For Mitch Sivertson of Shorewood, an overall fix-it guy, along with Janet and Larry Lissak of Lombard—both of whom are recently retired from corporate jobs, mission work is faith in action. They are among a group from the Diocese of Joliet mission office to regularly volunteer time to help families in need. No, they didn't travel to a far-flung place on the continent of Africa or some place in the desolate mountains of Afghanistan.
Their destination along with 15 or so like-minded volunteers who work under the auspices of the Diocese of Joliet’s Peace and Justice Office is to a barren, empty valley that stretches out from beyond the Painted Desert in northeast Arizona. The Catholic Construction Corps (CCC) volunteers are dubbed "missioners," because they are actively living out the mission to assist the poor as directed in the Gospel message. For the past 10 years, the couple has journeyed to the region and now focus their attention on those who are associated with Our Lady of Fatima Parish in the community of Chinle, Ariz. The parish is led by Franciscan Father Blane Grein.
He's the sole priest for a 45-mile radius that includes three parishes and two mission churches, which means that they're not quite big enough or financially stable for parish status.
The low, scrub-covered mesas are dotted with simple settlements, where families live in mobile homes, small single-story ranch-style houses or in hogans, which are made from wooden poles and logs. They are occupied by the largely impoverished Navajo people that reside on the designated Navajo Nation, an Indian Reservation that encompasses all of northeast Arizona and overlaps into New Mexico and Utah. In total, the southwest Indian reservation claims 27,425-acres.
Despite television portrayals of a brave 19th century frontiersman, Kit Carson, who guided the settlement of the West with a series of expeditions and later the acquisition of land through the U.S. Department of the Interior, the reality of the situation has long since been documented as a brutal and bloody campaign. During the Civil War, Carson was key to forcing the 300-mile-long death march of 800 Navajo from their grassy homelands and into the rugged, semi-arid terrain.
"Yes, they hold those hurts," said Janet. In the Navajo Nation, the culture, clans, tribal chapters and reservation-ruled society stands as an enigma to modern America. Persistent poverty, lack of education, jobs and infrastructure within the dust and windy sand storm-plagued region runs counter to modern American notions.
"If you want a job, you have to leave. There's addictions, teen pregnancy (is high), and so is the suicide rate. It's like a sense of hopelessness. They've hit rock bottom, and there's no way out," according to Larry, who is a deacon at St. Pius X Parish in Lombard. There is no natural outlet for the male population to provide in the traditional sense for the family; therefore, many households lack a father figure.
Meanwhile, the government still oversees the reservation, providing subsidies that ultimately have "led to debasing them." The people are squeezed between needing the subsidies to survive and drowning in the consequences of generational financial dependence.
It's an eerie reality to embrace the desolate landscape that features sagebrush caught on barbed-wire fences along the road, developing dunes and packs of roaming dogs that howl at the moon. "Yet, some areas are very heavily wooded. There's growth." The sense of wasted loneliness and sad resignation with a touch of potential hope adequately depicts the human condition, Larry said with a breathy sigh.
A decade ago Larry joined with Tom Goebel, a deacon at Immaculate Conception Parish in Elmhurst, to broaden the mission experience to include this region. The Peace and Social Justice Office has a long history of facilitating medical assistance and construction corps mission groups in Sucre, Bolivia, the Philippines, Kenya and selected U.S. communities in the rural South.
The end-of-June mission to Arizona has attracted as many as 25 volunteers at a time, but this year only 10 came. Still, they managed to put a new roof on a mobile home, completed a lot of repairs on decrepit structures, installed new piping around some trailers and fixed shower heads.
A couple years ago the group built an outhouse, worked on an addition at the school and cleaned up some graffiti left on a wall. It's important to keep hydrated in this climate. "It's in the 80s and 90s, but it's a dry heat," Janet said.
"We spend a day working at the food pantry, handing out bags of groceries."
From a distance, it doesn't seem like much, said Janet, but it serves to pick-up their spirits. The projects that the construction missioners complete depends on the number of volunteers, she added.
After the construction corps arrives in Albuquerque, New Mexico and drives the 165 miles north and west to their Arizona destination, the first stop is Walmart to stock up on as many repair materials they can get and groceries, said Janet. The distance between commercial stores and the Navajo settlements is easily and hour, Larry added. "You try to make your time there as worthwhile as possible, not wasted on unnecessary trips."
Sivertson of Shorewood is also a 10-year veteran of the CCC and member of nearby Holy Family Parish. "What we need when we go out there is good help. If you're well-rounded and know how to do different things with tools, it's great." Of course, the CCC won't turn away a willing "gopher," but it helps to have someone who knows how to analyze a problem and use the materials available to fix it. The wind, which regularly blows at 15-to-20 mph, causes a lot of damage.
For instance, he said, the Navajo don't have traditional air conditioners to cool their homes. They have swamp-coolers. "It's a cooling system that's based on evaporated water. It's quite unique," he said.
In the early years, when the group first started their mission work with the Navajo people, the locals weren't particularly interested in getting involved. "They just stood by and watched us work," said Janet. And that kind of resentment is something for which Wheaton Franciscan Sister Shirley Krull takes pains to prepare missioners. A one-time missioner in Africa, Sister Krull facilitates a training that consists of three evening sessions and a single all-day session; she delves into the emotional, social and cultural mindset of those living in situations of generational poverty or desperate poverty. Trust is a commodity that's tough to earn and an honor to achieve.
Now the construction group is beginning to find honest acceptance. The Navajo men and women are pitching in on projects. The projects don't seem like another subsidy; they're looked at as a gift that respects their right to live in dignity. "We go to Mass with them and share a meal," said Janet. "They recognize us and greet us when we come."
In a telephone conversation, Father Grein, who coordinates the construction corps projects and provides housing in nearby mobile homes, talked about the volunteers' "eagerness to help someone when they come here and their enthusiasm."
Father Grein noted that he's struck by "how they develop church among themselves. They develop the real spirit of the church while they're here. That's very evident."
Camaraderie between the locals and the volunteers tends to build once they attend Mass together. "Our church is incorporated with the native ideas. We have a directional prayer read after the opening hymn," and invite a Navajo woman to burn cedar in a bowl and lead a prayer to Mother Earth, said the 76-year-old priest who's served the community for the past 33 years.
The Navajo practice can be likened to the Franciscan reverence for creation and respect for Brother Sun and Sister Moon, he added.
Accustomed to the harsh realities of the Navajo people, Father Grein said these kind of outreach ministries are beneficial to the volunteers as well. It's a transcendent experience for them. First, they witness the disparity and then they form a connection with the people themselves.
"It's hard to imagine this situation in America; people living in these conditions in America would seem unreal until you see it. It opens their eyes."
Father Grein welcomes about five or six outreach mission groups a year. Mostly they're comprised of university students; they come from California, Iowa and Kansas. "But the group from the Diocese of Joliet is the biggest."
What keeps people like the Lissaks and Sivertson, all of whom have also participated in CCC mission projects in Sucre, Bolivia, is the chance for hands-on work for the Lord. It's also a great way for shaping intergenerational connections. The volunteers range in age from 14 to 70.
For Larry, the bonus is that "you get to hit something with a big hammer for God. I have a John Wayne approach to spirituality. You go up the canyon, and reflect on it. There's no need for words. We appreciate nature."
