Although Jeanette’s family was very involved in their church, she arrived as a freshman at UCLA uncertain in her faith. When asked about coming to Destino at the beginning of the semester, she wasn’t very interested.
But as the semester continued, some things changed for Jeanette. She decided to try out a Destino Bible study and then asked staff member Sarah if they could talk more about the Bible and her faith. Sarah invited her to join a Friday afternoon discipleship appointment that she has with another student. Although she was eager to meet with them, Jeanette goes home to her family almost every weekend, which is very common among Latino students. However, Jeanette asked if she could Skype into the meeting.
Jeanette has been learning and growing as she connects virtually for a weekly small group discipleship meeting. She even went to church with a friend from Destino. “It is clear God is moving in her life,” said Lauren Pottenger, a Destino staff member at UCLA. “We have affectionately dubbed the time diSkypleship.”
Students are often as comfortable connecting through video as face-to-face. Staff member Kai has had great success meeting with one of the Destino leaders at USC over video chat one week and in person the next week. Also, Natalie, a recent UCLA Destino alumni has started a weekly small group with some of her fellow alumni from Destino and a few current students. Even though Natalie is in San Diego, she is still able to connect with Christian community and influence the lives of these younger women.
Though these virtual connections students’ lives are being changed.