Former athlete turns to God after near-death experience

Growing up in the community of Dutch Hill, Trelawny, was always a pleasant experience for Ian Reid. His days were preoccupied with academics and track and field as he was part of his school's track team and represented it at the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls' Athletics Championships in 2010.

"I loved running for my former school, Albert Town High School. I used to do the 800 metres, so I had to be very fit and know how to run long distances," stated Reid.

After school, Reid started to focus on developing himself as a working member of his family and was seen as a breadwinner. This led to a career in farming, where he would sell his produce at the Spanish Town market.

"It was challenging at times as I would wait on the market bus from 7 p.m., and sometimes we would reach at the market by 11 p.m. From there, we set up our goods and find a stall to sleep on until the morning," recollected Reid.

Even though he was becoming an established vendor, Reid was still in love with track and field; and would practise at every opportunity. One day in July 2010, this proved to be a near-fatal experience as he was jogging along Trelawny main road.

"Two cars were racing from Burfield, heading to Trelawny, and one of them lost control while trying to overtake in the vicinity of Royalton Hotel. The vehicle hit me, and I landed in the bush," said Reid.

The impact of the accident destroyed any dream he had of pursuing a career in track and field as he sustained multiple injuries throughout his body.

"The police told me I ended up 50 feet from the place of impact. I got bruises everywhere. my two elbows got damaged, and a piece of stick ran up in my back beside my spine. Overall it was the right side of my body that got the biggest damage," he said.

While in the hospital for close to a month, Reid started to reflect on his life and decided to start going to church.

"I started going to a church in Falmouth, but I wasn't taking it very seriously because I didn't feel the church vibes," he said.

He would frequently get prophetic words from his minister; however, he was still a casual attendant until he reached the breaking point in 2011.

"What really rock me is when my mother tek sick. She had developed this mental condition where it was like she was getting mad. She would start to behave crazy, so my aunt told me to call the pastor."

This would prove to be an eye-opening experience for Reid as he watched the transformation of his mother first-hand.

Reid said: "The pastor said he didn't have any car to visit me but said he would pray for me over the phone. So I put the phone on speaker and asked my mother if she believed that God can heal her. After him done pray, my mother turned around shouting three times, and everything changed. From that day, I started to take God seriously."

Shortly after this, Reid was converted and started to attend the Bamboo Spring Holiness Born Again Church of Jesus Christ on a regular basis. It was there that he found out that he had a latent talent.

"One week, I was sitting at the back and the evangelist called me to sing a song. But I wasn't ready, so I told her I will do it the following Sunday. So I found an old song book and started to practise," he said.

Even though he was nervous, he was not going to back down from the challenge, and he took his position behind the lecturn.

"I closed my eyes so tight and took the microphone and started singing. When I finish, singing the song, I saw everyone screaming and raising their hands. However, I thought they were laughing at me because I didn't know how the Holy Ghost worked at that time."

A discourage Reid quickly handed the mic back to the evangelist with a look of pessimism and embarrassment.

"She looked at me and said, 'They are not laughing at you, they are worshipping', and she looked me in my eyes and said, ' young man, this is your ministry'. And from there, I started to sing every Sunday."

This experience led to the birth of 'Gospel Kid', the moniker Reid chose as his stage name. Soon, he was performing throughout his community, and he got the opportunity to meet his future wife, Jody Robinson, in December 2013.

He said: "We were at a Seventh-day Adventist church in Albert Town, and I looked at her and said, 'God said you are my wife,' and she looked at me and said, 'God lied to you'."

This moment was a bit embarrassing for Reid, and he decreased his pursuit of her for some years. "We met back again in 2017 when I was keeping a concert which she attended. From there, we started to talk more frequently," said Reid.

The two were engaged for a year and got married on September 29 in Runaway Bay in St Ann to the delight of many friends and family. With this experience, Gospel Kid is riding high and is looking to take his ministry to the next level.

"I am working on doing more songs in the studio, as well as opportunities to perform abroad," stated Reid.