Ex-gays and and ex-transgenders will prayerfully rally and march in Washington, D.C. this weekend to proclaim the freedom they have found through Jesus Christ.
What is perhaps most striking about the lineup of speakers for the rally, which will be Saturday at the outdoor Sylvan Theatre on the Washington Monument grounds, is their youth and racial diversity.
Luis Ruiz, who survived Orlando, Florida’s horrific Pulse Nightclub massacre two years ago where 49 were killed, said, “I should have been number 50!”
“Going through old pictures of the night of Pulse, I remember my struggles of perversion, heavy drinking to drown out everything and having promiscuous sex that led to HIV,” said Ruiz in a Facebook posting. “My struggles were real! The enemy had its grip, and now God has taken me from that moment and has given me Christ Jesus.”
“I know who I am and I am not defined with who the enemy says I use to be,” continued Ruiz, “but who Christ Jesus says I am.”
Meet Luis Ruiz (Pulse nightclub shooting survivor):
I should have been number 50! Going through old pictures of the night of Pulse, I remember my struggles of perversion, heavy drinking to drown out everything and having promiscuous sex that led to HIV. My struggles were real ! The enemy had its grip, and now God has taken me from that moment and has given me Christ Jesus. I've grown to know His love in a deeper level. 2 out of the 49 were my close friends and are no longer with us. They lost their life that night. I should have been number 50 but now I have the chance to live in relationship and not religion - not just loving Christ but being in love with Christ and sharing His love. I know who I am and I am not defined with who the enemy says I use to be - but who Christ Jesus says I am.
#FreedomMarch
Another speaker, Adonis Bemish, is a courageous, self-aware young man who despite living with same-sex attraction has discovered for himself the “peace which surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7). He says that his homosexuality and “gay feelings” which defined him previously have been superseded by his relationship with God. He now sees himself as God does: “I’m beloved; I am worth more than what I ever thought I could be worth.”
“The objective isn’t being straight,” says Ronald McCray, another Freedom March speaker. “The objective is being holy.”
And Freedom March organizer Jeffrey McCall states unequivocally “transgenders can change!” and provides pictures showing his own transformation.
Jeffrey McCall
“These persons are the most maligned, vilified, and ridiculed people on the planet right now,” said writer Jason Salamone, speaking of the Freedom March participants. “The Left tells us that these people and their journey aren't real. But I will tell you that through my communication with them, they and their stories are as real and authentic as it gets.”
“The LGBT – Letting Go of Biological Truth – activists and advocates treat this group of people like racist slave owners of the past treated former slaves that found a way to be free from the chains and confines of their plantation” continued Salamone.
Daren Mehl, president of Voice of the Voiceless and a participant in this weekend’s Freedom March, identified as gay from high school through his late twenties. He is now married and Daren and his wife are parents to two children, thanks to “extreme spiritual truth seeking through weekly prayer with a brother in the faith.”
Elizabeth Johnston, famously known as The Activist Mommy, will also be speaking at the event.
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"Let the redeemed of the Lord say so" (Psalm 107:2).
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery" (Galatians 5:1).