REPORTER: The boy seated in back was severely injured

but may be able to communicate enough to help

explain what happened.

NARRATOR: July 1, 1999, Newport News, Virginia.

A drunk driver crosses above the median and slams

into a car of teenagers at 80 miles per hour.

There is one survivor.

Meanwhile, Dianne Gerly is struggling

to sleep because she felt a prompting from God.

DIANNE GERLY: I just saw the one word, accident.

I felt that it was somebody that was very close to me.

[PHONE RINGS]

NARRATOR: Moments later, Dianne gets a call

from Riverside Hospital.

Her 18-year-old son J.R. was in a tragic accident.

DIANNE GERLY: I was a shock.

I was numb.

I mean I was-- it didn't seem real.

NARRATOR: Dianne arrived at the ER

just as her son was regaining consciousness.

DIANNE GERLY: I could only read his eyes because his face was

so disfigured.

He was saying, mama, am I going to die?

J.R. GERLY: She said, baby, you're not going to die.

God said, that you're going to live and declare

the work of the Lord.

NARRATOR: J.R. had a host of injuries including

brain swelling, a shattered jawbone,

and a crushed left hand.

DIANNE GERLY: They say, he may not make it through the night.

I could not believe that these words were coming to me,

that was being said to me.

I just-- and I was saying, on the inside, Lord,

save my child.

Don't let him die.

NARRATOR: Word quickly spread and people

from their church and community began showing up to pray.

DIANNE GERLY: They were just huddled around saying,

you know, he's not gonna die.

God's not going to take him and they were praying.

NARRATOR: J.R. Made it through the night.

The next morning, he went through eight hours of surgery.

Doctors said J.R. Would live, but his future wasn't hopeful.

I would definitely have some brain damage.

I would never be able to regain the use of my hand,

that I would have trouble speaking,

and I would probably have to have someone aide me,

or help me, for the rest of my life.

NARRATOR: A week later, J.R. Poured out his anger

towards God.

J.R. GERLY: How could you allow this to happen?

How could you let this happen?

I was honest with Him.

I was like, I don't want to-- I don't want to live like this.

I don't want to live like this.

I remember feeling the presence of the Lord just come

in my room.

The Holy Spirit told me that He was going to heal me,

and in doing so, it would be like nothing ever happened.

Hope and peace came flooding back into my spirit.

Literally, I was revived.

And at that moment, I decided that I was not

going to be angry.

That I was going to trust Him, and that He

was going to do what He said He was going to do.

NARRATOR: J.R. says, after that night,

he began healing more quickly than even doctors expected.

It's almost like my body just began

to put things back in order.

Every day there was a visible change.

You could see it.

NARRATOR: The next several months

he went through rigorous therapy, depending on God

to heal his mind and body.

I felt, literally, like the Lord was strengthening me.

I felt like I had a new lease on life, and the new mission,

and I was determined to hold up my end.

I was determined to serve God.

NARRATOR: Within the next year, J.R.

says he fully recovered from all of his injuries,

including regaining full use his hand.

J.R. GERLY: There's not anything that I could do then that I

cannot-- that I can't do.

God healed me.

NARRATOR: Today, J.R. leads a young adult ministry

in his hometown and shares his story often.

God answered all my prayers and he was-- He is faithful.

Every now and then I laugh as people look right at me

and they, unknowingly, they repeat the promise

that the Lord gave me, and they tell me,

man it looks like nothing ever happened.

And I said well, that's exactly according

to the word of the Lord.

[MUSIC PLAYING]