Skip to main content

The One With All The Singing

¡Hola familia! 

Today we got down to business once again to complete our landscaping project within a large basketball court-sized lot near the Pio Decimo Center. Fortunately, we had access to a couple of gas-operated weed whackers, as well as 100% participation from our team. We completed the project (check out the before-and-after pictures below!), and the lot may eventually become a playground for the residents of the apartments operated by Catholic Community Services of Southern Arizona. 

After that, we went into Pio Decimo Center and helped with the intake of some non perishable food donations. Franklin and Dave also assisted with shoveling compost into a new receptacle while the girls had a fun singing session.

At noon, we headed to Eegee’s restaurant to fuel ourselves for our one-hour drive to Nogales, AZ. The slushees there were great, brain freeze and all!  

When we arrived at Lourdes Catholic School in Nogales, we were greeted by two students, Juan Paulo and Camila. They escorted us into the classroom, where both of them and several of their classmates shared about how they help migrants through the Kino Border Initiative and the Kino Teens program. They also shared their own personal experience, which included crossing the U.S./Mexico border every day to attend classes. Finally, we heard from Father Pete Neely who support and advocates for the teens in the work they do. 

To end our day, we had a simple meal that consisted of “dino nuggets,” mac ‘n cheese, and ice cream, a song performance of the Lion King, and finalized with a reflection on the subjects of rights and inclusivity within the context of Catholic Social Teaching. 

Tomorrow is our last day here (sniff sniff), and we will return to Nogales to visit the border patrol. 

XOXO,
AZ Border ABST




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Build Bridges Instead of Walls

¡Hola a todos!  Our day started really early since we had to drive to Nogales, AZ once again. Before  we actually hit the road, we had to pass through the Pio Decimo Center to pick up our great alumnus, John Lohse.  After driving for one hour, we arrived at Nogales Border Patrol where we were kindly greeted by three officers, one of which was Border Patrol Agent Sergio Leones Jr. who coordinated our experience. Once we signed in, we had a very thorough presentation about their job description and the responsibilities that come with it. They seize any kind of illegal contraband; monitor areas by using sensors, cameras, and tracking skills; protect wildlife and vegetation; and attend classrooms or meetings to inform the public about their duties and why life as a criminal is not worth it. Most importantly, they care about the safety and well-being of people.  We briefly saw their command center, and afterwards separated into two groups to drive by the border ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Here’s the Buzz!

Bienvenidos to our BEEautiful blog!  This morning we split our forces between landscaping at the Pio Decimo lot and painting at the John Valenzuela Youth Center (JVYC). The landscapers continued working on weeding the Pio Decimo apartments, while the other force painted murals in various locations around the JVYC.   The group reconvened for lunch, and today we experienced Sonoran hot dogs and authentic tacos from local food trucks.  After lunch, we received a tour of the JVYC. John Valenzuela was a law enforcement officer who gave his life in the service of young people. The youth center was founded in his honor to actualize his dream of a better life for local kids. They just recently planted a pollinator garden, so our paintings were “bee-themed”. Once the children got out of school, we were able to assist with the after school program. A little girl named Penelope took a quick liking to Rachel and stuck with her until she was picked up by a parent. Be...
Post a Comment
Read more

Hector the Loneliest Saguaro

Hola from Arizona!  Today, our ABST team was lucky to spend the day with John Lohse, our alumni guide for the trip, who was gracious enough to show us some of Tucson’s finest sights. We started with an early morning stop at Gate’s Pass, a beautiful overlook where we could see miles and miles of Arizona’s natural, cactus-filled landscape. Then, we drove through some windy and bumpy terrain to reach our next destination: The Arizona Sonora Desert Museum.  John led us around the museum, pointing out some of the larger wildlife exhibits as well as some key aspects of the vegetation native to the area. The javelinas and river otter as well as the lush cactus garden were definitely some crowd favorites!  Next, we headed for the Mission San Xavier del Bac , nicknamed the “White Dove of the Desert.” Here, we took the time to explore the gorgeous mission started by Father Kino, and even climbed up to a cross overlooking the mission grounds (and surprisingly, no one was inju...
Post a Comment
Read more