Freedom from Sexual brokenness: not through a method,
 but a person – the Lord Jesus Christ

TESTIMONY - INDONESIA
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INDONESIAN


KISAH KESAKSIAN YANG MASIH AKAN BERLANJUT

Bola Sepak, Bola Basket dan Bola Bekel

Ada tiga jenis permainan yang menggunakan bola yang sering dimainkan saat saya kecil, yaitu bola sepak, bola basket dan bola bekel. Lain dari anak-anak laki-laki pada umumnya, saya benar-benar membenci dua permainan yang pertama. Tiap kali saya menendang atau melempar bola, hanya cemoohan yang saya dengar. “Hahaha… lihat dia, menendang bola seperti banci!”, atau “Kamu laki-laki atau perempuan sih? Mana ada anak laki-laki melempar bola seperti itu?”. Sebaliknya, saat saya bermain bola bekel dengan anak-anak perempuan, saya menerima banyak pujian. Sejak itu saya memutuskan untuk lebih banyak bermain dengan anak-anak perempuan. Di samping itu saya juga lebih tertarik dengan hal-hal artistik seperti menggambar dan menyanyi. Mungkin anda bertanya-tanya apakah yang selanjutnya terjadi pada saya. Namun sebelum saya lanjutkan, ada baiknya kalau saya ceritakan dulu asal mulanya:

Sejak kecil saya selalu merasa jauh dari ayah saya. Bagi saya, ayah saya adalah type ayah-ayah Asia pada umumnya. Sepulangnya dari kantor dia akan bersembunyi di belakang koran sambil mengisap rokok Ardath kesukaannya. Jarang sekali saya berbicara pada ayah. Lain halnya dengan ibu saya. Dia memang sangat protektif terhadap saya, tapi saya sungguh bisa merasakan bahwa ibu saya benar-benar sayang terhadap saya. Selain dengan ibu, saya juga sangat dekat dengan dua kakak perempuan saya, walaupun usia kami sebetulnya terpaut cukup jauh.

Saat saya berusia 8 tahun, ibu saya meninggal dunia. Kejadian ini terjadi secara tiba-tiba dan ini sangat memukul saya. Figur terdekat yang selama ini terbukti sungguh-sungguh menyayangi saya tiba-tiba hilang. Lenyap. Dan dia tidak akan pernah kembali. Itu saja yang bisa saya mengerti saat itu. Sejak itu kakak perempuan saya memutuskan untuk mengambil alih dalam mengasuh saya. Kami bertiga tinggal di rumah baru sementara ayah saya tetap menetap di rumah kami yang lama. Tentunya tanpa sepengetahuan saya, saya malah semakin jauh dari ayah saya dan semakin dekat dengan kedua kakak perempuan saya. Kembali ke apa yang saya ceritakan di atas, sejak itu saya mulai membenci hal-hal yang dilakukan laki-laki, termasuk permainan mereka di sekolah yang selalu berkisar antara sepak bola atau bola basket, dan saya lebih dekat dengan figur perempuan,

Hal ini terus berlanjut sampai suatu saat tiba-tiba saya menyadari bahwa saya tertarik terhadap sesama laki-laki. Betapa terkejutnya saya. Berbagai pemikiran pun timbul. Saya pasti nggak normal. Mana ada sih yang mengalami hal seperti ini? Saya simpan “rahasia” ini selama bertahun-tahun. Saya masih ingat setiap kali saya merasa tertarik kepada laki-laki lain, baik itu hanya di film, di TV ataupun di lingkungan sebenarnya, saya merasa sangat malu dan kotor. Tidak jarang pula saya mengutuk diri sendiri. Walaupun saat itu saya belum mengenal Tuhan yang sesungguhnya, saya sering memohon agar saya bisa “sembuh dari kelainan yang saya derita” itu. Namun tidak pernah ada jawaban.  

Duniaku Yang “Sesungguhnya”

Setamat SMA (Sekolah Menengah Atas), saya melanjutkan pendidikan saya ke salah satu kota di Australia. Kakak perempuan saya memang benar-benar sayang terhadap saya dan dia memberikan kesempatan bagi saya untuk belajar di luar negeri. Saya mulai rajin ke gereja dan mengikuti kelas pemahaman alkitab, walaupun di tengah-tengah semua ini saya tetap simpan semua kebingungan saya sendiri.

Suatu saat, ketika saya sedang menghabiskan liburan studi di Jakarta, saya bertemu dengan seorang teman laki-laki lama. Setelah hidup di Australia selama sekitar 2 tahun pikiran saya menjadi lebih liberal. Singkat kata, kami mulai merasa tertarik satu sama lain dan kami pun mulai menjalin hubungan. Dia memperkenalkan saya pada teman-temannya, dan untuk pertama kalinya saya mulai merasa saya bisa bebas untuk mengekspresikan diri saya yang “sesungguhnya”. Hubungan ini sungguh terasa indah pada mulanya, dan terus berlanjut sebagai hubungan jarak jauh saat saya harus kembali ke Australia. Bahkan dia mengunjungi saya dan kami sempat berlibur bersama tahun berikutnya. Di tengah-tengah semua ini, saya tetap aktif mengikuti berbagai kegiatan di gereja. Menyimpan rahasia adalah salah satu keahlian saya saat itu.

Saat saya kembali lagi ke Jakarta untuk berlibur pada kesempatan selanjutnya, hubungan kami mulai terguncang. Hal-hal yang kami lakukan bersama tiba-tiba tidak lagi terasa indah. Rasa iri, ketidak-percayaan, kemarahan dan hawa napsu, itulah yang sering mengisi hubungan kami. Saya merasa tidak puas dengan apa yang terjadi dan mulai bertanya-tanya, “Apakah yang terjadi? Mengapa semuanya berubah begitu cepat? Bukankah hubungan kami baru berumur kurang dari 2 tahun?”. Sempat saya mencoba memutuskan hubungan ini, tapi pasangan saya menolak dan bahkan mengancam untuk bunuh diri kalau sampai saya berani untuk melakukan hal tersebut. Bahkan di tengah-tengah kekacauan ini, sempat ada pihak ketiga yang turut “meramaikan” masalah. Itupun salah saya, yang tidak lagi kuat menahan napsu. Nampaknya saya sudah mulai lepas kendali. Namun kami tetap melanjutkan hubungan ini karena saya harus kembali ke Australia dan tidak ada waktu untuk membicarakannya lebih lanjut.

Sekembalinya saya ke Australia, saya mulai sungguh-sungguh bertanya-tanya pada Tuhan, adakah jalan keluar bagi saya. Saya sadar bahwa saya sudah mulai lepas kendali dan saya tidak mau jatuh lebih dalam lagi. Saat itu untuk pertama kalinya saya mendengar jawaban dari Tuhan setelah sekian lama saya berteriak meminta jawaban mengenal masalah ini. Saya merasa Dia meminta saya untuk memilih, apakah saya mau mengikut Dia atau pasangan saya. Hanya satu yang boleh saya pilih. Pilihan yang sulit. Meskipun hubungan saya dengan pasangan saya sudah tidak lagi seindah dulu, tapi ini adalah satu hal yang benar-benar familiar bagi saya. Setelah bergumul, akhirnya saya putuskan untuk memutuskan hubungan tersebut. Anehnya, kali ini pasangan saya menerima keputusan saya. Tidak ada paksaan, tidak ada ancaman bunuh diri.

Jawaban Itu Akhirnya Datang

Selepas saya dari hubungan ini, kembali saya berseru pada Tuhan, “Saya sudah mengikuti kehendakMu, sekarang apa yang harus saya lakukan?”. Tak lama sesudah itu, saya menemukan sebuah buku karya Mario Bergner berjudul “Setting Love in Order”. Mario adalah seorang eks-homoseksual dan dia menceritakan pengalamannya keluar dari belenggu homoseksualitas dalam buku tersebut. Yang lebih menyentuh saya sebetulnya adalah halaman terakhir dari buku itu. Di sana terdapat daftar empat organisasi yang melayani masalah homoseksualitas secara spesifik. Buku ini diterbitkan di Inggris, jadi  tidak aneh kalau tiga dari empat organisasi yang tertulis di situ berada di Inggris sendiri. Namun anehnya, organisasi terakhir yang tertulis di situ adalah organisasi yang berada di kota tempat saya berada saat itu (di Australia). Dari begitu banyak organisasi yang tersebar di seluruh dunia dan hanya organisasi di kota itu saja yang tertulis, saya tahu ini adalah jawaban dari Tuhan. Tidak ada lagi yang bisa mengatur semuanya ini seperti Dia.

Setelah menghubungi organisasi tersebut, saya mulai mengikuti program konseling secara pribadi dan grup. Di sinilah untuk pertama kalinya saya benar-benar menerima Tuhan Yesus sebagai juru selamat saya secara pribadi dan Dia mulai membukakan hal-hal mengenai masalah saya. Bahwa saya tidak pernah dilahirkan sebagai seorang homoseksual, tapi hal ini terjadi karena beberapa hal yang saya alami dan yang tidak saya dapatkan semasa saya bertumbuh sebagai anak laki-laki. Homoseksualitas itu semacam pertumbuhan identitas seks kita (sebagai pria ataupun wanita) yang terhambat. Setiap anak mempunyai kebutuhan emosional yang harus terpenuhi semasa mereka bertumbuh. Kebutuhan ini antara lain kebutuhan untuk merasa dicintai, diterima dan diberi dorongan positif (affirmation) dari sesama jenis, supaya mereka bisa bertumbuh secara percaya diri sesuai identitas seks mereka, baik sebagai pria maupun wanita. Ini tidak terjadi pada saya. Jadi kebutuhan saya untuk merasa dicintai dan diterima oleh sesama jenis ini terus ada pada diri saya dan tidak terpenuhi. Walaupun hal ini tidak membuat saya menjadi seorang homoseksual, tapi ini membuat saya menjadi tidak percaya diri akan identitas saya sebagai seorang anak laki-laki. Saat puberitas datang, saya mulai merasakan keinginan-keinginan yang berbau seksual. Dan saat itu dalam pikiran saya terjadi semacam seksualisasi antara keinginan seks dan kebutuhan emosional saya yang belum juga terpenuhi. Inilah yang membuat saya tertarik pada sesama laki-laki.

Homoseksualitas adalah masalah yang kompleks. Ada dua hal lain yang turut ambil bagian dalam ketertarikan saya terhadap sesama jenis. Semasa saya kecil juga tidak sedikit orang/anak-anak lain yang memanggil saya dengan sebutan banci, gay dsb. Saat anda berumur 6-7 tahun, tentunya anda tidak kenal siapakah diri anda. Anda hanya akan tahu siapa diri anda melalui apa yang orang lain katakan mengenai anda. Kalau banyak orang menyebut anda ganteng, tentunya anda akan percaya bahwa anda memang ganteng. Sebaliknya, kalau banyak orang menyebut anda sebagai banci, gay, dsb, anda juga mungkin akan percaya seperti yang mereka katakan.

Selain itu, dengan terlalu dekatnya hubungan saya dengan kedua kakak perempuan saya, saya jadi mengidentifikasikan diri saya seperti mereka. Merekalah figur panutan saya, tanpa saya sadar. Hal-hal inilah yang membuat saya mulai merasa tertarik terhadap sesama jenis secara seksual.

Jadi saat saya memulai proses pemulihan, Tuhan mulai membuka masalah-masalah di balik rasa ketertarikan saya terhadap sesama jenis tersebut. Saya mulai mengerti bahwa arti proses pemulihan yang paling utama adalah bagaimana saya bisa memenuhi kebutuhan-kebutuhan emosional saya secara sehat. Homoseksualitas hanyalah hal yang menonjol keluar. Namun di balik homoseksualitas itu ada banyak kebutuhan, terutama kebutuhan emosional, yang belum terpenuhi.

Seperti memotong bawang, lapis demi lapis, saya harus mulai mengenal dan berusaha memenuhi kebutuhan-kebutuhan yang tidak pernah terpenuhi sebelumnya. Rasa kurang percaya diri sebagai laki-laki, rasa rendah diri, penolakan diri, rasa iri terhadap apa yang laki-laki lain miliki, keinginan mati-matian untuk dipuji oleh orang lain, kepahitan terhadap ayah dan figur laki-laki yang saya kenal, dsb. Inilah sebenarnya hal-hal yang harus dibereskan.

Proses ini tidaklah mudah dan bahkan masih terus berlanjut sampai sekarang. Di awal proses pemulihan, saya pernah sempat berpikir, asalkan saya sungguh-sungguh mengikut Tuhan dan tidak kembali ke jalan saya yang lama, pastilah saya bisa bebas dari semua masalah. Pemikiran yang bodoh. Bukankah Tuhan Yesus sendiri berkata bahwa di dunia ini kita akan mengalami kesulitan dan penganiayaan? Yesus tidak pernah menjanjikan kita tidak akan mengalami masalah, tapi yang Dia janjikan adalah Dia akan selalu bersama-sama kita, melewati gunung dan lembah kehidupan, bahkan di saat kita tidak bisa merasakan lagi kehadiranNya.

Sekarang saya juga sudah mulai mengerti arti laki-laki yang sesungguhnya. Arti laki-laki secara sesungguhnya bukanlah dihitung dari kekuatan fisik atau kesukaan laki-laki pada umumnya. Saya masih tidak tertarik pada sepak bola atau bola basket dan saya masih menyukai hal-hal yang berbau artistik. Bahkan profesi saya saat ini adalah seorang desainer grafis. Tapi sekarang saya sadar bahwa ini tidaklah mengurangi kelaki-lakian saya. Banyak hal lain yang lebih penting dalam “mengasah” sifat kelaki-lakian saya, misalnya mengambil keputusan, siap bertanggung jawab kalau sampai saya salah mengambil keputusan, dsb. Inilah arti laki-laki yang sesungguhnya.

Langkah Selanjutnya…

Saya sering mengibaratkan proses pemulihan ini sebagai lari jarak jauh. Saat kita berlari jarak jauh dan di suatu point kita terjatuh, kita tidak akan kembali lagi ke garis start, tapi kita akan bangun lagi dan terus berlari sampai akhirnya tiba di garis finish. Saya tidak pernah menyesali keputusan saya untuk meninggalkan jalan hidup saya yang lama. Di tengah kesulitan saya, Tuhan Yesus selalu membuktikan bahwa Dia adalah Tuhan yang setia dan tidak pernah meninggalkan saya. Dan sekarang saya bisa merasakan kedamaian dalam hati saya di tengah setiap pergumulan selama saya bersedia untuk mengikut Dia. Saya yakin ini bukanlah akhir dari kesaksian saya. Suatu hari saya berharap kesaksian ini masih akan berlanjut karena saya sadar saya masih berada dalam proses pemulihan dan masih banyak hal yang Tuhan akan kerjakan dalam hidup saya. Semoga apa yang anda baca ini bisa menguatkan anda, baik anda yang sedang bergumul dengan masalah seksual ataupun masalah lain. Tuhan Yesus mendengar isi hati anda. Kalau Dia bisa membuka jalan bagi saya, Dia juga pasti akan membuka jalan bagi anda.

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ENGLISH TESTIMONY OF THE ABOVE

Life in our family in Jakarta had been strange as far as I could remember. I was born in 1976 and  was never close to my father. He was a very typical man to me: aloof, distant, hiding behind his newspaper all day. Physically he was always there, but emotionally, he was very distant. I was a lot closer to my mother. Although she was very protective of me, I always knew that she loved me very much.

As a boy, I always felt different from the rest. I was never a sporty type, to start with. I did not like games that other boys loved to play, especially soccer. To me, they all seemed so rough and dirty. I enjoyed drawing ever since I knew how to use a pencil. I would rather draw, create my own stories or sing any day, than playing soccer in the mud. I was rather shy and quiet too and thought that other boys were so rough and rugged. Mind you, I did try to play their games. But they would only tease me at the end. “You kick like a girl” they’d yell. 

On the other hand, girls seemed to be more gentle and friendly towards me. I began to enjoy their company. I started to play their games and enjoyed it too! This started a period of name-calling and labeling which I had to endure for a number of years. Being called sissy, girlie was very common to me those days.

My mother passed away due to cancer when I was 8 years old. I stayed with two of my sisters after that. I was still able to see my father as he would come to our place almost every day but I felt more and more distant from him. My sisters would provide all my needs: emotionally they provided the love and nurture, financially they paid for things that I needed. Till this day, I take it as a real blessing that at least I have two people who really love me and care for me. My father did not hold a good job so he definitely could not provide for us. I had two other male figures in my life; one is my brother, who was hardly around and was the black sheep of the family. The other one was my relative, who used to make fun and tease me. So there were two more broken male figures in my life. From this point onwards, I started to see the same sex and the opposite sex in a different way. I saw men as being distant, passive, irresponsible, incapable, while on the other hand, I saw women as being loving, caring and nurturing. 

As a result of all these, I grew up very confused and very insecure as a young man. It was a horrific experience when I realized for the first time that I was attracted to the same sex. I thought I was the only one feeling this way and I knew that I could not talk about it to anyone. Talking about sex in an Asian country was already a taboo, let alone homosexuality! So for years, I struggled in silence and hid my feelings. Although I was not a Christian then, I remembered crying out to God to change my feelings. No answer was given.

To cut my story short, at age 23  I went to further my study in Australia.  I started going to a small, charismatic church at someone’s invitation. The main reason for me to go there was because I felt homesick most of the time and this group of people seemed to be friendly to be with this group of people made me feel better. Then pastor of the church led me to say the sinner’s prayer. But the problem was, I didn't really understand what it was all about. I was just rather following what he wanted me to do because it seemed harmless anyway. Nothing came from the heart.

Nonetheless, I cried out again to God, pleading Him to take my feelings away, but again, there was no answer. Now I know that it was not yet the time for God to reveal certain things to me. But I did not know that then. I started to look at things more liberally. Some told me that I was born this way, and there was no way to fight it. “Just accept it and go on with your life”, they said. Disillusioned, I started to believe that what they told me might be right: that I was born a homosexual and there was no point fighting my feelings anymore. 

So I began a relationship. At first everything went well. I thought I had what I wanted and needed. A companion, a partner, and even one who could satisfy almost all my needs. Wow – this is not too bad… I thought. And I was able to keep this in secret too. I would still serve in the church in various ways, yet kept this relationship in secret. Of course there were times when I was feeling baffled by the contradicting way I was living my life. 

One day I finally began to wonder about the reality of the gay relationship that I was into. Jealousy, mistrust and anger were becoming part and parcel of the relationship. The relationship turned more and more sour during this period. I wanted to break up from this relationship but he would threaten me to commit suicide if I ever did. 

At this stage, I have seen the negative aspects of this kind of relationship. Half of me wanted to come out of it, but the other half was too familiar with it, so it wanted to stay there. I cried out to God again. And this time He answered! But His answer was not like what I expected. God asked me to choose first, whether I wanted to choose Him or my partner. Although the relationship was already sour, it was still not an easy decision to make. I finally made the decision to break up with my partner. We broke off through the phone. And strangely, this time he just accepted it. No threats, no suicides, nothing. 

Then in 1997 God led me to an Exodus ministry called Liberty. I was able to receive counsel and join their support group which consisted of Christians committed to overcome their homosexual issues. I counted this time as the actual time that I was born again. I re-accepted Jesus as my Lord and Saviour, and this time it was with convictions and with my heart. 

Through this Exodus group, Jesus revealed to me the beginning of my healing process. I began to learn about homosexuality: that it was not something that I was born with (no scientific evidence can proof this up to this moment), but it was because of what happened and did not happen during my growing up years as a boy. Homosexuality is an arrested gender identity development. You see, all children have needs when they grow up. It’s a need to feel loved, accepted and affirmed by the same sex, which is first and foremost supposed to be done by the parent in order for them to grow up securely as young men and women. I did not receive this from my dad. As a result, these needs of wanting to be accepted and affirmed remained unfulfilled in me. Although this does not make me a homosexual, it definitely makes me an incomplete male. When puberty comes, it brings with it sexual urges. And because of the lack of acceptance and affirmation from the same sex, I subconsciously sexualize these needs. That is how homosexuality  began in me.

Labeling also played a big role in my identity. When you are 7 years old, for example, I you don’t know who you are. You only know who you are by what people say you are. Since a lot of people commented that I kicked a ball like a girl, that I was not “boy” enough, then I started to believe what these people said about me. 

So as I began my recovery process, God started to reveal the underlying issues underneath those same-sex attractions. I began to see that healing from homosexuality meant meeting my unmet needs in a healthy way. You see, homosexuality is just the issue that surfaces out. Underneath those attractions, there are lots of unmet needs that I had to deal with. Just like an onion, layer by layer, I started to identify and deal with my real needs. Insecurity as a man, low self-esteem, self rejection,  badly wanting man’s approval, bitterness and unforgiveness towards the male-figures in my life, especially my father, these are just some of the issues that I had to deal with. When these issues are met, slowly, the same-sex attractions loosen their grip. 

Recovery is not going to be smooth. There are lots of rocky roads and setbacks. It never means you’re immune to the problem. But rather it is a journey and is a life-long process. I am still in the journey. There are still many issues that God wants me to deal with, but this is common for many people. All of us have issues. It’s up to us whether we want to face those issues or live in denial.

Another thing that always sticks to me is I should not feel myself less worthy before the Lord because of my struggles. Someone says bluntly before that heterosexuals go to hell. The only people who go to heaven are redeemed people. I could not agree more. Now there are no more “walls” between myself and the Lord like it used to.

I have also done away with the “old way” of thinking that men must like soccer, that men are not supposed to cry, etc. Who cares about those? I still don’t like soccer but it doesn’t matter anymore. Just because I don’t like soccer, that doesn’t make me less of a man. 

So now I am living and working in Singapore.   I am not perfect, I have a long way to go in terms of recovery, but have indeed been saved by the grace of God. I would not look back, regretting or blaming anyone including God. He has a purpose for anyone of us. The fact that I am able write this is because of what He has done in my life. And if He can do it in my life, He can also do it in many others’. All glory be to God.

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“NEW SINGER, NEW SONG.”  LUIS JURILLA

Luis was born in 1962 in Nagros , Philippines .  His parents were both nominal catholic and his only brother was 11 years older than him. 

At age 14 he was into drugs, sex and rock and roll as his parents, though loving, gave him no supervision.  This probably happened because as he was eleven years younger than his brother he grew up a loner.

Soon he was living alone in his grandmother’s home and without any control in his life   became both a drug addict and sexually active with many women.  At 18 he allowed some prostitutes to live in his home and one of them became his girl friend for a while. Then she left the house. Yet somehow amidst his crazy lifestyle he wanted to be an architect and so decided to go to college at age 18.

He was also spiritually searching and joined the Hare Krishnas in Cebu for two years but he was never a true devotee, still keeping on with his life of sex and drugs.  He later got several months work in Cebu .  With a life revolving around music, sex and drugs, he did not get much study done.  A course in architecture that should have taken 4 years took 6 years. The college staff at Negra knew that he was not a good influence on other students and were concerned.

At age 26 there was a major life changing crisis in his life. The school principal said he could no longer study at college as he was such a bad influence on other students. He was told he could only return to college if he was daily under the supervision of the College Guidance Officer and receive counselling for his problems.  While he could go to lectures he could have no other contact with students so after lectures he had to immediately go to the Guidance office, Jasmine, for supervision.   God was at work in all this for the Guidance officer was also a Catholic.  Later, she became his girl friend. While he was never sexually involved with her, he was still with other women and somehow, even though she knew about this she was able to continue to be his girl friend.  Looking back on these events many years later Luis could see how God had worked in his life.

Then miracles began to happen. He finished his college course, became an architect, and then at age 28, he married his counsellor and they lived in Manila .  In 1989 went to Brunei for work while Jasmine stayed in the Philippines .  Yet his life of unfaithfulness continued  even though he was married, for with working in Brunei , money and women were plentiful.  However, there were problems in the marriage, for his wife Jasmine missed him.  They never spent any time together as he was overseas and she was in Manila . Yet God did not give up on them.

In 1994/95 he started working in Singapore and even though he was drinking and there were women, most important of all there was God.

Then another miracle.  He met an old friend Rani, also from Philippines , who introduced him to church. While he only went there a few times he later moved to a Baptist Church .  It was there he became born again. In 1997 he went to Indonesia for work as an architect.  In 1998 they realised their marriage was in trouble as being separated all the time was not helpful.  As they loved each other decided they had to plan to live together as husband and wife.  So in his next job, which was in Singapore , Jasmine was with him and so he remained sexually faithful. They were there a total of six years and it helped save the marriage. Even though he was now a real believer in Jesus she was still a nominal Catholic.

There was another major problem for after eleven years of marriage Louis and his wife could not have children. So they prayed asking God for help that they would have a baby and amazingly within a month of praying she became pregnant.  Delighted they moved back to Manila so that their baby could be born in the Philippines . Early in 2000 a baby girl was born.

Again they moved, this time in 2001 to live and work in Jakarta . Wonderfully he met his friend Rani again, was introduced to International English Service Church and has been there ever since.  Luis said that having someone like Pastor Tommy of IES act as his mentor was most helpful to his spiritual growth and marriage.

The next birth in Jakarta was just as important – this time it was spiritual one as his wife Jasmine accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour this meant they were now one spiritually.  Today, life is busy for Louis and wife Jasmine in Jakarta , family, church, especially leading worship in life groups and with his architect and interior decorating business.

Then life again took another turn…  One night, coming home from a church life group with Jasmine and his daughter, they unknowingly drove through an area in Jakarta known for male prostitution.  Soon men were exposing themselves and making sexual advances.  Shaken as Luis was at the experience he went home to pray how to reach such people with the Gospel. He knew that if he could overcome sexual immorality through the power of the Lord Jesus so can others. 

At times sexual temptations still come to Luis, especially when he travels but he has to be alert and flee! (I Corinthians 6:18). His plan is to share his story of how he found freedom in Christ over sexual immorality with whoever he meets, whether that is in church or through his business contacts! Where she can, Jasmine wants to work with Luis to help sexual strugglers overcome their problems.

Luis believes his recovery from sexual addictions and drink came through his experience with the Lord, the emotional healing he has received and being parents.

He said “God made me a new person, gave me a new song to sing and I want to share that with the world”

If you want to contact Luis, write to our contact address below.

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