"During my 26 years as a journalist I've interviewed some interesting people and heard some amazing stories. But this week set a new standard when I met two people in southern India who experienced Biblical-style resurrection." -J. Lee Grady

(India)—J. Lee Grady, Editor of Charisma magazine, recently interviewed two people who were raised from the dead during an evangelistic meeting in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Says Grady: "During my 26 years as a journalist I've interviewed some interesting people and heard some amazing stories. But this week set a new standard when I met two people in southern India who experienced Biblical-style resurrection."

The first person Grady interviewed was six-year-old Jyothi Pothabathula. Her father, Suribabu, explained that while enroute to the crusade Jyothi stopped breathing. Suribabu carried her lifeless body to the stage where evangelist Harry Gomes was praying for the sick.

"I know Jesus is a great God because he raised my daughter to life," said Suribabu. The miracle prompted his brother and two other family members to give their lives to Jesus. (Photo: Indian Christians praying-Bibleleague.org)

The other resurrection occurred at a Harry Gomes crusade also, when 45-year-old Mesheck Manepally collapsed at the meeting and began foaming at the mouth. His son, Varaprasad, flagged down an ambulance to take his father to the hospital, but when Gomes heard of the emergency he stopped preaching and walked through the crowd of 100,000 attendees to pray for Manepally. By then, the report notes, he had no pulse and his body was stiffening.

According to the report in FaithNewsNetwork, "Gomes laid his hands on the man and prayed for his life to return. Within a few minutes, Mesheck sat up in the back of the vehicle with a dazed look on his face. 'People started telling me, 'You were dead and now you are alive!' Mesheck said. 'I was confused and I started crying. I was so thankful.'"

Mesheck's wife, Laxmi, is quoted as saying Hindu villagers came to see her husband for 10 days after the incident. "They came to view him as a Lazarus," she said. "The people were saying, 'Their God is the true God.'"

"Every time it happens it boosts the people's faith," said Gomes, who has witnessed five resurrections during his 14 years of doing crusades. "In the Bible we are told that the crowds came not just to see Jesus but to see Lazarus. As the word about these miracles spreads, everyone's faith is elevated."