FROM THE COLD OF THE STREET TO THE HEAT OF THE HOME

God is good and merciful to each and every one of his children. We are your beloved children, it is necessary to always remember, in our walk.

This story happened to Luis Francisco Díaz, 15 years ago. Very well known in the neighborhood, and to which everyone affectionately says: "Pachito". He is a person of cheerful, joyful appearance, who keeps a smile on his lips. Friendly, helpful and hardworking. He lives with his wife, has 4 children, and 7 brothers. His parents passed away several years ago.

Being very young, Francisco fell into drugs.

It all started when he came to work at the Martyrs Town in Bogotá, in a spare parts warehouse. He met Marcos Sánchez among his co-workers. Who consumed and became his friend.

In a short time, Francisco also began to consume and the two saw him as a party hobby on weekends. They did it to feel good and have fun. Without noticing, the level of addiction was growing, and with the passing of the days, this fun became a vice and later a painful slavery. He remained chained in that world, for 20 long years. Pachito went daily to Calle del Cartucho, where he easily got all kinds of psychoactive substances and became a street habitant. I slept on cardboard on the platforms, always very alone. Remember that Marcos' family had money, and he did not manage to live on the street, since he was run over by a bus.

Despite all the darkness of the roads that Pachito traveled, he never stopped believing in God. At the bottom of his heart was the memory of that reality. On that walk, and by the will of God, he met the Curita, who was a holy Priest, Father "Miguelito". From whom he received spiritual and material help. As well as his prayers every day. He also had the support of the Ladies of ACMI, and a good number of the residents of the Sector.

Of those environments in which he remained, on any given day, but definitively, he made the decision to abandon drugs and the street. And held by the hand of God, he undertook the path back to family life. He had no relapses.

He says that in the final part of his process, he experienced difficult stages. As we can read below: “I could no longer look in the mirror, I couldn't stand it, because I was depressed. It influenced a little, my self-esteem. It also helped the acceptance and collaboration of people. ”

He currently has a stable economic situation. His work, although it requires a lot of effort, at least allows him to support his family. He owns a Mazda truck, which he bought at a Dealer, “0” kilometers, and which he also uses to work.

Pachito has the assurance that without God's protection and the favor of the Community, he would have perished in the attempt to leave that world without exit, which destroyed him.

And I end with one of the parts of Psalm 114 that was recited in the Eucharist today: “The Lord is benign and just, our God is compassionate; the Lord keeps the simple: being without strength saved me. ”