“I didn’t see myself being a leader at all,” said Delilah Garcia, a sophomore at Pomona College in California. “But since I’ve let God use me, powerful things have happened.” Delilah co-leads a Bible study for LaFe, InterVarsity’s ministry to Latino students, and in the past year she’s seen in her life and in the lives of her parents and classmates how God’s love changes people.
Loving God
Delilah (wearing red in the photo) became a Christian in eighth grade, after she had been attending a Bible study with her aunt. Her own parents were not Christians—her dad was a former drug addict, and her mom didn’t want Delilah to go to church. Delilah prayed for them for years, but she grew discouraged by their indifference towards God. At times, Delilah felt alone in her family and distant from God.
Then Delilah began college and met Sam, an InterVarsity student who invited her to a LaFe Bible study. Delilah accepted. “I went to InterVarsity and realized this was the community I needed to help me stay connected to God,” she said. As she studied the Bible with her new small group, Delilah’s love for God and His Word deepened, and her desire to follow Him was renewed.
Sam noticed Delilah’s eagerness to grow in her faith, and asked if she would consider being a leader within InterVarsity. He began mentoring her as she helped lead a Bible study. Delilah also planned to attend InterVarsity’s Los Angeles Urban Project (LAUP) in the summer.
But her parents’ lack of faith continued to bother her. She began praying for them again, and before she left for the summer, she had an encouraging conversation with her mom. While Delilah was at LAUP, she heard that her parents had begun attending church, and later that her mom wanted to be baptized and that her dad had gotten involved on the worship team. Seeing her parents’ grow while she was serving in the inner city with LAUP made Delilah excited to return to campus to share God’s love with more people.
“I was a lot more passionate about reaching out to people and seeing them grow,” she said. “Seeing the change I had made over the year from one person really investing in me, I thought ‘Oh, I could do this for others.’ I wanted to let God use me in this way.”
Loving God’s People
On campus, the LaFe small group Bible study took off – more than a dozen students began coming and members showed up each week eager to learn from God. As so many of the members were new Christians, Delilah and her co-leader changed the study to focus on who Jesus is and how to grow in relationship with God.
One student, Lucy, joined the group, despite having doubts about God. She asked the group a lot of hard questions. As she continued to study the Bible, Lucy found her faith strengthened and began to share her insights with newer members. “I can see a change in her,” said Delilah. “God is speaking through her.”
Another member, Maria, joined the study last year as a non-Christian. Over the course of the year, Maria accepted Jesus into her life. Now she plans to spend her summer with LAUP, serving God in the inner city. Delilah describes Maria as becoming “passionate about following God and praying for people.”
For these women and other Bible study members, Delilah sees LaFe as meeting a deep need for Pomona students. “It’s very hard to find community—real community,” she said. “LaFe is where people can open up and be honest with each other. It’s a place where people have gotten to know God and have community at the same time. It’s not just about once a week meeting for Bible study. It’s about building relationships.”
From her relationship with her parents to her growing LaFe family on campus, Delilah sums up her experience with Paul’s words in Romans 8:28: “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”
“My coming to Pomona was things working for the good,” said Delilah. “And I do love him.”
