Casa del Lago

A Brighter Future with Casa del Lago

“She was just 23, pregnant, new to the US, and very afraid,” says Steve Tenpenny, Director of Adult Education at Casa del Lago. Forced into marriage at the age of 14, Claudia had fled an abusive situation, leaving behind everything she knew because she wanted more for herself and the child she would bring into the world. She was living with an aunt and had no idea how she would provide for her child without any resources. She reached out to Casa del Lago for help.

At Casa del Lago, Claudia received strong spiritual and emotional support in counseling sessions with Vanessa, Pastoral Counselor, and she enrolled in our adult ESL program.

“Her Basic Level English teachers and students quickly surrounded her with love and support,” says Steve. “They threw a baby shower for her toward the end of the semester. Claudia was beaming because of the generosity shown by the Casa community.”

At one of our ministry events, Claudia was providentially connected with another ministry that took her cause to heart and provided her with items she would need for the baby: a stroller, a baby bed, and some additional furniture.

“Claudia had the baby toward the end of the summer and as soon as she could, she came to visit Casa to let us see the child that we all helped her bring into the world. She is so full of gratitude to God and for what He has done in her life through the love and support of the staff and students at Casa del Lago.”

What Claudia found at Casa del Lago was so much more than anything she had ever imagined when she arrived in the US. Claudia found a thriving, vibrant community that was ready to support her on her journey toward a better future for herself, her little one, and her family. 

Like Claudia, families who reach out to Casa del Lago for assistance find a welcoming, supportive community that is dedicated to meeting their material needs and pointing them to the hope found in Jesus Christ. 

The Bachman Lake neighborhood is an area of high need and there are few resources available to help families overcome generational poverty. 93% of the population is Hispanic, and 96% of the students enrolled in school are considered economically disadvantaged.

Despite the challenges and lack of resources many of our families regularly face, they are eager to take advantage of every opportunity to empower themselves through education, faith, and community. 

All of the programming at Casa del Lago has been specifically designed with families in mind. This multigenerational approach strengthens families by enabling them to grow together as they learn new skills and work toward a brighter future. 

From the ESL classes that Claudia participated in, to our Computer Literacy program, our Adult Education program helps our Bachman Lake neighbors learn and develop the skills they need in order to better provide for their families. All of our teachers are invested in the success of our students. That’s why Melanie, whose family moved across town, commutes from Garland twice a week to continue her ESL studies. She says, “There is no other place I want to learn than Casa del Lago.”

The Early Childhood Education (ECE) program helps prepare young children for school by addressing language gaps and nurturing pre-literacy skills such as vocabulary development, print awareness, letter recognition, and conversational skills. Parents and caregivers are also invited to participate in regular workshops as part of the ECE program, where they can learn how to create a supportive home environment for their children to learn and grow.

Our After School Reading (ASR) program provides reading intervention to students in the first through third grades who are struggling with reading. To prevent the dreaded “summer slide,” we also host Summer at the Lake (SATL), a reading enrichment camp designed to help our K-5 students grow as readers throughout the summer months. It is a fun, engaging experience that our kids look forward to every year, made all the more special because of our Summer Youth Corps (SYC). These are the counselors (ages 14-18) we hire every season to help make each summer a tremendous success.

Carter Lawson, our Director of Elementary School Literacy, says that one of his favorite stories from camp this year was about a young boy who had participated in ASR the previous spring. The boy was incredibly shy, but during SATL, as he began reciting weekly memory verses to earn a prize, he “became more involved in class, became more talkative and sociable, and it was so encouraging to see this young boy come out of his shell and enjoy learning. A small victory, but one still worth celebrating as he was in an environment where he felt safe, seen, and loved, which allowed him to open up and be himself!”