I'm excited!!

tonight was another perfect and God-meant opportunity!! for the first time, i looked forward to Bio discussion because of it. :O)

so our professor had the LGBT resource center have a panel for our discussion class to be open to answering questions.

i learned so much tonight!! and i had a good time laughing at all the funny stories and awkward moments.

There were 4 students on the panel and the leader of the LGBT resource center was facilitating the discussion. Each of the students were very unique, 2 boys and 2 girls and two were gay, one was bi, and the other was transsexual. One was mexican, one was asian, one was white, and the other one looked hispanic too.

it was very interesting hearing their stories, getting to ask them questions, and seeing how open and honest they were. they made a lot of funny jokes too!!

so some of the things i found out through my questions and other's questions:
-one of them is a christian, one of them is agnostic [because he believes that not everything was a random mistake], one of them is atheist [because she believes everything is a horrible mistake], one of them is muslim [her dad didn't mind her being lesbian and jokingly said as long as she brought a muslim girl home], and the last one was also atheist.
-they do not always have "gaydar." the lesbian said she has a broken gaydar and can't tell for crap ahah. the transgender and the gay guys said they can tell 90% of the time. one of the guys said he does this test and stares for awhile [the straight guys tend to turn away really quick and the gay guys tend to stare back longer].
-when i asked the worst way they have been discriminated against, some answers were being stared at&given weird looks, being yelled at from a random guy in a parking lot cause they were wearing a legalize homosexuality shirt&it was at night in an alley so it was dangerous and scary, being kicked out of home, and being outed after truthfully confronting a crush that turned out to be straight.

lastly, this lingering issue they brought up has brought a lot to my attention. someone asked about adoption and one of them was super passionate about vying for rights for homosexuals to be allowed to raise children and adopt. because she was making the point that two lesbians could raise a kid and that kid could have love and care as opposed to feeling rejected and unwanted in an adoption agency. one of the gay guys made a point saying that his friend was raised by lesbian mothers and he turned out to be straight and so the outcome is that he learned not to judge at first appearance.
it was really interesting to hear that and think of that. it almost started to sway my opinion. i saw their point and wanted to agree with them that it's better for a kid to be loved and grow up in a loving home instead of having to be alone or without parents in a adoption agency with no individual attention it could get from adopted parents.
it's something i need to be aware of and be firm in my beliefs. that i can still feel compassion for the LGBT community, but i must never sway from what God says about homosexuality. Yes, it seems to be nicer if a kid were to be adopted by homosexual parents but at the same time would God want that? Is that beneficial for the kid?

there are so many questions still, so many answers to be sought, a ton of patience to be had, and lots of love to show. i felt so happy learning more about the LGBT community, seeing how willing and honest the panel was to share about their personal lives, and it felt great just being able to listen to their individual stories and it was in a safe environment.
afterwards, they had fliers and handouts and i totally took some and cannot wait to attend an ally workshop they are having just for people to know what terms to use, what's ok to say, and how one should interact with the LGBT community. They also have a chatroom where you can ask any questions you want like "my friend just came out. what should i do?"

as i was leaving class and walking to AACF, i felt so happy inside that i had an opportunity to learn more and understand the LGBT community, and that God entrusted me with this love for them that i cannot explain. i haven't even had that much experience with homosexuals and yet i feel soooo much love for them. i really want to reach out to them and show them that Jesus DOES care, Jesus cares about their struggles and wants to embrace them and give them strength to deal with what they need to.
Yet, i have so much i need to prepare for in terms of being more grounded, knowing which events to attend that the LGBT Resource center puts together, and prayer prayer prayer! i have been blessed tremendously with 2 friends who also have the same heart as me and i recently found another one that wants to get involved too.

GOD IS SO GOOD!!!!

p.s. worship night at AACF with Troy Lee was really good. i always do feel intimate with God in worship when Troy leads. i am so thankful that i do not miss out on everything when i return from class. :O]