Raising the Dead in Cambodia on the World Race

When Death Came to the Blue Pumpkin

Kristen was sitting in her favorite coffee shop, trying to write, when she spotted Michele at the counter. A quick scan revealed more familiar faces—Liney, Carrye, and Pastor D had all wandered in. Perfect timing for a reunion.

She jumped up, waving to catch their attention. Hugs all around. But something was off with Liney. She was asking about air conditioning, looking pale and uncomfortable. Kristen’s nursing instincts kicked in. She guided Liney upstairs, got a fan going, and listened as Liney started telling her about feeling unwell.

Two minutes later, Liney needed the bathroom. Carrye, worried, escorted her downstairs.

That’s when everything changed.

Liney didn’t make it to the bathroom. She stopped at the sink outside and started vomiting. Kristen grabbed her bag, abandoned her laptop with a quick prayer no one would steal it, and rushed to the stairs.

By the time she reached the top step, Liney was on the ground.

She was gray. Not pale—gray. Ashen. Michele heard gurgling sounds and feared she was choking, trying to lift her limp body upright.

Kristen sprinted down and checked Liney’s wrist. No pulse.

“We need to lay her down,” she said, checking her neck. Still nothing. Liney’s pupils were constricted, rolling back. Kristen called her name loudly. No response. She checked for breathing.

Nothing. Liney’s vitals were gone.

Start CPR! her mind screamed. But just as she positioned herself over Liney, Carrye said, “This is spiritual!”

They prayed instead. All of them, hands on her, calling out to God.

Within minutes, Liney’s eyes rolled forward. She took a deep, gasping breath. They let her rest on the ground before helping her sit up. She was still pale, couldn’t feel or move her right arm, but her pulse returned—faint and slow at first, then stronger. Seventy beats per minute. Her right hand started moving again.

Looking around at all of them surrounding her, still disoriented, Liney asked Carrye the question that stopped them cold: “Did I die?”

They got her to a tuk-tuk and back to the hotel. Once Liney was resting in bed, she told them what she had experienced.

She couldn’t remember exactly what she saw, but it was bright. Beautiful. Peaceful. She felt well and happy—better than she had in a long time. Then she heard them calling her name and thought, Why are they bothering me? I’m happy here.

She was confused, frustrated even. She could hear their voices but didn’t want to leave where she was. It took time to reconcile the two realities before she finally opened her eyes.

Later, Kristen’s mind raced through every medical scenario. Maybe Liney had just passed out. But why wasn’t she breathing? What made her start breathing again without CPR? How did her color turn gray so fast? Why didn’t her pupils react?

Kristen knew what she felt—or didn’t feel. No pulse. None.

And Liney’s arm—why was it numb? She wasn’t unconscious long enough for it to fall asleep. She didn’t land wrong or lie on it. Kristen had checked her pulse in that arm afterward: nothing at first, then 40 beats per minute after they prayed, finally 70 when feeling returned and Liney could squeeze her hand.

There was no denying what had happened.

Some moments change everything. Some prayers get answered in ways that defy explanation. That day, in a coffee shop called the Blue Pumpkin, Kristen witnessed something that medical training alone could not explain.

That day, she watched someone come back.