To the Limit: A brief memoir by Chas Carrin

He also knew my love for history and the outdoors, so–by His grace–I climbed the Pyramids of Egypt and the Yucatan, in South America hiked the Andes above 12,000 feet, the Alps in Switzerland, the Tian Shan range between Kazakhstan and China, the Tetons in Wyoming, the Rockies in Alaska, Canada, and lower U.S. I was awed by the Atlas Mountains in North Africa, the Pyrenees between France and Spain, Mount Olympus in Greece, Mont Blanc in France, and Mount Sinai where Moses received the Ten Commandments. I thrilled to watch the volcano Stromboli spewing fumes into the Mediterranean air. Various times, I crossed the Lebanon Mountains into Syria, the Tarsus range in Turkey, hiked Mt. Rainier, the Appalachian Trail, and a dozen mountainous islands in the Caribbean.

In Mexico, I watched Popocatepetl erupting clouds of smoke into a bright blue sky. I’ve seen the sunrise over the jungles of Africa and watched it go down from the top of Diamond Head in Hawaii. In Moscow I attended the Operetta, the Kremlin Ballet, and held my breath watching the trapeze acts at the Russian Circus. In Brazil I stood on the precipice of Iguazu Falls and stared aghast as this nearly two-mile wide river plunged into the gorge. Being a nature-lover I was quick to spot the thousands of orchids blooming in the jungle. Here in the U.S, I have been part of a prayer-team in the White House. The Mercy Ship, Anastasis, asked me to join them in Sierra Leone, West Africa, to be a speaker at Bible Conferences they hosted across the nation.

Looking back, I am amazed! My life has been exciting and blessed! Best of all, as Jesus promised, the Holy Spirit has done amazing works through me. Long-term alcoholics and drug addicts have been delivered; demons cast out in true New Testament fashion and the victims rescued. Countless people have been healed. I’ve seen the Holy Spirit electrify water-baptisms with His incredible, shocking presence. One young man floated unconsciously on the ocean for half an hour, bathed in the glory of God, after such an electrifying-baptism. My assistant and I stood by wide-eyed, only able to stare as the Holy Spirit pulsated through him. The “Dove” had lighted upon him. A man with such an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an argument.

Ten exciting times I explored the Middle East, visiting Israel and Muslim counties. I retraced the journeys of Paul through Greece, Italy, and Turkey. One trip I visited sites of all Seven Churches of Asia. Other times I wandered through Bible deserts where God hammered faith into some of His greatest saints, In Ephesus, I preached in the same amphitheater where Paul’s presence caused a riot two millenniums ago. Acts 19:23-34. On the flight home from a war-frightened trip to Israel in 1974 God sternly rebuked me for not being involved in foreign mission work. I immediately promised Him I would! Within ten minutes another man on the plane came to me and said, “Charles, If you will go to Haiti and study the possibility of beginning a mission there I will pay your way.” I instantly accepted. Soon after that a group of us built a beautiful mountain-top facility overlooking the sea in Grand Guave, Haiti. It contained a church, school, clinic, pastorium, and orphanage. That challenge was given to a man whose early life was stung by the Great Depression. The explanation is simple: God keeps His promise! The Mission continues today though the buildings were destroyed by the earthquake in 2010. Since its beginning, the Mission has housed, fed, and educated more than 1,000 orphans.

In the 1960’s, my wife and I became friends with Catherine Marshall, America’s best loved Christian author. Catherine achieved fame for her book, A Man Called Peter, and later joined the staff at Guideposts Magazine in New York where her husband, Leonard LeSourd, was Executive Editor. Guideposts was the first magazine to publish one of my articles internationally. The LeSourds visited our home in Boynton Beach, sometimes worshiped at the church I served, and it was their encouragement that pushed me into my writing ministry. Catherine’s editor at McGraw-Hill, Bill Goyen, came to Florida, spent the daytime with her and evenings with me. She was then writing her best seller–Christy. This wonderful man was not only the top editor in the nation but a lover of Jesus and became my dearest friend. He would sometimes call me from New York and once asked that I take him on an airboat ride into the Everglades. Catherine gave me about 100 books from her personal library. As an unknown pastor, I was awed by such blessings and would ask “Why me, Lord? Why me?” This is a question I am still asking.

Tags: carrin, chas, limit, memoir

Category: Living the Faith, Spring 2019