Richard & Barbara Vsetecka
COVID Pneumonia Healed - New Lungs
June 14, 2023 - Encounter Church
The Condition
In 2022, Barbara Vsetecka contracted COVID-19. It developed into pneumonia in both lungs. The doctors gave her a grim prognosis: she was going to die.
The hospital put her on Remdesivir—a drug that Richard later learned causes kidney failure. They gave it to her five times in about one week. Many patients died after just one dose. Barbara survived, but she was deteriorating.
"When I'd make an appointment to see her, they'd put her in a wheelchair and I'd get her out in the parking lot. I brought some warm water and washcloth and I'd wash her feet and her hands and her face. They weren't taking care of her at all. I was doing it out in the parking lot."
The hospital tried to convince Richard to leave her there. They told him her mind was "completely gone" and she'd be "a handful at home." But Richard saw what was really happening.
"I realized she was not gonna get better. They were actually making her worse. She was almost like a zombie with all the crap they gave her."
Richard got Barbara out of the hospital against their recommendations. She required portable oxygen equipment just to survive. They had to wait six months for a portable unit because demand was so high.
For about a year, Barbara lived on supplemental oxygen—a stationary unit at home and a portable one for going out. The doctors offered a new drug that might "slow the deterioration," but the side effects were so severe they declined after one visit.
How They Found Encounter
Richard had been preaching at Liberty County Jail through the Gideons ministry. One Thursday night, he mentioned to the inmates the problems he and Barbara were facing.
Two prisoners raised their hands.
"Hey, the chaplain does healing. He just built a church down from Ames."
"Has he ever healed you guys?"
"Yeah, he comes here on Tuesdays. I just felt warm all over."
The prisoners told Richard about Apostle Delmar. Richard had never heard of anything like this. Healing ministry was completely new to him.
The next morning—Friday—he called Apostle Delmar. Apostle was in Florida but said: "I will be back home on Wednesday. Bring your wife to church on Wednesday and we'll take care of it."
The Healing
On June 14, 2023, Richard and Barbara arrived at Encounter Church. When Apostle Delmar saw them, he said: "You guys actually showed up." Most people say they'll come but never do.
He invited them to sit on the front row. After about an hour and twenty minutes of service, the healing portion began. Apostle asked Barbara to come up first.
Barbara is a hugger. She went up to embrace him, and he said, "Okay, that's the way we'll do it." He hugged her the entire time he was praying—about four or five minutes.
Apostle declared:
"We release your healing virtue... COVID pneumonia that was in her lungs, left. All that scar tissue go in the name of Jesus. All the scarring in her lungs go. We loose a creative miracle in her lungs right now and declare her lungs are healthy, her breathing is proper."
"I see new lungs. I see new lungs. I release new lungs from the kingdom in the name of Jesus."
"There will not be a symptom or a trace that that has ever been in her lungs, and she will live her 120 years. I declare it. I'm believing for it."
Barbara went down under the power. When she came back up, she tried to cough—and couldn't.
"She said, 'I tried to cough and I couldn't.'"
The doctors had said she would die. Now they can't find a trace of COVID damage in her lungs.
Immediate Response
Right after receiving her healing, Barbara saw another woman at the altar who needed healing for her heart. She immediately went over to lay hands on her.
The helpers tried to stop her: "No, no, get away."
But Apostle Delmar intervened: "No, she got her healing. She wants to give somebody else the same thing." He let her pray for the woman.
"That was just a reaction. She didn't think about it. She wanted to share it with somebody else."
Richard's Journey to Faith
Richard, now 83, grew up Catholic in a tradition of works rather than grace. He didn't really know if he was saved—just hoped for the best.
In 1975, at age 33, he was going through a divorce and seeking custody of his 4-year-old daughter. His coworkers told him he was wasting his time—courts always gave young daughters to the mother.
But Richard got custody. That was his first indication that God was working in his life.
Shortly after, a neighbor invited him to a Baptist church. Within two weeks, he was saved. The breakthrough came when the pastor visited his home and read John 14:6: "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
"The light came on. It was amazing. God's light just shown on me then."
Years later, after his second wife of 37 years passed away from complications of pneumonia (she had a transplanted kidney), Richard lay in bed talking to God.
"I said, 'Lord, I just want to serve you.' And He comes right back: 'I have gifts I want to give you, but you're not ready to receive them yet.'"
Within a year, God revealed the main gift: Barbara—another spiritual woman to be his partner. They've been married eight years.
Life After the Miracle
Richard and Barbara now attend Encounter Church faithfully. They arrive early to hug everyone before service starts. Apostle Delmar told them: "That's a ministry in itself. Keep it up."
They've adopted "honorary grandchildren" among the young workers at local restaurants and stores. One young manager at Harbor Freight told them: "When you guys come in the door, I see a blue aura around you when you walk down the aisle."
Barbara has a special connection with babies—they reach for her or smile immediately when she approaches. Richard recognizes this as spiritual.
"We go out in public. We're not afraid to engage people and offer them a hug. We've never been turned down."
On Modern Medicine
The experience radicalized their view of the healthcare system:
"These hospitals and nursing homes were getting somewhere around $39,000 to kill patients. Elderly patients that didn't know what was going on. Or people still believing that the doctors are there for good."
They've stayed away from pharmaceuticals since, taking supplements and praying over everything they eat.
"We pray: 'Thank God, we're doing the best we can, but we need your help to make this stuff safe for the nourishment of our bodies so we can serve the kingdom.'"
On Finding Encounter
When asked if they'd ever experienced anything like miracles before:
"No. This was strange to both of us. The Catholic Church taught us that happened back then—it doesn't happen now. The first time we heard of Miracle Signs and Wonders was at Encounter."
Richard reflected on how this feels like a conspiracy against Christ:
"Satan has conquered religion. He's hiding the fact that God's so powerful and loves us. The Sadducees and Pharisees—'We are the power, we make the rules.' We've been hoodwinked for so long."
In Their Own Words
On God's timing:
"God is watching you all the time and He reveals stuff to you when you are ready for it. Only when you're ready. People talk about revelations—those are individual. Based on the individual relationship you have with your Lord and Savior."
On their marriage:
"When we got married, we said we're gonna live to a hundred. Now we got an extra 20 years. Serve the Lord that much longer."
On Encounter Church:
"We went to only one other church since we joined Encounter. No comparison. I would never want to go to another church. You get spoiled on miracle signs and wonders. When you realize what it's really supposed to be versus the lukewarm, watered-down version you've been getting all your life, you think: How come I didn't find out about this sooner?"
On Barbara's nature:
"I just don't like to treat people bad, and I don't like to be treated bad. If you treat people bad, you can't expect them to respond well. You gotta treat people kind-hearted."
"The doctors said I was gonna die. Now they can't find a trace." — Barbara Vsetecka