Where is Your Money Going?
“News travels fast,” they say. In today’s age it travels FAR very fast. But what about your money? Where is your money going? With the ever-changing economy, and voices crying, “Recession” in our ears, here is some very encouraging news to savor.
BECAUSE YOU GIVE, your money is seed sown, with a guaranteed harvest. Consider these two promises from Scripture: “A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” (Proverbs 11:25), and “If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord—and He will repay you!” (Proverbs 19:17, NLT).
BECAUSE YOU GIVE, your temporal money is converted into eternal rewards. Scriptures instructs us in this way: "Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life." (1 Timothy 6:18-19). Jesus connected the dots of temporal wealth converting to eternal treasure when He told the rich young ruler the following, found in Matthew 19:21: “...If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
BECAUSE YOU GIVE, your money becomes a tool by which you can minister to God. Hebrews 13:16 states it like this: “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” 2 Corinthians tells us that God loves a cheerful giver. In the context of giving to those in need, Jesus reveals how personally He takes it, by telling us the following in Matthew 25:40: ”...‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for Me.’ “
Scripture has much more to say about money, but I now want to turn your attention to where your money is going when you give to the ministry of Home of Refuge International, Inc. Here is just a sampling of the fruit of your generosity.
BECAUSE YOU GIVE, we continue feeding 46 elderly from 4 communities — Ccarhuacalla, Mollebamba, Quinura, and Pacarectambo — twice a month with groceries, medicine, and any other necessities they may need.
BECAUSE YOU GIVE, each recipient from these 4 communities regularly hears the Word of God. We will never know until we all enter into eternity just how many people in heaven will have come to know Christ because of YOUR giving.
BECAUSE YOU GIVE, elderly residents from the above-mentioned communities taste of the love and goodness of God every Christmas (as well as other holidays), enjoying meals, gifts, laughter, and love once completely foreign to their lives.
BECAUSE YOU GIVE, currently 23 children from the village of Alto Pacae, located in the high jungle of the Santo Domingo de Anda district of Peru, have been receiving non-perishable food five times a week. This is a tremendous aid to impoverished families whose children desperately need help in order to eat on a daily basis. Now, their mothers can prepare food for them that would otherwise be impossible for them to have.
BECAUSE YOU GIVE, every December, Home of Refuge International brings joy to children (from this same jungle in Peru) in vulnerable situations through gifts and a Christmas dinner, bearing witness to the love of Christ reflected in service to others.
There is more that your giving produces, but for now I want to expound on your impact in the jungle village where your money travels and converts into HOPE and eternal rewards.
The jungle village—made up of about 50 families—is a tragic legacy of the internal armed conflict that Peru suffered between 1980 and 2000. In this area, the terrorist group Shining Path, led by “Comrade Artemio,” sowed terror and destruction. The population was forced to grow coca leaves for drug trafficking, and when government forces intervened, they sprayed herbicides to eradicate the crops. While it was good to impede the drug trafficking problem, the method that the government chose to “solve the problem” yielded new problems, leaving the land infertile for a number of years, and thereby, condemning the population to even deeper poverty.
As a result of these years of violence, many families were destroyed, traditional crops disappeared, and state neglect became evident. This harsh history has left a deep wound in the community, which for years has lived in hopelessness.
Today, this village is an agricultural community that survives through the cultivation of bananas, cocoa, coffee, pineapple, and coca leaves. However, they face serious difficulties in marketing their products. Wholesale buyers arrive in their vehicles and, taking advantage of the population’s need, pay very low prices, which prevents the area’s economic development. Yet, in the midst of much pain and neglect, God has raised up a new hope. Through YOUR GIVING to the Home of Refuge International, and with the support of other compassionate people, the community has begun to experience the love of Christ in concrete ways. Unity, care, food, education, and the message of the Gospel are sowing new life where there was once only death. Since 2022, Home of Refuge has been faithfully demonstrating its commitment to the Gospel, not only with words, but through concrete actions of love, made possible because of your giving. Romans 12:21 tell us: "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." This ministry is living proof of that biblical truth. Where sin and violence once abounded, the grace of God now overflows, and it has all been possible BECAUSE YOU GIVE.
In closing, I want to thank you for standing with us! I hope that this newsletter has afforded you a better understanding of where your money is going and the importance of your participation in this ministry. I, Tony, turned 84 on August 30th. I am grateful for what God has graced Rosa and I through this ministry to accomplish for His glory, but there is still work to be done. Please pray that God will continue to aid me with strength and health as I continue the work to which He has called me. I also ask that you prayerfully consider how you can best support us this month, and in the months to come, knowing the amazing impact your giving is making.
By His Grace and for His Glory,
Tony and Rosa Rivera,
Home of Refuge International, Inc.
