Brother Joy

James Alfred Miller (Ellis, Wisconsin, 1944 - Huehuetenango, Guatemala, 1982) grew up in a family of farmers and cattle breeders.
He doesn't mind working in the fields and taking care of the animals, but he is equally passionate about studying. Religiously educated in high school, he meets the Brothers of the Christian Schools and is struck by their spirituality and their commitment to education.

He soon asks to be accepted as a novice. After his first vows, he is transferred to Minnesota, where he teaches Spanish. Alongside his intellectual work is manual work; in fact, they call him not only "Brother joy" because of his always cheerful character, but also "Brother fixes everything", for his ability to repair anything. In 1969 he was sent to Bluefields, Nicaragua. There he continues his educational work: study, sport (he founds an American football team), job placement.

Having become director of the Lasallian institute in nearby Puerto Cabezas, he also takes care of the mestizos of the area, creating rural schools for them.
At the outbreak of the Sandinista revolution, he was sent back to the United States as the object of threats, but he bit the brakes: it pained him to see the difference in study opportunities between American students and those from Nicaragua. He gets to return there, to Huehuetenango. He works at the Indigenous Center, where he teaches natives how to cultivate the land. The political situation worsens and violence grows.

James is aware of the risk he runs but writes «I leave my life to the providence of God». On February 13, 1982, he was hit by three bullets fired by a group of masked men. He dies immediately. The killers were never traced. Today, the "Brother James Miller Fund" continues the work he accomplished, sending aid every year around the world for the implementation of projects for the poorest.

Anna Maria Gobbato
NP April 2023