Fabiola grew up going to church, loving the traditions. Her abuela would say, “Every little prayer is a step closer to heaven,” so Fab’s faith centered on praying and being a “good girl.” When she was nine, Fab’s family came to the U.S. She set out to prove she was American. “I didn’t want anything to do with being Mexican or singled out as Latina, so I assimilated quickly.” She learned English, made American friends almost exclusively, forgot about church and took up American hobbies like dance team.
In college, Fab enjoyed a good party. Then she’d go to a Christian group to still “do the right thing.”
God used a conference that Fab attended to speak truth that opened her heart: Jesus died to forgive her because of His great love for her. “I thought of God as a bossy god who just wanted us to pray and not have any fun. But I was believing things that weren’t true.”
Then God used another conference, Destino’s Winter Conference, in Fab’s life. There, she learned He made her the way she is. He made her “brown” for a reason. “He very purposefully made me who I am, how I am. I sat there surrounded by people like me, and it was OK. Being Latina was actually celebrated!”
“I came to know the Lord at a conference; He spoke to me about my ethnic identity at Destino Winter Conference. You can go to get away, hang with friends, as something to do…lots of reasons, yet what a great place to grow!”