Phillip Matthews wasn’t supposed to survive. Born with a cleft lip, cleft palate, and an underdeveloped brain, doctors gave him little chance. Yet for reasons still unexplained, he entered the world kicking and screaming. After 25 surgeries to repair his facial differences and the part of his brain that did not fully develop, Phillip became an inspiration—not only to his family, but to children around the world.

His parents say his story is remarkable in part because he was born in America. They believe that if he had been born in certain parts of India or Africa, he could have faced exploitation or other serious dangers because of his appearance. That realization led them to dedicate their lives to helping children who do not have the same opportunities.

“We did a lot of soul searching,” father Santhosh Matthews said. “Why was Phillip born to us?”

Santhosh and Susan Matthews found their answer in a story from the Bible. “John Chapter 9 says Jesus and his disciples were walking. A blind man was seated there,” Santhosh explained. The disciples asked who had sinned that the man was born blind. The answer came: “Neither this man nor his parents sinned. This happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”

“It’s kind of a weird answer, but to us, the answer to why he was born that way was in that verse,” Santhosh said. They realized this was bigger than their own family.

The Matthews took their story and founded Love Without Reason, a non-profit that seeks out children with facial differences in Africa and India and provides life-changing surgeries to improve their futures.

“We found out that children with facial differences, because of their appearance, can become especially vulnerable to exploitation and unsafe situations,” Santhosh said.

They raise funds for medical missions that perform these surgeries for a fraction of the cost in the United States—about $1,000 for a cleft lip repair and $1,500 for a cleft palate. Phillip and their other two children, Sara and Caleb, often traveled with them.

“We go to the rural parts of the countries and find these children that are often beyond the reach of medical care,” Santhosh said. “Children with facial differences are not only viewed differently, but in many developing communities they are also excluded from classrooms.”

Timing is critical. Many of the surgeries need to be performed within the first year and a half of life, or the child may lose the chance to develop normal speech.

Susan left her 20-year career as a nurse practitioner to devote herself fully to the work. She wondered whether she had made the right decision—until she met one mother in India.

“Her mother started crying and she was like, ‘Why did this happen to me? Why did God do this to me?’ Immediately I heard in my spirit: You asked these questions 14 years ago. You know what to tell her. Tell her,” Susan recalled.

Because she could speak the language, Susan asked to hold the baby and said: “This is not your fault. Nobody should blame Mom for this. Look at my son. He’s going to do great things. Your son is going to do great things.”

In that moment, Susan knew she had made the right choice. “Because we lived through it, we can look at those parents and say this is not the end of the road,” she said.

The Matthews recruit doctors from around the world to perform the surgeries in each child’s home country. These medical missions take place regularly, bringing hope and healing to children who might otherwise have been left behind.

Source: Adapted from family accounts and public reporting on Love Without Reason and the story of Phillip (Philip) Matthews, including coverage from 11Alive and related features on the organization’s work.