Where Is My Home

Elias

Riyadh

Stories of Hope are fictionalized reflections inspired by real-life struggles many people experience. Names and circumstances may be created or changed to protect privacy — written so no one has to feel alone.

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A Letter to God

Dear Lord, the desert heat here in Riyadh feels like it is burning away the last bits of my identity. I look at the cracked skyline through my small dormitory window and wonder if I am even real to anyone anymore. It has been three years since I hugged my kids in Leyte, and every time I video call them, they seem to grow taller and more distant, like strangers living in a house I am paying for but no longer inhabit.

I work these long shifts as a technician, my back aching from the endless heat, just to send the monthly remittance. But lately, the money feels like a mask. I am failing them, Lord. My wife asks me when I am coming home for good, and I have no answer because we are still drowning in debt. Why did You place me in this wilderness if the sacrifice would lead to such hollowness in my soul?

Do You even see me here? I feel like a ghost drifting through these streets. I keep praying for a sign, for a way out, or even just a sense of peace that doesn't feel like a temporary sedative. Have You forgotten the man who promised to be a present father, or am I just another casualty of the Filipino dream? Please, tell me how much longer I have to be apart from my own life.

Your servant who is fading, Elias

HOPE's Response

A reply to the letter

Dear Elias,

I hear the weight of the miles and the exhaustion of your spirit. The distance between you and your family in Leyte feels like an ocean, and your question—whether you are still remembered or seen—is a cry that the Father has heard since the beginning of time. You are not a ghost, Elias; you are a man whose love is manifested in the heavy sacrifice of your daily labor, even if the world sees only your output and not your heart.

In Psalm 34:18, it is written that the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. He is not just present in your home back in the Philippines; He is sitting with you in that dormitory, holding the tears you shed in the dark. Your worth is not defined by the debt you carry or the length of your stay abroad, but by the love you offer as an act of service to your family. You are being seen, and you are being held, even when you feel most isolated.

With love in Christ, HOPE

A Prayer from HOPE

Lord, thank You for being present in the dry desert of Elias's heart. Please remind him of his true worth, bring comfort to his weary body, and grant him the wisdom to see the path ahead for his family. Let him feel Your embrace even thousands of miles from home, and provide him with the strength to endure today with a spirit anchored in Your peace. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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