More than Many Sparrows
You matter. God hears your prayers. He sees you and is working on your behalf!
Ever just need to be reminded of how much God cares and just how powerful (and interested in you) He is? We all need to hear it, and too few people hear it enough. Jesus, seeing how discouragement and fear can cloud people’s view of God, reveals the truth of the Father’s heart for us when He says, “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”(Luke 12:6-7) You are receiving this newsletter this month, and God is reminding you that He knows every detail of your life. Take heart, strengthen yourself in the knowledge that God CARES…for YOU, for your circumstances, for your loved ones, for your dreams. Will you believe it?
I want to tell you how much that same message means to Will at the orphanage. He is living in the hope and joy of God’s loving provision for his long-awaited dream of going to college. When we arrived this past month at the orphanage, Will came over to us and kept on thanking us for the opportunity that you have given him to study. Your faithfulness in supporting the Home of Refuge ministry has shown children (some of whom are now young adults) that God cares and is interested in them. We know that for some of you, this has been a long journey that you have been on with us down through many years, multiple countries, and literally hundreds of faces! Your giving has fed them, 
clothed them, educated them, and most of all provided them with tangible evidence that God cares about their lives. James 2:17 says that faith without works is dead; thank you for demonstrating your faith by giving love to these children.
Will has a brother, Miguel Changa, who is currently working at Santa Maria’s as an assistant to the cook. Desiring to obtain education and training for a career, Miguel dreams of going to college like his brother is now doing…but Miguel does not have the funds to pursue that dream. There is also a large need at the home for mattresses and sheets for the orphanage children. Estimating that we can purchase a $43.00 mattress for each of the 100 beds, a total of $4,300 would cover the cost of just giving each child a mattress on which to sleep. Beyond the cost of the mattresses, of course, we need additional funds (approx. $800 more) to purchase a sheet set for each of the 100 beds. As we see the funds come in for these needs, we will purchase the items for the children. We know that this need has not escaped the Lord’s attention. As Luke 12:7 says, each one of these children who need a bed are “worth more than many sparrows.”
The director Luis is still very weak and not eating much. Thankfully, in addition to the regular supplies we always purchase for the orphanage, we were able to buy a whole month’s supply of a supplement to assist Luis, since he is having difficulty eating solid foods at this time. We also had the blessed privilege of sitting down with Luis to “hear his story.” He poured out testimonies of how has God provided all that he had needed during the course of 49 years of ministry. We learned from him about the way he got started. When he was 16 years old, Luis went to a Catholic seminar to work with children, but he did not like the way he saw them dealing with the children. He wanted to do more, and so he left the seminar and started on his own. The priest told Luis that he would never make it on his own doing ministry. But Luis has certainly seen the hand of God working through him. He will complete 50 years of ministry on January 6, 2015. What an encouragement to us and to our son Manny who, along with his wife Victoria and some dear friends pastoring in Peru, was able to be with us during this trip to Peru and to sit at Luis’ bedside to hear the stories of God’s faithfulness
directly from this “general” in God’s army.
As I close this month’s newsletter, I do so with the gentle reminder to you that God has invited you and many others into partnership with this ministry because He sees and cares for the orphans. They are worth more than many sparrows. Not one has been forgotten, not one of their cries unheard, not one of their dreams unnoticed. So it is with you. God knows the things that concern you. He cares. You are worth more than many sparrows. Be encouraged today in the love of God.
By grace,
Tony and Rosa Rivera
Home of Refuge International
