The Cuirim Story

The Cuirim story begins with Brian and Kirsten Donohue meeting in Chicago.  From the very beginning, they dreamed of being involved in missions, and during long walks in the neighborhoods along Lake Michigan, the framework for Cuirim Outreach was developed.  In the summer of '95, the Donohues accepted an invitation to start a youth ministry at a church in Virginia.  The next ten years were full with Bible studies, camping trips, and conversations with people who would become partners in establishing Cuirim Outreach.  In '96 the Donohues bought their farmhouse.  At the time, it was an auto junkyard, but after years of renovation, it has become a pleasant, little farm with animals, gardens, a guest cottage, and a chapel. The transition of their land from an auto junkyard to a beautiful farm, was a foretaste of the type of transformation that would occur in their ministry as well.

In the fall of 2003, Brian and Kirsten purchased a little house in a neighborhood of Nogales, Mexico. Their ministry in Nogales took off, and by the summer of 2004, Cuirim House was in full swing. It hasn’t stopped. In 2005, the Donohues rented out their farm in Virginia, stepped down from their church’s youth ministry, drove across the country, and moved into Cuirim House.  In the summer of 2006, the Kid's Cafe was built, and a local man, Miguel, was hired to run it.  In the fall, Cuirim Outreach was officially established as a new 501(c)3 non-profit.

Over the next few years, the ministry grew rapidly.  New groups, from all over the US, came each year.  The Kid's Cafe opened up.  A sports park was built, along with a drug rehab center.  New leaders emerged in the neighborhood, and subsequently, Brian had opportunities to work beside them and teach on the Kingdom of God.

You can read more about Nogales, Navajoa, and Ireland, on other pages.