On a sleepless night in Nairobi, Kenya, Lazmhy Gallo Hernandez suddenly had an idea about what she could do when she returned to her home parish, St. Charles Borromeo in Peoria, Ariz.
Gallo Hernandez decided to develop programming called “Glimpses of Heaven” for her parish’s teen group.
“When we were in Kenya, oftentimes participants were saying this is what heaven would look like,” she shared. “It came to me randomly. I was being woken up by the sheep outside and it came to me.”
One of eight young adults from the Diocese of Phoenix who travelled to Kenya in June, Gallo Hernandez was part of the inaugural cohort of the Engage Your Equal (E.Y.E.) program.
Bishop John Dolan created E.Y.E. to encourage young adults to engage with the universal Church and connect with communities abroad. An important component of E.Y.E. is the post-trip project, an opportunity for participants to share their experience with local ministries throughout the diocese.
The sense of authentic community Gallo Hernandez felt in Kenya drove her to address gaps in her parish. Through her “Glimpses of Heaven” program, Gallo Hernandez seeks to bring her international experience to teenagers in need of connection. As youth minister at St. Charles Borromeo, she is well-positioned to create bridges.
“We have the desire to be in community here,” Gallo Hernandez shared, “but it was hard to look for that or even find it. In the youth ministry, I really wanted to provide opportunities to teens to have that sense of community, whether it was by the chants we learned in Kenya or through serving others.”
Gallo Hernandez’s “Glimpses of Heaven” invites teens to write letters to members of the local homeless population, volunteer at sites like Andre House and serve others. Through retreats, events and meetings, the teens learn ways to give back and develop new perspectives as they build community within their group and publicly express their faith.
After Mass on Nov. 23, the Solemnity of Christ the King, the teens met at Black Rock Coffee Bar for their weekly, public bible study. The teens told Gallo Hernandez that they would be ready to share the Good News if strangers approached them.
The teens also want to share their sense of community with nearby parishes and young adults worldwide.
“In order to close that gap, we are planning our first Advent volleyball tournament, and we want to invite parishes around St. Charles and even from the East Valley,” Gallo Hernandez noted. Parishioners and other ministries at St. Charles Borromeo, such as the Knights of Columbus, are coming together to support the event.
Gallo Hernandez’s teens hope to go to the 2027 World Youth Day in Korea, and she is encouraging them to first form community in Phoenix that they can then take abroad.
“I think it’s really important to show the kids that if they desire community, they don’t have to go to Kenya for it. It’s possible to have it here.”
St. Charles Borromeo’s young adult ministry — which had its first meeting while Gallo Hernandez was in Kenya — is seeking to expand too. Gallo Hernandez hopes to foster links between the youth and young adults of her parish in the future through mentorship programs.
Abigail Simon, an E.Y.E. participant from Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Scottsdale, Ariz., also works with children and young adults as an eighth-grade teacher and leader of her parish’s Magnify Young Adult Ministry. She dreamt of going to Africa for years before E.Y.E. gave her the opportunity.
“I now use Kenyan phrases in my classroom, teach my students parts of their culture and educate the young adults in Magnify about what Catholic Social Teaching is and what it looks like internationally and right here in our backyard,” Simon stated.
Simon’s ministry at Our Lady of Perpetual Help fosters faith and fellowship, and she provides a place for people to create authentic friendships through weekly Mass, eucharistic adoration and hangouts.
“But possibly the greatest thing I do nowadays? I engage my equal right here in Phoenix,” Simon shared. “I look people in the eye again, serve the poor on the street, the lonely in store lines or just the stranger in our neighborhoods.
“Who knows? Some say those are the angels or even Christ among us.”
Gallo Hernandez likewise believes forming community can be a way for young adults to improve their relationship with God. Challenging youths’ views on the Church is a positive first step.
“Through the E.Y.E. program, my teens and I have received a new lens in which we view ministry as our community, not just a mandatory place,” Gallo Hernandez stated.
“The E.Y.E. program has changed lives, not only in Kenya through friendships we created, but also through the examples we brought back home.”
For more information and to apply for the E.Y.E. 2026 cohort, click here. Applications close Dec. 15.
