From Gay to God

I was raised in the church, but when I became an adult and got married, I turned from the Lord. After 15 years of marriage, I left my wife to go into the gay life style. I felt it was right for me and that is what Satan wanted. I just didn’t know it at the time. That unfolded many things, such as dissention in my family, I sampled the drag Scene only to end up in the hospital more than once, the bar was the highlight of my day. Three years ago after getting out of the hospital, I was laying in bed and looking out a large window I had in my apartment. I thought there must be something more for me than this. I had now become a drunkard, remaining that way every minute of every day. I went to visit my wife and son in Fresno, CA. My wife asked me to go to church with her. I did not get out of the church without asking the Lord into my heart. Praise the Lord, he delivered me from the gay lifestyle, drinking, and many disorders of the mind. My wife and I are now reunited. Thanks to the Lord, and my family is back together now. PRAISE THE LORD, I GIVE HIM ALL THE GLORY AND PRAISE. I wrote a book, called from Gay to GOD, and the Essentials of Prayer, Working on another book called Holding my Hand, Following a Child’s Steps. I hope this will help someone else know that the enemy is deceiving all in that lifestyle saying God made them that way, but I have proof He didn’t.
 

 
From Hollywood actor to preacher

A solitary figure stood on a dark, deserted hilltop, high above the City of Angel. Overhead, a myriad of stars twinkled in the beautiful night shy as the blazing neon lights below beckoned intensely...
 

I was the lone figure on the Los Angeles hilltop. It was 1978. I was 19 and at last I stood on the threshold of my dream becoming a reality. The dream had gripped me since boyhood - that of becoming a Hollywood actor.

Grasping for the slightest chance to make a connection in the movie industry, I visited the posh Woodland Hills mansion of movie actor Telly Savalas, known especially for his TV series "Kojak". Being a Greek like myself, I was certain Telly would be my link with Tinsel Town’s big league.
 

Every nerve ending in my body was tensed with a strange mixture of energetic excitement and fear as I knocked on the massive door of the Savalas home. In a few moments the door to fame and fortune would be opened wide. The door swept open with expensive ease.

"Good evening. My name is Dino Andreadis. Is Mr. Savalas in?" In spite of my jolting nerves, I managed to sound cool and collected. "This is it!" I told myself. "My ticket to the stars!"
 

The stranger standing in the brightly lit doorway stared at me for several seconds, then he laughed. As the ornate door was slammed in my face a few moments later, all I could hear was the stranger’s laugh as he looked at my shocked face, and told me that Telly hadn’t lived there for at least ten years!
 

My fascination with show biz went back to my childhood when, at the age of four, I was already a fan of the fabulous Chubby Checker. Once, during a trip on a cruise ship with my parents, I heard the dinner orchestra strike up a familiar Checker tune. Before my parents knew what had happened, I bolted onto the dance floor to a round of applause. That night I stole the show.
 

In my teens I lived for the dynamic night life of Montreal. Entertainment paid good money. I was earning about $400 a week and that was quite a bit of cash for a seventeen years old back in 1976.
 

One day my vice principal told me I should consider going to Hollywood. The idea caught hold of me with a passion. With high hopes and nearly empty pockets, I arrived in Hollywood in 1978. In a morass of eight million people I began to pound the pavement earnestly along with thousands of other hopefuls.....in search of stardom.
 

Each night I returned home to my tiny, humble apartment with tired swollen feet and not a break in sight. Every night as I went to sleep, I looked up at the ceiling crying out to an unknown God, "If You’re up there someplace, please help me!"
 

As long as I can remember, I always had a longing for truth. I didn’t go to church and I didn’t know God, but as I cried out night after night to the lonely ceiling in my L.A. apartment, I was crying out for help, for truth, for reality. There was something missing in my life......perhaps stardom was the key that would fill the void.
 

Several long months passed. Still no hope of a breakthrough. I decided to sneak promotion photos under the doors of casting directors at the major film studios.

Out of the blue, my telephone rang. My hearty pounded with inexpressible excitement. It was the casting director of a major studio. he wanted to see me. At last! We met for a forty five minute interview, which is a long interview in Hollywood.
 

The man wanted to meet me again later that evening. I could hardly contain the thrill inside of me at this dynamic turn of events. At precisely 8:00 p.m. a white Mercedes sports coupe arrived to pick me up. The casting director took me out to a popular night spot. After fifteen minutes with him, I began to feel uneasy. I couldn’t explain it. But I was not totally naive about the lifestyles of people in the entertainment world. Bluntly, I asked the man what he wanted from me. With sickening horror, I realized I was face-to-face with the Hollywood casting couch. The casting director said that he would give me part in his next film if I paid the price.......sexual compromise.
 

Much later, I discovered just how many are willing to pay that price of the chance at stardom. I asked the casting director to take me home immediately. What he was asking me was out of the question.
 

Then an acting tryout came through from NBC studios. A script arrived by messenger. What a sensational feeling! A chance to do Harvey Korman’s lines on the Carol Burnett show! Arriving at the studio, I saw Tom Snyder finishing a show on my left. Further on, I saw Bob Hope finishing a Christmas special. I couldn’t believe it! Suddenly my knees began to shake. I stood in front of a monstrosity of a camera and heard the director say "Action!" I froze. Not a line of my memory work came to mind. I ran out of the studio, terrified and embarrassed, a scared 20 year old kid.

Yet a windfall of calls began pouring in after that! My dream was unfolding father than I would keep up with! Experienced actors were utterly amazed when I told them about the calls I was getting.
 

Finally a major breakthrough. An offer came in from the casting director at 20th Century Fox for a part in a series. There was one slight hitch. The director said he wanted to hire me but he couldn’t. "What?! Why not?" I exclaimed. "Because you are Canadian," he said.
 

"Canadian? What do you mean, ‘I’m Canadian?’ So is William Shatner. What does it matter if I am Canadian?"
 

The problem was simple. I was an illegal alien. I couldn’t be hired for a legal job in the U.S. without a green card or working permit. "How do I get a green card?" I practically shouted. "I"ll get one! I’ll do anything!" "This has to be it!" I cried out to the ceiling and to my unknown God that night. How many hundreds of nights had I cried out like this? Not for a minute did I realize that in all of those heartrending cries, I was searching not for my dream of stardom ... I was searching for God.
 

The next day I handed over $96 for a five minute appointment to a lawyer who presented me with two options for getting a green card. I could invest $65,000 in a business in the U.S. or I could marry an American girl. What could I do? I didn’t have a quarter to buy a bag of candy! How could I invest in a business? There was only one option. I began to search for an American wife.
 

The very next day, amazing as it seemed, I met a man who introduced me to a lady who would marry me to get me my green card. The fee was $500. I paid a deposit on the five hundred and two days later, I called to check the progress of the arrangements and I discovered that I had been had. The woman and her "business manager" had disappeared.
 

Frantic to get my green card, I began combing the L.A. night clubs in search of a woman who would marry me. A few days later, I met a beautiful young woman who told me that she had fallen instantly in love with me. When she heard about my dilemma, she said she was willing to marry me. In reality, I later realized that since she knew I was to be an actor, she just wanted to marry me to get a cut of the pie.

Elated, I headed my way home and began making plans. Things were falling into place. A wife! A green card! An acting career!
 

Then as I waited for the bus, a young man slipped a piece of paper into my hand. Perplexed I looked at the paper and saw words stare right up at me. "Jesus Christ is Coming Soon. Are You Ready?"
 

The message pierced through my cluttered thoughts like a lightning bolt. I had heard about Jesus Christ. I had gone to church only when I had to .... sometimes at Christmas or Easter when my mother pulled me by the ears to go. But something told me, "This is the truth. I believe this!"
 

Suddenly I felt confused. In my desperation to get home and put my thoughts in order, I jumped off at the wrong bus stop. Standing there was the same young man who had given me the tract. He mentioned he, too, had somehow landed at the wrong stop. Coincidence? Unannounced to me, it was providence.
 

Discussing the "coincidence" we began walking together for a short distance. The young man’s name was David. I decided to invite him into my apartment for a cup of coffee. I had some questions about the tract to ask him.
 

David began sharing the message of the Bible with me. He told me about God’s love for me, and that God has a special plan for each person’s life.
 

Suddenly, I wanted David to get out of my apartment. I didn’t want to hear anymore.

"What’s the matter," David asked. "You wanted me to tell you these things!"

"Yes, David, I did. I know I can’t live the way I would have to live if I gave my life to Jesus Christ as you’re encouraging me to do. I know if I did that, I’d have to give it all to Him. There’s too much at stake in my life right now. I can’t do it. Get out! Get out!" David left.
 

The next morning at ten, I had an appointment with my bride-to-be. I pushed thoughts of David and his message about Jesus Christ out of my mind. It was nine o’clock and there was a knock at the door. I thought my bride-to-be was early. A kindly, tall, black lady stood at the door. She introduced herself as David’s pastor, and said that he told her about him.
 

"When he told me about you, I felt compelled to pray for you throughout the night. Dino do not do whatever you are about to do," she said, and with that she turned and left. I was flabbergasted, and for the first time a real holy fear came over me.

Somehow I felt a warning in my heart to do as she said. I did not realize it at the time, but God had led this woman to my place at the right time. If she had not come, I would have married this woman I hardly knew and God’s plan for my life would have been shattered.
 

When my bride-to-be arrived an hour later, I told her I couldn’t go through with our plans. Deep inside, I had always wanted to marry and build a life with a special person. To marry now and divorce three months later suddenly seemed like such a sham.

Hurt and angry, the young woman cried, "Dino! What about your green card! Don’t throw everything away! Don’t be crazy!" "Go! Just go!" I told her.

"Dino, you have a television series in the palm of your hand!" I told her I was sorry and asked her to leave.
 

However, the next day I decided I was letting go of the chance of a lifetime. It is amazing how when God does something in our lives how quickly we forget about it. All of a sudden, I had to find a wife again. All of my convictions of the day before were forgotten.
 

I called up an old girlfriend whom I had dated in Montreal, at the time living in Wisconsin. When I explained my situation and the need for a green card, she said she would be willing to marry me. We made our hasty plans. The day she was to arrive, I had a strange feeling she wouldn’t show up. I placed a call to her home in Wisconsin. Sure enough.
 

"Dino, I can’t explain it, but I just couldn’t go through with it."

My plans were falling like a row of dominoes. In my anguish, despair and confusion, I turned to reading the Bible David had given me ... searching for answers ... any thread of direction to show me what to do.
 

I began to read the Word of God and something was happening inside of me. I found myself not just reading, but soaking and immersing myself in the Word. The words spoke life and I was reading day and night, not being able to put it down. I realized that I needed more than stardom to fill the emptiness in my life. It was then that I asked Jesus to be my personal Savior. I didn’t understand it, but God was breaking the walls of pride in my life so I could open my heart and draw close to Him.
 

About this time I had an unusual experience. Before I went to sleep one night, I saw something that I will never forget. In a vision, I saw a man preaching the Gospel, with people all around him. As he preached the Gospel, in the midst of his preaching, I heard a loud sound like a trumpet and above me in the clouds, I saw Jesus, clothed in a white robe, His face brighter than sunlight. Suddenly, we were all rising up to meet Jesus together in the air.
 

Shaken and startled, I opened my Bible and read these words which I had never read before: "for the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a mighty shout and with the sour stirring cry of the archangel and the great trumpet call of God. And the believers who are dead will be the first to rise to meet the Lord. Then we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain with him forever. So comfort and encourage each other with this news" (1Thessalonians 4:16-18)
 

Everything began to make sense to me, as though the pieces of a puzzle were being fitted carefully into place in my mind. I recalled the tract from David and the conviction of its words when I had read it. Jesus made himself so real to me.

I finally got down on my knees and put all of my life into God’s hands. I realized that I had to give God everything. Hollywood was not fulfilling me although it looked promising. I realized that when I was after my own pursuits and out of the will of God I was the most empty.
 

I felt that I had to preach the love of Jesus to others. I began preaching wherever I went. People were giving their lives to Christ as I shared. Finding Jesus Christ, knowing and serving Him with all my heart brought me to the fulfillment of my quest for true happiness. God has given me the greatest life there is.

Baby healed of respiratory syncytial virus

My granddaughter, Carly, was only 4-months old when she was caught RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) infection. She was a very sick baby, bad cough, runny nose and trouble breathing. Normally a baby with RSV at this tender age would be in the hospital. She was one sick baby but always had a smile. She recovered from RSV, but the damage to her lungs caused each cold to go into her lungs which made it hard for her to breathe and required use of a nebulizer.

Carly at 11-months-old, had been fighting another bout of respiratory problems for about two months that had also gone into an ear infection. We decided to call a faith believing Pastor and his wife to pray and ask God to heal Carly. The LORD heard and answered those prayers. That night was one of the few nights in over two months that Carly was able to sleep all night long. It has been a week now ... Carly has not required her nebulizer treatment even at bedtime. Her doctor examined her a week later and said Carly was just fine, not even a sign of lung or ear infection. We praise the LORD JESUS for her healing. GOD IS GOOD!

From prison to praise!

Two very loving parents raised me, so I can't blame what happened in my life on the fact that I was from a broken home. I went to church and vacation bible school. My dear Grandmother taught me about Jesus. I finished school and went into the Air Force and experienced the adventures of traveling the world. I went to college and got an education. I was ready for life, so I thought.

After a few years of working in the oil and gas industry as an engineer, I started a very successful chemical company. I was making more money than I had ever dreamed that I would make. With all of the money came the opportunity to do everything I shouldn't. My life went into a downward spiral. My chemical company went bankrupt, I lost my wife and kids, I lost my home, I lost the respect of my business associates. My life was a waste.

It was in the last week of April in 1995. I had been locked in my office for the last 20 or so hours and drowning in the abuse for the day. I was as unhappy with my life as I have ever been. I knew I was addicted, and I knew I couldn't quit. I sat there in the early morning hours with a gun to my head ready to end my addiction when I remembered my Grandmother telling me "Steven you don't take your own life, God will take you when He is ready for you." At 4:30 AM I walked over to my house. I lied in my bed and I cried like a baby to God, "I need your help!" My friend had gotten busted and he was working with the police to get me. When he handed me the drug money the hotel room door was kicked in and police immediately surrounded me, I was busted. I was taken to the county jail.

The Gideons were in the county jail passing out the little pocket New Testaments. I wanted a Bible. Well, I got one and I went straight to my mat on the floor and I started thumbing through my little Bible. In the back of the bible I found the Saviors Prayer. I prayed that prayer with all the heart that a man could pray. God I need you. God I am scared. God please protect me. Immediately I felt the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Immediately all of my fears were gone. Jesus Christ was with me. I was born again!

I had a $110,000 cash bond placed on me when I got busted. Four months passed, along with several appearances in front of various judges, pleading unsuccessfully for a reduction in bond. I wanted to give up. I kept praying. Then one night while I was lying in my bunk and praying I heard God's voice. He told me to expect a miracle. I had never heard God's voice before and for Him to tell me to "expect a miracle." A week later I stood in front of the judge while the prosecuting attorney argued why my bond should not be reduced. I had heard it all before and I was expecting the same response from the judge denying the reduction, when the judge asked the prosecutor to have a seat and then looked at my attorney, then at me, and announced that he was reducing my bond to a PR bond. I was going home on the promise that I would return on my own for my trial.

On the day of my sentencing I stood before the judge expecting to get probation. I was nervous as I listened to the judge recite my charges, and then the sentence; seven and one-half years in the state penitentiary. Once again I was handcuffed and taken to jail where I would later be transferred to the state prison.

My first week in state prison I was processed and it was decided I would go to a minimum-security facility where I would spend the next seven plus years of my life. I was transferred a week later and upon arriving at my new home I immediately found the chaplain and became a chaplain’s aid. During that first week we had a Prison Fellowship Seminar. There I told our group about my circumstances, which landed me in prison. I shared the story of my cocaine addiction to our group leader, Dick. At the close of the second night of the seminar, I was telling Dick goodbye when all of a sudden he took me in his arms and started praying. When Dick let me go, I looked into his eyes and saw that he was crying. I asked him what that was all about and he told me that God had told him to take me into his arms and pray, then he told me that God told him I was going home in 4 months.

The next week I a received a letter from my attorney telling me that the judge who had sentenced me called my attorney at home and told him to file a Motion for Shock Probation. He was to wait until my 90th day in confinement to file the motion. My attorney told me that it would take about 30 days before the judge would hear the motion. That total amount of time would add up to 4 months. Well, 4 months later, June 14, 1996, after appearing in front of the same judge that sent me to prison, I was sent home to Texas. I received a 5 year probated sentence.

During all this time I had experienced many miracles from God. He answered my prayer when I cried to Him for help as a cocaine addict. He cleansed me from my addiction. He answered my prayers to be sent home when my bond was $110,000 cash. He changed the heart of a judge who had sentenced me to a long term in prison. He healed my son of a blood disorder. He cared for and provided for my family while I was locked up. I came home and within two months I started a consulting company which has enjoyed success. God has blessed me with a wonderful church.. He has blessed me with countless Christian friends. He has blessed me with the opportunity to serve Him via this Internet Ministry. I continue to receive blessings from God every day.

I serve an awesome God. God is the focal point of my life each and every day. I can never give Him enough praise. I will never be worthy of the immense love that He has for me.

MORE TESTIMONIES
 

We invite you to give glory to God by having your testimony published on this web.

 
Please be a blessing to the rest of the world by sharing

your true story.

Click here then write your testimony and send it to us.