The Villavicencio Family
24 Years of Spiritual Torment, Autism, OCD, Agoraphobia - Delivered
November 16, 2025 - Encounter Church
The Meeting
Gary Sheng met Ida Villavicencio at a revival in San Antonio in October 2025. She was a school counselor for at-risk youth, a prayer warrior, a woman who had seen things in the spirit realm since childhood.
She told him about her son Carlos. Twenty-four years old. Diagnosed with Asperger's, OCD, agoraphobia. But that wasn't the real story. The real story was that Carlos had been seeing demons, shadow figures, spiritual entities since before he could remember. Night terrors from infancy. A gift that felt like a curse. A photographic memory trapped in a body that couldn't leave the house. Suicidal thoughts that had plagued him his entire life, held at bay only by his fear of hell.
"Jesus was the only reason I didn't kill myself. If this current earthly realm is so painful, I could only imagine how terrible it would be if I had to spend an eternity in excruciating pain and separation from God." — Carlos
Twenty-four years. That's how long Ida had been praying. How long she'd been interceding for her son, believing for his breakthrough, watching him suffer while trusting that God had a purpose for his extraordinary, sometimes terrifying gift of "spiritual eyes."
The Invitation
Toward the end of the revival, Gary said something that surprised even him: "If your son doesn't get healed during this revival week, come with me to my church. My pastor, Apostle Delmar Coward Jr., has a multi-decade track record of healing through the power of Jesus. Disappearing cancers, the blind seeing, even raising people from the dead."
Ida didn't hesitate. She saw it as a divine appointment.
"I felt in my spirit that you were the key." — Ida
The Warfare
The week before November 16th was intense. Spiritual warfare at every turn, trying to prevent what God had ordained.
Carlos developed severe stomach problems. They had to take him to the ER, where he spent seven hours getting tests. Everything came back normal. The doctors diagnosed it as "gastroparesis."
"If I hadn't gotten sick, I wouldn't be here." — Carlos
Carlos getting sick actually deepened his conviction to come to the church—a decision he was wavering on. He realized it was an opportunity to continue to pray.
Jesus (Ida's husband) also had issues that week. Then Ida herself. But they prayed. They prayed together. They prayed separately. They prayed every single day throughout that week to make it to Liberty.
The morning of November 16th, Carlos almost stayed home because he was in such pain. His stomach was still in turmoil. But Ida prayed over him one more time:
"Son, God does not want you to live in this OCD where you can't leave the house because you have to spend 50 times washing your hands. Or you're afraid of germs. Or you're afraid of sickness."
He got in the car.
The Family's Background
Jesus grew up in Cuba under the religion of Santeria. His family practiced voodoo, made deals with devils. He saw a 10-year-old woman possessed, watched her pick up two people at once with supernatural strength. He was given a fully automatic machine gun at age 10, told to shoot to kill whoever came through the gate. His childhood was guns, drugs, cartels, and demons.
Ida grew up Protestant, a rarity for a Hispanic family. Her family line included ministers and prayer healers. She was born with severely deformed legs, wore a steel bar brace for two years. She had a rare lupus-like disease from birth until age 11 that should have killed her. She was miraculously healed through prayer.
Carlos, their son, was born at the intersection of all this spiritual warfare. Born with "spiritual eyes." Seeing things others couldn't see. Tormented by shadow figures and demonic entities his entire life. Unable to feel emotions for most of his childhood, just mimicking others. Then at 17 or 18, emotions suddenly flooded in, leading to two years of mental breakdowns.
"That profound crisis is what led me to a genuine, desperate faith in Jesus as my only answer." — Carlos
Over dinner Saturday night, Jesus and Ida shared their hearts:
"We've always said, when you have a child, you live for your child. Our life is not our own. We do things for our kids from day one that they were born until now." — Jesus
"All that mattered when I was pregnant with him and then when he was born is that we leave him the understanding of Christ. Because if we die, that's what he'll need. That's the most we could possibly give, any parent could possibly give their kid." — Ida
The Service
Sunday morning, November 16th. They arrived early at Encounter Church. The worship had already started. People welcomed them warmly.
Apostle Delmar preached a powerful sermon about the healing virtue of Jesus—about how miracles and the ability for Christians to step into their power to deliver people from demons and heal the sick is a defining difference between Christianity and other religions.
Then came the altar call: "Who wants a miracle?"
People started lining up. The Villavicencios watched multiple people get healed. One lady with years of knee pain walked away like she had a brand new knee after Apostle laid hands on her.
Then it was their turn.
The Deliverance
Apostle Delmar greeted them. Ida explained the situation, her voice steady but carrying 24 years in it:
"My son, his whole 24 years with autism. Suicide his whole life. He sees demons, devils. Had to homeschool him at 15."
Apostle looked at Carlos directly: "So what do you see right now?"
"Nothing in here," Carlos replied.
Ida added: "He sees them everywhere he goes. And he can't leave the house ever."
Apostle then said: "We're going to get rid of all that's oppressing you for good."
Apostle asked permission from both parents to minister to Carlos. Everything done decently and in order. Then he spoke directly to Carlos's spirit:
"Spirit of Carlos. Front center. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, I bind the spirit of autism. You won't be bothering you any longer. I loose you, spirit of autism, I bind you. Come outta him in the name of Jesus Christ."
Carlos's eyes kept instinctively closing, but Apostle kept commanding his spirit to open them. "Look at me," he said. Again and again.
"I felt something negative leaving me. My body literally felt lighter. Like air. I walked in there feeling heavy, my stomach hurting, just this sense of heaviness. Midway through while he was doing his thing, I felt a lot lighter." — Carlos
But the most powerful moment was what happened to Ida.
As Apostle ministered to her son, as 24 years of prayers were being answered before her eyes, something broke loose in her spirit. She began crying out, uncontrollably. The Holy Spirit power was so strong it overtook her. She was releasing a burden she'd carried since Carlos was born.
"It wasn't really in my brain what was going on. It was in my spirit. I was feeling like a release. It's been a long time holding this in." — Ida
Twenty-four years.
After Carlos, Apostle ministered to Ida for her arthritis and chronic pain. Then to Jesus for his back pain from a car accident 30 years ago—bone on bone, no cartilage. Jesus had refused surgery because everyone he knew who got the surgery came back worse.
One by one, the Villavicencio family received their miracles.
The Reframing
In the car ride home, Carlos was processing:
"The pastor said I have a gift. I literally thought it was just torment."
This was the reframing. What the enemy meant for evil, God meant for good. Carlos's ability to see into the spiritual realm wasn't a curse; it was a gift. Now that the tormenting spirits were bound, now that the spirit of autism and suicide had been cast out, Carlos could begin to understand his true purpose.
"Everyone's calling it a gift. Before today, I figured that if I'm going to have to live with this my entire life, I simply have to accept it." — Carlos
But now it wasn't just acceptance. It was activation.
Ida was overwhelmed with gratitude:
"I've been interceding for so long since Carlos's birth. I've been praying and believing and trusting in the process. Ultimately, I knew that Carlos had to make a choice to believe that God loves him and wants more than what he's experienced."
Jesus, usually stoic and old-school about pain ("You take the pain and you shut up"), couldn't stop smiling. His back felt great.
The Morning After
The morning after the service, Ida sent this message:
"Tell Your Teacher… Pastor in Liberty… That Heaven met us at Encounter church… and infiltrated every single area that was lied to by the enemy… every area in mind body and soul was exposed and sanctified in places we knew not even existed… Our experiences was designed and orchestrated and divinely appointed for God's Glory and his will to ADVANCE his Kingdom come… We are set free… SPOKEN for… and REDEEMED by the blood of the Lamb… Something shifted on Earth as it is in HEAVEN… and his GLORY is and forever will be revealed in My life… Carlos life and Jesus Life… and your life… we are part of the Kingdom Tribe… and the years of trusting and faith and enduring and honoring the Lord through every pit and grave and fire and black hole has been REVEALED so our Soul knows And can DISCERN and SEE… what we are called out of the darkest seasons to do… Heal, Deliver, Restore, Pray, Live, move, breathe, praise, worship and share our anointing… and freedom stories with the world"
Heaven met them at Encounter Church. Something shifted on Earth as it is in Heaven.
The Bigger Picture
The medical system told Carlos he had autism, OCD, agoraphobia. Multiple diagnoses. Multiple labels. Multiple prescriptions recommended. But the real issue wasn't psychological; it was spiritual. And the real solution wasn't therapy or medication; it was deliverance.
"There's nothing in mental health that I have come across in all my time that considers the spirit. That's why I said to Carlos, you're not sick. This is spiritual." — Ida (who has a background in psychology and counseling)
How many people are trapped in the mental health system, being treated for symptoms when the root is spiritual? How many people are on medications that can only manage, never heal? How many families are suffering like the Villavicencios suffered, not knowing there's a better way?
This testimony exists to give hope to believers who are in their own season of long suffering. Keep praying. Keep believing. Keep pressing in.
God answers. Sometimes it takes 24 years. Through a meeting with a 30-something year old Chinese American. Who brings you to an unconventional pastor in a small town outside of Houston.
But He answers.
"Cast out demons and heal the sick. Freely you have received; freely give." — Matthew 10:8