When Phillip Matthews entered the world, doctors believed he had little chance of survival.

Against all expectations, he was born crying and full of life. Although medical experts couldn’t explain how he survived, Phillip went on to undergo 25 surgeries to repair his cleft lip, cleft palate, and a portion of his brain that had not fully developed. Today, his remarkable journey has become a source of hope for children around the world.

His parents believe Phillip’s story is extraordinary not only because he survived but because he was born in the United States.

They often reflect that if he had been born in some remote regions of India or Africa, his future might have been very different. Children with facial differences in those areas can face discrimination, isolation, or even exploitation. That realization inspired them to dedicate their lives to helping families who don’t have access to the same medical care.

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

The answer came through their faith.

Santhosh recalls reading John Chapter 9, where Jesus and His disciples encounter a man born blind. When the disciples ask who sinned to cause the man’s blindness, Jesus replies that neither the man nor his parents had sinned, but that his life would reveal God’s works.

“That verse answered our question,” Santhosh explained. “We realized there was a greater purpose behind Phillip’s story.”

That purpose led the Matthews family to establish Love Without Reason, a nonprofit organization that provides life-changing surgeries for children born with facial differences in Africa and India.

Through the organization, they discovered that many children with cleft conditions are denied education, excluded from their communities, and left vulnerable simply because of how they look.

To change that, the family raises funds to support medical missions, making surgeries available at only a fraction of the cost they would require in the United States. A cleft lip repair typically costs about $1,000, while cleft palate surgery averages around $1,500.

Phillip, along with his siblings Sara and Caleb, regularly joins their parents on these humanitarian missions.

“We travel to rural communities where medical care is often out of reach,” Santhosh said. “Many of these children are never given the opportunity to attend school simply because of their facial differences.”

Early treatment is critical. In many cases, surgery must be performed before a child reaches 18 months of age to give them the best chance of developing normal speech.

Phillip’s mother, Susan, eventually left her career as a nurse pracтιтioner after 20 years to devote herself to the mission full-time.

Although she initially questioned whether she had made the right decision, one encounter with a young mother in India changed everything.

The woman was holding her baby and weeping, asking, “Why did this happen to me? Why did God do this?”

Susan immediately remembered asking those same questions years earlier after Phillip was born.

Holding the infant, she gently reᴀssured the mother:

“This is not your fault. No one should blame you. Look at my son—he’s going to do amazing things. And your son is going to do amazing things too.”

In that moment, Susan knew she was exactly where she was meant to be.

“Because we’ve lived through this ourselves, we can tell other parents that this is not the end of their story,” she said.

Today, the Matthews family continues recruiting volunteer surgeons from around the world to perform life-changing operations in children’s home countries. Their medical missions take place throughout the year, giving countless young patients a chance at a healthier future—and a life filled with hope.