A CALLING, MISSION, OR DREAM

           

                 ADVERSITY IS THE MOTHER OF PROGRESS
                                     Mahatma Gandhi


                           AND KNOW THAT I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS;
                                   YES, ALWAYS TO THE END OF TIME
                                                       Jesus Christ

      I was on my way home from a visit to my clinic and my cell phone rang, a voice from out of the past said hello.  Cowboy Dan Boyd.  Now Dan is the last living circuit preacher and is on a mission that would not be an easy thing for many to do.  He is traveling by horse and wagon to every one of the lower forty eight states.  Along the way he is working on just about anything a poor person or family needs that crosses his path.
     He has patched porches, fixed windows, poured cement, fixed fence and any other handy man job he runs into.  All this is funded by donations.  He holds Cowboy Church Services along the way.  This was not what he envisioned for himself early in life but it is a calling he cannot turn away from. 
     My first memory of Cowboy Dan was at the Western Music Association Festival in Wichita.  One of our top artists was going through a round of cancer and had sold everything including his horse to support his family and fight the disease.  We were kicking around Dan's idea for a benefit concert to help.  This was not in the normal way of doing concerts, it would be going where the cowboys were and their environment, livestock auction barns.
     Well our friend beat the cancer and is one of the top artists in Western Music but Dan did not let that idea go to raise money for needy causes.  So with Victoria Ward they created the Auction Barn Concerts and did shows all over Kansas, Oklahoma, and Colorado.
     I did not know Dan's story of how he lost his wife and son in a car accident and his other son was left with injuries requiring over 80 surgeries.  For many years Dan was mad at God.  A kind lady made this statement that may not have been appreciated at the time but rings so true.  She said, "God will not give you more grief than you can handle".
      For many years he fought with his pain and disappointments but God blessed him with many talents.  Whether you would call it a calling, mission, or dream, Dan made his peace and opened his heart.  Which was also opened by doctors at age 58 for bypass surgery.  He started a Cowboy church not intending to preach but just facilitate.  And yet he was called to preach.
     Cowboy Dan has been on the road now with his team and tools and is determined to spread the love of God to all 48 lower states.  He was in North Carolina today waiting for mail to catch up.  Next stop is South Carolina.  He called wanting me to let people know that he is still on the road and needs support to continue on.
     To find Dan and his ministry go to Facebook and put in THE LAST CIRCUIT RIDING PREACHER.  You can Google for his website also.
e-mail Dan at cowboychurch@cox.net
also:  THE LAST CIRCUIT RIDING PREACHER
          PO BOX 444, BENTON, KS.  67017
HIS MISSION:  Sharing the love of Jesus in all lower 48 states helping country folk along the way.

Dan's saying.  "OLD COWBOYS DON'T FALL OFF THE HORSE, THEY JUST HAVE A COLORFUL WAY OF GETTING ON THE GROUND"
Dan's Challenge:  WALK UP TO THE LOUDEST, RUDEST, CUSSINGEST PERSON YOU KNOW, GET IN THEIR FACE AND TELL THEM JESUS LOVES THEM AND SO DO I.  WOULD YOU GO TO CHURCH WITH ME?  Amazing how many have done this and how many lives it has effected.