On June 12, 2016, Muslim terrorist Omar Mateen, entered the Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. At about 2am, Mateen opened fire on the patrons, killing 49 people and wounding 53 others.

Luis Ruiz was present on the night of the shooting. Two of his close friends were shot dead. Ruiz said, “I should have been number 50.”

Ruiz felt he had been given another chance at life, and that led him to reflect on the life he was living. “Going through old pictures of the night of Pulse, I remember my struggles of perversion, heavy drinking to drown out everything and having promiscuous sex that led to HIV. My struggles were real!”

The enemy had its grip, and now God has taken me from that moment and has given me Christ Jesus. I’ve grown to know His love in a deeper level. 2 out of the 49 were close friends and are no longer with us. They lost their life that night.

I should have been number 50 but now I have the chance to live in relationship and not religion – not just loving Christ but being in love with Christ and sharing His love. I know who I am and I am not defined with who the enemy says I used to be – but who Christ Jesus says I am.

Ruiz’s story was shared on Facebook last week ahead of the Freedom March, an event “celebrating freedom from homosexuality and transgender lifestyles by the grace and power of Jesus Christ.”

Christopher Doyle, co-founder of Voice of the Voiceless, who partnered with the event, told NBC the event is “about celebrating our lives and not hating the LGBTQ movement. We made a conscious choice to leave homosexuality, and we should be able to do that without being mocked.”