Do His Promises Still Stand?

I watched Philip roll his backpack across the parking lot, after I dropped him off at the McCallie School. By the time I curved around the parking lot, I could see him carrying his backpack up the flight of stairs to get out of the parking lot and up to the buildings for his first class. I knew that he would have to climb a few more flights of stairs in the building to get to his classroom, and he would do that throughout the day in various buildings on campus. I remember that first day of high school in August 2015 as if it was yesterday. My prayer that day was for Philip’s spine and diagnosis of scoliosis.

“God, I’m just asking for this one thing.  He has to spend four years on this campus, then college.  He can’t just roll a backpack everywhere.  He needs a spine that is straight and strong, a body that is fit so that he can carry things and walk without hindrance.  Help him, heal him today.”

The days, months and years have passed and now he’s in his senior year at the school, and still with the same struggle.  I mean, what have I missed?  What’s wrong with my prayer?  God, do you hear me?

And in this season, I know and I put my trust in God’s Word, because frankly, there’s no other place that will hold me.  Yet, I’m still waiting.  And I don’t understand.  Does His promise still stand?  I teach my kids to study, to meditate and memorize the Word, but I’m still waiting for a Promise to be fulfilled.  Everything I see makes me think that I’m circling the drain and that it will all end, but Does His Promise Still Stand?  

Aaaagh, it’s so easy to say these words, but when everything around you and everything you experience with your senses tells you a hard and difficult story, I pray that you and me will cling to the One whose Words will never fail.  He cannot fail in His Word.  Isaiah 55 tells us that His Word is like the rain that comes down from the heavens and does not return to the heavens, but waters the earth, makes it bring forth, bud, give nourishment.  His WORD is just like that!!  It will accomplish what it is called to accomplish, and not simply return void back to the Father.  His Promise Still Stands.  

And as for Philip, I know the Promises spoken over him will come to pass.  I can understand what I see in the physical, but what I see in the spiritual, and what I know from His Word, that the things that are impossible for man, is possible with My God– this is what I hold to, and renew my mind with daily.

A friend had sent this link to me weeks ago about the story behind the song “Do It Again.” Watch and enjoy! Remember His Promise Still Stands!

With love and prayers,

Susan

Happy 10th birthday, Love Without Reason

i want to give you a quick look back and share a look ahead to the next 10 years!

Looking Back

The vision of LWR is to Love, Transform, and Reintegrate the vulnerable and the victims of human trafficking. During our early years, we realized that children with untreated cleft lip/palate were at risk for being sold into human trafficking networks such as child labor, child beggary, sex trade, and organ harvesting.

To attain our mission of providing cost-free, high quality craniofacial surgeries to children and adults in developing countries, we began work in South India. Our team traveled into the rural areas of India to find the “hidden” children born with clefts, and offer them surgeries. The super-specialty hospitals such as People Tree Hospital, HCG Group of Hospitals, Rainbow Hospital, Aster CMI partnered with us to impact these young lives. Our success in India enabled us to broaden our horizons into Zimbabwe, Africa. In June 2017, LWR completed 58 surgeries in six days, changing the faces of 58 individuals!!

With Project Butterfly, LWR pursues the victims of human trafficking in Mumbai. The red-light district in the suburbs of Mumbai has more than a thousand sex slaves. The Love Without Reason Center is a place of refuge for these women and their children. Over the past two years, the center has helped scores of women learn new skills and helped liberate some women. The work continues in dangerous environments filled with oppression and darkness. However, the message of Love Without Reason will be shared to these women, who once believed there was no hope for them.

Looking Ahead

As we look to the next ten years, the doors to India and the nations within Africa are opening for LWR.  We are called to:

• Penetrate the darkest interiors of Africa and India with hope, health, awareness and education
• Reach vulnerable children born with facial birth defects, and provide life-altering surgery
• Break the shackles of slavery and trafficking
• Plan out international disaster relief response

Friends, as 2017 comes to an end, we want to offer you the opportunity to invest into good ground. We encourage you to sow into this work that sets captives free, liberates the oppressed, and shares good news with the poor!! Thank you for believing in this vision!

Now, as far as gifts for Love Without Reason, how about rebranding and a stunning website. Check out Love Without Reason’s new website at www.lovewithoutreason.org and let us know what you think. 

Our thanks to myheartcreative, led by the amazing team of Vinod and Amy Samuel and Kelcy Thompson for their creativity, hard work and patience (with the Mathews family). There is no better way to inaugurate the 10th anniversary year!  We are so thankful for this team and their dedication to serve. For more information on their work, please visit www.myheartcreative.com. And tell them that Love Without Reason sent you! Feel free to comment with your prayers and wishes for LWR! 

Kenya on our heart

Santhosh and I were blessed to attend this year’s Global Missions Health Conference in Kentucky. While there we connected with other organizations, relief agencies, ministries working to expand the Kingdom by their service. We met people from Kenya and listened to their stories. We have always been told that the northern region of Kenya has little to no health care services at all. We could not imagine what was happening to the children born there with craniofacial differences. What has become of their lives?

One young woman, Michelle, from Hope Matters International shared her story. As a nurse practitioner, when she first arrived in Kenya, she was placed in the labor and delivery room to assist the physicians and midwives. Because of the lack of resources and finances, the clinics were ill-equipped to deal at full force with a new life entering the world. For those newborns who were not breathing on their own, and who remained blue due to lack of oxygen, Michelle was instructed to turn from the baby and focus her strength on saving the mother. The baby would not survive, and there was no incubator or respirator to help in any case.

Our hearts were broken to hear this. I remember immediately after Philip’s delivery, he was suctioned and his breathing reflex kicked in. If a baby like him was born in Kenya, he would drown in his own secretions.

Friends, we cannot pretend ignorance on the need any longer. How many children like Philip are being born every year in Kenya, and never open their eyes to the light? Per the Healthy Newborn Network, 39% of Kenyan newborns die of congenital abnormalities and pre term complications.

Santhosh was able to visit Nairobi, Kenya in November to meet leaders and see the hospitals. God willing in 2018, LWR will return and join the efforts to bring the newborn mortality rate down in Kenya. You may not be able to come to Kenya yourself, but you can send LWR. Partner with us!

We must continue the work, Until The World Is Cleft-Free!

My “FORCED” restful Birthday Week!

If you have seen any Love Without Reason social media in October, you would know that on October 21, there was a fundraiser for LWR called the SHINE fashion show! For an event of any magnitude to be successful, you need a mass of volunteers, planners, organizers, workers, idea-producers and etc!! This event was no exception…

The challenge was coordinating a mission trip to Zimbabwe, planning a surgery for Philip in India in July, and returning to school and all extracurricular activities while preparing for an October event. By the time October 21 midnight arrived, I was exhausted!! But then I was also frightened. I was the last person to handle both Santhosh and my phones at the event. And I believed I had packed them in a box, and sent it with one of our friends to their home. Unfortunately, the phones were nowhere to be found!

Sunday and Monday were a little frantic in trying to find our phones. And at the same time, there was peace. No calls to answer. No emails to respond to. No complaints to acknowledge (at the moment). Plus Santhosh’s reassurance to me that the phones would be found at the ChooChoo itself. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh, peace.

The amazing staff at the venue for SHINE, a historic hotel called the Chattanooga ChooChoo, found the bag that had our phones in it, and then began the calls. Monday evening we also received entrance in the RUACH 2017 conference at Redemption to the Nations Church. One of our close friends from NYC covered our entry tickets to the conference and demanded that we attend the events Monday to Wednesday evening. Speakers came from around the country, just to pour into the attendants. The worship, music, prayers and Word was like a cool drink of water after a marathon in the hot sun!

Friday we were finally able to take advantage of the “Married and Still Loving it” prize package that we won in February 2016. The prize was a weekend getaway to the Whitestone Country Inn in Kingston, Tennessee! As we drove the scenic highway and cut through the colorful mountains, it truly seemed like the Lord was wrapping His arms around us. “Come apart, and rest for awhile,” He once said to His disciples.

Well, we did just that. We drove through the retreat area, walked, prayed, shared and enjoyed our time together. It has been quite awhile since we took time for ourselves, without a coordinating mission trip, or event related to the ministry. God knew we needed to be at a place that was known as a “sanctuary for the soul.” It was as if the chapped skin of our souls received balm there at the Whitestone Inn. The service, the staff, the smiles all brought rest to our wearied bodies.

As I look back on that week, I can’t help but think how the Lord orchestrated this time. People on my planning team told me that God Himself hid our phones from our eyes for those 2 days. God Himself sent us to a conference for refreshing. God Himself arranged a weekend getaway to renew ourselves for the journey ahead.

Nothing is too small for God. Even before we think our thoughts, Psalms 139 says He knows my thoughts. My physical needs are on His radar. Though it seems so insignificant a request, for my God, he arranges everything beautifully in His perfect time.

And now, ONWARD for the journey ahead! 🙂

Susan

filed under: Blogs

Tennessee was whooped, and Philip laughed in Georgia’s face!

I’m not sure when Philip started loving football. I have a feeling something invaded his system through osmosis from this preschool picture!! He started with just watching the games on television, then watching old documentaries and films on the internet. The statistics and facts that are stored in his memory amazes me. (How can he NOT remember where he kept his black dress socks?!?) He would have loved to play for the McCallie School’s football team, unfortunately for him, his pediatrician (and me, his mother) will not give clearance to play contact sports. Philip, did not let that stop him. He approached the head football coach and asked if he needed an assistant. This will be Philip’s third year in a supporting/managerial role for the football team, and he loves every minute of it.

He has this competitive streak in him as well. We don’t need to even mention the Baylor – McCallie rivalry!!! It extends to the SEC and the NFL. No one beats his Vols or his Titans and goes unscathed!! Unfortunately, this weekend BOTH the Vols and the Titans lost! 🙁

Well, after Tennessee’s horrible 41-0 loss to Georgia, we were ministering on Sunday morning at the Atlanta Revival Center in Douglasville, Georgia. There were many in the audience who were proudly wearing their Georgia Bulldog Red and Black!! Well, before introducing Philip to come and speak, Pastor Vance made the church announcements, one of which was a men’s retreat where they would cook “any wild meat” and treat the men in attendance. I saw Philip suddenly sit up, perk up and smile. My heart sank, what was going on his mind? He was introduced and his first words to the Pastor and to the church congregation was about the men’s retreat. “So, Pastor Vance, since you will be cooking alligator and any other meat at the retreat, how about some bulldog?” My mind immediately thought of Jesus at the temple and how he escaped the Jews who picked up stones to throw at him. Where is the nearest fire exit?!? This boy continued on with his testimony, and in between “With God nothing is impossible, even for the Volunteers!”

The congregation was generous and loving to us all, rolling in the aisles with Philip’s comments.  But boy, for a while there, I was worried for Philip!  It is amazing how the Lord can use the weak to confound the mighty.  Many may look at children with disabilities and think there is nothing good that can come out of them.  But in the Master Potter’s hands, all things are possible for those who believe!!

filed under: Blogs

#GreatAmericanSolarEclipse

Monday marked an amazing battle in the heavens with the sun and moon. For a time, the sun disappeared and the earth became cool 🙂

According to ancient literature, people formed various reasons for why the sun disappeared from the sky. From that, various superstitions and myths were birthed. Food that is prepared during an eclipse is unpure and poisoned, therefore, people are advised to remain fasting during an eclipse. To some, an eclipse means disaster and destruction is imminent. In Mexico, pregnant women are advised to wear red underwear to protect their baby from a cleft palate.

Nail Polish

Monsoon season has hit Mumbai. As we braved the deluge of rain with the drive to the red-light district, Philip, Santhosh and I began to prepare ourselves for the long day! Unfortunately, the rain did not stop once we arrived in the red-light area. It only poured in intensity! We climbed the stairways, hopped over sewer lines and struggled to hold the feeble umbrellas upright as we climbed to the Lighthouse, the LWR center in the heart of the city.

The ladies and several children were there to greet us. We were so happy to see their smiles. I won’t ever forget the blank expressions on their faces the first time I met them in February 2015. There was hopelessness in their eyes. But to see their joy today, there’s only one explanation for it, and that is Jesus. Yet, there is still a battle going on for the souls of these women and their children. We must not forget to fight for them.

Towards the end of the day, the rain had finally ceased. I stepped outside of the Lighthouse to walk around the slum area. I saw a few women huddled together and I wondered what was in the center of their circle. There I saw a box with a rainbow of colors in tiny jars. It took me a few minutes to realize that the box was filled with an assortment of nail polish. A man came with another box of nail polish and displayed it in front of the ladies. There was a lot of negotiation as he relayed the prices and showed the various colors.

I don’t know who the man was, or who sent him.  But it saddened me that instead of finding ways to help the ladies be set free, people found ways to keep them captive.   It happens over and over again, everyday.  A safe hostel (safe home) has been arranged for many children of the women of Project Butterfly.  But many of the mothers are saying, we want to leave this place too.   We need to build homes for these in captivity, and not find ways to keep them oppressed.  This project will take all of us working together.  This has to be done, because we all are called to set the captives free.  I hope that you will join me in this vision to bring hope, bring change, and bring new life to the people of Mumbai’s red light districts.

Together let’s transform Beauty from the Ashes!

Susan

filed under: Blogs

Kenya on our heart

Kenya on our heart Santhosh and I were blessed to attend this year’s Global Missions Health Conference in Kentucky. While there we connected with other organizations, relief agencies, ministries working to expand the Kingdom by their service. We met people from…

My “FORCED” restful Birthday Week!

Kenya on our heart Santhosh and I were blessed to attend this year’s Global Missions Health Conference in Kentucky. While there we connected with other organizations, relief agencies, ministries working to expand the Kingdom by their service. We met people from…

Tennessee was whooped, and Philip laughed in Georgia’s face!

Tennessee was whooped, and Philip laughed in Georgia’s face! I’m not sure when Philip started loving football. I have a feeling something invaded his system through osmosis from this preschool picture!! He started with just watching the games on…

#GreatAmericanSolarEclipse

#GreatAmericanSolarEclipse Monday marked an amazing battle in the heavens with the sun and moon. For a time, the sun disappeared and the earth became cool 🙂 According to ancient literature, people formed various reasons for why the sun disappeared from the…

Nail Polish

Nail Polish Monsoon season has hit Mumbai. As we braved the deluge of rain with the drive to the red-light district, Philip, Santhosh and I began to prepare ourselves for the long day! Unfortunately, the rain did not stop once we arrived in the red-light area. It…

Welcome to Zimbabwe

Welcome to Zimbabwe We were definitely a sight to behold at JFK international airport. A team of 10 people all wearing identical “Love Without Reason” yellow shirts, trolleying 30 pieces of luggage which were all tagged with the same beautiful Volunteer…

Welcome to Zimbabwe

We were definitely a sight to behold at JFK international airport. A team of 10 people all wearing identical “Love Without Reason” yellow shirts, trolleying 30 pieces of luggage which were all tagged with the same beautiful Volunteer Orange ribbons. We were an excited bunch, taking selfies, praying in tongues and passing out snacks.

The flight was uneventful, other than people asking us “What is Love Without Reason?”   One pastor from Kenya invited us to bring Love Without Reason to Kenya!  God willing that day will come very soon.

We were greeted by an amazing team at the Harare Airport. Each LWR family was hosted by a church family from Revival Ministries International, which was LWR’s hosting church for our very first medical camp in Zimbabwe! Sunday morning three separate churches received the Word from different groups of LWR’s team. Each service was powerful. The atmosphere of expectancy is the breeding ground for miracles!

Beginning Sunday up until Saturday each day was designated with tasks and preparation for the Sunday (Father’s Day) medical camp at Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare. Everything from visiting the hospital and laying the map for camp day, to sorting out medical supplies to creating patient files!! Whether you had a medical background or not, your skill was used here! During the evenings, various meetings were held: awareness meetings on Human Trafficking, a seminar on Women in Ministry, and a Message of Hope from Philip Mathews. Every person on the ten member team from America shared or spoke during these meetings. Our first two team members from India came as the Trustees of LWR Foundation, the remaining “Big Five” which included the surgeons and anesthesiologists would arrive on Saturday.

The day of camp finally arrived! The Admin team arrived at 6a.m. and there was already a line of twenty patients waiting for the doors to open. We learned that many traveled from 300-500 kilometers away, and their transport had arrived late in the night or early that morning to deposit them at the hospital. We all assembled at each of the 11 stations, which included a photo session, pediatrician, surgeon, and anesthetist evaluation, blood work, and counseling. The amazing volunteers (close to 100) checked in at their stations ready to help at their first medical camp. The medical students from the University of Zimbabwe came with their white coats to assist in history taking and in registration and to learn from the health care providers. Nursing staff from the hospital assisted the patients with weights, blood pressure and blood draws. Runners transported vials of blood to and from the lab in order to streamline the movement of patients. Approximately 149 patients came through the camp, with 46 being screened out for non-facial health issues. Of the remainder, lists were made to accommodate patients for the June mission, and for the next camp mission.

Beginning Monday morning, children and adults were brought to the operating theatre for surgery. Santhosh and I visited them in the hospital ward that evening. Many parents that night itself thanked us with tears of gratitude in their eyes, as they gazed in wonder at their children’s new faces.

The days started at 5a.m. and ended at 11pm with the workload in the hospital. Our lead operating room nurse, Sister Botoro, told us “I will not be tired, until Sunday.” Their hearts were moved because of the love shown to the people of Zimbabwe. One surgical nurse cried as she shared with us during the focus group meeting on Friday night, “No one cares about the poor. No one. But you have come to change their lives.”

Friends, the work is not over in Zimbabwe, it is only beginning. If you have given to Love Without Reason, please know that this is your victory too! If you have never supported the cause, I urge you to partner with us. There was only 1 craniofacial surgeon in the entire country, as a result there is a five year back log of patients with such birth defects. With the help of LWR surgical team passing on their skills, many more surgeons will rise up in this country. The five year back log will disappear.

Thank you for joining with us! God bless you for answering the call!!

Until the World is Cleft Free!

Susan

www.lovewithoutreason.net

filed under: Blogs

The link between Craniofacial Deformities and Human Trafficking

The smell of crispy sweet jalebi combined with the vehicle exhaust and open sewers greeted us at the entrance of one of Mumbai’s red-light districts, called Thurbe, where Love Without Reason operates an entrepreneurial training center. We wanted to meet the ladies who had been rescued from sex trafficking and who now are learning new self-sustainable business skills. As the hot sun beat on our heads, we climbed through the alleys and one lane streets of the city.

On each side of the road you saw one-level unkempt buildings. Laughter of children, rumbling of motorcycles, and croons of voices permeated the streets. As we walked deeper into the city and stepped over the streams of sewage, we saw women sitting outside of their doorways. They searched us with their eyes, and you knew their curiosity was piqued. With their permission and with the help of our translator we asked them for their stories.

For many of the women in this part of Mumbai, the story is the same. They were born into poverty in some remote part of India.

Their parents unknowingly or knowingly sold them into the hands of human traffickers, as they were unable to provide for them. As young children, many were sold into forced labor networks. At some point they were sold into the red-light districts to pimps. The majority of them have only known a life of rejection, being unwanted, and defined as worthless.

he same psychological abuse echoes in the souls of those born with facial navitha-_afterbirth defects. For instance, six-year-old Bhuvan from a village outside of Bangalore, was kicked out of preschool because he could not speak or communicate well. He was born with a cleft palate. Unfortunately, his peers and their parents were afraid of him. They began to call him names and bully him. He should have been in kindergarten, but the teachers joined in the abuse and deemed that Bhuvan would never amount to anything in his life. The lack of education and literacy will only promote the cycle of poverty. Consequently, these young lives are vulnerable and sometimes willing to do any work in order to sleep with warmth and a full stomach.

For young Navitha (pictured), who was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate, the stigma was more intense due to the obvious facial differences. After her birth, her parents were advised to end her life, rather than work to feed another mouth. Her life was of no value to the community. She could have been easy prey for those willing to traffick her. Vulnerable children like Navitha are at risk for being sold into bonded labor, sexual slavery, beggary and organ harvesting. However, the intervention by Love Without Reason to provide Navitha with cost-free surgeries saved her from being trafficked as the women in the red-light districts of Mumbai.

Help us continue to fight human trafficking by saving the most vulnerable! There are many more children born like Navitha and Bhuvan whose lives will be changed by life-transforming surgery. Join us, because every child matters!

Susan Mathews

filed under: Blogs