On June 12, 2016, the Pulse nightclub shooting that killed 49 and wounded 53 rattled America to its core.
As innocent victims lay in a mass bloodbath that stained the hearts of millions, Angel Colon and Luis Javier Ruiz made it out alive with scarred minds and changed hearts.
Knowing he should’ve been yet another casualty, Colon immediately started praising a God that he had denied for most of his life.
“I look around again and everybody that was around me was dead and I am alive,” said Colon. “And I just started thanking God: ‘Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Lord.”
“The moment I get out of here, I’m testifying about you. I am worshipping you for the rest of my life,” he vowed.
There’s no question that the two never should have survived the massacre that claimed the lives of dozens of their peers, and they immediately realized they were left on this planet to make a difference.
However, Colon’s transformation wasn’t instantaneous. He was initially fearful of stepping out in his newfound faith and lifestyle conversion after seeing the criticism Ruiz underwent for doing the same. However, Ruiz’s courage eventually inspired him with the strength he needed to step out in boldness.
Once he broke free from the spirit of fear, Colon says he and Ruiz “became these men, these soldiers, these generals that aren’t scared anymore to share wherever they go the Gospel of God.”
Ruiz said the turning point for him was realizing that in spite of his same-sex attractions, “It’s not a gay to straight thing; it’s a lost to saved thing.”
That mindset shift has made all the difference in the way he has walked out his faith. Further, when Ruiz discovered he was HIV positive, he knew it was time for him to be a living testament to others.
“In all this, behind the scenes, God was working,” Ruiz told Christian blogger Julie Roys in a podcast this week. “Because I had ex-lovers that were coming to Jesus because they saw a Facebook Live that they were making about me, and laughing about me… This brought people to email me and say, ‘Hey, I want to know about this Jesus you’re so in love with.’”
New companions for Christ, Colon and Ruiz have now started a ministry together called Fearless Identity, an organization whose mission is to reach those in the LGBTQ community with the Gospel, and more importantly, to introduce them to the Savior that has changed their lives for the better.
They are also leaders in the Freedom March, a “diverse group of Christians who have been delivered from LGBTQ lifestyles.” On September 14, just three years after the Orlando tragedy, the duo will host a Freedom March near Pulse nightclub.
