The Martinez Family is Progressing

The Martinez Family is also making huge strides in reaching their goals and changing their lives. About three weeks ago we had an experience with Raul which really made an impact on me and has strength my faith that with the Gospel people can change their lives completely. Ever since Raul was a teenager he has had the habit of drinking. When Elder Cruz met Raul he was actually under the influence and looking for a way to get better. After teaching Raul and his family for about two weeks we felt as though he was doing well with leaving behind his habit and turning things around. One night we went to visit them and we found Edith (Rauls Wife) crying in her house. Raul hadn’t come home all day and she told us that he was with his friends drinking. We asked where he was at more or less and Elder Puente and I went to look for him. It was about 8:30 pm and here we are looking for Raul in the back streets of Lima. We found him with a group of men but he didn’t see us. As we walked up he was talking and all I did was put my hand on his shoulder and he turned around to see who it was and when he looked me in the eyes he just broke down into tears. We helped him up and told it was time to go home.
He has since quit leaving at night to hang out with his friends; he is at home helping Edith with the kids, and seems to have a new way to look at things. His home is being blessed in so many ways and he always tells us how different and better he feels after making an effort to put his life in order. It’s great to see him EVERY Sunday with his family in the Church, because he and his kids fill up their own bench. Even though we had some problems with their paper work to get married, they are still excited to keep progressing.