Culturally appropriate material is the bottom line for any GNPI project. Concepts that work in one culture won’t work in another. Problems one culture deals with, another doesn’t. But, the problem of addiction blurs the lines separating one culture from another. Alcohol abuse ignores national borders, and the results are always the same. Lives are ripped apart and people die.

Studies have shown that the risk factors for alcohol abuse range from genetic predisposition to environmental conditions, such as peer pressure and stressful situations at home.  Among the Hispanic community, it is a sign of masculinity to drink large amounts of alcohol. 

In a 2001/2002 study done by TGI Latina, 6,986 Latino males, ages 12 to 21, were interviewed concerning their use of alcohol.  Beer or alcohol had been consumed by 46.2% “in the last seven days,” showing that in any seven-day period, alcohol was consumed on a regular basis.

In the US, someone dies in a traffic accident caused by a drunk driver every 30 minutes. Since 50% of all traffic deaths are alcohol-related, it is safe to assume that your life has been affected by a tragic outcome of an automobile accident. Such is the case for the Gurwell family, living in Eagle Pass, Texas.

Bob Gurwell is the director of Hispanic advancement for GNPI.  In August of 2003, a driver who had consumed “a few beers” crashed the vehicle he was driving into the car their 17-year-old son, Jared, was riding in. This accident claimed the life of Jared and six other people. He was not drinking, yet Jared’s family is without him because of alcohol consumed by another person.

How many lives would be spared this pain and suffering if the abuse of alcohol were replaced by the love of Christ? What can GNPI do to help the church address this struggle? Alcohol abuse is a prison that requires help to escape, and the silent cry for help from the Latin American community has been heard.

Bob Gurwell and GNPI-Mexico are responding with a two-fold project to give the church a tool to minister to families in the path of destruction by this social evil. The first project will be a factual documentary. It will pave the way for the second project, a feature film accompanied by a handbook targeted for Hispanic audiences. It is so very easy to see that the church needs to step in and help, but the church needs help in knowing exactly how to help. This is the reason for the handbook.

Addiction, alcohol or otherwise, is no respecter of persons.  It does not discriminate among ages, and it does not care how much money you earn.  Being a Christian offers no automatic protection against addiction nor does it offer automatic knowledge of how to help the addict. The goal of the handbook is to give the church another tool to adapt and use in each specific situation.  

Staff members from GNPI-Mexico have interviewed people from Mexico to New York for the documentary. Bob Gurwell arranged with contacts who willingly provided key video footage. GNPI also conducted interviews with 12 patients inside a Hispanic Rehab center in Atlanta, and with the psychologists and doctors who treat them. Bob was also very excited to be able to interview the chief of police in Monterrey, Mexico.

While in Monterrey, he met with another man who knows something about mixing alcohol and driving.  This gentleman heads up another Christian group and is a paraplegic as a result of a drunk driver. Bob said they have talked to drug addicts, alcoholics, and recovering alcoholics.

“I’ve been very careful with this one.  I want it to be more than just an ordinary documentary.  We have obtained footage from a TV station from the scenes of drunk driving accidents and other incidents involving alcohol.  It’s been amazing how many people have opened up their doors to us and let us come in.  In one place, a guy from the United Nations was the one conducting the interview!” Bob shared.

It is our prayer that this film will reach out to the Spanish culture in Mexico, the United States, and throughout Latin America. Past productions by GNPI-Mexico have been seen by more than 30 million people and have resulted in at least 1,000 people giving their lives to Christ. Satellite television stations in Costa Rica have transmitted three GNPI movies – La Ultima Oración (The Final Prayer), Promesa De Amor (Promise of Love), and Sin Alternativa (No Alternative). 

During the research phase for this current project, two young Hispanic men shared that they have come out of drug and alcohol abuse through the power of Christ.  While involved in a rehab ministry, they had been shown the GNPI production, La Ultima Oración.  One of the young men said “It helped me see Jesus.”  What more can we ask for?