A Family Finds A Family

At a Salvation Army soup kitchen, Cathleen Virgalla and her children found practical help—and more.

When Cathleen Virgalla and her eight children walked into a Salvation Army soup kitchen two years ago, she was just looking for a meal. She found that and more—love, support, and maybe even her future as a leader.

At the corps in Bristol, Conn., Virgalla heard about youth programming for her children, and they soon began participating. Today, she often puts her culinary arts degree to use by serving in that same soup kitchen.

“We just instantly knew there was more that could happen there,” Captain Shareena Echavarria, a corps officer in Bristol, said of that first meeting. “We invited her to church, and we invited her kids to our programs.”

Some of Virgalla’s kids started learning musical instruments and went to Star Search during The Salvation Army’s annual Commissioning Weekend in Hershey, Pa. They also are active in Bible Bowl and youth group, while Virgalla has immersed herself in women’s ministries and Bible studies at the corps.

“They really put themselves into everything we have,” Echavarria said.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”

—2 Corinthians 1:3–4

Turning the tide

Virgalla, 38, has gone all-in because she wants a better life for her children than the upbringing she had. As a child, Virgalla said, she was sexually abused and spent her formative years in foster care in Connecticut, bouncing around between five different homes from the age of 8. God was not a part of her life.

“Some of the foster homes were good and some were not,” Virgalla said. “I really didn’t go to church when I was younger. I just started going a few years ago at The Salvation Army.

“I was going through a rough patch and didn’t trust and didn’t know which way I was going, and I joined the church. It gave me a hope that everything was going to be OK. He’s there whenever I need Him and He’s like a father to me. I can call on Him for anything.”

She started seeing God move mountains.

Virgalla had been separated from her younger siblings, including twins James and Katie, since childhood, but she reconnected with them both last summer when her sister found her on Facebook. The twins, who are six years younger, also went to foster care when Virgalla’s family fell apart, and she lost track of them. Now, they text one another daily, and last year, they spent Christmas together.

She has now been reunited with most of her family, and Virgalla believes she has hope to offer others who feel disconnected from their families.

“I was happy and excited to find my brother and sister,” she said. “I knew the Lord would one day help me find my brothers and sisters—in His time.”

Cathleen Virgalla in the sanctuary of the Bristol, Conn., Salvation Army. She has attended Salvation Army leadership seminars in hopes of being a leader someday.

Finding their way

“God made that happen,” she said of the unlikely reunion. “You can overcome things like that. You just have to talk about it and there’s help out there for it. You’re never alone. You can pray to God that He stays with you and heals you. You can talk to Him about anything. He’s your friend. I tell my kids all the time, ‘He’s your friend.’ You can tell Him anything.”

That spiritual guidance seems to be rubbing off on her children, especially Jordan, 17, Heaven, 16, and Summer, 14, who has talked about becoming a Salvation Army officer even at her young age.

Jordan is involved in Bible Bowl, Corps Cadets, Sunday school, and the soup kitchen at the corps.

“We just help out the community with the soup kitchen,” he said. “I like meeting people and all the experiences. I learned to help people in my community, and it was definitely a good experience.”

Heaven learned to play the cornet and is involved in Bible Bowl, while Summer has joined them in Bible Bowl and served God through drama and dance. “I’ve learned a lot about God, things I didn’t know before,” Summer said of her experiences.

Everyone in church

Virgalla, Jordan, and Heaven became Salvation Army soldiers, a form of church membership, on Resurrection Sunday two years ago.

“I enjoy having my whole family go to The Salvation Army,” she said. “They’re all doing a lot better in school. It’s helping them to have a more positive attitude and teaching them self-respect and self-discipline.

“They’re like family to me at The Salvation Army and they still call to see if I’m OK. I want my kids to know He’s the one that put them on this earth, and you can go to Him for anything and He’ll answer your prayers.”

The feeling of family was never stronger than when Virgalla felt overwhelmed and needed help cleaning and organizing her home. Echavarria showed up to clean and organize, and Virgalla’s entire family cried because they were so grateful.

“I wanted her to see that we are the hands and feet of Jesus, and we really do care about the family,” Echavarria said. “She needed a little bit of a lift, and it jump-started her spiri­tually. She came back with a bounce in her step knowing she had some help.”

Virgalla also took three of her older children to the LEAD 2024 Leadership Training Conference last year at Camp Allegheny in Pennsylvania.

“I wanted to learn more about Jesus and to become a leader one day, and maybe even an officer,” Virgalla said. “I was hoping my kids would become leaders and learn different leadership skills and I think they did.”

Bowed but not broken

Echavarria said the family faced financial hardship recently and moved to nearby Middletown, Conn., after their landlord raised the rent, but she sees Virgalla as someone striving to grow in Christ.

“Despite all the difficulties she’s faced in her life, she really has risen above them, and we praise God for that,” Echavarria said. “We’re really proud to have her as a member of our team.

“She’s asking more questions and digging deeper into God’s Word. She is trying to put her all into everything we have to offer at the corps like Bible study and Sunday school. She’s hungry for the Word and to learn more and I think that’s going to have a big impact as a spiritual influence over her children. That’s our prayer.”

Virgalla and her husband, Victor, who does not attend the corps, have five other children, including Jaden, 12; twins Jasmine and Destiny, 8; Serenity, 5; and Roion, 3. Jaden is on the autism spectrum and has occasionally been hospitalized for behavioral issues. The entire family has learned to lean heavily on God.

“I needed God to direct me down the right path and which way to turn to get help,” she said. “Jaden’s doing a lot better now. A friend of mine from church had similar issues with her grandson. I was there to help her.”

Helping others through life

Being a mother of eight is a lot to deal with sometimes, but Virgalla prays over her children each night and believes she can help other young mothers just trying to cope.

“I’ve learned to never give up and to keep going in life,” she said, “because there is a reward at the end of the tunnel.”

Virgalla sees Echavarria and others at the corps as encouragers as she makes her way through life and grows as a mother and Christian woman.

“Whenever you need something, they’re there for you,” she said. “If you’re feeling sick or you need anything, you can go to them and talk to them and not feel ashamed. They will talk to you about anything.”

The Bristol Salvation Army has also sent Virgalla to divisional and territorial events to grow in her faith, and she is buoyed about the future.

“I’ve learned a lot of things since I joined the church,” she said. “I’m a lot happier. I want to be there to help people and bring them into the church that need to be saved. I can tell them how Christ helped me overcome many obstacles in my life and helped me overcome my past.”

Photography by J. Fiereck Photography