From Slavery to Salvation
“We’ll pay you 250 soles a week if you’ll come to work for us in Lima,” they promised Ricardo. It was a manufacturing company, and they were offering him an excellent job opportunity; or so he thought. What 16-year-old living in the Amazon and wanting to create a brighter future would pass up such an offer? Not Ricardo Silvino! With the moral support of his family, Ricardo left with the men for Lima to start his new life as a paid employee. When he arrived, he saw that he wasn’t the only teenager on his way to a successful tomorrow. There were approximately 15 other teenage boys and girls already hard at work. He was given a mattress to place on the floor for sleeping at night, and he began working diligently to learn the job for which he had been hired. When the end of the week finally arrived, he eagerly anticipated his first week’s pay, but it was never given to him. “Where is my money for working this week?” he asked them. Then the horrors of his new reality set in. He was told that he would never receive payment, but must continue working each day to pay 
for his food and “room”. Ricardo Silvino and the rest of the teenagers were slaves…trapped in a fenced-in facility by men who had no intention of letting them go.
Ricardo endured day after day of the forced labor, but his desperate feelings of being trapped and the consequential hopelessness that set in caused him to contemplate attempting an escape. By the end of a month’s time, Ricardo took his chance in the middle of the night, jumped over the fence, and fled to the streets where he stayed hiding out for many days. The streets were not kind to Ricardo. Thankfully, he ended up in the hands of the local police who relocated him to a detention center and finally to the orphanage where he has received the love of Christ; free-at-last!
The best news about Ricardo is not his escape from a life of slavery to man. The best news is that Rosa prayed for Ricardo and personally led him to the Lord Jesus Christ. What Satan meant for evil, God turned for good. It is a beautiful picture of God’s Word in Romans 8:15, which states: “The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’”
Since Ricardo’s escape we are grateful to report that because of his bold actions and willingness to uncover the truth, the police began an investigation and were able to safely rescue the rest of the teenagers. Ricardo will remain at the orphanage and then be reunited with his family in the Amazon.
During our September visit to the orphanage, I (Tony) noticed a boy name Renzo wearing a pair of shoes that were broken. His right foot was coming out of the shoe. I took the shoe off, saw the size, and when I went to the store to buy the groceries for the home, I bought Renzo a pair of shoes.
When we were at lunch at the home, I gave the pair of shoes to Renzo and he had a big smile on his face.
This is what you all do for these children. You feed them, dress them, supply for all of the utilities, and provide all that is needed for them to be there. Thank you for your continual support; your giving is having an eternal impact, and gaining for you an eternal reward.
Please pray for Ricardo. We are believing for God to open up doors for him and to continue revealing the love of Jesus to his heart as he grows in his faith.
Grace and peace,
Tony and Rosa Rivera
Home of Refuge International, Inc.
