Opportunity
God so loved the world that He gave us Jesus…so that ALL men could be saved, including the indigenous people of the Andes Mountains. This is my (Tony’s) desire: to bring these people to Christ. I am grateful to God for the door that He has opened to us on Veronica Mountain, and I am eager to work hard bringing the gospel to them. Just think what an AMAZING opportunity the Father has extended to you and to us: He has invited us to labor together to feed and clothe the poor and the orphaned, to provide them an education (currently, even a college education for one), to “heal the brokenhearted” with the transforming love of Christ, and to carry the Word of God to those living in the high altitude of the Andes Mountains! To partake of such an invitation is an inexpressible honor. 1 Timothy 1:12 states: “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do His work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve Him.” God has not only given us the means to participate, He has considered us worthy of His trust. Contemplate that. He has entrusted to us the well-being of orphans and the message of His salvation for a people for which Christ died. They are the prize…the reward of His suffering…His glorious inheritance. God asks for our willingness. If we are eager to accept His invitation, we will find that His grace supplies all that we need to participate in the ways that He leads. We must not grow weary in well-doing. If we continue, we will reap a harvest together, share in the rewards together, and bring joy to God’s heart, together!
Rosa and I deeply appreciate you. Thank you for your faithfulness and generosity. By the time this newsletter arrives, we will have just returned from another trip to Peru where we plan to complete the following: visit the Lima orphanage and cover all utility expenses for the home, pay for Will’s continued college education, purchase food and candy for the indigenous people on Veronica Mountain (in the Andes), purchase for them a much-needed solar transformer for the school, minister to them the Word of God, and speak to their leaders about my desire to construct a church for them wherein we could hold services each time we visit. Hopeful that they will respond favorably to my proposal, I dream of a day when the construction will be finished and I will see many beautiful faces gathering there to learn of Christ! I want to see them enter ETERNITY with our Lord Jesus.
I also want to see the work in Lima continue to reach every boy in need of hope and a HOME. I want to tell you about 12-year-old Erik. His mother recently brought him to the orphanage in Lima; she was desperate, hoping that the orphanage could improve Erik’s behavior and the dim future guaranteed him by poverty. When Erik was young, his father had abandoned the family, after which point things became increasingly difficult for Erik’s mother, and Erik became increasingly angry and rebellious. As Erik grew in years he also grew in hatred and resentment, directing both towards his mother each time she entered a dating relationship. He soon resorted to fighting as his primary response to (perceived or otherwise) unjust treatment—a behavior pattern he has continued to exhibit in the orphanage towards the rest of the boys. Erik remains angry and defensive, which we understand stems from the hurt and rejection residing in his heart. He needs lots of love—the love his mother tried to give him but he refused to accept, and even more so, the love of his perfect Heavenly Father. We pray in Jesus’ name that Erik will find the peace of God and be delivered from the spirit of anger. He now has an opportunity to, since he has entered the orphanage and can learn of Christ. Will you join us in holding Erik before the Throne of Grace this month?
To keep the doors open for boys like Erik, we need a continual flow of finances. Every gift counts! Your giving means the orphanage has electricity for another month and Will continues to go to college. It also means that indigenous people living in the Andes Mountains, with neither electricity nor the light of the gospel, can hear the Word of God. It means food for the poor and hope for the hurting.
In closing, I leave you with these thoughts. We have a God-given opportunity. Webster defines opportunity as “an amount of time or a situation in which something can be done.” And that is exactly what lies before us: a window of time and a situation in which we can accomplish something. Not just “any” thing…but something BEYOND US, something SIGNIFICANT, something ETERNAL. It requires action, dollars and cents, prayer, and faithfulness. It requires God…but it also requires US. Will you be a part?
With deep gratitude,
Tony and Rosa Rivera
Home of Refuge International, Inc.
