We met this family at the lowest time in their lives. The kids’ father and Jackeline’s husband of just a few years was found dead on the boarder of Mexico in the desert in Texas. It was actually surprising to us to discover that it was the same town where we went to missions school 8 years ago!
Jackeline’s husband came from a family a little bit more “well off” than most families in the area. His parents never really liked Jackeline a whole lot and wished that he hadn’t married someone of lower societal stature…but he was in love. He couldn’t seem to find a “good enough” paying job according to his family’s standards, so he felt the only option he had was to illegally immigrate to the US and work and send money back to support his family. The house they lived in was owned by the family.
Once Jackeline’s husband was discovered deceased, the family blamed her and wanted her out of their lives. They wanted to take her kids from her to since “she couldn’t support them.” The irony in the story is that Jackeline is actually well educated. She has a degree in pharmacology! She had been working for a pharmaceutical company but the company closed down and she was out of work. She has struggled to find work ever since.
Alejandra, the youngest of the two kids, is smart as a whip! She wasn’t quite old enough to be affected by her father’s passing. She knows what happened but doesn’t have a whole lot of memories about him, so she wasn’t as connected.
Jairo, on the other hand, is a year older than Alejandra and was in his formative years of his relationship with his dad. He misses him a lot! As a result of this traumatic loss at a young age, he has had some psychological developmental struggles. We have been trying to work closely with his school teachers and psychologists to help him overcome his depression and learning disabilities.
Please continue to pray for this family as they continue to recover from their loss and other familial struggles as a result of it. Also continue praying for wisdom for us as we minister to them to know God’s love in a deep way!
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