Thankappan was a taxi driver and also a fanatic Hindu. He never liked Christian missionaries. He often spoke out against Christianity and even organized people near Hindu temples to challenge the Christians’ evangelistic activities.
Once when he was driving his taxi he happened to drive near a church meeting conducted by Pastor Paul Ciniraj Mohamed. He noticed a former Muslim and a former Hindu witnessing for Christ. This enraged him. He got so angry he spit at the meeting through his car window.
At that very moment – while his anger distracted him — his car was hit by a large truck and he sustained substantial injuries. Hospitalized, he entered into a coma, and doctors offered his family little hope he would survive.
After few days, while still in the coma, something remarkable happened. He had a vision that Jesus Christ touched him and said, “I am giving you life again. Confess your sins and become my witness.”
When Thankappan opened his eyes for the first time, he saw Pastor Paul praying over him. Others, including his wife, stood nearby with tears in their eyes, expecting his death at any moment.
Though Thankappan had been unable to speak, he slowly opened his mouth and said to Pastor Paul, “Pastor, I spat at you. I spat at Jesus Christ. I persecuted the Lord Jesus and His servants. Forgive me. Forgive me. Ask my Lord to forgive me.” Then he began to weep deeply.
A short time later, someone called for the doctor. He was amazed to see Thankappan had emerged from the coma, speaking and crying.
“This is a great miracle!” he exclaimed.
After Thankappan’s body healed, he was baptized and became an evangelist, distributing tracts and literature and witnessing about Jesus all over the city. His wife became a believer and also helped him.
Thankappan says, “I was persecuting Christians; but the Lord Jesus fought for His children.”
In the accident, Thankappan’s intestines came out of his stomach cavity. Doctors were unable to replace the intestines in their original position, and instead created a pouch outside his body, which hangs below his waist.
“The Lord Jesus mightily fights for His children,” Thankappan declares. “If anybody is persecuting Christians, I am a clear example,” he says.
When Thankappan evangelizes on street corners, he holds the Bible in one hand and reveals his unusual stomach as part of his testimony. “I was an enemy of Christians, but Jesus Christ loved me, made me alive and saved me from sin and death. Now I am His servant,” he declares.
Pray that Thankappan would continue to be used mightily as a witness for the Lord, especially to his unsaved family members.
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