Lana Garpestad treats a lady in Peru in the dental area of the HCM clinic.
Lana Garpestad treats a lady in Peru in the dental area of the HCM clinic.
Dr. Nana Pang conducts a vision exam for a woman in Peru.
Dr. Nana Pang conducts a vision exam for a woman in Peru.
Missionary host, Irene Serrano, takes a patient’s vital signs before she sees one of the examiners in the HCM clinic in Peru.
Missionary host, Irene Serrano, takes a patient’s vital signs before she sees one of the examiners in the HCM clinic in Peru.
August 2

By Carrie Stewart as told by Marissa Guevara

There was a rare lull in the pharmacy area of the HealthCare Ministries clinic high in the mountains of Peru.  The team had been treating people's physical needs and sharing the Gospel with several hundred people already, but Marissa found one day she could freely step away from the pharmacy for a few minutes to observe other areas of the clinic.  She poked her head into the area where spiritual counseling was held-an area where patients would come after they had been seen by the doctor, dentist or optometrist to meet for prayer with a church member.

Marissa observed an elderly lady sitting by herself in the spiritual counseling area while two other people were being prayed for.  Marissa sat down next to her, and seeing the white lab coat, the lady began telling her how much her back and knee hurt.  In what little Spanish she knew, Marissa told her they would get her the right medicine, but that Jesus was her true Healer.

Pastor Sam Serrano, the host missionary, came by at that moment, so Marissa asked if he would translate while she prayed for the woman in English.  She prayed for her physical and spiritual healing, and by the end of the prayer the woman was in tears.  She wouldn't stop thanking her, and Marissa said that Jesus was the one to thank because He touched her.

Marissa had to get back to pharmacy to continue filling prescriptions for patients.  A few minutes later her translator came to her to say that an elderly grandmother wasn't able to get up to get her prescriptions from pharmacy.  The medication was ready, so the translator led Marissa into spiritual counseling where the grandmother was waiting.  She turned out to be the same one who Marissa had been praying with.

Marissa was grateful for the divine appointment of praying with a woman in so much pain she couldn't move and that Jesus had given her a special touch.