A Southern Baptist congregation in South Carolina received a Mission Match matching contribution to help fund a mission trip to Alajuelita, Costa Rica. According to the congregation’s Mission Match application, the “project involves spending a week in Alajuelita, Costa Rica, a suburb of San Jose working with 6:8 Ministries. The name of the Ministry comes from Isaiah 6:8 where Isaiah says to the Lord, ‘Here am I, send me.’ ” The application materials indicated that the “mission team of about 15 members will serve the people of Costa Rica with the purpose of pointing them towards a relationship with Christ. Unemployment is around 65% while prostitution and drugs are common. These are the people we are focused on serving. We will serve them through home repair and construction, home visitation and prayer, children’s ministry and feeding stations.” Additional information on the application indicated, “Our team will be prayer walking, working in feeding stations, visiting homes, distributing gospel tracts and Bibles, and sharing the gospel of Christ. We will also have the opportunity to work in construction projects and children’s ministries, all with the purpose of sharing God’s love with the people and telling them about Christ.” Follow-up comments from the congregation indicated that, “The money was used to build a new house for a family which was living in unbelievable deplorable conditions in one of the poorest neighborhoods of Costa Rica. At first we were only going to build them a floor, but ended up tearing down the structure and building a new house. The happiness on the face of the family was a great blessing but even greater was the fact that the mother received Christ as her Savior. We are confident that the Lord will use her to bring others to Him.”

A Southern Baptist congregation in the State of Washington received a Mission Match matching contribution to help fund a mission trip to Kenya, Africa. According to materials received from the congregation on the Mission Match application, the mission trip was to go to Nairobi, Kenya and the city outskirts. Comments on ther application from the church indicated, “After much research and praying we have been led to Kenya this year. Our goals are two-fold—educational support and humanitarian support. Our team plans to teach theology classes, help get their computers and lab up and running, provide training for the staff and conduct a leadership seminar. Our team will also provide curriculum and teaching both in English and subjects to be determined. Our church will be collecting shoes, food, medical supplies and Bibles to donate. We also will build houses for widows.” Follow-up comments from the congregation indicated, “The goal of our project was to develop a relationship with the Kenyan people in order that we might minister to them year after year. Our congregation was looking for a place to serve, with the talents and passion we had to offer…and that’s where God led us. Our team had a hard time leaving the country. It was emotional—we fell in love with the people, and we couldn’t stop talking about them and future projects all the way home! We have already initiated three projects with the Kenyan people and a second trip is planned. A water tank was set up so that orphan children could have relatively clean water. One family house of 46 orphans received shoes and socks and a pantry full of food. The mud house building process was used to build a new house for a widow and her 9 children along with an aunt and two grandmas who also took up residence in the tiny house. We have set up a pen pal program between students in Kenya and our children’s department at our church. Already over 60 letters have arrived from Kenya and our kids are eagerly returning them. They are learning about Kenya and about giving of themselves for the greater good. Mission Match has helped our congregation grow in their mission giving for sure. Because we had the goal to raise funds, our people were challenged by the Holy Spirit to give beyond their means and then watch to see how God used their faith for His glory. Our church is over 60% senior citizens on a fixed income! When the team reported back to the congregation what we were actually able to accomplish, it was incredible to see the joy and satisfaction they had in their hearts for getting to be a part of it all. It was as if they had gone themselves!

A Brethren in Christ congregation in Pennsylvania received a third Mission Match matching contribution to help fund a mission project. This one was in a city in Pennsylvania, USA. According to the application materials received from the congregation, the plan was to join with other “local churches to minister to the homeless and to do small work projects for those in need.” Additional comments on the congregation’s application stated, “The last two years we have seen our mission giving grow. Now we are seeing a new crop of outreach minded people who want to serve God!” Upon completion of the mission trip, the church comment stated, “We were able to share the Gospel with children and adults throughout the city in Pennsylvania. Thank you for sharing this opportunity with us. We had an excellent experience. What a joy it was to watch a teenage girl share the Gospel with a child and teach that child to pray. What a joy it was to see God use the members of the team to do things they never thought they could do. The team’s growing trust in God has begun to spread to our congregation, encouraging others to step out in faith and trust God.”

A Free Methodist Church in Illinois received a Mission Match matching contribution to help provide medical work in Iraq. Follow-up comments from the congregation stated, "This project helped our people be aware of challenging countries."

A Free Methodist congregation in Illinois received a fifth Mission Match matching contribution. According to application materials from the congregation, the congregation wanted to contribute to an international project to support emerging mission work in Vietnam. A bicycle team was to go to Vietnam in January 2011 for a two-week tour, to bring the financial contributions and visit the church there. Comments on the Bicycle Team’s Blog stated, “After riding bicycles over 600 miles through Vietnam this year, we have compelling stories to tell. Stories from the open road. Stories of encounters with people in city and countryside. Stories of what our Vietnamese friends are experiencing. Stories of grace breakthroughs. Stories of fascinating landscapes, intriguing culture, beautiful people, and forward-looking hope. First, we awaken every day to the thought: I am in Vietnam. Our journey is unique and privileged. Few Westerners come into this area, much less bicycle together as a group. We know we are representing something greater than ourselves. So, we ride each day with gratitude and purpose. All along the way each day, we are greeted by small children running to the front of their property and waving and yelling ‘hello!’ School children do the same. Adults, too, are friendly toward us. We aren't sure if this is standard behavior for a colorfully-addressed cycling group passing by or if something else is going on. We have heard that Westerners are not seen in these parts very often. Perhaps we're a novelty. That's okay. Our journey today took us into a truly mountain environment, as we drove northward along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. It was our longest day in the saddle—nearly 6 hours—and our longest one-day distance—75 miles. The terrain was hilly. We had a strong headwind. We rode into tribal areas few Westerners ever see. “We are a truly international team. Six members are from USA, one is from Canada, and our friends from Vietnam switch off riding segments of each day's route. We had not anticipated this dimension of our team, but our Vietnamese friends insist on sharing in the riding, rather than serving only as guides. These two young leaders are outstanding in character, strong in spirit, and knowledgeable. So, as we ride up through Vietnam, all who inquire realize that what they are seeing is not just some cyclists from USA, but an international cycling effort for the sake of a peace investment. This was the most remote area we have ridden through. The level of poverty was high. Evidence of simple tribal ways was everywhere. Still, people were gracious. Children yelled “hello” on their way to school. But as we moved further north, deeper into the mountains, villages were few and far between.” Additional comments from the mission team say that the “Central Highlands of Vietnam are where coffee and rubber are grown in carefully-planted groves that cover every hill. Here, mountain-dwelling villagers tend these orchards, collect latex, dry coffee beans in their front yards, and live ever-so simply. Here, children walk or ride their bikes to and from school and young people (who isn't young here?) get around villages and towns on Honda motor bikes by the hundreds of thousands. These are the kinds of hills, we are sure, that might have inspired many a Psalm.” According to follow-up comments from the congregation, “Goals of the mission project were to (1) raise sponsorship for 40 children through International Child Care Ministries. Eighteen children have been sponsored to date (with more expected to be sponsored). This will provide on-going support for food, health care education. (2) Support ‘Vietnam F.M.’ work. To date, $13,000 has been raised to support work of our friends. Twenty-five water filters were distributed for community use. (3) Enjoy a rigorous bicycle tour in Vietnam, bringing encouragement to friends along the way. The trip was definitely rigorous and we enjoyed sharing ‘stories.’” Further follow-up comments stated that Mission Match helped their congregation grow in giving by helping “our people be aware of challenging countries and providing opportunity for on-going commitment through the relationship of Child Care.” According to follow-up comments, “The blog of the trip was censored.” See additional information and photos at http://www.bikevietnam2011.blogspot.com