The news from Ciudad Juarez in May was not good. Rival drug cartels were targeting city police as part of their turf battle. To be on the safe side, Brophy cancelled the immersion trip to Anapra, a suburb of Juarez just across the border fence from Sunland, New Mexico. Yet Brophy students had already contributed the funds to build a house, provide books for an after school program and help a refugee center in El Paso. Materials for the house had already been purchased, so Deacon Joe Stickney traveled to Anapra with his family in early June to help put it together. With the help of volunteers from Rockhurst University, they finished the roof and poured part of the concrete floor for a single mother with 3 children. Here is an excerpt from Deacon Stickney’s journal:

            “The mom, Consuelo, rides for an hour on a bus each night at 10 p.m. to work in a maquila (an assembly plant) on the other side of Juarez. She puts together headlights for American cars. She returns home at 7 a.m., in time to cook breakfast for Saul, 8, Lesly, 7, and Ariana, 2. This morning, Lesly was in her school dress, Saul in a collared school shirt and Ariana wore light blue Mary Janes to match her powder-blue skirt. At Consuelo’s maquila salary, which averages $50 a week, this attention shows how much she has offered her life for her children.

            “The afternoon before we left, after we mixed and poured enough concrete for her new bathroom floor, Consuelo cooked us rice and chicken mole (a chile and chocolate sauce). All by himself, Saul carried a five-gallon jug of purified water from the store so we could be served fresh limejuice.

            “This year especially, I have been reflecting on why we send students to do this work of building houses. During the school year, Brophy students often pray the “Our Father,” repeating the phrase “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Building houses brings God’s kingdom of love and justice to a very specific location on earth, to the border that represents the steepest economic gradient on the planet.

            In this way, Brophy students have the opportunity to directly experience the struggles of those who migrate from the southern states of Mexico to find work in the special economic zones near the US border. To earn the right to live in a neighborhood, the recently-arrived families have just a week to put up a living structure, often using found materials like pallets or cardboard. Almost everyone tries to save enough each week to buy a few concrete blocks, hoping to upgrade eventually. However, some families find it hard to survive, much less build a house that can withstand windstorms and summer heat.”

            Brophy students have other opportunities to participate in the “sweat-equity” of building God’s kingdom: by rebuilding homes during the New Orleans trip, and in July helping residents recover from last summer’s earthquake in Peru. Next year, hopefully, we will return to Anapra as well.