Like any young man captivated by the thrill of love, Bill was eager to show off his girlfriend.

He just happened to have in his briefcase a formal portrait of the pretty blonde, whose wholesome looks complement his own.

After all, she is his first sweetheart--his first \o7 female\f7 sweetheart. Until recently, Bill--31 years old--had never so much as asked a woman for a date.

Throughout his adolescence and most of his 20s, Bill was only attracted to men. "I was sick, really sick," he now believes. He often felt tormented by his homosexuality; he could keep it a secret from his Catholic parents, but he could not keep it a secret from God.

Then the Costa Mesa man found salvation in an evangelical Christian church, which provided him counseling that it said could redirect his sexual orientation.

Unfailingly polite and selfless, he opened his interview at a local restaurant with a prayer that he would provide "whatever information is needed to make this a good story":

\o7 I grew up in Oregon, in an average, middle-class family. Even before grade school, relatives called me a sissy because I liked to play with girls, which really made me question my masculinity.

At the age of 17, I first got into the homosexual lifestyle. When I moved to Orange County five years ago, I got involved in the lifestyle more than ever. There were times I enjoyed it--at least, I thought I did. I didn't know any better, I guess.

I believe very strongly that homosexuality is directly connected with demonic principalities. I believe that God created men to be with women, and that the devil tries to destroy that with people who don't know what they're doing.

No matter how I tried to justify being gay, I knew it was wrong. It just didn't make sense. I thought, my God, what am I going to do? Then a guy I knew started going to this church (Joy \f7 Christian Fellowship in Costa Mesa), and he told me they counsel homosexuals and help them get \o7 out of it. And I said, that's for me.

The pastors told me, it's not going to be an easy walk; it will be the hardest thing you ever do in your life. And it was hard; depression would set in, because you're ripping away something that was your identity. It was like, who am I?

But today I can genuinely say: "I am not a homosexual." I can see an attractive man and not be tempted.

\f7