Where Eternity Hides
As the sun peers over the horizon and the world awakens to a new day, the race against time begins once more. For many in the West, the dawning of a new day signifies one more chance to “beat the clock,” to accomplish the things that were left undone the day before, to cross off of our list that last remaining item or two that we can never seem to wrap up. But in Peru the race against time is far different, its outcome far more severe. With the emergence of the morning sun starving children awaken to a gnawing pain, which drives them to compete for scraps of food, searching wherever they can, begging from whoever will notice them. Others lay beneath bridges or in hidden places, too weak to move or too small to know where to go or what to do. For these the race against time will soon be over and they will slip away into eternity…many undetected! And so the race continues. The clock ticks. Time passes. And what can we do?
It is in this place here…today…that eternity is calling to us. “Look all around you,” it says, “Notice me!” And then we begin to recognize just where eternity is hiding. That it is staring straight at us through the downcast face of a dirty, poor child hiding beneath the bridges, the pleading eyes of a young beggar on the streets scanning face after face in search of someone who will care, the desperate look of a mother haunted by the slow starvation of the children awaiting her at home…children for whom she has nothing to offer as food again today. Eternity is right there, gazing at us. It is hiding in the shadows of each dollar sent to feed them, each prayer lifted up on behalf of the least of these. It beckons to us to get involved before their race against time is over or ours as well. It veils itself beneath countless opportunities that surround us daily. Will you listen to its voice? Will you dare to see it and seize the moments of time that remain? 
Jesus admonishes us to store up for ourselves treasures in heaven. We want to thank you for obeying Christ’s words. Your gifts and prayers are making a difference; they are “buying time” for children who have no other hope, and sustaining those who have now found hope within the walls of the orphanage this ministry supports.
One such child now receiving hope at the orphanage is Harold, who came to the home on Wednesday, May 14th at 11:00 p.m. Harold’s exact age is uncertain, but we believe him to be around 11 years old. He has no official documentation; there is no record of his birth and he has never gone to school a day in his life. To the Peruvian state, Harold is invisible, just as if he did not exist. Harold’s mother died some time ago, and nothing is known about his father. Prior to entering the orphanage, Harold had spent an entire month “living” at the police station, because they did not know what else to do with him. Clearly, he could not continue living with his grandmother and uncle, as he had done before. They wanted nothing to do with the boy now; and besides, these two relatives had sent Harold daily out to the streets to sell ice cream for hours, and if he did not return at the end of the day with sales that met their expectations, they mistreated him. The scars on Harold’s chest and belly tell the horrible story all too well.
Harold came into the orphanage that night quite fearful…and who can blame him? He has not known love and protection up to this point in his life. We praise God, however, because when he entered the home, he was given some new clothing, a warm welcome, and friendship! The children all received him very well. Obviously, there is much to be done for this child with regards to documentation, preparing him for entering into a formal school setting, and little-by-little raising his self-esteem. We ask for your prayers for Harold so that he can progress and heal.
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We thank you each, again, for your support. In last month’s newsletter, we asked you to please consider what you could send to help the orphanage with an urgent need for repairs. Several of you responded and we were able to give the orphanage a little over half of the amount needed, for which they (and we!) are very grateful. They will try to do as many repairs as possible with the money that we gave to them. The older children are setting their hands to the task as well, working hard to prepare the home for the soon-approaching inspection. Please continue sending what the Lord puts in your heart to give; your support enables us to literally sustain that home, to feed and care for the children it currently serves, and to rescue additional children for whom time is running out.
As we end this month’s newsletter, we encourage you to pray. Jesus told His disciples that their eyes were blessed because they could see, and their ears were blessed because they could hear. May we each be so blessed as to have eyes and ears that are opened to the glory of God all around us. When others see “just another beggar” may we see Jesus hidden within “the least of these”. When others read “just another plea for money” may we see an opportunity for eternal riches in glory. It is all around us…tucked sometimes within the most “unimportant” of faces and places. Jesus, grant us to see more clearly where eternity hides.
In the grace of Christ,
Tony and Rosa Rivera
Home of Refuge International
