Casa Chirilagua

Mujeres de Virtud meets monthly to share stories and Jesus with a growing group of Latina women, many of whom do not attend church or profess a relationship with the Lord. Emily Snyder has been a large part of getting this group started here in Alexandria and inviting our neighbors to take part. With Emily’s upcoming wedding, it was decided to have a wedding shower for her at the August meeting.


The shower was complete with a potluck of delicious food, cake, and goofy games. Friends of Casa Chirilagua volunteered their time to provide rides to the church and to watch the children while the women relaxed together.

Matt Hoppe is excited for the opportunity to live in the community where he is teaching. After four years of commuting over 30 minutes to school everyday, it has been a treat to ride his bike to and from work each day through the neighborhood where many of his students live. While many teachers relish the time each evening to escape from the world of students and curriculum, Matt has enjoyed returning home to find children sitting in his living room waiting for a little help with their math.

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!