Gerry to present case for Catholicism to Baptist group, and to speak in UT, WY, CO, NM, west TX, and OK
Ever since getting back from July 8-25 speaking tour of New Zealand and Australia (the trip took place before, during, and after World Youth Day, which I forced myself to attend in Sydney) I've been eager to tell you all about my many exciting adventures on that trip -- including some amazing antics of the SSPX! But that, unfortunately, will have to wait for my next posting. (Stay tuned!) Something more urgent has just come up.One of the foremost Catholic educational leaders in our country has just presented me with a unique opportunity to make the Biblical case for Catholicism to a Baptist group in Albuquerque, New Mexico in the next month or two.
A God-sent evangelistic opportunity
As a former Protestant myself, I'm always thrilled with such opportunities to lay out the Scriptural, historical, and logical arguments for the Catholic Faith being the one true Faith and the Catholic Church being the one true Church, outside of which there is no salvation.
I know the mindset of these folks very well. As you may know, I myself was a convinced Baptist for many years -- throughout my high school, university, and graduate school years -- before finally embracing Presbyterianism while completing my Master of Divinity degree at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and becoming an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in America.
From first-hand personal experience I readily understand Baptist misconceptions and prejudices. I know how their mind works and how they handle Scripture. And, by God's grace, I've been very blessed to successfully persuade many Baptists over the years to embrace the Catholic Faith.
The only thing currently holding me back
There's just one thing keeping me from picking up the phone and making all the necessary arrangements. I recently completed three intensive speaking trips back to back. I had a week-long speaking tour of southern California the last week in June, delivering 25 talks in 5 cities in 5 days. This was immediately followed by a departure the next day to give talks in New England the first week in July. The day after I returned from New England I then immediately left on the aforementioned speaking tour of New Zealand and Australia.
I returned home from these three back-to-back trips flat broke, and haven't yet built up enough of a financial reserve to embark on another trip at this time.
What I'm proposing: a 13-day, 13-city, 6-state whirlwind tour
I hate to let such a golden opportunity slip by, however. And being the super-driven person that I am, I wouldn't dream of just flying out to Albuquerque to address the Baptists and turn around and fly right back home. Instead, I would definitely "piggyback" on this speaking invitation and speak in the adjacent states of Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, west Texas, and Oklahoma -- all of them states to which I have not yet brought my current "megatour" exposing the Vatican II "Counterfeit Catholicism."
Ideally, therefore, I'd like to fly into Salt Lake City, do a one-way multi-state car rental, and after speaking in Utah drive east to Wyoming, speaking in Rock Springs, Casper, and Cheyenne; drive south through Colorado, speaking in Denver and Colorado Springs; continue south through New Mexico, speaking in Albuquerque to the Baptists and giving my "Counterfeit Catholicism" talk the following night in the same city; continue south on I-25 to El Paso TX to speak there, and then drive east to speak in Midland/Odessa, then north to speak in Lubbock and Amarillo, thus completing my megatour of Texas (I already toured all throughout east Texas in March of this year, speaking in Tyler, Dallas, Forth Worth, Austin, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, and Houston); and finally, head east to Oklahoma, speaking in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, return my rental car in Tulsa, and from there fly home.
That would be 13 cities in 13 days and over 2500 miles of driving!
But that's the ideal (!): the actual length of the trip will be directly proportionate to how much funding I end up acquiring. The more funding, the further north I'll be able to start before I get to Albuquerque and the further south (and then east) I'll be able to continue after Albuquerque. If the funding falls short I may have to cut out Utah and Wyoming, for example, and only start in Colorado, and/or I may have to leave Oklahoma and possibly even west Texas from the end of the trip, and simply fly home from New Mexico after speaking there, leaving those other states for another trip, another time.
Cutting costs to the bone
A faithful supporter has already agreed to donate his frequent flier miles to purchase the plane ticket for this trip. But even after the airfare is thus taken care of, speaking in each city on such a trip can still cost me up to $400 a night. That's because it usually costs:
a) anywhere from $50 to $125 to rent the meeting space,
b) around $75 for an inexpensive hotel room for me to sleep in (unless I have a friend in that city I can stay with),
c) around $25 for all 3 meals, though some days I only have one or two meals (again, if I'm staying with a friend and he provides meals, this expense is avoided),
d) $25 car rental per day and up to $50 for a tank of gas each day (when there's a day's drive between each stop), and
e) a minimum of $125 for advertising -- mailing dozens or hundreds of fliers to those in the area + placing a small ad in the local metro newspaper if one can be had for around $100 -- so that as many people as possible will come out and benefit from hearing the talk.
And that resulting total budget of up to $400 a day is predicated on my speaking for free, i.e., without getting any honorarium. My time and effort in giving the talks, and the time away from my pressing work at home and my large family (9 children, all still living at home) is my donation to Holy Mother Church and to the cause of spreading the truth Catholic Faith. The conversions that result, by God's grace, and my joy in seeing people embrace the authentic Catholic Faith and life, are reward enough for me.
So even after my friend's frequent flier miles buy my plane ticket, that still leaves the bare-bones cost of up to $400 per day x however many cities I can raise the funds to speak in: only $5200 for me to speak in all 13 of them. (13 x $400 = $5200.)
Can you help? It would take only 52 of you to each respond with a $100 donation to complete the full itinerary outlined above. If fewer than 52 respond, then the trip will be truncated accordingly, with one or more states taken off the itinerary at this time.
CDs for you if you can help
If you can respond at this time with a donation of at least $100, I will immediately put into the mail to you any of my single CDs or 2-CD sets you wish. Here's the list for you to choose from:
Clarity Begins At Home: Biblical Foundations of Homeschooling
The Fate of the Family: Satan’s Seven-Step Strategy for Destroying Civilization
Friends in High Places: Biblical Teaching on the Intercession of the Saints
God’s Summer School of Sanctification: Biblical Foundations of Purgatory & Praying for the Dead
How the Bible Converted Me to Catholicism: One Protestant Minister's Amazing Odyssey of Faith
The Myth of Evolution vs. the Truth of Sacred Scripture
Peter, Prime Minister of Christ’s Kingdom: Biblical Foundations of the Papacy
“Sola Scriptura” Is Unscriptural: Biblical Foundations of Sacred Tradition
“Unless You Eat My Flesh and Drink My Blood”: Biblical Foundations of the Eucharist
What Christ Wants for Christmas — And All Year Long
Every King Has a Queen Mother: Biblical Foundations of Marian Doctrines (2-CD set)
How to Keep Your Kids Catholic (2-CD set)
The Strange Case of the Headless Homeschool: The Father’s Role in the Training of Children (2-CD set)
Some of you may be in a position to be able to give $200 or more. This will help me reach my goal faster, and would "take up the slack" for others who would like to contribute but cannot at this time. If you can give $200 or more, you can choose either of the following sets as my "thank you" for your support:
Counterfeit Catholicism: Why Vatican II, the New Mass & new sacraments, and Benedict XVI Are Not What They Claim to Be (5-CD set)
The Plot Against the Church, volume 1: The Infiltration and Subversion of Catholicism down through the Ages by Her Historic Enemies: Talmudic Judaism, Freemasonry, and Communism (8-CD set)
Donate in whatever way is easiest for you
1. The easiest way for you to make a donation is by going to my website's homepage and clicking on the orange button in the upper right labeled "Make a Donation," which allows you to use PayPal (if you don't have a PayPal account, it's very easy to open one -- it just takes a few minutes -- and it's free), or use Visa or MasterCard.
2. You can also call me at (570) 969-1724 and make a donation over the phone using your Visa or MasterCard. If you get my voicemail, just leave your credit card number, expiration date, the amount you wish to donate, and provide your name, address, phone number and e-mail address and indicate the CD(s) you want so I can send you a thank you and the CDs. Your information is secure as no one listens to my voicemail but me, and I delete it after listening to it.
3. A third way you can donate is by printing out the response form I've attached to this e-mail and faxing it to me at (570) 969-1725. Again, only I read my faxes so your information is secure.
4. Finally, if you prefer not to use any of the above methods, you can always make out a check or money order to "Gerry Matatics" or "Biblical Foundations International" and mail it to: Gerry Matatics, PO Box 569, Dunmore PA 18512.
Whichever way you choose to donate, I look forward to hearing from you if you can help make this trip a reality. I honestly don't know anyone else who travels all around the country as I do, bringing the message that I do. I truly believe that, by God's grace, this apostolate is unique, and uniquely deserves your support and the support of every clear-minded Catholic in this age of doctrinal confusion, inconsistency, and near-universal apostasy.
Thank you for keeping me going in this crusade to bring the unadulterated Catholic Faith to every man, woman, and child in America before it's too late. Please feel free to forward this e-mail to anyone you think might be interested in helping. Thanks, and may God richly bless you and your family! You already know, I'm sure, that we remember all our donors and all their loved ones in our family rosary every evening. God be with you, now and forever.
Your servant in Christ Our King and Mary Our Queen Mother,
Gerry Matatics, Founder & President
Biblical Foundations International
If you're donating by fax or mail, for a response form you can print out & mail or fax back to me on which you can indicate which CDs you want and other pertinent data, please click here.
Updated On: August 20th, 2008