This is feedback from Matt about his trip to the Philippines in January 2009!

a.      My greatest fear before the trip was… sharing my faith/being an evangelist

b.      But that fear was removed when…realizing that God provides and actually feeling the comfort of the Holy Spirit when being put in situations where we are asked to share our faith.  It brought comfort knowing that God provides when you step out in faith.   One thing that came to mind was a sermon last year when Rick was talking about evangelism.  The bible calls us to be a witness, to share how God has changed our lives. We're not called to be prosecutors.

c.      The most impactful interaction I had with someone was…. having the opportunity to spend the afternoon playing basketball and getting to know the kids of Tondo at Living Faith in Jesus Christ church and then later seeing the kids come "home" when we were touring Happy Land.  Developing a relationship with these families and then realizing that they, our friends, were forced to call Happy Land their home, that really hit home.

d.      The one thing I will begin to do differently because of this trip is… look at my life differently: How I live it, What I spend money on, How my "problems" aren't as severe as I make them out to be.

e.      The hardest thing I had to do on the trip was…Praying in front of about 150-200 women at the Women's Correctional Facility.  

f.       The verse or concept I will never read the same in scriptures is… On Tuesday we visited Happy Land, the slum of Tondo which happens to be the slum of the Philippines. Basically the worst of the worst. The living situation is incomprehensible, I wouldn't dare call it humane.  Pictures and videos could not possibly do it justice.  It wasn't until I experienced it firsthand, seeing it with my eyes and smelling it with my nose that the level of poverty really began to sink in. My heart tore after seeing my fiance Jenna, a Neonatal Intensive Care Nurse, hold a newborn baby with severe respiratory problems, knowing that the baby would never get the medical attention that it so badly needed. I left feeling overwhelmed knowing that it would take nothing short of a miracle to help the families living in Happy Land. I woke up the next morning and hanging on the wall of the hotel was Galatians 6:9-10: "So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity , we should do good to everyone-especially to those in the family of faith.  At that moment God spoke to me and I realized that the problems we are witnessing are too big for us but through God all things are possible: Philippians 4:13: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." That brief moment inspired me and remotivated me to carry out what God has called us to do.