'Touched by God': Woman Walks Again After 5 Years of Immobility at 'Miraculous' Revival Event

Hundreds of people are sharing about a life-changing experience that took place at a Virginia church in July where blind eyes were opened, the lame walked, and the power of God set people free from years of oppression.

They say what took place at Parousia Encounter Conference in Virginia Beach, VA can be likened to the biblical accounts found in the Book of Acts where the lame walked, people were set free from demons, and hundreds made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ. 

The two-day event kicked off on July 21-22, 2023 and hundreds are still sharing about how their lives have changed.

Apostle Demontae Edmonds, founder of Destiny for the Nations, hosted the conference. He told CBN News he began Parousia as a means to encourage people to serve Jesus in a greater way. 

"[My hope is] for people to have an encounter with the tangible presence of God. That they know that Jesus is alive and that he is real," he shared.

Able to Walk and See Once Again

And many of the attendees are sharing how God has healed them emotionally and physically. 

Minister Samuella Hopkins of Hampton, VA struggled with spinal stenosis and needed a cane to walk. 

She told CBN News that all changed at Parousia.

"[Edmonds] prayed for me and I was slain in the Spirit," she recalled. "When I got up off the floor I knew that I received my healing."

"I couldn't stand a long time without the cane, but when I got up (at Parousia) I was able to walk without the cane and I haven't used a cane since then."

Dr. Warren Singleton publicly shared that he had completely lost sight in his right eye. He had even undergone surgery to help correct the issue, but he still could not see. 

Edmonds prayed for him on that Friday night and he began to see out of that eye. 

Edmonds lives a life of prayer and he shares that is how this event all started. 

"I went into a time of prayer and the Lord told me to start Parousia back up. It initially started before the COVID-19 pandemic, but had to be put on hold during that time."

Edmonds says that, since it has restarted, he has seen what many would label as impossible. 

"God told me years ago that He was going to use our ministry as a catalyst or a forerunner to shift the body of Christ into the fullness of the Spirit," he told CBN News. 

Part of that fullness includes miraculous healings. 

Edmonds explains, "I share with people that all that Jesus suffered for on the Cross is available to us today. The scripture says in Hebrews 13:8 (NKJV), 'Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.' This one verse lets me know that if Jesus healed people and worked miracles in his days and in the Early Church he has not changed and does not change. He not only desires but is able to do the same things in our day and time."

Pastor Garlena Ramos suffered from chronic knee pain and was unable to walk long distances. 

"I was walking with a cane and my knee was 'bone on bone', she said of her condition. "The cartilage in my knee was gone."

She continued, "Apostle Demontae asked those who were walking with canes and walkers to come to the altar. I came to the altar and after he prayed I was able to move my knee with no pain. I was able to run across the stage with no pain and no cane. Prior to him praying I was barely mobile."

Ramos is rejoicing over her experience.

"I'm in awe of what God did that night," she said.

Worship leader Joseph Stallings has worked with Edmonds' ministry for many years. 

Stallings says, "My desire is to see people have an encounter with the Lord and reconnect any severed ties they may have with Him. It's important to have a connection because it brings unity."

"My heart in any space of worship is to hold the door, so others can enter the throne room," he told CBN News.

First-Time Decisions for Christ

The Parousia conference was not only full of miraculous healings, but many made first-time decisions for Christ including 19-year-old Tmiya Murphy who was recently killed on August 1 in a drive-by shooting. 

Her best friend, Sade Thomas, invited her to the event. When Edmonds invited people to give their life to Christ, she went up.

"I'm the reason why she went [to the event]," Thomas told CBN News. "I was shocked when she went up there to get saved."

Thomas said she is heartbroken over the death of her friend but she is "confident in knowing that she is saved."

Others received emotional healing from abuse and trauma.

Nurse Practitioner Witnessed a Woman Being Healed

Multiple attendees confirmed an account of an elderly woman who got up out of her motorized scooter and walked.

LaVeria Edmonds told CBN News that she had not been able to walk, dance, or run in five years because she needed a double knee replacement. 

"I wasn't doing much walking at all. Maybe four feet at the most," she explained. 

Edmonds recalls that after she received prayer, she wrestled with doubt. 

"In my head, I was saying 'I can't walk, I don't have my cane, I don't have my walker, and my scooter is far away,'" she said. 

But she believes she experienced a divine encounter with God.

"I saw these hands in front of me and I was holding those hands as I was walking," Edmonds added. "It was a divine intervention from God. He gave me His hands to hold on to."

She said, "I ended up walking across the stage, from the front of the church down to the back of the church, pushing my own scooter."

She shared that she now only uses her walker adding she is still overwhelmed with emotions about the encounter. 

"[I] feel blessed," Edmonds admitted. "He is real. And to be touched by God is an experience."

Dr. Angela Martin is a nurse practitioner with a doctorate degree. She confirmed to CBN News that due to the condition of Edmonds' feet, before receiving prayer, she had been immobile for many years. 

"I had looked at her feet before her getting up. I could tell by looking at her feet that she had been non-ambulatory for a while and she had a chronic foot deformity," she explained. 

Martin admitted she did not personally know LaVeria Edmonds, but she could tell by "the shape of her feet she had been non-weight bearing for a while."

Martin said all that changed once Edmonds received prayer. 

"As she did get up and start walking originally the posture of her feet was consistent with somebody who had not been able to walk but after that, you could see the shape of her feet changing and her weight-bearing status improved," she explained. "I feel like every step of faith she took, I just saw her feet transforming like the shape."

Martin continued, "I don't know the lady and haven't seen her since. I just know that I witnessed a miracle just looking at her feet and watching her ankles and how her feet seemed to change, physically conform, was really miraculous. They helped her up and at first she was shaky, but then she was walking and dancing. It was such a beautiful thing." 

"There were so many healings, deliverances, and salvations. If I had a thousand tongues, I could not verbalize and capture all that took place. Jesus was definitely there...saving the lost, healing the sick, and setting the captives free," Martin remarked.

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