The Inestrozas family welcomed me into their home. They provided food, love, and protection, but my heart was already damaged, and I rebelled. I did not want rules, so I could not continue living with them. I left again, and my world of pain and suffering resumed. I started dressing as a woman at the age of twelve. I participated in a transgender parade and won first place. As I participated in all sorts of loathsome practices, drugs and alcohol made my life tolerable because they allowed me to temporarily forget about my pain and mental suffering. I had the opportunity to inject my chest to make me look more like a woman, but something made me hesitate: My Christian upbringing still held a soft spot in my heart. I loved my mother very much, and visited her as often as I could.

Then my mother moved to a village some distance away. I felt a lot of pain and missed her deeply. I started to drink great quantities of alcohol to help me forget my problems, and I cried many nights, wondering how life had become such a nightmare. I felt an emptiness in my heart and grew very depressed. Then I started taking stronger drugs. All the while, I felt a great need for God, but it seemed impossible for me to come to Him in my condition. Young friends from my former church invited me to come back, but my heart was hardened. Only God could save me now.

“Today is the day you put an end to your old life and leave it behind,” a church brother, Nelvin, told me. I made a firm decision then that I would not return to my former filthy lifestyle. Nelvin invited me to be baptized, and I accepted. I came out of the waters of baptism, and I felt a peace in my heart that I had never known before. I believed that this was the real peace experienced when we walk through the “valley of the shadow of death.” I left all my burdens at the feet of Christ. I wanted nothing more than to honor and glorify my Savior and to serve Him with an undivided heart. The brothers accepted me into the church with open arms.

The post-baptismal class, “Growing in Christ,” has been helpful in my spiritual life. It cleared up many doubts and led me to a deeper understanding of the Bible. I am learning every day how much Christ loves me and what He did to save me from the path of destruction. My heart is full of gratitude. I wish that all the young people of my village would be overcomers and live their lives to the glory of God.

The church has been a source of strength to me. I love coming home tired after all the activities that I am involved with now. I thank God for reaching and redeeming me, and for the church family and the radio that has become the means for me to learn more about Jesus.