I was 13 years old when I went to a young men’s camp for the first time. In Brazil, these camps were usually made away from the city, at a farm. I took my journal with me and there I had written about the feelings I had for one of the boys. I had written he was cute and that I wanted to be friends with him. I wasn’t aware of my sexuality at the time. I was just a kid.
An older boy found my journal and read it and then gave it to the bishop that was there at the camp with us. He read what I had written and had a talk with me about homosexuality and asked me questions about masturbation. I remember the feeling of shame I had, and fear, because he told me he would tell my parents.
This led to a disciplinary action. I could not take the sacrament for almost a year and I was treated with difference for a long time at church. My parents were very sad with me and that made me very sad too. That made a negative impression that lasts until today. I have been dealing with low self-esteem and have not been able to have a relationship with either a man or a woman. I came to the conclusion that I am bisexual. I think no one was prepared to deal with was happening to me, especially the bishop and I believe he led my parents astray causing them to be ashamed of me. Now I’m 28 years old.