By Sue Careless  

The Interim 

Marjorie Hopper brought the house down at the first Exodus International conference when she remarked that after God's 
work of grace in their lives, she and Sy Rogers could trade wardrobes. 

Marjorie and Sy are both recovered transsexuals. Marjorie had lived for 40 years as a man; Sy had lived 22 as a woman. 

Today both Marjorie and Sy believe God can deliver anyone from anything, including sexual brokenness and addiction. 

Two hundred people, many of them Asian and Hispanic, heard their testimonies at the conference, titled "Gaining Victory" held 
at the Ontario Bible College, Toronto, September 11-13. 

Marjorie had wanted a sex-change operation but could not afford one. Her doctors put her on hormone treatment assuring her 
that, short of surgery, she could not be more male. She attempted suicide but God intervened. Through prayer and counselling 
God healed the lingering childhood traumas of her father's desertion and her mother's rape, which she had witnessed at only 11. 
"I had sworn then to be the gentleman that man wasn't." 

'Emotional problem'  

In 1979, while Sy was on the waiting list at Johns Hopkins Hospital for a sex-change operation, Christ's love "bathed me." 
Three days later John Hopkins announced it was abandoning all sex-change operations, arguing that such a surgical procedure 
was "not appropriate treatment for an emotional problem." 

God intervened so powerfully in both their lives that Marjorie and Sy now counsel others who struggle with homosexuality. 

Free of lesbianism for 16 years, Marjorie is director of Another Chance Ministries in Vancouver and attends Burnaby Christian 
Fellowship. Today, as the homosexual agenda enters the B.C. classroom, Marjorie spends more time addressing secular 
educational groups than churches. 

Sy has been president of Exodus North America. Married since 1982, he now serves on the pastoral staff of the Anglican 
Church of Christ Our Savior in Singapore. At the conference he gave an overview of homosexual recovery. 

Since 1976 Exodus has been helping thousands of men and women find a way out of homosexuality. Today there are over 100 
Exodus referral ministries, each with their own local names, around the world. 

Exodus International serves as a non-profit, interdenominational umbrella agency providing accountability and resources for 
each regional Exodus ministry. 

Many of the conference workshop leaders had overcome homosexuality in their own lives and have since been trained and 
certified as counsellors. 

Canadian Pat Allan grew up the child of missionaries in South America. She was molested by a stranger as a child and when 
she returned to Canada was raped as an adolescent. At age 17, she visited a gay bar and felt she belonged. She lived with her 
lover but God drew her back to Himself. Sixteen years ago, she overcame lesbianism. Today she is the coordinator of Exodus 
International. At the conference, she addressed ministering to the lesbian. 

Marriage problems  

Tye Gamey had struggled with homosexuality in the early years of his marriage while his wife Nancy, had gone into denial. 
Today Tye is the director of New Direction for Life Ministries in Winnipeg and Nancy is a counsellor there. The Gameys spoke 
on marriage and sexual addiction and Nancy gave another workshop on counselling the spouse of a homosexual. 

For the last 15 years, Australian Peter Lane has been evangelizing in the gay bars and streets of Brisbane. Lane claims the gay 
scene is "an unreached people group." Lane himself suffered from the trauma of sexual abuse as a child. He is now the 
coordinator of Exodus South Pacific/Asia. 

The cultural factors in counselling Asian homosexuals were addressed by psychologist Dr. Melvin Wong, who was born and 
raised in Hong Kong, and now works in San Francisco, and psychotherapist Veronica Lok, a counsellor for New Direction for 
Life, Toronto. 

According to Wong and Lok, traditional Asian culture holds sons in higher esteem than daughters, and views sex as primarily 
procreative and a taboo topic in conversation. Emotions are usually suppressed so discussing homosexuality would bring shame 
on the outwardly harmonious family. 

Although many Asians have shifted to more westernized views, these traditional values can still affect inter-generational family 
dynamics, especially among recent immigrants. Counsellors need to be sensitive to them. 

Brazilian psychologist Esly Carvalho, who coordinates Exodus Latin America, spoke on cross-cultural counselling. "Counselling 
is a westernized tool that presupposes counsellor and counselee share the same culture." 

Even within the Hispanic world, she discovered cultural differences as she worked in Peru, Bolivia, Brazil and Cuba. 

Not the answer  

José Maccarone told of how in Buenos Aires where he could be openly gay, he was miserable. He immersed himself not only in 
drugs but also in the occult. 

He was invited to a church where he eventually felt Jesus "embrace" him. At first his parents preferred him gay rather than 
Christian, but for the last seven years José has shared his testimony in the gay bars of Argentina and on the streets of Mexico. 
And he has reconciled with his family. 

In Latin America most homosexuals are not affluent. Some are illiterate and many support themselves as prostitutes. So Exodus 
Latin America helps them not only in their recovery from homosexuality, but also in training for new employment. 

Too often the Christian community doesn't know how to minister to homosexuals who want to leave the lifestyle. The church 
needs the resources of an Exodus ministry just as Exodus needs to know where its clients can find a genuine spiritual home. 

The Second Exodus International Conference has been slated for London, England in June, 2000. The annual Exodus North 
America conference will be held in Seattle, June, 1998. 

Tapes of the 40 workshops are available from: Exodus International, Box 21039, Ajax, ON, L1H 7H2, Tel: (905) 686-7363. 

Other numbers: New Direction for Life, Toronto, (416) 921-6557; 

New Direction for Life, Winnipeg, (204) 452-1826; Another Chance Ministries, Vancouver (604) 430-4154.