On The Job He Met Christ...Literally

Russ Noll of Pottstown, Pennsylvania enjoyed his job as a cable technician. On the morning of April 26, 2007, he left for work as usual with no idea his life was about to change forever.

“I had one coworker on a ladder against that pole and another coworker against the ladder at that pole and I was responsible for this center section right here. So, I started going up the ladder, the weight of my body pushed this cable line forward, and as I got two-thirds of the way up, almost to the top where I would’ve put on my safety harness, all of a sudden, the cable line ricocheted backwards, and threw my ladder backwards and threw me off  the ladder. As I was falling to the ground, my helmet flew off my head.

Russ plummeted twenty-eight feet to the pavement below and was knocked unconscious. His coworkers immediately called 911. Emergency personnel arrived and transported him to the trauma center at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center. 
Russ, who’d been a Christian for many years, says during that time he was somewhere else completely.

“As soon as I hit the sidewalk, I was in heaven. I wasn't on this earth anymore. I was in a puffy white environment, totally bright white, totally quiet, totally peaceful. It was the most unbelievable experience you could ever imagine. I feel that God was there. He was watching over me. I didn't have any communication with him other than just feeling his presence surrounding me. I didn't feel anything but love.”

Russ woke up in the hospital confused about where he was.

“‘And I realized I was back on earth. And I said, ‘What happened?’ They were like, ‘Russ, you just fell 28 feet died and you're in the trauma center.’ I was like, I didn't feel a thing.’”

Incredibly, his only injuries were two fractured vertebrae, four cracked ribs and a cut on his head.
Russ spent three days in the hospital, then was sent home to recover. While there, he was able to spend more time with his sons, Tyler and Trevor.

“They enjoyed that I was able to be home with them more than just to getting up and going to work every morning. The things they wrote just made me feel so good, touched my heart, you know, and I was so thankful. God sent me back and I've been blessed ever since.”

Soon after, Russ returned to work. Today, he’s retired and looks forward to experiencing heaven again someday. It’s something he shares with people he meets.  

“I was there. It's real. I can't wait to go back. I know God's with me. He will take me back to heaven. It was wonderful. I just hope that others will know that there is a God, there is a creator that's there for those who reach out to him, accept him and open their heart to him.

Heaven is real. Jesus died to forgive you for your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness, so you can experience heaven the way I did.”