Bitten To Death

And now he s come to the Littlehampton area to share his strange and chilling story, talking about his experiences at a public meeting of Arun Community Church.

Aged 45, New Zealander Ian is living locally for the next five months with his wife Jane, their two young children, and a third on the way.

After studying veterinary science, Ian lived on Mauritius, an island paradise in the Indian Ocean, in 1982. It was while diving for fish that he was horribly stung by the highly venomous box jellyfish or "sea wasp".

"It felt like thousands of volts of electricity," he recalled. A qualified lifeguard and experienced surfer, he knew the ocean "like the back of my hand". But even that did not prepare him for such a terrifying ordeal.

"My forearm was swollen like a balloon," he remembered, "and where the tentacles had stung, there were burn-like blisters across my arm. I felt on fire as the poison began moving round my body."

He tried calling for help. No-one came to his aid until he begged for his life. After a horrific chain of events, an ambulance arrived and took him to a local hospital. But it was too late. He was later told he had been clinically dead for 15 minutes.

While in that state, Ian claims he saw startling visions of heaven and hell even though he was "a full-blown heathen" at the time. Not surprisingly, the doctors and nurses recoiled in shock when he came back to life.

"I had an experience that totally transformed my life," he explained, "when the tangible love of God came into my heart. It brought me to tears."

Since then, Ian has been a church pastor, a missionary working among the poor of Asia, and now travels the world sharing the story of his conversion. As a result, many people have been challenged and comforted.

There will be another chance to hear Ian s story on Saturday, February 23, at 8pm in the sports hall of the Littlehampton Community School. Phone Arun Community Church for more details (782744).