ELCA Pastor Empowers Latino Youth Through Faith and Resilience

Carlos Ferrera was born and raised in Waukegan, Ill., where his parents settled after emigrating from Honduras in the 1990s. They worked night shifts to provide for Ferrera and his older brother, seeking a safer life far from the violence they had known in their native country. Despite having no extended family nearby, they found a spiritual home at Sagrado Corazon Lutheran Church, which became Ferrera’s anchor.

For Ferrera’s mother, the church became more than a sanctuary—it was a cultural hub. She found fellow Hondurans, even some from her hometown, and leaned on that community when she lost a newborn child. Ferrera’s father, one of 10 children, worked hard to bring over four of his younger siblings from Honduras. They moved into a small apartment across the street from Ferrera’s family, becoming stand-in parents for him and his brother while their own worked long hours.

One constant presence in Ferrera’s young life was Hector Carrasquillo, then a pastor of Sagrado Corazon. “I was maybe 6 when I started noticing him,” Ferrera remembers. “He had this energy. You could feel it before he even became the lead pastor.”

At 16, Ferrera left high school to play soccer professionally in Spain. But the COVID-19 pandemic hit just as he arrived, forcing him into lockdown with a stranger in a cramped apartment. Isolated and unprepared, he struggled. “I’d sacrificed everything for soccer,” he said, “and suddenly I was cut off from everything—my family, the game, my future.”

With help from an aunt who had recently moved to Spain, Ferrera found a new place to stay. But those months in close quarters were hard. He cried often. When Spain’s travel ban was lifted, he couldn’t get home fast enough.

Back in Waukegan, he found more hardship. His family was evicted from their home—and, later, their storage unit, filled with precious memories. They moved into his uncle’s basement.

Ferrera returned to high school online. The screen time required reminded him of his loneliness in Spain, but he was determined to earn his diploma. “If I couldn’t help pay the bills, I could at least graduate,” he said.

The instability took a toll. “Some wounds never seem to heal,” he said, reflecting on the challenges he faced. Yet, through it all, Ferrera’s story is one of resilience and faith, shaped by the support of his community and the guidance of mentors like Carrasquillo.

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