On October 19, 1997, Landon Whitley was going home from church with his mother and father in the backseat when disaster happened. I couldn’t make out what he was shouting at. I didn’t see the ambulance approaching, but I do recall him shouting. «That was the last thing I heard from him,» Landon’s mother, Julie Kemp, told Fox News. The «he» she refers to is her husband, Andy, and the ambulance she mentions collided with their vehicle at an intersection.

Landon was just eight years old when an ambulance on its way back to the station T-boned his family’s automobile at an intersection. His father perished in an instant. Rescuers rescued Julie but were unaware that Landon was also in the vehicle. «They couldn’t see his body because of the damage to the driver’s side of the vehicle,» Julie stated. «Landon was seated behind his father.» When they found Landon’s shoe, they started looking for a child’s corpse, according to CBN.

Landon was ultimately located, but he wasn’t breathing. Resuscitation measures were quickly initiated, and he was airlifted away from the site. He d.i.ed several times that day. He was brought back from the d.e.ad each time, but he wasn’t out of the woods. «They told me that if he survived, which didn’t seem likely, but if he lived, he’d be like an 8-year-old baby,» Julie recounted. «Because of the brain damage, he would be unable to move, communicate, or eat.» That was OK with me since I was desperate. I’d accept anything simply to have him. «He was all I had.»

Julie had to put her spouse to rest as her kid struggled for his life. She said at his burial that she felt betrayed by God. «I felt sad and disappointed.» And while I’m at the funeral, I’m yelling at God. «I’m not sure why this occurred,» she said. «I’m not sure why God didn’t send angels to defend us.» But in the next breath, I’m praying to God as hard as I’ve ever prayed in my life for Landon’s survival. »

Despite the fact that Landon suffered severe brain injuries in the accident and was placed in a coma, hooked up to various equipment to keep him alive, the kid opened his eyes two weeks later, answering Julie’s prayers. To everyone’s surprise, he had no brain injury. In the middle of her joy that her son was finally awake, Julie realized she needed to inform him that his father had d.i.ed. «On his face, he had scars.» And his brain was filled with pain. «And I didn’t want to harm him any longer,» Julie recalled. «So I asked Landon, ‘Landon, do you know where your father is?'» And he said, «Yes, I know where he is.» «I saw him in paradise,» I said.

That wasn’t the only thing Landon saw in paradise. He saw family members who had .d.i.ed before him and siblings he had no idea he had. «He turned to face me and said, «Oh mom, by the way, I forgot to tell you.» «I saw your other two children.» And I simply stared at him since I didn’t understand what he was saying. But, before Landon, I had two miscarriages. «He saw them in paradise,» Julie said. «We’d never told Landon about it.» He had no idea that we had already lost two children.

«Even though no one had ever informed me about them, I knew they were my brothers,» Landon added. «I think you know—you know your own or you know who everyone is by being in Heaven.» Landon said that each time he passed, he had a new experience in paradise. He claims that on his third visit, he encountered Jesus and was given a message and a purpose.

«Jesus appeared to me and told me that I needed to return to earth and be a good Christian, telling people about Him,» Landon said. «I simply want people to understand that Jesus is real, that there is a heaven, and that there are angels.» And to obey His word and the Bible, and life does improve in the end.

Following Jesus’ instruction that day, Landon and Julie now share their experience to aid others who are grieving and in need of hope. «I know it’s for Jesus,» Landon said. «I know he’s real.» I know angels are present. I know there is a heaven. I’ve witnessed Jesus. I know he’s present. He’s asked me to do this, and I’m doing it. »

«I didn’t understand why God didn’t send an angel in 1997.» But I know there were angels present. And I know we were protected, and we are carrying out His plan for us, «Julie added. «Instead of getting trapped in pain or being angry at Him,» she said, «I was able to utilize my experience to encourage others not to give up and preserve their faith on their mourning journey.» «It’s a big gift for me to be able to witness my kid teach people about Jesus,» Julie said. «He is always eager to tell people that there is a heaven.» because he was present.