When I was 3 years old, I developed a serious skin disease. As I got older, my parents took me to the best doctors in Guatemala, and they said there was no cure for me.
At age 7, I started noticing that I was not like everyone else. Besides the pain and itching on my skin, I suffered the rejection of people, and my heart began to harden. My parents always prayed for me, but they did not have a relationship with God.
One day, someone preached the gospel to them, and they gave their lives to the Lord. Less than a year later, when I was 14, we were invited to a revival meeting with the Puerto Rican evangelist Yiye Ávila.
At that point in my life, it had become harder to live with the disease that made pieces of my skin fall off and forced me to sleep with my body wrapped in sheets so that I would not hurt myself during the night. My condition had worsened, and I was very desperate. Every part of my body was in pain, and everything irritated me. I did not want to be with people.
When we got to the meeting, people gave me strange looks, and I wondered, “Why did my mom bring me here?” I sat at the very top of the stadium, as far up as I could.
After several songs of worship, the preacher began to speak: “Christ will heal you today. Receive Jesus, not only for healing in your body, but also in your soul.” I listened but did not want to respond to the call.
He continued: “Receive Jesus in your heart, and your life will change, and you will be [the Lord’s] witness around the world, and you will preach the gospel. You will testify of the wonders you see today.”
As I sat there, thinking that the call was only for other people and not for me, the preacher insisted yet again: “The Lord sent me here today, and He wants to heal you! Just lift up your hand to receive Him and come down to the altar.”
At that moment, I prayed: “Lord, if You are real, if You are the almighty God, remove this itching, this bitterness and the pain that is in me because I am not happy. I’m 14 years old, and I am not happy.”
I began to weep, and I gave my life to the Lord. That night, God healed my heart. I held onto what I learned from the message; I held onto faith and felt joy in my heart; but my skin condition had not changed, and the unbearable pain continued.
But the next morning, when I got up and looked in the mirror, I saw the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my life. I was looking at myself—I was completely healed! My skin was clear from my head to my toes. I jumped, I cried, I celebrated—I had no more pain!
After that day, the people in my neighborhood would look at me and say, “You’re the girl who was sick, right?” I would answer, “Christ healed me!” Since then, I have served the Lord and believed in His power.
Today, I speak at conferences, visit orphanages and prisons, have a doctorate in theology, and this year my husband, Herminio, and I are planting All for Christ, a Foursquare church in Santa Clarita, Calif.
I encourage everyone to revive the fire on the altar of God because there is healing in Him. The Lord is the same yesterday, today and forever.
