In an unbelievable testimony, a well known businessman and pastor, Joe Singh, told family and friends how his son, Matthew “was raised from the dead”.

On the 30th December 2015 at about 23:00, Matthew, his eldest son, was admitted into the intensive Care Unit of the Life Midmed Hospital. “Matthew had just drowned in our dam at about 21:15 that night.”

They were all swimming when Mr Singh noticed that Matthew was the furthest away from him. “The water was up to his neck, but he was close to a water outlet, which means that he was standing on a foundation.”

He glanced at Matthew a few minutes later and didn’t see him. He asked those around him if someone had seen Matthew leave. Mr Godrey Dollar, who was part of the group, said that he thought that Matthew had left.

He shouted for everyone to come closer to the dam wall to look for Matthew, because he believed that he was under the water. Their dam water is the colour of mud and the bottom could not be seen. Five other adults and two youngsters started walking with Mr Singh towards the wall, while feeling with their feet on the ground.

“I swam to where I had last seen Matthew about 15 metres away. I searched the area, becoming anxious while directing the others to speed up the search.”

His brother-in-law, Nervan Naidoo, who was about 10 metres away from him, shouted: “Here he is!”

Mr Naidoo was staring into the water. He had stumbled on to something. He moved his leg further and pressed down. He had felt Matthew at the bottom of the water.

Mr Dollar helped Mr Naidoo to take Matthew out of the water, while Mr Singh was making his way towards them.

“I will not describe the full details about how Matthew looked. He came out whitish, still (frozen like). His eyes were fully opened, the whites showing, his mouth was clenched shut, with both hands stiff in front of him.

“You can think someone is dead when they are on the ground, but when you take someone out from under the water, you know they are dead. Matthew was lifeless and frozen.”

Mr Singh said in his testimony: ” I reminded the Lord of my request to Him a few years ago. I said: ‘Lord, I asked you that no one dies in this place. Not Matthew, not anybody’. Lord I want Matthew alive and in the same or better condition than he was.”

Mr Singh tried CPR, but there was no access through his mouth. “I was hoping for water to come gushing out of Matthews mouth but it never happened.”

While praying and working on Matthew, they heard a slight groan which started to get louder. Matthew’s eyes started to change colour, but he still stayed wide eyed.

By the time the paramedics arrived, Matthew was able to nod his head when his father spoke to him.

When the paramedics got close, Matthew tried to get up. Mr Singh asked him if he wanted to stand.

He nodded. Mr Singh was still holding him. He took two steps to the waiting stretcher

“The Lord had raised the dead!”

After the doctor had tended to Matthew, Mr Singh was called in. His first words to him were: “There is no way that Matthew was in the water for more than 30 seconds.”

His answer to the doctor was: “Don’t worry about the time doctor. How is my son?”

The doctor showed Mr Singh the brain count, being at a level three, stating once again that it is impossible that Matthew had been in the water for more than 30 seconds.

The bad news was that Matthew’s lungs and stomach were filled with water. He feared that a respiratory failure and infection could set in.

“I said that this is still good news. We have something to take to the Lord!” Matthew was admitted to ICU and had quite severe seizures during that first night.

Mr Singh was called in on the 2nd January 2016 by Matthew’s physician. He asked Mr Singh to talk to Matthew and to tell him to stay in ICU for another two days, as Matthew wanted to be discharged.

“His second question was, did I really find Matthew at the bottom of the dam? I said that the only way we knew he was there, was when we stepped on him.

He reached out his hand, shook my hand and said: ‘That is a miracle!’

Matthew was moved to a normal ward on the 4th January and discharged on the 5th January.

“Matthew is 100%. We give the Lord, all the praise, glory and honour.

We thank him for His grace of favour in our lives.”

• The incident happened on the farm, Spring Forest, about 20km out of town on the Stoffberg road.