At Faith/La Fe in Phoenix, we are blessed to have some young adults that are active in ministry on all levels. Two of them, Geraldine Carrillo and Sam Perez, recently served as lead counselors for Lutheran Campformation at Camp Pinerock in Prescott. Both of them were assigned to work with the GAP (God’s Always Present) Campers, a new opportunity for 10th grade youth to begin learning counselor leadership skills. Geraldine and Sam excelled as role models and leaders for their campers, and helped to raise up new leaders at camp and in the church at-large. 

But they aren’t done yet! Geraldine and Sam were both selected to participate in the Young Adult Exchange Program with L’Eglise Lutherienne du Senegal and, at the time of this writing, they are on a plane to Senegal with other young adults from our synod. They jumped at this opportunity for a variety of reasons.

For Geraldine, the ELCA’s model of accompaniment:

“helps us understand mission differently. It means we realize that our stores are not divided by boundaries, but both come together within God’s story…. The way my Nicaraguan culture embraces faith is mainly through music…. I look forward to learning about how Senegalese people embrace faith.” 

And Sam writes,

“I hope to open my eyes to how other people live their lives and their customs...and the things that bring them joy. I hope to make new friends...I hope through this experience I will learn more about myself, my faith, and what brings me joy and what I really need to be happy.”