Tony Boyd

Car Model: Corvette C8 (2020 - Present)

Model Year: 2021

Trim Level: C8 1LT

City & State: Mt. Airy, NC

Exterior Color: Accelerate Yellow Metallic

Interior Color: Black

Story:

I am a long-distance truck driver, my trips go from North Carolina to California, Oregon & Washington state then back to north Carolina which is where I live. Back in 2012 I was sitting in my truck outside a favorite restaurant of mine and many others around the world called The Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo Texas indulging myself in a Texas size slice of their delicious carrot cake when a homeless man appears out of nowhere at my driver's window asking me if I had anything I could give him to eat. I do admit the guilt that run over me was overwhelming, so I gave him some money and told him to go in there and get himself a good meal. It was at that moment the Lord spoke to me through the holy spirit and said Tony you should fix paper bags filled with Christian stuff and a snack and give them out to all these homeless people you encounter as you travel.

So I left and continued on my trip with this new idea about how I can serve the Lord and help people at the same time. Two days later I woke up in the middle of the night in Warrenton Missouri on a mission to find a Walmart and buy what I needed to begin this homeless bags ministry the Lord had brought to me. So I did and it was that night Team Jesus Ministries was born. For the next nine years I made bags at home and gave them out all over the country as I traveled.

On November 1st 2021 I left out on what would normally be a 10 day trip with Stops in Houston Texas & Portland Oregon that turned out to be anything but normal. I caught covid soon after I left out and by the time I got my Houston drop of I was feeling really lousy so I went to Walmart and got a covid test and sure enough I tested positive for covid. I left Houston and drove another day to Lubbock Texas where I was feeling so bad and barley had enough breath to get out and back in my truck I went to a hospital ER. They checked me and said yes I have covid pneumonia and said its a mild case I would be in there for about 2 days and I was admitted. Well on day 3 they came in my room and said Mr, Boyd you are not responding to treatment the way we expected you to could you give us the name and contact information of someone you authorize to pull the plug on you. So I gave them a person to contact and began talking to the lord saying well God is this it? Are my days here going to end here in a Texas hospital? Then I said God I want what you want if this is it then so be it just let me use it to somehow glorify Your Holy Name. There was no please Lord let me live a little longer or just let me see my children one more time no none of that. I had a complete peace that surpasses all understanding while staring the reality of death in the face. This is the peace us Christians have that nonbelievers don't have and can't understand.

Well a couple days passed my condition kept deteriorating until day 6 I began to turn around and was released a few days later with a portable oxygen machine on my side. When I first went in the hospital I told my company don't even think about sending someone to get my truck and finish my trip I needed a goal and reason to fight to overcome this sickness and they didn't. I have a 1971 split bumper Camaro with a blown big block I had been planning to use as a ministry show car the way I am using this corvette.

Having fell in love with the C8 corvette I bought this one over the phone before I got home which by the way the trip that started out as a 10 day trip turned into a 38 day trip with another hospital stop in Rock Springs Wyoming for a breathing treatment and more meds. The Lord has blessed this ministry from it's very beginning and now he is opening up doors I never dreamed he would with opportunities to share the Good News to all kinds of people everywhere I go especially the children they love sitting in it and starting the engine and what a great opportunity to open a door for a conversation about the Lord which may be the first and only time they will get to hear it. We also take a group of very underprivileged children to Walmart at Christmas and give each one $50.00 to buy whatever they want for Christmas. We also buy groceries for the needy or anyone down on their luck along with many other things we do to help wherever we can. I get criticized a lot by people saying I used church money to buy this car so I want to say this.

I bought this car with my retirement savings and I fund this ministry 100% out of my pocket. I am not a preacher and I do not have a church. I do not accept donations with the exception of clothing we give to the homeless and needy and toys we give to children at Christmas and I am not tax exempt. I'm just and old truck driver that loves the Lord and has a strong desire to give just a little back to Him for all the wonderful blessing he has given me.

Thank You for reading my story/ testimony.

Modifications:

1. Bright PVD Chrome Wheel Finish; Wheel Craft - https://wheelcraft.com/

2. Competition Sport Seats

3. Z51 Performance Package

4. FE4 Magnetic Selective Ride Control System

5. Engine Appearance Package

6. Yellow Brake Calipers and Seat Belts