This June, a group from Oregon Conference Hispanic Ministries embarked on Next, an educational journey through the Nordic countries of Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Denmark. Forty-four people from a total of 14 Hispanic churches participated in the trip. Thirty-nine of the of the 44 were young adults.
 
Next, an initiative created by Pastor David Paczka, director of Oregon Conference Hispanic Ministries, and Maricela Paczka, associate director of Oregon Conference Hispanic Ministries, focused on empowering youth adult leadership, spiritual growth, education, and, of course, the bonding experience of visiting new countries alongside friends. With the help of a local pastor in Sweden, Pastor Daniel Nuñes, the group spent two weeks visiting historical locations, museums, and enjoying other activities. Learning the rich history of Nordic cultures and different styles of leadership allowed for the group to reflect on what the Gospel can do for different societies. Each country had a delegated pastor who shared a spiritual message focused on the historical context of the place they were visiting. One topic of discussion was the history of Protestantism in Nordic culture, and how biblical principles helped shape and grow the society we see there today.
 
One powerful experience during the trip was shared by Pastor Levy Laureano who, while walking down a street in Norway on a Friday evening, heard Christian music being played. “It really touched me,” he said, “because this country is very atheistic, very agnostic. I felt like I was holding back tears.” As it turned out, a group of various churches had gathered to worship and share testimonies together that night – an unusual occurrence. When they realized that they were in the company of a Christian group from the United States, they switched into singing in English in an effort to worship together. “You could say we had something like a Friday night vespers in Norway that night, and I thought that was pretty awesome,” said Pastor Levy.
 
The group visited numerous churches on their trip, many of which had been conserved as monuments by the government even though no services are held in them anymore. One participant, Alexis Pacheco, shared how shocking it was to see how small the church in Norway was, though it is growing. She also shared how the experience inspired her to participate more in her own church, and to collaborate with other churches in her home conference.
 
Next not only helped train a new generation of youth leaders, but it also helped connect them with their wider community and with each other. Many of those on the trip admitted that although they had seen each other before the trip, sharing this experience together allowed them to draw closer together and get to know each other on a deeper level, and inspired them to look forward to seeing each other again at area events like camp meeting.
 
“This trip made me realize how strong you have to be to be a leader,” shared Janeo Ramirez, “but when a leader is one hundred percent with God they think critically, they don’t give up, they persevere, and they’re resilient. That’s something I learned throughout this trip.”

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