Meet Vanessa Ransom

Vanessa Ransom Shares How Faith in God Saved Her Brother...Literally

As told to Jerilyn Taylor

God’s Great and Mighty Glory!
Not long ago, I received a call from CHP telling me that my brother Damon had been in a car accident. He had used his cell phone to call for help but didn’t know where he was. They asked me if I knew whom he was with or where he could have been going. I hadn’t a clue, but said that I would find out anything I could and call them back. I called my father to ask he if he might know. He did not.

Then I stopped and I prayed! I pressed into my covenant Representative and Partner. I made a demand on my inheritance, for God to rebuke the devourer for my sake (my brother, to my knowledge has not received Christ yet). I asked God, assured in Christ, to send His very best to save my natural brother who is precious to me. I believed that my brother would be the better by the incident and walk away from it without serious injury.

I believed that I would not panic because I walk by faith, not by sight. I believed that God wants to help me and will help me if I allow Him to meet my needs. I believed that His will for me is that no weapon formed against me shall prosper. I believed that He would keep safe the members of my household. I believed and I did not doubt.

With CHP holding on my home phone, I reached my brother on his cell phone. He was hurt and afraid. It was tough...he was screaming and the temptation to lose peace was knocking on my front door. We went on like this for an hour. We were cut off several times during the conversation calling back every time we were disconnected. CHP confirmed that they had a visual of him and they told me that they would call me after they airlifted him to a medical facility. The last time I heard Damon’s voice was when the helicopter reached him.

I waited anxiously to hear that Damon was safe. But while I waited, I rejoiced because I learned at Berith what covenant was and trusted God at His Word. I understood that He is always with me and would never forsake me. I rejoiced because I believed and acted on what God said instead of what I was told by circumstances.

Later that afternoon, I received a call from nurse Barbara at John Muir Medical Center who told me that my bother had just arrived and he had asked her to call me to tell me that he was not dead.

That is the meat of my testimony. Now, I have experienced the grace of God and His Living Word in a different way than ever before. My faith was challenged and I chose correctly. Glory hallelujah!

Some Details I Learned After the Incident
Damon’s accident occurred because he swerved to miss a bicyclist on Grizzly Peak near Fish Ranch Road. He was thrown from his car into a tree, and as he was falling (the bottom of the canyon is at minimum 75 feet straight down), Damon held on to the 2nd or 3rd tree he hit. Rescuers could not reach him by air because the density of trees in the area and the composition of the cliff’s face.

The Contra Costa County Fire Department was told not to attempt a rescue until the Park Rangers arrived because they could lose their own lives in the process. The shift leader from the Dublin Fire Department organized a human chain using fire hoses and whatever else was on hand to get to Damon. The rescue took more than an hour and was a multi-county effort (CHP/OPD/BPD/Contra Costa County Fire Dept. and Oakland Fire Dept.) and included many volunteers that had “just shown up”.

After 12 days my brother walked out of the hospital with 6 or 7 staples his head and two minimal fractures that will not affect his mental or motor abilities. Everyone called his survival amazing and lucky. I say it is miraculous. I say the Word of God is true. I say covenant ain’t no joke. I will call his survival victory and evidence of the unyielding love, majesty, faithfulness and glory of God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Vanessa Ransom is the Team Lead for the Christ Like Ones, Berith’s ministry for unmarried Christians, and serves as a member of the Counters Helps Ministry Team.