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Transgender - Is it OK for me to be here?

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JoAnne
 
Joined in 2012
November 10, 2012, 02:15

Dear All,


I have just joined this forum after reading quite a few of the posts here. Very interesting and very encouraging for me on a personal level. However, though I have nothing against you all, I have just not read anything about being a Christian and transgender.


May be if I can tell something about myself and for you to tell me if I have a place here amongst you all.


For as long as I can remember, I have always felt trapped in the wrong body. I have tried to come to terms to this but, previously, it was difficult for me to find much information about being TG. With the advent of the internet, it has become easier – however, as many of you will know, how do I reconcile my faith with being a TG when it is not accepted by the church in general. It is further compounded by the fact that I come from an Asian background and this is absolutely not acceptable.


I am now in my mid-50's and have come to the realisation that transitioning is not possible – I have too much to lose in terms of relationship which I hold very dear. I am also deeply involved in church ministry and seeing so much happening that I believe this is the way in which the Lord wants me to serve Him.


The reason I am trying here is to find other brother and sisters who accepts me as I am and who can me an ear from time to time to pour out my heart. I do not claim to have reached the place where I feel I am OK and there are moments when it is so difficult to serve and not be able to be open about who I am really.


Do I belong to this forum and are there any other Christian TG around? I am from Perth and would dearly like to be able to share with others – especially in this area.


God Bless you all.


JoAnne



Mother Hen
 
Joined in 2011
November 10, 2012, 08:06

Hi JoAnne,


A big welcome to F2B. It is certainly ok for you to be here. This is a safe place, for all in the LGBTI community. A place to find hope, encouragement, support and acceptance. A place with no judgement. A new chapter has just opened in Perth, I encourage you to go to a meeting when you can, people at F2B are very welcoming and friendly, there are a great place to meet people who maybe struggling or have struggled with some of the issues you are going through. Maybe you could contact the leaders of the Perth chapter and find out a bit more about the meeting first.


As far as other's who are transgender on this site, I'm sure there are other's you may have to read back on some of the stories, other's might be able to point you towards certain stories.


You do belong on this forum, you are wanted and accepted just the way you are. 🙂

God Bless



J
 
Joined in 2012
November 10, 2012, 13:30

Hey JoAnne, welcome to F2B, and you're more than welcome here. I personally may not be able to help as I don't know much about the topic on being transgender, but there ARE some people on here who have very similar stories and struggles with reconciling their sexuality and faith who may be able to really relate to you and help.


I have heard of one pastor in particular who is transgender. His name is Sy Rogers (I think he sometimes goes to Australian churches too, so worth looking him up to see where he's preaching). You can find more about him on his website here:


http://www.syrogers.com/


It is important, vital even, to take what YOU personally believe is right from wrong though. There are some pastors for example, who will tell you that 'this and that' is wrong and 'this and that' is a sin and that you're going to hell for doing 'this, this and this' – when, obviously, they are just hatemongers with an extremely distorted view of the bible (Otherwise known as pharisees), but likewise, there are some REALLY GREAT pastors. One pastor in particular who I personally trust is Rob Buckingham. His sermons can be found on iTunes, which are available free to download. Just type in 'Bayside Church' in iTunes and his sermons should come up.


Hope that is of some help to you,

Jordan



JoAnne
 
Joined in 2012
November 11, 2012, 01:56

Mother Hen and Jordan, thanks so much for your warm welcome and for making me feel that I do belong here. Also, I do appreciate your words of encouragement.


I am sincerely looking to know others who would be willing to share our journey together. We live in a world where so many people are put down for not being what others expect them to be. There is a need for us who have faith to build up a strong community with the aim of upholding one another. I have experienced too many situations where membership to a support group are supposed to "support" one another but the very opposite is the case. There is so much hurt and so much hurting happening.


It is my prayer that this will be the case here and we will be able to be "the salt of the earth and the light of the world".


God Bless.

JoAnne



mrg
 
Joined in 2010
November 11, 2012, 15:39

Hiya JoAnne!


Of course you're welcome here! Pull up a chair and join the party 🙂


Peace and Hope.


Matt



Ann Maree
 
Joined in 2008
November 11, 2012, 20:32

Hi JoAnne

A big welcome from me as well! And yes – you have a rightful place here as much as anyone else. This group is definitely for you and other trans people. And your post will hopefully encourage more trans people to post 🙂

As Mother Hen has suggested, I urge you to go to the f2b group in Perth. They will be glad to see you and will ensure you feel welcomed. For more information, why not send a Personal Message to GrahamD-M, one of the leaders there. 🙂

We have had a couple of trans stories recently. Here's one listed just before yours.

http://www.freedom2b.org/forums/finding-christ-in-homosexuality.-t2003/

Looking forward to hearing more of your journey. Keep us posted.

Blessings,

Ann Maree



JoAnne
 
Joined in 2012
November 12, 2012, 13:29

Matt and Ann Maree,


Thanks so much for your support and wise words. I really feel blessed by what you have all written in response to my post.


I feel a bit more "relaxed" to share a few more details about my journey and I hope you do not mind me doing this. I was born on rhe island of Mauritius from an asian background. For as long as I can remember, I have felt this way and since very young, I have been trying to dress up like a girl but have always been told not to do so since "this is not something boys do". I have withdrawn myself from others and have had very few friends from school days. But the urge to be a girl and be accepted as a girl was so strong at one stage that I needed to get away from everyone and everything to try and "rethink" about who I was. In those days, there was no internet and no information to rely on. So, it meant that I believed in things my parents and others were telling.


I managed to get accepted to university in England to study Maths & Computer Science. Praise God, I found Him there and made a commitment to the Lord. This changed my life completely and I started to make a few very good friends. However, the need to express myself as a woman was still there and, from all the information I was gathering, it was not acceptable in the "Christian" circle. I did everything to suppress it – yes, I was married 28 years ago to try and escape this feeling. I am still married nad now has 2 grown up sons.


26 years ago, we migrated to Perth and this started a whole new journey for me. I became more and more guilty about my feeling and started to find more information about homosexuality, etc but not much on being a TG. I started to dress up and be JoAnne whenever I could and I really felt that this is me. I came out to my wife about 10 years ago and she absolutely rejected this. Though our relationship is still going, we do often have some issues about me being a TG. I have gone to counselling, etc but have never been able to "get rid" of the feeling of being a woman.


I have studied Theology since we came over here and have done some very deep biblical studies. Without being critical or judgemental about it all, I do find that very often some try to justify whatever they are doing through putting meanings into the biblical text instead of allowing the text to speak for themselves. This is not only with regards to sexuality but to many other issues as well. I am sincerely struggling to find exactly what the Bible is saying about LGBTI. To be open about it, I am a trained Pastor and I have discussed this extensively – without coming out to others yet – on this. There is a very wide range of opinions and I have been very careful with accepting or rejecting any point of view.


So, this is only a very brief bit abou my journey so far. I know that it is not as dramatic as some others but I hope that I will find the answers to my inner thinking as I go along this path of discovering who I am exactly. A I discover more, I know that I will accept myself more as who I am and hoping to accept the fact that the Lord also accepts me as a TG. This is my ultimate aim – how does the Lord see me and am I living up to it?


Thanks for accepting me and for allowing me to slowly express myself – I know now why this is called frredom2b.


God Bless,


JoAnne



Mother Hen
 
Joined in 2011
November 12, 2012, 15:10

Hi JoAnne, Thanks for sharing more about yourself, that is a very brave thing to do, to open up to strangers. This is a safe place to do that, a safe place to be JoAnne without judgement or condemnation. No one will try and convince you of one view or another that is not what F2B is about, it's about supporting you while you discover more about yourself and your faith.


Thanks for sharing 🙂



Amila
 
Joined in 2012
November 12, 2012, 22:23

Hey JoAnne,


you are most welcome here and welcome to be free and be who you are.. we all come from different backgrounds with different views.. I wish you the best in finding the answers you seek. May the Lord reveal His truths to you as you seek..


God Bless you

Amila



TeeSte
 
Joined in 2012
November 12, 2012, 23:43

Hey JoAnne,

Welcome to f2b, it's great that you found the forum.

I am also transgender, and Anne Maree put a link in her post above which is my story. (the part about being trans is an update near the end) I'm only young and at the very beginning of my journey but I'v already learnt so much. I don't think it's ever too late to transition, I saw a documentary about a woman who transitioned in her 60's!

1 Samuel 16:7 says "… the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart." This passage has helped me a lot. No matter what your body says God knows who you are and loves you for it.

God Bless,

Tee


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