My Father was an alcoholic. He died when I was 13 years old on Christmas Eve in Mexico. We came to America running away from him wanting a better life since he used to beat up my mom a lot.

I grew up. Finished high school. Had a son in High school that I still haven’t met because my ex-girlfriend took him away from me. Graduated from college. Got a Masters degree in Teaching English as a Second Language (ESL). Married a
man in Denmark for 4 years. We got divorced because gay couples didn’t have any immigration rights so I couldn’t bring him to America.

I got a job teaching English in South Korea teaching spoiled rich kids.
Decided to teach the poor kids instead and took a bus to the country side and taught mostly poor kids.
I started drinking in my late twenties. I drank for about twenty-two years. Many churches rejected me from being gay and I tried to commit suicide many times in my younger years.

I taught English for about 7 years in South Korea and 5 years in Japan.

I almost died in Japan from Tuberculosis and being Hiv+

I got the right treatment and was cured of TB and later continued on treatment for Hiv.

I came back to America and went through sober living centers, AA meetings and lived in a shelter for 6 months.

Then I took care of my mother who had dementia and died of a stroke in 2016.

About a year after her death I was so in pain that I used drugs to forget my pain.
I was on drugs for two years while also being promiscuous and addicted to porn.

I had a vision in which God and his Holy Spirit scolded me and told me that if I
didn’t get clean I would die and was going to be condemned.
I stop doing drugs. I stopped sleeping around. I stopped also drinking alcohol
on February 7, 2020.
I took care of my elderly female friend for free after her husband left her during
the pandemic for another younger
woman. I took care of her for a year and a half.

I got baptized and gave myself completely to Christ on May 23, 2020.
I have been celibate (no sex), clean and sober and drug free and free from porn
and sex addiction for 3 years and two months to this day.

I made peace with God and realized that he doesn’t hate me for being gay.
Hateful people use God’s name in vain to hate and that’s wrong. I am fighting to
stop bullying and discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community from hateful
religious groups. God is about Love not Hate.

God wants us all to behave and treat our bodies with respect because they
are His temples.

God doesn’t care if we are straight or gay or trans or bi or lesbian. But he
wants us to respect ourselves and our bodies and follow his commandments
and do our best not to sleep around and sin—because that’s how the enemy gets
in and destroys us—His children.

This is my story.

Written by Kassi Ydris.
April 19,2023.2