Discovering Faith at a Christian Camp in Spain
January 30, 2026
This article originally appeared on gemission.com and is reposted here with permission.
The female counsellors at Spain’s L’Arcada Christian Camp never knew from week to week what type of campers they would have in their teepees. Would the girls be giggling and constantly whispering about boys, or would they be serious-minded seekers? It usually ended up being a combination of both and everything in between.
GEM worker Dani Rhodes, who worked on the camera crew while serving on the multimedia team for the camp, was used to seeing teenage girls arrive in shorts and sneakers, ready for a week in the dry, dusty terrain of the Pyrenees. Some were shy, and others boisterous; they either laughed nervously as they met new friends or shouted with glee at being reunited with old ones. The girls kissed each other on each cheek in the typical Spanish greeting.
One particular week, Dani couldn’t help but notice a young girl named Sofia. She stood out amongst the dark-eyed Spanish girls because her eyes were light grey and her hair several shades lighter. Fifteen-year-old Sofia looked familiar; she’d already been through a week of English Camp that summer. Now, she was back for Adventure Camp with three of her friends.
Throughout the week, Sofia and the other girls in her teepee listened carefully during the Bible sessions. They asked deep questions, carefully processing what they were hearing and hungry to know more. The theme of the week was “Obra Maestra,” or “Masterpiece,” taken from Ephesians 2:10:
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“
The girls’ questions prompted deep conversations that were unusual so early in the camp week. Some of them were already Christians growing in their faith, while Sofia still wrestled with questions arising from her family’s spiritual background. Her mother, an unbeliever, had sent her to L’Arcada because she had previously worked with the camp’s director and trusted that Sofia would have a fun experience in the mountains.
As Dani snapped photographs throughout the week, she noticed an increasingly thoughtful expression on Sofia’s face. Through the girl’s counsellors, she learned that Sofia believed in Jesus but wasn’t sure she understood what it meant to be a true follower of his.
“I believe, but what would living my life for Jesus really look like?” she kept asking.
On the last night of camp, during the celebration and open mic, Sofia stood up and shared her thoughts with the other campers and staff. Dani listened as the girl spoke of growing up in a Catholic family with unbelieving parents and a devout, traditional grandmother. Through her grandmother, Sofia had experienced Christianity through a ritualistic lens, learning through observation that faith was all about checking the boxes and doing things to earn God’s favour. She’d absorbed the idea that God just “might” save her if she could manage to be good enough.
“What people are telling me here at L’Arcada is different from what I’ve always heard about God,” she said into the microphone. “Here, I’ve learned that God is loving, that he wants to have a relationship with me, and that I can talk to him.”
Sofia went on to say that for the first time, during her weeks at the English and Adventure Camps, she had seen on display what a relationship with Jesus could look like. She had witnessed it not only in the camp counselors and other staff, but in her fellow campers who were Christians. Before her very eyes, they had lived out their faith, caring about others, studying the Bible, taking their faith seriously, yet able to have fun and enjoy life.
For Sofia, this was transformational.
“This is different from anything I have ever experienced,” she confessed, “and I want to have it in my life.”
The Bible studies, spiritual conversations, prayer times, and worship times had been a vital component of the camp week for Sofia. Still, ultimately, her heart had been changed by watching others humbly live out their faith.
Dani, who is studying the Spanish language in anticipation of serving full-time at L’Arcada, feels privileged to witness young people hear and consider the gospel in the breathtaking camp setting.
“Some of the kids who come to L’Arcada are already Christians,” says Dani, “but most of them aren’t. We never pressure them to respond. They are just loved by the staff and exposed to what the Bible says. For many, it’s their first time hearing that they can know God personally.”
If you want to know more about GEM’s involvement with camping ministries in Europe, contact: [email protected].
Author: Jenny Garrity is a Storyteller with Greater Europe Mission. Jenny and her husband Kim joined GEM in 1984. They have served in Germany, Belgium, and most recently, Greece in response to the refugee crisis.