In our September issue, we introduced you to Héctor Gómez, founder of an organization based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, named “Au delà de l´arc-en-ciel” (ADA) in French, “Beyond the Rainbow” in English and “Más allá del arco iris” in Spanish. We shared Héctor’s background – his roots in Colombia and his arrival in Canada as an immigrant. Here, we present Part 2 of this 2-part series.

(You may wish to jump over and read “Someone You Must Know: Héctor Gómez” now, and then return to pick up the story here.)

Roots

Uprooted from his home country, Héctor Gómez arrived in Quebec City on August 31, 2000, expecting to feel safe. Instead, he felt isolated and sad. In addition to the isolation he felt and the depression that came upon him as a result, he mourned from afar the deaths of his mother, a sister, and his father (who, in time, and along with his brothers, had come to accept Héctor’s homosexuality). “I couldn’t go to their funerals because I could not leave Canada nor return to my country at that time,” he explains.

By Heidi Mann, Associate Editor

Rev. Heidi Mann serves as Associate Editor, copy-editor, "Someone You MUST Know" feature author, and all around "God send" for 10,000 Couples. She is also a freelancer and owns Final Touch Proofreading and Editing, LLC. Heidi has been something of a wordsmith in various contexts throughout her life, from junior high, when she first started writing poetry; through high school, college, and graduate school, where writing skills came in very handy; and on through 13+ years of ministry as a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), a role in which she wrote regularly for sermons, newsletters, and correspondence. Heidi lives in the tiny and delightful town of Hendrum, Minn., with her husband, 2 young sons, and 4 mischievous cats.