In his search for the strongest master, the giant Opherus evil and began seeking Christ. He inquired everywhere if anyone had heard of him or knew where he could be found. As he was searching, lonely and burdened with many evil deeds, Opherus met a hermit, who told him that if he wanted to find Christ, he must first find remorse and repentance. But Opherus told the hermit he wanted to do more than just sit and repent.
The hermit replied: “Listen then to my advice. If you wish to find Christ, you must serve mankind with all your strength. Do you see the broad river down there? It has no bridge, yet every day many wayfarers wish to cross. Go down there, build a hut by the stream, and ferry people over on your strong shoulders. If you do this out of love, you may find what you seek.”
It happened once on a very stormy night that he heard a voice crying, “Opherus, Opherus, carry me over.” He left his house and searched up and down the riverbank, but found no one. So he returned to his hut and fell asleep again. But the voice called again, coming to him weakly through the tempest: “Opherus, Opherus, carry me over.” Again he went out, but no one was there. Thinking it must be the wind, he lay down again. But before long he heard the voice a third time. It sounded at first like a cry, and then he heard his name through the wind: “Opherus, Opherus, come carry me over the water.”
This time he found a small child huddled on the riverbank. He lifted the little boy onto his shoulder, where he seemed quite light; but when he entered the water, the child became increasingly heavier. Soon the burden grew so great that Opherus almost broke down under its weight. He cried out, “Oh, little child, you seem to be so very heavy – it is as if I were carrying the whole earth on my shoulders.”
Then the child answered, “You not only carry the earth and the heavens, but you carry him who bears the whole need of the world upon himself. I am Jesus Christ, your King whom you seek.”
While in Paramaribo, Suriname with the sisters, we learned of a place called Het Christophorus Internaat, or the Christophorus Boarding School.
It isn’t a school exactly; it’s a home, a family.
Out here in the Guianas (Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana) most people live along the coastline but many people live in the interior, what we would call the “jungle”. The interior experiences deep poverty, massive amounts of human trafficking, and a severe lack of educational opportunities. They have schools for young children but not for the older children starting around age 11. In order to receive an education families need to send their children into the cities which involves leaving home at 3am and not returning until late that night just to do it all over again. On top of all that, the interior speaks a different language than the cities so the students are already behind when they arrive.
That is where Het Christophorus Internaat comes in.
They provide a home, food, quiet places to study, and community for the children of the interior. They do their best to help the children to overcome the educational gaps they encounter. Like the legend of Christophorus, they seek to carry them across the great river to give them a future and a hope.
The director of the school, Lucius Romalo, was once a student at Het Christophorus Internaat. He arrived at age 14, lived there for 10 years, and became a teacher. He returned to the interior to serve his people for 11 years as an educator.
But life brought him back to Paramaribo where he was asked to step in as the director at the boarding school. This will be his 21st year as director. He seeks to give these children a home full of love, safety, and joy.
If you are interested in partnering with Het Christophorus Internaat, visit their website at www.christophorusinternaat.com
