Spring 2006Rocio Robles, Co-Director, Family Support Center
Mario came to the Skagit Valley just for a visit, with a big pain in his heart because he had lost his family. Despairing because the woman he loved had betrayed him for another man, he later learned that it was all because of his alcoholism. So many times he told me his drinking history, crying like a child, telling how he wanted to kill his wife and then take his own life, and how he thought of his children that would be left as orphans.
He decided to go to the orchard and shoot two times in his chest, but the pistol didn’t discharge. He struck against tree trunks, his blood joining his tears of desperation.
All of us at Tierra Nueva have benefitted from the friendship with Mario. We’ve seen how God has placed his eyes upon him and changed him so much. He has more than a year of not trying even one beer, when before he drank on a daily basis. In spite of his vice, he was always working. In the morning, he weeded gardens, and in the afternoon he worked in a resturant. For months, I drove him to and from work because he didn’t want to drive at 1:00 am for fear the police would detain him. Finally he decided to work in a nursery.
When someone called to donate a pickup, Roger and I immediately thought of Mario. Now it’s much easier for him to transport his second hand pruning equipment, and he has a much easier time hauling off yard waste. Mario has always said that Tierra Nueva is his family. For us, it is a living miracle and a big motivator in our effort to humbly serve others.
