for taking the Gospel to our “Jerusalem and Judea” (i.e. our local area--see Acts 1:8). Going to the loitering kids in Hickory on the weekends got old, and we grew weary of dealing with the same blasphemers and haters of God. Matthew 7:6 was ever before our minds. Therefore, we set a goal of hitting the central district of ever single town or community, fanning out from Hickory, NC, even if the so-called town was nothing more than an intersection with a post office. Granted, this approach has seriously cut down on the amount of people, and with each outing, we have to trust the Lord to provide encounters. However, I must say that He has been faithful. As I think back on places like Cherryville, Maiden, Lenoir, Valdese, Belwood, Fallston, Lincolnton, Newton, Dallas, Vale, Morganton, etc., I recall at least one divine appointment in every locale: two paramedics, some guys working out in a fitness center, a couple of teenagers leaving a smoke-filled pool hall, a man and his wife closing up shop, a band of teenagers carousing outside a movie theater, a young man who had just been released from the hospital after a drug overdose, a party of Jewish folks, a group of girls in a coffee shop, a young man who claimed to be a Satanist, and Iallah, a young man with a Muslim name. Last Saturday night, my brother (Matthew) and my brother-in-law (Jeremy) approached the latter and began to explicate the righteousness of Almighty God, the guilt of man before the law, and the person and work of Jesus Christ. Iallah wept profusely, admitting that we was completely lost and confused in this life. In the end, he took a Gospel of John and showed true humility in the presence of God’s Word. Please pray for his salvation. You see, Matthew & Jeremy were not out trying to get “decisions” for Christ (the typical approach to evangelism). They simply were faithful to preach repentance and faith, leaving the results up to the Lord as opposed to playing on the emotions of someone and guilting them into repeating a prayer. The conviction of the Holy Spirit was clearly manifest in this particular situation as well as all listed above. We trust Him to draw these after the manner of John 6:44. Likewise, we rejoice and rest in knowing that He helped us be faithful to proclaim repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. That, my friends, is the Gospel (Acts 20:21). Churchianity may be about results and numbers, but true ministry is about obedience (I Corinthians 3:7). My friends, Mark 16:15 is our responsibility: “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” Mark 16:16 is God’s problem: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”

Remember, the above encounters were not in a big city or a large gathering place. These were lost and hurting people in podunk towns, along the highways and hedges, in the out-of-the-way. We have no excuse but to proclaim in our own communities (II Corinthians 4:13); the perishing are all around us. As the old hymn says: “Rescue the perishing. Care for the dying. Jesus is merciful. Jesus will save.”

Add to above encounters the countless Gospel tracts that have been left in the front doors of local businesses, in telephone booths, post offices, and on park benches here within a 50 mile radius of Hickory over the past several weeks, then there is more than enough cause for rejoicing that the Word has gone forth. Pray for us as we continue to saturate our local area and strive for targeting every single community in Western North Carolina. Folks, there are opportunities to proclaim the Gospel all around us. The more I witness on the streets, the more I see the stark reality that American churches are full of the perishing, those who have believed a false gospel. How will they hear the truth unless we who are born again tell them (Romans 10:14)?

Friends, it is God’s faithfulness and your prayers that continue to lift us up and give us the resolve to be bold. Thank-you. I also want to give special thanks to Paul Langford, an old friend of mine. You might remember that he traveled with me to the evangelism training in South Dakota back in December. Paul has really stepped up to the plate in partnering with us in the work of evangelism in the Hickory area. He has shown himself to be a bold, yet humble witness for the Gospel. And, as he has taught me much over the years in the martial arts, I find him even now teaching me things in the labor of the Word.

In a previous update, I mentioned that I was redesigning the FPGM website. Mysteriously, this file and all the work I had done on it disappeared from my hosting server a couple of weeks ago, and I lost everything. The hosting service I was using did not back up the data like they were supposed to, so I dropped them like a bad habit and moved on to another service. Thus, everything is in transition for the moment. The old website is still up and will be for sometime until I can reconstruct the new one. Please be patient with me as I will not be updating the old site. Pictures and news from South Asia will eventually come, but it will take some time. The website has proven to be a valuable avenue for proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ in this age of cyberspace. On the “Contact Us” page, I offer to send a free King James Bible to anyone who is interested. It is amazing to get emails from people all around the world who “randomly” stumble on the website and are eager to receive that free King James Bible. The Lord has allowed us to send Bibles, Gospel tracts, and English Jagerna Johns to places like the Philippines, Bhutan, Kenya, and Zimbabwe over the past couple of months. Granted, this can get expensive, but one cannot put a price on getting out the Word of God. After all, it does not return void (Isaiah 55:11). Pray for this aspect of our ministry. Through the website, I also received an invitation from some Christians in Pakistan to come conduct an evangelism training while I am in that part of the world in the coming weeks. Pray for wisdom in this matter. Pakistan can be a rough place, but this pastor is practically begging me. He claimed that he could get 500 Christians together who would relish the teaching. So, the website has proven itself important. To God be the glory. Much of these blessings are in answer to your prayers.

Thanks for your prayers and support.

Peace be with you all,

Jesse, Jamie, Bethany, and Charlotte Boyd

P.S. For those of you who financially contributed to the work of Full Proof Gospel Ministries in 2007, you should be receiving your tax-deductible receipt any time. These went out last week. Again, thanks.

FPGM HOMEPAGE