Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus
Each year in December as we celebrate the gift of Emmanuel and round the corner towards another New Year, we like to wish you more than just a “Happy” New Year. We pray it will be one of great revelation of Jesus, resulting in deeper intimacy with Him. We pray it will be marked by the grace and peace of the Lord in your life.
Undoubtedly, by the time you read this newsletter you will have already spent much-needed time praying for the families and community of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. The horrific tragedy that took place there on December 14, 2012, both shocked and deeply grieved us all. Such a display of evil heightens our awareness of the tremendous need (and privilege) we have to continually turn to God. We have need of His strength, His protection, and His mercy. Our prayers continue to go out for those grieving families, as well, and for our nation. May the Lord look mercifully upon us, pouring out His kindness and leading us to repentance.
We want to thank you for your faithfulness towards this ministry in 2012. Your giving and your prayers have affected many children in Peru who themselves have been recipients of horrible tragedy. Thank you for caring and for extending to them the hope that is found in Jesus.
Rosa and I especially want to thank those of you who were able to send a little extra in December for the children’s Christmas presents. During the first week of January we will be traveling to Lima, Peru to buy the children their gifts, which is just in time for the celebration of Three Kings Day…the traditional Christmas celebration in Hispanic countries. With the extra that we have received from you, joined by the help of Impact Church in Miami, FL, we will be able to purchase gifts for 62 children. You have made it possible; thank YOU!
Your financial help goes towards changing and bringing restoration to young lives like Ricardo Ugaz, a nine-year-old boy in the orphanage. His grandmother brought him to the Santa Maria Children’s Home because she could not take care of him. Imagine the hardship she goes through as an elderly woman who must sell gasoline on the streets in order to survive. Ricardo’s mother, unfortunately, is psychology unsound, and his father has never met him and does not want anything to do with the boy. Ricardo needs help! And thanks to God, he has found it in the Santa Maria Children’s Home…and through people like you who pray and support our ministry. Ricardo struggles to articulate well, and evidences other challenges in language and mathematics. Please pray for him to experience the healing and restoration of Jesus. We are grateful he is in the orphanage, with the chance to eat well and learn in school. Also, please continue to pray for the director of the home; his health is still delicate
We appreciate you! May the Lord bless you abundantly in 2013; we look forward to walking through the year together.
Grace and peace,
Tony and Rosa Rivera
Homes of Refuge International
