Once a year Northern Virginia Baptist Hispanic churches meet to bring kids together for fun, worship and learning about faith. This year’s theme was 4G: For God nothing is impossible and He will never leave us. One of the best parts of this annual program is the Latino leadership. There are few opportunities in which kids from Casa Chirilagua are invited to participate in an event that is lead by exclusively Latino leadership. Most of the time when students and parents attend public events, they are primarily in English which leads them to feel like they are foreigners in a strange land. Congreso Kids is an open event where they feel at home.

For the first time, Casa Chirilagua had six parent chaperones. It was amazing to see the parents having so much fun with their kids, and the kids with their parents. The dads did a great job facilitating some of the game stations and being engaged throughout the whole event. We observed one father in particular who is generally quiet and introverted in the community come out of his shell. We were surprised that he volunteered to join us on this event. As the day progressed, he began to open up and we saw a side of him we have never experienced. This father not only helped facilitate his student group moving from station to station, but also took over a station and initiated a game with the kids. This event was a major event in the life of this father with his children and the larger community.

Our hope and prayer is that Casa Chirilagua will continue to be a home for the stranger in a foreign land. Most importantly, we hope that events where Christ is exalted will be attractive to the community. Please pray that we can build up local community leaders so that we ,as an organization, can become a welcome place for both children and parents.