I was my parents' American dream - the son of Chinese immigrants, destined for success. I enrolled in dental school, the path to a respectable career laid out before me. But I had a secret: I was gay, and I was hiding it from everyone.
From Dental School to Drug Dealer
In dental school, I started going to gay clubs. Then I started using drugs. Then I started selling them. Four months before graduation, I was expelled. Instead of becoming a dentist, I became a drug dealer, eventually supplying narcotics to dealers in over a dozen states.
I consumed myself completely in the gay lifestyle. I thought freedom meant doing whatever I wanted. Instead, I found myself enslaved to substances and desires that were destroying me.
A Mother's Desperate Prayer War
Meanwhile, my mother Angela was planning to end her own life. The shame of having a gay son, the despair of watching me spiral - it was too much. But on the day she planned to commit suicide, she instead surrendered her life to Jesus Christ. My father Leo soon followed.
My mother began praying for me with an intensity I cannot describe. She fasted every Monday for seven years. Once she fasted for 39 days. She enlisted over a hundred prayer warriors to intercede for her prodigal son. The movie "War Room" was dedicated to her for her bold prayer.
Prison Salvation Through God's Word
Then the DEA caught up with me. They confiscated drugs with a street value equivalent to 9.1 tons of marijuana. I was facing 10 years to life in federal prison. And in jail, I discovered I was HIV positive.
Three days after my arrest, I noticed something in a trash can - a Gideon's Bible. For the first time in my life, I opened it. As I read, I was convicted of my rebellion - not just against the law, but against God. Jesus became real to me in that cell.
Transformed Life in Ministry
In prison, I realized something crucial: the goal isn't heterosexuality. The goal is holiness. My identity isn't in my sexuality - it's in Christ. I am not defined by my attractions. I am defined by my Savior.
I was released in July 2001 and started Bible college the next month. I went on to earn a doctorate from Bethel Seminary and teach at Moody Bible Institute for thirteen years. My mother and I now travel together sharing our testimony. Her prayers didn't just save my life - they changed the trajectory of eternity.
