For the last 7 years, from age 15 till now, it was believed that I had Celiacs Disease. This meant that I was not able to eat gluten, wheat, oats, rye, barley, malt, etc. If I did eat any of those things, it would damage my intestine.

I got really sick when I was 15. I was hospitalized, missed school, couldn't eat and lost way too much weight. I went through a series of tests and they could not figure out what was wrong with me. Eventually my doctor thought that it could be Celiacs. When I went to the specialist, I was so sick he told me to go on the diet right away, to try it and see if it would work. I went on the diet and within a month I was feeling better. So though I was never diagnosed with Celiacs, we believed that I had that because the diet seemed to be working.

This past year I realized that I still was not feeling that great all the time. I would feel nauseated, my stomach would hurt, I would lost my appetite, I would miss school, feel sick and really drained at work, and I kept thinking to myself, this isn't normal.

Before I left for Mexico, I did a blood test that would detect what kind of foods I was sensitive to. The doctor said that she would email me the results if they came back while I was away. The Wednesday we were in Mexico, I kept thinking that I should have the results back. My dad talked to my mom and he told me to check my email. The first line of the email was
Karla try not to be discouraged by the results. Not exactly what you want to hear when hoping that you do not have Celiacs.

One of the guys on the team, Glen (or Glen-O as I like to call him! It's his Spanish name lol) said that i should ask for Tony, the pastor of the church we were helping out at, to pray over me because there has been healing there before. I thought that was a great idea, but completely forgot about it for some reason that night and the next day. Thankfully, Glen-O did not and he talked to Tony before church on Thursday night.

Pastor Tony called me up to the front, his wife placed her hands on my stomach, and the whole team stood behind me. Tony started to pray and I was just overcome with peace. I felt so protected with those hands on me-so safe and so secure.

The whole congregation joined in on Tony's prayer and the whole experience was amazing and life changing. First of all, I had to truly believe that God could heal me. I think all too often it is easy to think that yes, God heals, but for some reason, we don't believe it can happen to us. Pride? Yup, probably, because I have never asked for prayer to be completely healed. Tony told me after the service that the Holy Spirit was upon him and the words that he professed of me being healed and proclaiming to others that
Mexico healed me were words from the Holy Spirit.

The following Tuesday I went to the doctors to discuss my test results. It turns out that I am sensitive to rice, not oats, and that I would be able to eat wheat, gluten, and rye again, but I should still stay away from milk and eggs because those types of foods could make me feel sick. I was ecstatic!!! I was astonished that I could not have rice. No wonder why I haven't been feeling well for so long!

So this past week has really been life changing. I ate pizza (seriously, you have no idea what it is like to go so long without pizza-that was the one thing I craved when I was on the Celiacs diet). I have so many food options now. My stomach feels good, I feel good. I don't feel sick anymore. I have more energy. I am just so excited and feel so blessed. God's timing was perfect in all this. Tony and the team pray for me in Mexico and then I come back home and have a test that proves I do not have Celiacs, and nor do I have to be on such a crazy diet like I was. Praise God. Mexico heals.