The House that Love Built is the quintessential story of one woman's questioning what it means to be an American - and a Christian - in light of a broken immigration system. Through tender stories of opening her heart and home to immigrants, Sarah Jackson shines a holy light on loving our neighbor.
Sarah Jackson once thought immigration justice was administered through higher walls and longer fences. Then she met an immigrant, and everything changed. As Sarah began to know fractured families ravaged by threats in their homeland and further traumatized in U.S. detention, biblical justice took on a new meaning.
As Sarah opened her heart - and her home - to immigrants, she experienced a surprising transformation and the gift of extraordinary community. The work she began, Casa de Paz, joins a centuries-long faith that shines a holy light on what it means to truly love our neighbor.
The dilemma of undocumented people continues to hover over America, and it raises urgent questions for every Christian: What is our role with the "stranger" in our midst What does God's kingdom look like in the global-political reality of immigration What difference can one person make
Sarah engages these questions through profound and tender stories, placing readers in the shoes of individuals on every side of the issue - asylum seekers torn from their families and the guards who oversee them, ordinary people with lapsed visas and the families left to survive on their own, the unheralded advocates for immigrants' rights and the government officials who decide the fates of others.
Ultimately, Sarah's journey illuminates our own as we witness how real hope can be restored through simple yet radical acts of love.
About the Author
Sarah Jackson is the founder and executive director of Casa de Paz, a hospitality home in Denver, Colorado, serving families separated by immigrant detention. Casa's family of over 900 volunteers provides hospitality for immigrants isolated in and leaving detention as well as their loved ones with visits, meals, shelter, and transportation, joining them in hope and emotional support through the arduous process of reunification. Sarah's mission is to help end the isolating experience of immigrant detention one simple act of love at a time.
Industry Reviews
'In this eye-opening debut, Jackson, executive director of immigrant hospitality organization Casa de Paz, explores the second commandment--'Love your neighbor as yourself'--as it relates to the fraught topic of immigration. With only a firm conviction that love makes a difference and her 600-square-foot Denver apartment, Jackson opened her home in 2012 to immigrants separated from family due to their immigration status. Casa de Paz (House of Peace) has since expanded to a three-bedroom home where Jackson has provided nearly 3,000 strangers with meals, rooms, and transportation. Jackson shares encounters with people like Agustin, a loving father who has been separated from his children for over a year, and Alejandro, whose wife was arrested after returning from her brother's funeral in Mexico. 'I met beautiful families and saw the indignities they endured, the tears they cried, the absence of their parents or spouses, and I wondered: What does God think?' In the end, she challenges Christian readers to similarly open their hearts and address immigrant rights head-on. Jackson's visionary account is a beautiful model of sacrificial love.'--Publishers Weekly Starred Review