Guatemala and Costa Rica hosted Encuentro 2018 from June 30 to July 14, 2018. It impacted the lives of hundreds of people, from the communities where the teams ministered to the volunteers. Nicaraguan Valeria Narvaez shared her testimony of her time serving as a translator in Guatemala.
“I served as a translator during the time of Encuentro and Timothy, and one of the most treasured moments in my heart was the day when we went out to evangelize. The time changed into a pilgrimage of prayer for health. The majority of the people we met asked for prayer for healing. The most powerful was a lady that we met while we were walking. She was going to buy tortillas when Pastor Cesar Robleto from the Gethsemane Church stopped her and asked if she had a prayer request. She said yes and even invited us to her house. She asked us to pray for her daughter who has cancer. She gave us the address of the house and told us to wait for her, but since it was getting late we decided to go to her home. We asked for the girl, whose name was Andrea. We told her that her mother asked us to pray for her. She was surprised, but also happy. The moment of prayer was very beautiful. We could not hold back the tears. Only God knew the need, the pain, the anguish that they were living through. After the prayer, we could see that her face was filled with hope and gratitude. We too were grateful to God for that moment. It was a great privilege to pray with them. The mother arrived in the middle of the prayer. One of the North American sisters shared words of encouragement and we could feel how the Holy Spirit was moving in that place bringing peace and tranquility. It was one of the most difficult translations of my life to have to speak with tears in my eyes, but it was also one of the most beautiful that I have been able to experience.”
