Home.

Well, it's now been a week since I've been home from Ecuador, and I am starting to feel somewhat normal again. So, I guess you guys are probably ready to hear some stories, eh? It was a whirlwind trip, so I'll probably just tell one story per post until my memory runs out. ;)  P.S. I do still need some money to cover my bills for the month of July if any of you feel like God is leading you in that direction.

We arrived in Quito after flying through the night on Sunday (July 10) and were greeted by some of the folks from Mt. Zion church. Sunday was mostly an orientation day--we got to know the rest of our team, the amazing translators, and our host families. Monday morning, we went to a feeding program for young children. This incredible family has been feeding the children of their poor neighborhood lunch 5-6 days per week for many years, and we got to bring them food, clean up the small facility, and play with the kids for much of the day. These kids were so incredibly precious, and when they told us that this was probably the only meal they would get all day, my heart nearly broke.

After cleaning and preparing for the kids, nearly 75 showed up around noon for food and a short Bible story (David and Goliath). We assigned roles to a number of the kids and let them act out the story--they had a blast. Finally, we asked if any of them needed healing in their body and about 15 stood up. So, we prayed for them and all of them said the pain was gone. I got to pray for a 14 year old boy who was holding his stomach. I asked him through a translator what was wrong, and he said he felt sick. So, I asked if I could pray for him, to which he replied, "Of course." I think I prayed once and it got better, then we prayed again and it was completely better. Praise the Lord!

We ended our time there by praying for and blessing the family. Jesus said to be the greatest in the Kingdom, you must be a servant to all, and these brothers and sisters are exactly that. They have committed to feeding these kids (normally they get 200 or so per day, but during the summer it is usually less) with very little outside support. However, they have seen God provide for them miraculously hundreds of times. I was truly inspired and blessed to meet this family and the kids.

T Minus 17 Days...

Only 17 more days until I leave for Quito! I still need about $1000, but I know God will provide. Thanks to all of you who have so graciously given your hard-earned money. Just think, you are partnering with Heaven and get to share in the eternal reward. Amazing.

I'm not sure what I'm looking forward to most; we are going to be doing so many wonderful things. Today however, the thought that keeps coming to my mind is that there are people, beautiful servant-hearted people that spend virtually every day helping the poor and broken in Quito. We are just going for 14 days. My greatest desire is that in addition to blessing the children, the sick, and the hurting; we would be able to bring refreshment to these long term missionaries and take a load of their shoulders.

Well, I need to go start dinner, but if you would like to donate to the trip, you can click the "Donate" button at the top right of this page, or for a Tax-deductible donation:


Mail checks to: Matt Wallace, 7522 Balcom Ave. Reseda, CA 91335
Be sure to make the check out to "Global Childrens Movement" or "GCM" and do NOT put my name on the check.

Ecuador, HERE I COME!

It's only 27 days until I leave for Ecuador, and I'm starting to get pretty excited! For those of you who don't know, I'll be going with some folks from my church here in LA, Expression 58. I know it's a weird name for a church, but we are all about creatively expressing who God is to the world around us while following the mandate of Isaiah 58--you should read it if you haven't recently. It talks about how God delights in us when we feed the poor, take care of the widow and orphan, and bring love and justice to the oppressed.

It's in this spirit that I go Quito, Ecuador. I am blessed to be under the leadership of Jona and Jennifer Toledo, who run a ministry called "Global Children's Movement." GCM has missionaries in Kenya, Congo, and Ecuador who truly walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. And they are seeing powerful transformation in those countries. The last trip that Jenn and Jona lead to Ecuador included many testamonies of miracles, healing, and salvation. One of my favorites involved a prostitute on the street that the Lord highlighted to a few of the team members while they were ministering at night in a "Red Light" district. Right before they were about to talk to her, a "John" approached and solicited her. Not to be defeated, the team followed them and started talking to both parties individually. The Lord gave them word after word for the John, and after several minutes of ministry and many tears, he told them that he was completely at the end of his rope. His life was so messed up that he had planned to go out tonight, hire a prostitute, then go home and kill his wife the next day. He had prayed to God and said, "If there is any hope for me, the only way I'll believe it is if you send an angel to me." Both the man and the woman surrendered their life to Christ and received His amazing love!

I don't have a full itinerary of our trip yet, but I know we will be:

1) Building a child care facility in a woman's prison (the kids stay with their moms until age 3)
2) Helping a ministry that feeds street kids in the slums of Quito (most of these kids only get 1 meal per day if they are lucky)
3) Visiting and praying for folks in a Leper colony.
4) Speaking at schools and churches
5) Doing street outreach to different parts of the city
6) Visiting at least 1 remote village and sharing God's love with them.

This promises to be an amazing trip, but it is far from a vacation, so I would like to invite you to keep me and the entire team in your prayers. We need a prayer covering. Also, if you would like to donate to the trip, I still need $500 to be given for supplies, and support of the ministries we will be helping, and I need about $1000 to cover my personal expenses while I'm away for 2 weeks. If you would like to help with either of these financial needs, you can click on the donate button on the upper right of this page, or you can mail a check to:

Matt Wallace
7522 Balcom Ave
Reseda, CA 91335

If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation: make your check out to GCM - Ecuador and mail it to me at the address above. Do not put my name on the check.

The Trip Looms Closer...

This is Quito, Ecuador. It's where I'm going from July 10-24 of this year. I've been told that Quito is a divided city. There is literally a noticeable geographic divide between those with money, and the incredibly poor. We will be helping feed children on the poor side of town who normally only get one meal per day if they are lucky.