Traveling Across The U.S.

Hello everyone!

Right now I am in Kansas City, Missouri. I am traveling with Pastor Irvin as he travels. We travel in this RV so we dont have to try to find a place to stay or spend money on a hotel.

Right now, I am going to be going with Pastor Irvin to meetings that he has here in Kansas City to help him out in any way that I am able. During this time, he will also be connecting me with his connections so that I can raise more funds up for Mandy and I, so that we will be able to go to SE Asia next year. So keep us in your prayers as we are $3000 shy of what we need monthly for us to be able to go.

Next week, I will be going to Perry, Oklahoma and be working with Mike Lumbers on GMT's new project called N2N (Neighborhoods to the Nations). This program is designed for people between the ages of 16 and 22 years old to go do missionary type stuff, but here in America, because it is getting harder for a young person to aquire the funds to go overseas or out of the country due to higher fuel prices. This will also be used as a testing ground for new missionaries to test their heart and how they will react away from home.

I am very excited to be able to go and work with N2N and Mike Lumbers in the beginning stages of this program. Also, it will help me with the work that Pastor Irvin has me doing which is creating a couple of courses on the subjects they will be teaching at N2N, such as Servanthood and The Father heart of God. This has been a lot of fun to study because of all the research I've had to do and all the different things I've been writing.

Now, God has been doing a marvelous work in me lately, as far as teaching me to trust in Him more and more each day. I know God will prevail with the struggles I am facing because if He didn't then I wouldn't even be here right now. So God is remaining faithful to me, and is teaching me new things every day and growing my faith in him.

Thank you to all those who are supporting me financially and praying for me. I ask that you would continue to keep Mandy and I in your prayers and for the calling that God has put on our lives. Also, remember, sometimes being a friend to someone is the best way to lead them to the love of our Heavenly Father, dont forget to show the same love He has shown you to others around you.

God Bless and Thank you,
Matt Lee

Adjusting To A New Life

Sorry, it has been awhile since I’ve been on here and updated my blog. I have been very busy with moving to Shreveport and adapting to all the changes in my life. Not only am I adapting to the move to Shreveport, LA, but also having a new job, and a new boss. The funny thing is, even though it hasn’t been easy, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

                All these sudden changes has brought me so much closer to God and has really allowed God to develop in me a person that I never thought I could ever become. There are so many times during this time I can remember being in my room, praying, ‘God use me, just use me, do whatever you need to do to use me’. God has been answering this prayer in my life, and it has continued to bring me closer to God and increasing my faith.

                Well the first thing is just getting adjusted to being in a new city with new people and a new church. Honestly it didn’t take me that long of a time to adjust, the hardest thing was just being 200 miles away from Mandy, which I’m so happy it didn’t turn into 5,000 miles away. However, I do like the new church I’ve been attending and working with called, Shreveport Community Church, it’s bigger than my church in Houston but the same God still shows up. The people are extremely friendly there and they really make me feel welcome here in this place and church.

                As far as my job is concerned, it’s been different going from being a GM in a restaurant to an armor bearer, one thing I can say is it’s been extremely humbling. I think that was God’s plan for me the whole entire time though, because well, I may have been a little too prideful in my previous job, which was silly thinking about it now because God really took me to the heights of that job, it wasn’t me. Another thing that’s different about my job is that I sit behind a desk a lot more. I’ve been working on some material and projects for Pastor Irvin, stuff that he wants to use and teach at either N2N or GET, but it’s been very good for me because it requires a lot of very in depth bible study which I really enjoy doing.

                Working as Pastor Irvin’s armor bearer has been such a huge blessing in my life, I’m learning from him all the time and get to hear so many stories and share in his wisdom. It has been a little ruff trying to get used to my new responsibilities but one thing about being a missionary is the willingness and ability to adjust and adapt quickly.

                Thank you for all those who pray with me and support me and ask for your continued support. I am still in great need of financial support for Mandy and I both. Please pray about your support and let God guide you in your gifts. You can click on the link on the right, and it will take you to the GMT web site, so you can make a contribution through them online. Also, if you would like me to come speak at your church, Sunday school, or youth group just let me know, you can e-mail me at mtthwlee.88@gmail.com.

Blessings,

Matt Lee

How Things Change

Dear Friends and Supporters,

            A lot of things have changed since my last letter and update. As some of you may know, I have asked Mandy to marry me, and to my surprise she said yes. Now this was something that I prayed long and hard about which God had answered me several times. The timing did not make a whole lot of sense to me, but I was just going to trust in God, which I’m glad I did otherwise I would be missing out on this huge blessing in my life.

            Either way, I knew I had to tell Pastor Irvin Rutherford of our decision to get married. At first I was extremely nervous because I did not know what he would say, but I had to trust in what God was telling me. I was thinking I could go to Malaysia in May, come back in December and get married, then return to Malaysia, that’s not what I wanted to do but that’s what I was thinking I could do because I know without a shadow of doubt, that God has called me to serve with GMT and to marry Mandy.

            Well, I finally told him of our decision, and what he told me was that he did not want us to go over to Malaysia until we got married, but that he actually needed me to serve him as an armor bearer now in Shreveport, LA. This ended up being God’s hand guiding us the whole way, because I won’t have to be 5000 miles away from Mandy but only 3 hours. Also, it helps because I will be away enough so I don’t distract her from her studies but I’ll see her enough to where I won’t miss her too terribly much. Also, it gives me a chance to work directly underneath Pastor Irvin now, so that I can learn from him and develop into a better man of God.

            So, I still need your monthly support or the one time donations, especially right now, because I am serving Pastor Irvin as a full time missionary right at this moment. Also because I am going to be raising money for my future wife and I to both serve with GMT in Asia. I appreciate so much for making this possible, and I pray that God will bless you tremendously for helping us in this growing part of our lives.

Blessings,

Matt Lee

An Update on Funds

Greetings Friends,

This letter is to update everyone on where I am at for the trip to SE Asia.

Thank you too all those who are supporting me financially and through prayer. Everything is going good, but I still need about another $1600 in monthly support before I go. This money goes towards my rent, food, and traveling expenses that I have every month. The traveling expenses are for me traveling with Pastor Irvin and coming back home every December. I know God will provide, but I am asking for your prayers in this. I have already put in my notice at my job and my last day for Papa Johns as a General Manager will be March 25th. I have also been able to purchase the tickets for the trip and I will be departing May 19. 

I am so excited about going and can’t wait to see all that God has for me. I know God wants to take this opportunity to mold me into becoming more of the person He wants me to become. I'm especially excited to be able to work under a person as experienced as Pastor Irvin. I know there is so much about my faith that I can learn from Him.

I believe this will train and mold me for full time ministry. I'm not sure if I will be overseas for the rest of my life or not, but what God has shown me is that I will be working in the ministry full time. This excites me in so many ways because of everything God has shown me, and how to share the same love that God has shown me. You can also make donations on this web site through GMT. Just click on the link under donations on the right. Donations can also be sent to Bethany Fellowship Church, P.O. Box 6239, Kingwood, TX 77325. 

This web site is also what I will be using to update everyone on what I am doing when I’m over there. I will also be making a monthly newsletter for those who wish to receive it.

Blessings,

Matt Lee

Journey Of Faith

            I have been raised in a Christian environment my whole life, this might also have a lot to do with the fact that my dad is also a pastor of a small church here in Kingwood, TX. However, don’t let this fool you, I have not been serving God my whole life, you know what they say about preacher’s kids wasn’t far from the truth when it came to myself. While I was in high school and a couple of years after, I was more focused on doing drugs and drinking then I was on anything else. When I was younger, I knew who God was but rebelled because “I couldn’t stand the hypocrisy” is what I would say.

            Since both my parents were both strong Christians and continued to pray for my salvation, God never left me alone, and I knew God’s voice (the first time I’ve heard God’s voice I was 8 and it’s not something you forget). One night when I was 19, while I was passed out on the bathroom floor, I heard a voice ask, “what are you doing?”.  I replied by saying that I was laying on the bathroom floor. Then He told me to stand up and look in the mirror. I did what was asked, and then He asked what I saw. I looked at myself in the mirror, and replied with “pathetic and disgusting”.  His response is what really hit me, which was, “Why are you doing this to yourself? Don’t you know that I love you.” I then gave my heart back to Christ right there in the bathroom while staring in the mirror, but I also told Him that I wanted to know Him and only Him, and I didn’t want all of the religious ideology. Ever since then God has kept that request, in teaching me all about His love, and how He desires a personal relationship with each one of us more than anything.

            Christ really started opening my heart to His forgiveness and love when I went through the steps to freedom with my youth pastor at the time. Also, I started to study love through a bible study group, and the many types of love. God then started opening my eyes to how everything He does is out of His love for us. Well, I started to realize it’s not enough for us to just accept His love but for us to also get to know God, personally and intimately. Over the past 2 years, God has been backing this up through different speakers and church’s and of course through the Bible. As matter of fact, you cannot convince me that there isn’t a scripture in the Bible that in some way or form has to do with your relationship with God. This love that I receive from Christ is something that I want to share with everyone I meet, but then comes humility and listening to the Holy Spirit.

            Something else I have learned in the past couple of years is that when we try to do something on our own without God’s involvement, we will be destined to fail. I have learned that we have to be willing to listen to the Holy Spirit in everything I do. God has done this especially through my job as a General Manager for Papa John’s. Long story short, if it wasn’t for God I would have never been as successful at my job as I was because I listened to Him.

            Well, I think that’s about it. I mean there is a lot more that God has been teaching me in my life, and about me allowing Him to use me. However, I think that would be way too much too explain. The reason why I feel that God has called me to join GMT though, is because of Him putting it on my heart mostly. However, I did pray about it and talked to different leaders in my church and God has done nothing but given me confirmation and a peace about this decision.

Our Relationship With God

The other night I was spending time with God in my room and was completely consumed in His spirit. It was amazing, anyways, this is so I don’t forget what he revealed to me that night and the scriptures to back up what he told me. (This is how I know it was God.)

            I have always wondered how religion is so successful, because it makes no sense to me, if I want to do something I’m going to do it, just that simple. Now, there are things I do and don’t do because of my relationship with Jesus, just to make that clear it has nothing to do with religion. God told me that people use religion to cover up who they are, because they don’t want the world to see who they really are on the inside, a sinner. These people are ashamed of who they are and think that religion makes them better than everyone else. Guess what…. THEY ARE WRONG!!!! In Genesis 34 there was an incident when one of Jacob’s daughters, Dinah, was raped by Shechem. Now Shechem went to Jacob and Dinah’s brothers to ask for forgiveness and for Dinah as a wife, and they replied deceitfully saying that only if them and every male in their city were to be circumcised would they be forgiven and be allowed to have Dinah as his wife. Shechem went and immediately did what was asked. This angered Dinah’s brothers Simeon and Levi, they then went and murdered everyone in the town and stole from the town. This angered Jacob and God, because later on you will find out that Simeon’s and Levi’s  descendants lost the part of the promised land that was given to them because of this sin. You see they did this though not only in part of revenge but also because they thought they were better than all those in the town because they were set apart by God. You see we are set apart from this world by God but that does not make us better than anybody else. We need to learn humility as a whole in this area.

            Another thing about religion and religious thinking is that it hinders us from developing a relationship with our heavenly Father. It is only when we come to the Father with who we really are (which no matter how hard you try you can’t hide anything from Him) that we are able to develop that relationship with him. In John 6, Jesus explains that he is the bread of life and the people who eat it will not die but have everlasting life. This confuses and offends many of his followers. In John 6:66, it says “From that time many of his disciples went back and walked with Him no more” (NKJV). However his twelve disciples were right there still next to Him, and he asked in verse 67 “Do you also want to go away?” (NKJV). And His disciples replied with, “”Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”” in verses 68 and 69 (NKJV). You see the ones that walked away are the ones who were wanting to look good because they were following the Messiah,  but as soon as it got weird and uncomfortable they walked away, but the disciples said they wanted to stay with Jesus because they KNEW that Jesus is the Christ and Son of the living God. You want to know how they knew? It’s easy because they had that personal relationship with God.

            The biggest bible verse to back all this up is Matthew 7: 21-23. In these verses he says that not everyone who calls on His name, prophesies in His name, does many things in His name shall enter heaven. Instead he says “And then I will declare to them, ”I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness” in verse 23 (NKJV). This sums it up right here, if you don’t know Jesus as your heavenly father then you are wasting your time. You have to develop that relationship with him that he longs for. That’s the whole reason why we were created was to be with Jesus (So there is the answer to our existence for all those people wondering). When we have that relationship we don’t have to wear a mask because we simply don’t care. We are no different than that prostitute, the crack head, or the dealer selling meth to kids. In that relationship with Christ we can come to accept that, because we are loved and accepted by our heavenly Father, Christ Jesus and we don’t care what the world thinks of us. When we realize this and let go of our religious thinking, it becomes one of the biggest burdens He will ever lift off of us, and we will be set free!

Matt's Meditations

Dear Friends,

As some of you may know, I have been invited to serve as a missionary with Global Ministries Teams and an armor bearer to Director Irvin Rutherford. GMT (Global Ministry Teams) is the same organization that I went to SE Asia with the first time.

That trip has always left a desire for me to go back to SE Asia; however, I knew it had to be according to God’s timing. Earlier this year, God told me that He intended for me to go overseas, and I would know when and where very soon. The only people I shared this with were close family and friends. About 3 months after learning of God’s calling for my life, Pastor Irvin Rutherford had asked my father if I would be willing to serve as a Missionary Armor Bearer – with no knowledge of what God had revealed to me earlier in the year. After praying about it, and learning what it meant to be an Armor Bearer biblically, I told Pastor Irvin that I was willing, able, and in full belief that serving as a Missionary and Armor Bearer in Malaysia is what God has intended for me to do.

I plan on being able to depart for Asia in the middle of May. I will be gone for four years, and will be working under Pastor Irvin Rutherford and other leaders in GMT. I will also be going to GMT’s school GET (Global Evangelism Training), for missions training. I truly do believe this is the calling that God has for my life, and this is my first step in that direction; however, I’m going to need support financially and spiritually in order to complete my journey.

My Challenge and Your Part

I need to raise at least $1,700 plus an additional $300 a month for each year while I’m overseas. The $300 a month will go towards the student loans that I have accumulated while I was attending school here in the U.S., and the $1,700 will go towards traveling and living expenses while I am in SE Asia. It is also necessary that I raise additional $5000.00 cash before I leave in May for airfare and setting up a place to live in SE Asia. I am also asking that you pray about your part in helping me to do what I believe God has placed on my heart.

I do believe that my missionary calling is God’s will for me. Irvin and I would greatly appreciate any one time offering towards the initial $5000.00 and/or any monthly pledge towards the $2000.00 I will need each month.

For any monthly or one time donations, just click on the PayPal button to make a donation, and you don't have to have a PayPal account. Also we will be sending a tax deduction reciept.

During the time I’m away, I will be updating my blog with stuff that God has been showing me, and also other things that God puts on my heart.

Thank you and God Bless,

Matt Lee