OUR MISSIONARIES

Hi, my name is Brigham. My beautiful wife, Jamie, and I have two fantastic little girls, Caris and Calla. I’m originally from Illinois and took my first trip with Casas at age 16. A few summers later I came back as an intern. That summer was a major turning point in my life that deepened my desire to serve God. Afterward, He opened up the opportunity for me to work in youth ministry for nine years. I joined Casas’ staff in the fall of 2016 to serve as the Intern Manager. I have the privilege of working for a ministry that has impacted and shaped my life in a tremendous way. We have been blessed by Casas, and now we want to be a blessing through Casas. We are excited about what God is going to bring about in our time here.

Hello, my name is José Ernesto García. I am from La Loma, but I currently live in Cañada Bonita, a municipality belonging to Navarrete. I am married with two children and I am a sports lover, especially baseball and softball, which I practice in my free time. I like to work in construction, which I know extensively and in detail because I had worked with my father and my older brother since I was a child. On the weekends, I perform with my band. I especially like to sing typical music (merengue). I have had the opportunity to work with Casas por Cristo since 2015. I have been dedicated and honest in my work with this ministry that I love.

Hello, my name is Jonatan. I was born and raised in Juarez, Mexico, and live with my parents and brother. We have lived close to the SHOC for the past three years, and my church is also close by. My first build with Casas por Cristo was as a volunteer in 2020 when Covid started and local volunteers were needed to build homes. My duties are to deliver materials to job sites and help maintain the SHOC and warehouse. I enjoy the work I do at Casas and also working for Christ.

Hi! My name is Manny, and I live in Navarrete, Dominican Republic. I have been a Christian since I was a teenager, and I have been working with a local ministry, Mas Que Creyentes, since 2015. Working alongside that ministry, I had the opportunity to help serve with Casas por Cristo building houses and driving. I have always loved serving people and helping teenagers grow in God’s way. I’ve been coaching basketball in the community for four years. In 2021, I had the opportunity to help and drive a great team that was here for a week. This was when I felt God pushing me to work with Casas. I officially joined staff in January 2022 as a Dominican Site Coordinator. I’m so excited to see this group of imperfect people doing the works of our perfect God.

Hi, my name is Luis Alberto Ichaj. I was born and raised in Guatemala. My wife, Telma, and I have a son named Ian. I started building with Casas por Cristo in 2020 as a volunteer, and with God's blessings, I joined the staff in 2022. I currently serve as a Site Coordinator in San Raymundo, Guatemala.

Hello, I’m Daniel! I grew up in Michigan near Detroit, and I graduated from college with a Bachelor’s in Computer Science. My first Casas mission trip was in 2012 with my church, and I really loved that trip. God really showed me that He can use anyone to do His will, and no one is beyond God’s love. That trip inspired me to start going on Casas trips once a year in the summer with my church, and each one was a blessing in its own way. In 2020, I was able to extend my favorite week of the year into my favorite three months of the year by doing an internship, and again in 2022. In each internship, God revealed himself to me in different ways, and I was blessed to take part in spreading the love of God. Now, I’ve been blessed once again with the opportunity to help advance the kingdom of God and work with Casas por Cristo. I’m excited to see what God has planned for the future of this ministry.

Hi everyone! My name is Cayla Kiehl. I am originally from Missouri where I was born and raised. I graduated from the University of Missouri in December 2020. I went on my first trip with Casas in the summer of 2018. Soon after, I felt God leading me towards pursuing missions with Casas further. I spent the next two summers as an intern, first building homes in Juárez, then working in their finance department in El Paso where I met my husband, Justin. Most recently, I was able to serve in the Admin department through Casas' residency program before joining staff in September 2021 as a Finance & Store Coordinator. God has been actively working on my heart through Casas and the city of El Paso, and I am excited to be serving in God’s Kingdom and loving His people however He calls me to!

Greetings! I'm Justin Kirklin. I have a beautiful wife named Julie, and three kids, Eli, Emily, and Ethan. Julie and I met in our home state of Michigan and attended Ferris State University together. We were both introduced to Casas por Cristo through our campus ministry and fell in love with Casas. We married in 2008. In 2009, we accepted a position with the ministry and moved to El Paso to start our wonderful ministry together with the rest of the Casas staff. After spending 2014 to 2018 launching our Dominican Republic location, we are now back in El Paso, TX serving in our main office. We look forward to our continued service and ministry to our teams and the families we minister to!

Greetings! My name is Jackie, and I am beyond thrilled to be joining the Guatemala team as a Field Coordinator. I am a mom of five with one son (Xavier) left at home. I also have three precious grandchildren. In March 2020, I joined a build in Acuña, Mexico with my son’s youth group. The Lord ignited a fire in my heart for this ministry immediately. Since that first build, God has provided the opportunity for me to serve on 21 builds in Mexico and Guatemala. As a full-time homeschool mom, I had dreams of interning as soon as Xavier graduated, but the Lord called me to join Casas full-time in Guatemala before that. My favorite day of a Casas trip has always been the first because it is the day I have the most days “in country”. Living in Guatemala means that every day will be my favorite day “in country”! A close second is the last day when we worship with the family and thank God for the provision and hope He provides to His people. Every build and dedication reminds me how abundantly God gives, and how He delights in us when we offer ourselves as a vessel for His work in the Kingdom. We are thrilled to be serving here and we can’t wait to meet and serve with you!

Hey, I'm Wilfred. I started helping Casas in 2017 after the ministry provided my family with a home. I didn't know how to speak English when I started helping Casas and did not know much about construction either. I was able to attend an English academy for nine months in 2018, and the staff has been teaching me how to build homes. During this process, I fell in love with what Casas por Cristo does for families because they don't build a house, they build relationships with God. That's what I hope to be able to do - help more families grow closer to God.

Hey, my name is Kyle St. Amand, and I am from Hartselle, Alabama. I first served with Casas while my home church was doing their first build in Acuña in 2011. I have been working for Casas since October of 2017 and have been in the Guatemala location since January 2018. I married my beautiful wife, Hannah, in May of 2019 and she moved down to join me in Guatemala the day after our wedding. We have been enjoying this experience that God has put us on and look forward to what he will provide in the future. God is doing great things through this ministry, and we are happy to be a small part of it.

Hello, ladies and gentlemen. We are Darrell and RuthAnn Story. We serve as the Nicaragua Field Manager and Field Coordinator. Darrell was raised in Honduras as a missionary kid, and RuthAnn was raised by a strong Christian Mom in Davenport, Iowa. We both have served our professional careers and have retired. We knew in 2019 that God was opening our hearts to serve him using our hands (Ex. 31:3-6) with Casas por Cristo. Our four daughters, four sons-in-law, and ten grandchildren are equally excited to see how God writes the next chapter of our Story as people come to know Christ through Casas.

Hey, I’m Madi! I grew up in Edmond, OK and graduated from Oklahoma State University in May of 2021 with a Bachelor of Arts in Global Studies and a minor in Spanish. I am currently working on earning my Master's in Intercultural Studies from Fuller Theological Seminary. I’ve been on builds since 2011 and have served previously in two internships - one in Guatemala in 2018 and one in Juarez in 2020. Now, I am serving with Casas por Cristo as a Field Coordinator. I am so blessed to be a part of what God is doing in Mexico through the ministry of Casas por Cristo. It is profound to be a part of His missional movement in the world, and to be able to combine my two great passions (Christ and Latin America) is a dream come true.

Hi! We are Chris & Becky Summerlot. I (Chris) am a carpenter from Indianapolis, Indiana. During my first trip with Casas por Cristo in 2008, I fell in love with it immediately and applied for an internship in 2009. Instead of the internship, God had other plans for me like growing spiritually and starting a family with my beautiful bride, Becky, and our two sons, Matthew and Jonathan. In 2019, after going on multiple builds in Juárez, Acuña, and San Raymundo, organizing three Casas trips for my home church, and leading two builds as a Casas volunteer, God finally opened the door for us to work full-time at Casas. I love Casas because it mirrors the Gospel message by giving the free gift of a home, just like the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. We are excited to use our God-given gifts to further His Kingdom with Casas por Cristo.

Hi, my name is Michael Vo. I am a small-town boy from West Point, Georgia, and I went on my first Casas trip when I was a sophomore in high school! Although it didn’t hook me right away, it definitely caught my eye. I came back the following year, and on that build, I felt attached to the people of Mexico as well as to working in ministry. I did a summer internship as soon as I could and loved it! Fast forward a couple of years, and I found myself doing another internship, but this time it was with the intent to someday work for Casas full time! I am very excited to be a helping hand in expanding God's kingdom here in Júarez!

My name is Nick Wille. I am from St. Louis, Missouri. My first and only trip was back in 2007 when I was a freshman in high school. It was my first time out of the country for a mission trip, and it was an amazing and eye opening experience for me. I've since graduated with a degree in Industrial Technology from Ranken Technical college in St. Louis. I love to work with my hands and build things. I also volunteered a lot with my home church youth group and loved working with the students. I've completed two internships with Casas por Cristo during the summers of 2014 and 2015. They were awesome opportunities. I met great new friends and just fell in love with the ministry. I am now working in Acuña Mexico. I love getting to be the hands and feet of Christ, and I'm so excited to see what God has for me and Acuña.