After high school graduation, Carl enlisted in the U.S. Navy, was assigned to Guam and there in a dorm found himself being offered heroin for the first time. After multiple refusals to get high, he gave in once, which launched a 15-year downward spiral in his life. Carl became entrenched in the drug world as a heroin and cocaine user, smuggling drugs and living only for his next fix.<br><br>Personal experiences are brought to life from inside his maximum-security prison. "Drugs took me where I did not want to go, made me stay there longer than I wanted to stay, demanding more of me than I wanted to give." He communicates what it felt like to be homeless, hopeless, and a convict lost on the very streets he grew up on. He did not care whether he lived or died… but a much higher power did.<br><br>When all hope was lost and it looked as if he would die a dope fiend, an old friend wrote him in a letter while in prison about a Christian program called Teen Challenge. Here he would be loved, taught the Bible, and how to live a life free from drugs and the horrible life he knew. This poignant, true-life story will grip your heart as you journey with a man on The Ultimate Pursuit.
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Carl D. Smith. The Ultimate Pursuit
DEDICATION
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER ONE. GUAM’S HIGHS AND LOWS
GUAM, HERE I COME!
CHINA WHITE
MY FIRST YEAR OF MARRIAGE
DRUG RUNNING
A BUNCH OF RED BALLOONS
ASSAULT AND ATTEMPTED MURDER
JAIL TIME
FAILED MARRIAGE
CHAPTER TWO. MY YOUTH
LOST…AND FOUND
MY HIGH SCHOOL DAYS
ART CLUB
CHAPTER THREE. HOME AT LAST
ADDICTED IN THAILAND
“MULES”
CLOSE CALL AT THE AIRPORT
HUMILIATION
AWOL
IN THE BRIG
“ABANDON SHIP!”
RELEASED
CHAPTER FOUR. LIVING THE WILD LIFE
INNOCENT SEEDS
A SANDWICH BAG OF POT
MY BUDDY HEROIN
PRESERVED BY GRACE
“THE RED-BEARDED ROBBER”
LOCKED UP
CHAPTER FIVE. 1,213 DAYS IN HELL
SET UP
LEATHER AND “STEEL”
“BAT”
FREE BUT NOT FOR LONG
“GIVING BACK”
HOMELESS
OUT OF THE RAIN
IN THE SLAMMER AGAIN
JACK FILES
NEAR DEATH
SHOPLIFTING
“STICK-A-MORE” WING
HIV?
MY NEW CELLMATE
THE MAKING OF A MIRACLE
WORKING FOR TEEN CHALLENGE
CHAPTER SIX. UNEXPLAINED OCCURRENCES
ANGELS UNAWARE
WALKING ORDERS
MY TRUMPET
KAREN REVISITED
SNOW BOOTS FROM HEAVEN
REALITY CHECK
DERAILED!
CHAPTER SEVEN. MY CALLING
BACK ON TRACK
TEEN CHALLENGE MINISTRY INSTITUTE
DIVINELY APPOINTED TRACT
THE MOTOR LODGE INN
“SHIP-A-HOY!”
LETTER TO GRANDPA
ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE
HONDURAS, HERE WE COME!
CHAPTER EIGHT. IS THAT MY WIFE?
HELEN WAS HER NAME
MORE THAN A FRIEND
POPPING THE QUESTION
FLOWERS ANYONE?
THE WEDDING
CHAPTER NINE. GOD’S PROVISION
TWO-CYCLE OIL
GOD AND THE WHEELIE
YOU’RE HIRED!
GOD’S COURT
SIZE 11
MIRACLE BABY MOA HOPE
TWO WEEKS
A GOD-SENT PHONE CALL
MOM WENT TO HEAVEN
THE END…IS THE BEGINNING
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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I want to dedicate this book to my mother, Jean M. Smith. She never gave up on me even when times became very difficult. Her love and commitment kept me going. It was and continues to be the kind of love that never quits. She was a shining light when everything seemed to be dark and I had lost my way.
I am also very thankful for the lessons I learned from my father. Even though he and I had some misgivings when I was growing up, my father never stopped praying for me. He tried over and over again to help me even though I struggled. My father, Glen, and I have both grown in the Lord and enjoyed many loving years together.
