Things in the Jimenez house have gone a bit downhill lately. Jorge had been working for the municipality as they are paving the road on which he lives. They employed those who live close by for the manual labor needed. He was enjoying his work and doing well, earning Q80 for a full day’s work (about $10). Unfortunately, most men who work in construction also drink about as hard as they work. He had been doing well abstaining for the first couple of months. Eventually, peer pressure got the best of him and despite his New Year’s resolution to “leave all that behind because it doesn’t benefit anybody”, he started drinking again.
It started “innocently enough” with just a couple of drinks after work, but recently he has been coming home drunk. This, of course, has once again created the chaos that ensues at home. His mom keeps trying to tell him to better care for himself as he is setting a bad example for Brandon, the only son that still lives with him. Carmen called us last week, however, telling us that Brandon was tired of getting yelled at all the time and went to go stay with his mom. He skipped school that Friday and hasn’t been back since. He missed the next week’s classes and even lied saying that the school was closed for vacation, even though that didn’t start until the following Thursday. Carmen called us and asked us to verify with the school because she couldn’t trust Jorge to go since he has been home drunk all week. She told us he also got fired from his job.
One of our missionaries went to visit Jorge one morning last week to check on him and see what was going on. He said that his boss didn’t have the money to pay him for the previous 2 weeks worth of work and he, along with many of his coworkers walked off the job site. He said he had been borrowing money from people and expected to pay them back with his paycheck but now there was no paycheck with which to do so. He found work building houses in the neighborhood where Brandon’s school is and has actually been making more working only half the day and they also gave him food for dinner there. A few times he took Brandon with him and they gave him food and some “pay” as well (Brandon goes to school in the mornings).
As we sat with Jorge and talked about the negative effect his alcoholism is having on him and his family, he opened up and asked for help! This is a HUGE step for him since he has never admitted he had a problem, although he has been told many times that it is evidently an issue. “I’ve tried doing it myself and I see now that I simply can’t. I need help. Will you help me and take me to a recovery house?” Absolutely! He asked if we could wait a couple of weeks while he works to pay off the money he owes a few people, then said he would be ready. We remain hopeful but doubtful as we tried to take him once before a couple of years ago but when it came time to go, he ran away when we arrived to pick him up. It seems he is more ready now.
Please pray for God to continue to work on his heart and maintain this motivation to change and submit to help. The center we will take him is Christ based and the program lasts about 8-10 months. We will be working to make sure everything is in place to care for Brandon while he is gone as Carmen barely makes enough money making tortillas to sustain herself.
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