Casa Chirilagua

One afternoon while Rachel and Dawnielle were cleaning the kitchen, they heard a shuffling on the back deck. Dawnielle peeked out the back door and found 11 year old Fernando sitting on the patio chair. She asked him if he’d like to come in and get some help with his homework, to which he replied, “Yes.” He sat at the kitchen table working on number sentences and exponents but seemed distracted. He looked up and said, “Ms. D, I’ve been better at school this week. I’ve been listening and I haven’t been getting into as much trouble. I also started using my moment of silence to pray and that really helps me focus for the day.”

The news came – I would be spending my 7-week InterVarsity urban program in Chirilagua, a Latino immigrant community between Alexandria and Arlington Virginia. I would be living in Casa Chirilagua, an intentional community (and newly forming not-for-profit) and would be helping with Kid’s Club and any other ministry needs for the summer. I had so many questions: What would Chirilagua be like? Would the Spanish-English language barrier be a problem, or would it be a chance to grow? Who would I meet and what would they teach me? Who would God bring into my life, and how would He use them to challenge me? So began a summer of challenges – a summer of questions – a summer at Casa Chirilagua!

Pablo is one of those kids who can make even the most seasoned child care professional consider another career path. When his mom asked if he could be part of our after school tutoring efforts, we were excited to accept him. Within a few months I was telling Emily that he just needed to be kicked out of the program due to his terrible behavior. He was a problem and a distraction for the other children.

In July, we attended a children’s conference at a local church with 10 children from the neighborhood. During the program, the children were told about missionaries whose lives were in danger because they would tell people about Jesus in places where it is illegal. Claudia looked up at me and said, “Ms. D, why do people get mad for talking about Jesus?” I explained to her that we should all have the ability to choose what we believe about God but there are governments that only want their people to believe what they teach them or not believe there is a God at all. Then she said, “Ms. D, Why would people live in a place that is dangerous to talk about Jesus? Are their kids going to get hurt?”