WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.760 --> 00:00:04.679 And I remember saying, look, if you'll just let me go, 2 00:00:05.080 --> 00:00:06.400 I won't tell anybody. 3 00:00:07.799 --> 00:00:09.880 The man ordered Chris to the back of the RV 4 00:00:10.359 --> 00:00:12.839 and told him to sit on the floor and stay still. 5 00:00:13.320 --> 00:00:15.679 And he gave me a stern warning and saying, look, 6 00:00:15.919 --> 00:00:19.600 you can't try to get anybody's attention. No screaming, oh, 7 00:00:19.679 --> 00:00:22.719 trying to escape. If you do anything like that, I'm 8 00:00:22.719 --> 00:00:24.120 just going to come back there and shoot you. 9 00:00:24.879 --> 00:00:27.960 Chris nodded and stayed where he was. He heard the 10 00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:36.799 engine roar to life again. This is the Miracle Files. 11 00:00:37.320 --> 00:00:41.479 I'm Emily Jones and I'm Holly Worthington. We're two sisters 12 00:00:41.520 --> 00:00:45.079 who love a captivating true story, but we're also seeking 13 00:00:45.079 --> 00:00:46.280 more light in our lives. 14 00:00:46.719 --> 00:00:49.960 So we're on a mission to find and share unforgettable, 15 00:00:50.200 --> 00:00:54.679 uplifting stories of God's miracles. We hope you'll join us 16 00:00:54.719 --> 00:00:59.159 on this journey. Welcome back to. 17 00:00:59.119 --> 00:01:02.719 The Miracle Files. We have such a powerful episode for 18 00:01:02.759 --> 00:01:05.439 you today, and it's one that I've just thought about 19 00:01:05.480 --> 00:01:06.599 over and over again. 20 00:01:06.680 --> 00:01:11.280 Yeah, this one is intense and emotional and all the feels. 21 00:01:11.719 --> 00:01:13.680 But we also want to give parents a heads up. 22 00:01:13.719 --> 00:01:16.200 This is when you may want to listen to beforehand. 23 00:01:16.200 --> 00:01:20.719 There may be some graphic scary parts, but so good. 24 00:01:21.079 --> 00:01:23.359 So good. Please stick with us to the end because 25 00:01:23.359 --> 00:01:27.439 you will not be disappointed. Rarely has an episode affected 26 00:01:27.480 --> 00:01:30.680 me and literally changed me like this one has. 27 00:01:30.920 --> 00:01:33.400 Yeah. Same, And also, we want to give you a 28 00:01:33.400 --> 00:01:36.799 heads up that this episode is two parts. If you've 29 00:01:36.840 --> 00:01:38.920 listened to our other two part episodes, you know there's 30 00:01:38.920 --> 00:01:40.920 a reason why we do it. And yeah, you know, 31 00:01:40.959 --> 00:01:43.920 sometimes there's just two miracles that are so incredible we 32 00:01:43.959 --> 00:01:46.200 want to give them each their own episode. So this 33 00:01:46.280 --> 00:01:46.840 is one of those. 34 00:01:47.359 --> 00:01:49.599 Yeah, all right, let's get started. 35 00:01:50.040 --> 00:01:57.760 Let's go. It was the afternoon on December twentieth, nineteen 36 00:01:57.879 --> 00:02:02.159 seventy four. Scared man paced up and down the sidewalk 37 00:02:02.319 --> 00:02:06.640 on a quiet street in the sleepy town of Coral Gables, Florida. 38 00:02:07.319 --> 00:02:11.080 He flicked ashes from his cigarette, walking back and forth, 39 00:02:11.520 --> 00:02:16.599 pondering his options. As time passed, the man stopped and 40 00:02:16.680 --> 00:02:20.800 stared through dark sunglasses at a house. He walked to 41 00:02:20.840 --> 00:02:24.879 the front door, then hesitated. He walked back toward the 42 00:02:24.919 --> 00:02:28.000 street and began pacing up and down the sidewalk again. 43 00:02:28.879 --> 00:02:31.400 In the distance, he heard the roar of a school 44 00:02:31.400 --> 00:02:39.000 bus coming down the road. Ten year old Chris Carrier 45 00:02:39.240 --> 00:02:42.120 gazed out the window of his school bus, full of 46 00:02:42.159 --> 00:02:47.159 anticipation for Christmas. It was only five days away. As 47 00:02:47.199 --> 00:02:50.280 the brakes squealed, the bus eased to a stop, and 48 00:02:50.360 --> 00:02:53.520 the doors creaked open, it was his turn to get off. 49 00:02:54.400 --> 00:02:57.520 The bus dropped Chris off every weekday at the same corner, 50 00:02:57.680 --> 00:03:00.759 just six houses from his home. His parents had no 51 00:03:00.800 --> 00:03:03.639 reason to worry. The bus stop was close enough to 52 00:03:03.680 --> 00:03:07.360 be seen from their family's front porch. Chris started the 53 00:03:07.400 --> 00:03:10.599 short walk home carrying a couple of folders and an 54 00:03:10.639 --> 00:03:13.319 empty cupcake tray from a party they'd had at school 55 00:03:13.360 --> 00:03:17.000 that day. His attention began drifting toward what might be 56 00:03:17.039 --> 00:03:20.400 waiting for him in the packages under their family's Christmas tree. 57 00:03:21.759 --> 00:03:25.639 As his thoughts wandered, Chris paid little attention to the scruffy, 58 00:03:25.680 --> 00:03:30.439 overweight man in sunglasses who walked toward him silently. The 59 00:03:30.479 --> 00:03:34.800 man passed by on the sidewalk, but then Chris heard 60 00:03:34.800 --> 00:03:36.759 the man's footsteps stop. 61 00:03:37.439 --> 00:03:41.280 And then I heard him say, Hey, aren't you Hugh 62 00:03:41.360 --> 00:03:47.000 Carrier's son. That kind of startled me. I was like, yes, yes, sir. 63 00:03:48.199 --> 00:03:51.360 Chris turned around as the man stepped back toward him. 64 00:03:51.800 --> 00:03:54.719 His face completely unfamiliar. 65 00:03:55.159 --> 00:03:59.400 And he introduced himself by the name Chuck. He asked me, 66 00:03:59.479 --> 00:04:02.919 how's your mother they're doing, which was common because mom 67 00:04:03.080 --> 00:04:07.319 had multiple sclerosis and was just shifting into a wheelchair 68 00:04:07.599 --> 00:04:12.400 over the holidays, and he told me that he was 69 00:04:12.439 --> 00:04:15.000 a friend of my father's had done some work with dad, 70 00:04:16.519 --> 00:04:19.160 and then he just kind of had this uha moment 71 00:04:19.639 --> 00:04:23.600 where he said, Hey, you might be able to help me. 72 00:04:24.279 --> 00:04:26.279 There's a party that your father and I were going 73 00:04:26.319 --> 00:04:29.279 to be at for Christmas, and I would love to 74 00:04:29.319 --> 00:04:31.120 give him a gift, and I've got two or three, 75 00:04:31.199 --> 00:04:34.600 but I'm not sure which gift he liked the most. 76 00:04:34.720 --> 00:04:37.759 Would you be willing to come help me to just 77 00:04:37.879 --> 00:04:40.040 pick out the one that you think he liked the most. 78 00:04:41.560 --> 00:04:44.920 Chris hesitated as a quiet sense of an ease settled 79 00:04:44.920 --> 00:04:48.000 over him, but he couldn't keep the man waiting. 80 00:04:49.000 --> 00:04:51.839 And of course, as a ten year old kid, I 81 00:04:51.839 --> 00:04:55.000 didn't want to, but those were different times, and you 82 00:04:55.120 --> 00:04:58.199 respected every adult, especially the ones that knew your family, 83 00:04:59.160 --> 00:05:01.439 and sol I said yes. 84 00:05:06.759 --> 00:05:09.560 The man led Chris to a nearby parking lot where 85 00:05:09.560 --> 00:05:13.160 a motor home was parked across several spaces. 86 00:05:13.040 --> 00:05:17.639 And I remember just walking with him, awkward conversation, small talk, 87 00:05:18.319 --> 00:05:21.199 and we got into the RV. I put my things down. 88 00:05:21.560 --> 00:05:24.560 He let me sit in the front seat, passenger seat, 89 00:05:25.399 --> 00:05:28.079 and he had told me, he said, yeah, it shouldn't 90 00:05:28.120 --> 00:05:30.160 take us more than thirty minutes or so to go 91 00:05:30.240 --> 00:05:30.600 do this. 92 00:05:31.800 --> 00:05:35.199 Chris didn't question the man's motives, but as they drove, 93 00:05:35.600 --> 00:05:39.560 he began to notice the man's demeanor shift to quiet nervousness. 94 00:05:40.279 --> 00:05:42.920 So we drove out, and of course the fact that 95 00:05:43.000 --> 00:05:45.920 he had referenced working with my dad led me to 96 00:05:45.959 --> 00:05:49.480 think we're going to be going downtown Miami, which I 97 00:05:49.560 --> 00:05:51.240 was accustomed to going there with Dad. 98 00:05:52.199 --> 00:05:54.639 But Chris had been to his father's office in Miami 99 00:05:55.040 --> 00:05:58.639 enough times to know the way there. This felt unfamiliar. 100 00:05:59.079 --> 00:06:01.199 The roads weren't the one he was used to taking 101 00:06:01.240 --> 00:06:04.639 with his father. When he saw a sign for Oba Laca, 102 00:06:04.959 --> 00:06:07.279 he knew they were heading north, away from where he 103 00:06:07.319 --> 00:06:08.439 had assumed they would go. 104 00:06:09.680 --> 00:06:12.079 And I just remember thinking, well, that's not normal, but 105 00:06:12.439 --> 00:06:14.240 I have to trust him. He knows where he's going, 106 00:06:14.319 --> 00:06:17.160 he's going to his office or wherever it is. He's 107 00:06:17.160 --> 00:06:21.040 got these things, and so I resigned myself to just realize, 108 00:06:21.399 --> 00:06:22.959 now I can trust him. 109 00:06:23.839 --> 00:06:28.519 The man continued driving, smoking one cigarette after another, the 110 00:06:28.519 --> 00:06:33.399 conversation fading until there wasn't much left to say. 111 00:06:33.480 --> 00:06:37.319 It quickly grew awkward, because you know, how many things 112 00:06:37.360 --> 00:06:40.439 do I have in common with a gentleman whose gray 113 00:06:40.519 --> 00:06:46.879 haired and weathered, heavy smoker, and I don't know him, 114 00:06:47.279 --> 00:06:49.879 and he doesn't know me, And so the small talk 115 00:06:49.959 --> 00:06:52.920 kind of ran out, probably thirty minutes or so in. 116 00:06:56.439 --> 00:06:59.839 After a while, the man noticed there was a Coastguard station. 117 00:06:59.680 --> 00:07:02.759 Up ahead, and so he asked me, He said, would 118 00:07:02.759 --> 00:07:06.360 you like to stop and see the big Coastguard helicopters. 119 00:07:07.160 --> 00:07:10.079 I'm a ten year old kid, got my attention. I 120 00:07:10.079 --> 00:07:13.839 was like, sure, and so we pulled up alongside the 121 00:07:13.879 --> 00:07:17.360 Coastguard station. I remember pulling in straight. There was a 122 00:07:17.360 --> 00:07:19.399 fence in front of us, and we just sat there, 123 00:07:19.720 --> 00:07:23.519 probably for a good ten minutes or so, just looking 124 00:07:23.560 --> 00:07:27.519 at those hoping that maybe one of those big, ginormous 125 00:07:27.519 --> 00:07:31.600 white helicopters would begin to take off or while we 126 00:07:31.600 --> 00:07:35.399 would be coming in. And I didn't realize, I didn't 127 00:07:35.439 --> 00:07:38.839 necessarily think, what's he doing? You know, why are we stalling? 128 00:07:39.879 --> 00:07:43.680 But we sat there for a few minutes and nothing happened. 129 00:07:45.199 --> 00:07:47.360 Finally, the man said it was time to move on. 130 00:07:48.639 --> 00:07:51.279 They continued down the road again until they pulled into 131 00:07:51.360 --> 00:07:54.439 a quiet, overgrown parking lot in the middle of nowhere. 132 00:08:04.199 --> 00:08:06.839 They continued down the road again until they pulled into 133 00:08:06.920 --> 00:08:10.000 a quiet, overgrown parking lot in the middle of nowhere. 134 00:08:10.879 --> 00:08:13.560 The man reached for a map, handed it to Chris 135 00:08:14.000 --> 00:08:15.800 and asked him to find a highway. 136 00:08:16.759 --> 00:08:18.519 And he told me, he said, I think I've missed 137 00:08:18.560 --> 00:08:20.600 my turn, but I need to get something in the 138 00:08:20.639 --> 00:08:21.360 back of the RV. 139 00:08:22.519 --> 00:08:25.639 This struck Chris as strange was this man lost. 140 00:08:26.600 --> 00:08:30.360 It made me wonder, you know, who forgets where they 141 00:08:30.399 --> 00:08:35.000 live or where they were? And so I just had 142 00:08:35.080 --> 00:08:39.120 to resign myself to saying, all adults in my life 143 00:08:39.440 --> 00:08:43.679 have been worthy of my trust, so go with what 144 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:44.240 I know. 145 00:08:45.320 --> 00:08:48.200 As Chris puzzled over the map, the man walked through 146 00:08:48.200 --> 00:08:51.519 the galley of the motor home. That's when Chris experienced 147 00:08:51.559 --> 00:08:52.799 a strange sensation. 148 00:08:54.720 --> 00:08:58.120 I felt a quick sting in my shoulder came and 149 00:08:58.159 --> 00:09:04.279 went them like a basting necessarily nothing lingering, But then 150 00:09:04.320 --> 00:09:08.039 it happened again, and I remember thinking, you know, that's 151 00:09:08.440 --> 00:09:10.279 kind of awkward. I don't know what that was. If 152 00:09:10.320 --> 00:09:12.720 it was something caught in my shirt, and I turned 153 00:09:12.720 --> 00:09:15.399 around and looked over my shoulder, and here he was 154 00:09:15.480 --> 00:09:19.039 standing behind me with an ice pick in his hand. 155 00:09:21.320 --> 00:09:25.080 Everything that followed happened quickly. The man grabbed Chris by 156 00:09:25.120 --> 00:09:28.000 the shirt, pulled him out of the passenger seat, and 157 00:09:28.080 --> 00:09:30.200 threw him down onto the floor in the middle of 158 00:09:30.240 --> 00:09:30.679 the RV. 159 00:09:31.600 --> 00:09:34.080 And next thing I knew, I was on my back 160 00:09:34.480 --> 00:09:37.200 on the floor, looking up at him as he got 161 00:09:37.240 --> 00:09:40.320 down on one knee and began to just continue to 162 00:09:40.360 --> 00:09:43.480 stab me in the chest with his ice pick. It's 163 00:09:43.519 --> 00:09:45.679 happening so fast. I didn't know what to think. And 164 00:09:45.759 --> 00:09:48.720 I remember just looking up at him, trying to block 165 00:09:48.799 --> 00:09:51.600 his hand, and he pulled my arm away and stab again. 166 00:09:52.519 --> 00:09:55.200 And I remember saying something to the effect of, look, 167 00:09:55.240 --> 00:09:57.039 I don't know who you are, I don't know what 168 00:09:57.080 --> 00:09:59.559 you're trying to do. I don't know why you're doing this, 169 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:04.600 but I'm out of words. I think I fumbled through 170 00:10:04.639 --> 00:10:07.399 saying something to the effect of, look, if you'll just stop, 171 00:10:07.600 --> 00:10:10.480 if you'll let me go, I won't tell anybody. 172 00:10:11.559 --> 00:10:15.480 Chris struggled beneath the man's weight, staring into his cold eyes, 173 00:10:16.039 --> 00:10:21.120 wondering if it would ever stop, and then at last 174 00:10:21.480 --> 00:10:26.679 it did. The man straightened and stood over him. Chris 175 00:10:26.799 --> 00:10:30.600 lay there, shocked and bleeding, bracing for what was to come. 176 00:10:33.600 --> 00:10:35.879 But what happened next surprised. 177 00:10:35.440 --> 00:10:39.440 Him, and he said, son, I'm going to take you 178 00:10:39.519 --> 00:10:41.919 somewhere and I'm going to drop you off in a 179 00:10:41.960 --> 00:10:45.080 safe place. Then I will call your daddy so that 180 00:10:45.120 --> 00:10:46.080 he can come pick you up. 181 00:10:47.480 --> 00:10:51.399 Chris lay in shocked silence. Then relief washed over him. 182 00:10:51.960 --> 00:10:54.840 The promise that his father was coming was all he 183 00:10:54.919 --> 00:10:57.960 needed to hear. He couldn't wait for his dad to 184 00:10:58.039 --> 00:11:00.840 get there. He desperately wanted to go home. 185 00:11:02.039 --> 00:11:04.320 I knew my father would be wherever he needed to 186 00:11:04.320 --> 00:11:07.000 be as fast as he could. There was never a 187 00:11:07.039 --> 00:11:10.440 doubt of his love, never a doubt of his provision 188 00:11:10.600 --> 00:11:11.039 and care. 189 00:11:12.679 --> 00:11:14.759 The man ordered Chris to the back of the RV 190 00:11:15.200 --> 00:11:17.720 and told him to sit on the floor and stay still. 191 00:11:18.480 --> 00:11:21.600 The man then warned him not to make any noise. 192 00:11:22.600 --> 00:11:24.960 And he gave me a stern warning that saying, look, 193 00:11:25.440 --> 00:11:28.080 you can't jump up, you can't try to get anybody's attention. 194 00:11:28.679 --> 00:11:33.200 No screaming, no yelling, no trying to escape. If you 195 00:11:33.279 --> 00:11:35.320 do anything like that, I'm just going to come back 196 00:11:35.320 --> 00:11:36.000 there and shoot you. 197 00:11:38.159 --> 00:11:41.679 Chris nodded and stayed where he was. He heard the 198 00:11:41.720 --> 00:11:45.960 engine roar to life again as the RV began to move. 199 00:11:46.399 --> 00:11:49.600 Chris looked down at his dark green polo shirt, now 200 00:11:49.679 --> 00:11:56.080 speckled with blood. He could hardly believe what had just happened. Meanwhile, 201 00:11:56.440 --> 00:11:59.720 back in Coral Gables, Chris's parents were growing frantic with 202 00:11:59.759 --> 00:12:02.480 war when their ten year old son still hadn't come 203 00:12:02.519 --> 00:12:05.480 home from school. Chris was not the type to run 204 00:12:05.519 --> 00:12:09.679 away or play pranks, and they knew it immediately something 205 00:12:09.919 --> 00:12:14.279 was wrong. They called the police without hesitation. Where was 206 00:12:14.320 --> 00:12:23.559 their precious boy? From where Chris sat in the back 207 00:12:23.600 --> 00:12:26.559 of the RV, he could see very little. He had 208 00:12:26.600 --> 00:12:29.200 no idea where this man was taking him. 209 00:12:29.919 --> 00:12:32.960 And as time would pass, I would try to kind 210 00:12:33.000 --> 00:12:36.360 of sneak up and look over the dashboard see where 211 00:12:36.360 --> 00:12:39.360 we were or what was going on. But of course 212 00:12:39.440 --> 00:12:42.120 all the windows were higher than where I was sitting. 213 00:12:43.080 --> 00:12:45.519 But when I'd look over the dashboard, I could only 214 00:12:45.559 --> 00:12:49.120 see a limited number of things, usually trees or lights. 215 00:12:50.320 --> 00:12:53.600 The RV rumbled along, passing through stretches of road with 216 00:12:53.720 --> 00:12:55.799 fewer sounds of traffic. The farther they went. 217 00:12:56.840 --> 00:12:59.200 I think we went through a toll booth. At one 218 00:12:59.279 --> 00:13:03.519 point we stopped at a gas station, and he again reiterated, 219 00:13:04.080 --> 00:13:08.879 don't say anything, don't do anything. And of course that 220 00:13:09.039 --> 00:13:11.639 was back in the day when there were gas station 221 00:13:11.759 --> 00:13:14.720 attendants who would pump your guess. 222 00:13:14.440 --> 00:13:17.720 Chris could hear the gas station attendant's voice outside the RV. 223 00:13:18.559 --> 00:13:21.559 If he could hear the gas station attendant, the attendant 224 00:13:21.600 --> 00:13:25.000 could likely hear him too. Chris wondered what would happen 225 00:13:25.080 --> 00:13:27.919 if he called out for help, but he remembered his 226 00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:31.519 captor's warning. He was too scared to make a sound. 227 00:13:33.399 --> 00:13:36.320 He ordered what he needed out the side window, paid 228 00:13:36.360 --> 00:13:39.600 for it with cash, and we were back on the road. 229 00:13:41.759 --> 00:13:45.519 As the next half hour passed, Chris considered his options. 230 00:13:46.039 --> 00:13:48.360 I remember sitting in the back and even as a 231 00:13:48.399 --> 00:13:52.440 ten year old boy, looking at my environment, looking at 232 00:13:52.480 --> 00:13:56.639 the situation I was in, and thinking, how do I escape? 233 00:13:56.720 --> 00:13:59.279 How do I get out? Who can rescue me? What 234 00:13:59.360 --> 00:14:04.240 are my options here? Can I overpower him? I'm a 235 00:14:04.279 --> 00:14:07.559 ten year old boy who's undersized, still waiting on my 236 00:14:07.960 --> 00:14:11.679 latest growth spurt that's passed me by, So no, I 237 00:14:11.679 --> 00:14:15.039 can't overpower him. He's a full adult. Can I out 238 00:14:15.200 --> 00:14:15.840 smart him? 239 00:14:16.320 --> 00:14:16.519 You know? 240 00:14:16.600 --> 00:14:19.559 Can I pull some kind of macguiver tactic? 241 00:14:20.720 --> 00:14:20.799 No. 242 00:14:21.080 --> 00:14:24.480 I looked around and there wasn't anything within reach that 243 00:14:24.600 --> 00:14:28.120 I could grab to hit him with. But even if 244 00:14:28.120 --> 00:14:30.559 I did, are we going to go off the road 245 00:14:30.600 --> 00:14:34.679 and into a canal? The odds of me surviving any 246 00:14:34.679 --> 00:14:38.840 one of those options was not good. There was a 247 00:14:38.879 --> 00:14:43.399 realization that even though I'd been raised in church, and 248 00:14:43.440 --> 00:14:46.480 even though I knew the stories of the Bible and 249 00:14:46.519 --> 00:14:50.480 knew who Jesus was, that was a moment in which 250 00:14:50.600 --> 00:14:54.320 I had to shift from saying I trust what my 251 00:14:54.480 --> 00:14:59.639 parents believe and I rely on their faith, to realizing 252 00:15:00.519 --> 00:15:03.919 I need to step up and do something myself. 253 00:15:04.879 --> 00:15:07.960 In that instant, Chris stopped trying to find a way 254 00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:12.399 to escape. Instead, he reached for every ounce of faith 255 00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:15.039 that lay deep within him, and he prayed. 256 00:15:16.240 --> 00:15:20.799 There wasn't anything profound about my prayer. They weren't great words. 257 00:15:21.879 --> 00:15:25.519 In fact, it was as simple as simply looking at 258 00:15:25.679 --> 00:15:29.039 the inside of that RV and praying Father. 259 00:15:31.080 --> 00:15:38.360 Well, you know, as a ten year old boy, this 260 00:15:38.559 --> 00:15:42.200 was all Chris could do, and somehow it felt like enough. 261 00:15:43.720 --> 00:15:47.720 The RV continued down the road, which eventually changed beneath them. 262 00:15:48.399 --> 00:15:51.679 The smooth pavement gave way to a bumpy surface as 263 00:15:51.759 --> 00:15:55.639 Chris felt the RV turn onto a different road. Gravel 264 00:15:55.679 --> 00:15:58.919 crunched under the tires and dust rose behind them as 265 00:15:59.000 --> 00:16:04.159 they moved farther away from civilization. After a short distance, 266 00:16:04.559 --> 00:16:08.879 the RV stopped. The man opened the door and motioned 267 00:16:08.879 --> 00:16:12.840 for Chris to step out. Chris had no idea where 268 00:16:12.879 --> 00:16:16.840 he was. In reality, the man had driven him out 269 00:16:16.879 --> 00:16:21.679 to the northern part of the Florida Everglades, and. 270 00:16:21.639 --> 00:16:24.919 He led me out and it was just a beautiful environment, 271 00:16:25.080 --> 00:16:30.960 nothing but small palms and wonderful, beautiful trees. There were 272 00:16:30.960 --> 00:16:33.879 no homes, there was nothing out there, just a country road. 273 00:16:34.759 --> 00:16:37.840 And I thought, okay, this is safe. It's fine. There's 274 00:16:37.840 --> 00:16:41.399 nobody around. I'm not worried about traffic or anything. And 275 00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:43.879 I remember him looked in both ways, making sure it 276 00:16:43.960 --> 00:16:46.759 was safe, and then we walked out. He must have 277 00:16:46.879 --> 00:16:51.039 walked me, probably forty or so feet into this tall 278 00:16:51.360 --> 00:16:55.840 marshy sawgrass, the kind that when you step on it 279 00:16:55.840 --> 00:16:59.639 it breaks, and some of the grass was well over 280 00:17:00.080 --> 00:17:03.919 my hips in terms of height. And we walked out 281 00:17:03.960 --> 00:17:06.440 to the edge where a few trees were and he said, 282 00:17:06.440 --> 00:17:09.160 why don't you just sit down right here and this 283 00:17:09.200 --> 00:17:11.279 will be where I'll call your dad and let him 284 00:17:11.319 --> 00:17:12.039 know where you are. 285 00:17:13.160 --> 00:17:16.160 Chris sat down, looking briefly at the ground around him, 286 00:17:16.559 --> 00:17:20.599 noticing small details without thinking much about them. He began 287 00:17:20.680 --> 00:17:23.480 trying to estimate how far they had driven and how 288 00:17:23.519 --> 00:17:26.000 long it might take his father to reach him. Once 289 00:17:26.079 --> 00:17:30.480 he got the call behind him, the man reached into 290 00:17:30.519 --> 00:17:37.279 his pocket. Chris, trusting young naive, had no idea what 291 00:17:37.480 --> 00:17:38.000 was coming. 292 00:17:39.720 --> 00:17:43.359 What I didn't anticipate was that that gentleman pulled a 293 00:17:43.359 --> 00:17:47.880 small pistol from his pocket, and I think waited for 294 00:17:47.920 --> 00:17:53.079 me to not be looking at him, and pulled the 295 00:17:53.160 --> 00:17:55.480 gun right up to the temple of my head and 296 00:17:55.480 --> 00:17:56.240 pulled the trigger. 297 00:18:10.599 --> 00:18:14.920 In Coral Gables, hours passed with no sign of Chris anywhere. 298 00:18:15.960 --> 00:18:21.039 Police canvassed the neighborhood and interviewed classmates, friends, neighbors, and 299 00:18:21.079 --> 00:18:25.720 the bus driver. Chris's church sent out a citywide prayer request. 300 00:18:26.279 --> 00:18:29.880 Family and friends searched everywhere they could think of, spreading 301 00:18:29.920 --> 00:18:34.480 out for miles. Vacant homes and abandoned buildings were combed 302 00:18:34.519 --> 00:18:37.759 through with the help of the department's canine unit, but 303 00:18:37.880 --> 00:18:41.839 it was as if Chris had simply vanished. With each 304 00:18:41.960 --> 00:18:54.960 passing hour, their hope dimmed. Deep in the Everglades, young 305 00:18:55.039 --> 00:18:59.240 Chris lay unconscious in the thick, swampy wilderness with a 306 00:18:59.279 --> 00:19:04.119 single gunsh wound through his head. For a time, everything 307 00:19:04.240 --> 00:19:08.599 was still, only the sound of insects buzzing and wind 308 00:19:08.680 --> 00:19:14.640 blowing through the reeds. Then Chris stirred. He blinked his 309 00:19:14.720 --> 00:19:19.720 eyes open. He sat up slowly. The light had changed, 310 00:19:20.680 --> 00:19:24.160 the sun was lower, filtered through trees, and the air 311 00:19:24.200 --> 00:19:25.920 had the feel of late afternoon. 312 00:19:28.240 --> 00:19:32.039 In my mind, completely unaware of what had happened in 313 00:19:32.119 --> 00:19:36.119 terms of the shooting, it was still Friday, December twentieth, 314 00:19:36.920 --> 00:19:39.839 and I remember waking up thinking, I wonder how long 315 00:19:39.880 --> 00:19:44.079 I was asleep. I wonder where Dad is. And I 316 00:19:44.240 --> 00:19:48.160 wasn't worried, I wasn't hungry. I was still coming off 317 00:19:48.200 --> 00:19:51.319 of my sugar rush from all those cupcakes and cookies. 318 00:19:52.119 --> 00:19:56.599 Christmas was five days away. I felt all right, and 319 00:19:56.720 --> 00:19:57.599 I sat there. 320 00:19:58.799 --> 00:20:01.559 Finally Chris stood up and wondered if he should find 321 00:20:01.599 --> 00:20:02.839 a better spot to wait. 322 00:20:04.279 --> 00:20:06.559 And I remember thinking, if Dad's going to be close, 323 00:20:06.640 --> 00:20:08.440 I better get out to the edge of that road. 324 00:20:08.480 --> 00:20:11.319 So I walked through that tall grass and got on 325 00:20:11.359 --> 00:20:14.400 the edge of that road, found a large rock that 326 00:20:14.519 --> 00:20:17.319 was probably the size of a basketball that was kind 327 00:20:17.319 --> 00:20:20.240 of shaped that way. And so I sat down on 328 00:20:20.279 --> 00:20:23.759 the edge of that dusty country road, figuring I'll wait 329 00:20:23.880 --> 00:20:28.640 for dead. And of course my father, my mother, and 330 00:20:28.960 --> 00:20:31.759 everybody in Miami had no clue where I had been 331 00:20:31.880 --> 00:20:38.359 for the last six days, because when I woke up 332 00:20:38.480 --> 00:20:40.680 it was December twenty sixth. 333 00:20:43.079 --> 00:20:50.240 December twenty sixth, six whole days had gone. By six days, 334 00:20:50.480 --> 00:20:54.440 Chris had lain on the floor of the Everglades alone, 335 00:20:54.480 --> 00:20:59.480 exposed and unconscious. There had been no food, no water. 336 00:21:00.279 --> 00:21:04.559 The area around him was known for wildlife, alligators along 337 00:21:04.599 --> 00:21:08.440 the canals, panthers and pythons moving through the brush. It 338 00:21:08.519 --> 00:21:11.279 was the kind of environment where a bleeding body normally 339 00:21:11.279 --> 00:21:15.519 wouldn't last the night, And yet here this young boy 340 00:21:15.640 --> 00:21:18.920 sat on a rock in the middle of nowhere, covered 341 00:21:18.960 --> 00:21:22.599 in dry blood, a gunshot wound to his head and 342 00:21:22.680 --> 00:21:26.960 stab wounds in his chest, but alive, waiting as the 343 00:21:27.000 --> 00:21:31.559 sun dipped behind the horizon for his daddy. But what 344 00:21:31.680 --> 00:21:35.359 Chris didn't know was that his daddy had never been called. 345 00:21:35.880 --> 00:21:38.839 So he sat waiting and waiting. 346 00:21:40.759 --> 00:21:43.680 The sun as it went down. I remember thinking, well, 347 00:21:44.160 --> 00:21:46.039 Dad'll have a hard time seeing me, but he'll have 348 00:21:46.079 --> 00:21:46.640 his lights on. 349 00:21:51.200 --> 00:21:54.839 And that's where we have to leave Chris's story until 350 00:21:54.839 --> 00:21:58.759 sorry next week. But truly, this story is far from 351 00:21:58.799 --> 00:22:02.559 over and it deserves a whole second episode because you 352 00:22:02.599 --> 00:22:04.519 will not believe what happens next. 353 00:22:04.759 --> 00:22:08.720 Yeah, but for now, let's talk about this episode and 354 00:22:08.839 --> 00:22:13.039 the amazing miracle that we just heard about. I mean, 355 00:22:13.079 --> 00:22:15.359 how shocked were you when you found out that he 356 00:22:15.440 --> 00:22:18.279 had been lying on the floor of the Everglades for 357 00:22:18.599 --> 00:22:19.559 six days? 358 00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:25.279 And I think my jaw literally dropped my two Just amazing, 359 00:22:25.519 --> 00:22:28.640 arad I've been to the Florida Everyblades a few times, 360 00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:31.599 and in fact, I think I may have been near 361 00:22:31.640 --> 00:22:33.599 the exact spot that this happened when I was talking 362 00:22:33.680 --> 00:22:35.920 to Chris about it and describing where I had been before. 363 00:22:36.799 --> 00:22:38.799 There is a back road that goes along a canal 364 00:22:38.839 --> 00:22:41.720 that someone had recommended to us to go down because 365 00:22:41.759 --> 00:22:43.759 there were so many alligators there. They said, you are 366 00:22:43.799 --> 00:22:48.119 guaranteed to see alligators there, and I'm telling you, we 367 00:22:48.160 --> 00:22:51.319 saw so many alligators and it is so incredible that 368 00:22:51.759 --> 00:22:52.839 Chris survived this. 369 00:22:53.200 --> 00:22:56.039 I know Chris said that they estimate there's an alligator 370 00:22:56.119 --> 00:23:00.799 every sixty to seventy yards in this area. Alligators can 371 00:23:01.000 --> 00:23:06.279 smell blood, like, here's this young boy bleeding unconscious, Like, honestly, 372 00:23:06.319 --> 00:23:08.480 it feels like Daniel in the Lions, And that's like 373 00:23:08.519 --> 00:23:09.400 what it reminds me of. 374 00:23:09.559 --> 00:23:12.319 It really does. In fact, Chris said something kind of 375 00:23:12.359 --> 00:23:14.480 similar to that that I thought was really interesting. So 376 00:23:14.880 --> 00:23:15.640 let's listen to that. 377 00:23:16.839 --> 00:23:22.000 The northern part of the Everglades is familiarly called alligator alley. 378 00:23:23.039 --> 00:23:26.680 Here if a deer or a wild pig gets hit 379 00:23:27.480 --> 00:23:30.799 their dinner. The idea that I could have a head 380 00:23:30.839 --> 00:23:33.839 injury and be lying there not much bigger than a 381 00:23:33.839 --> 00:23:37.039 baby deer doesn't make sense other than the fact that 382 00:23:37.240 --> 00:23:39.880 I trust that there were angels on guard. 383 00:23:41.079 --> 00:23:43.920 I mean, angels had to be guarding him. How else 384 00:23:43.960 --> 00:23:47.200 do you explain that? But God, that's how you explain it. 385 00:23:47.279 --> 00:23:50.160 That's the only way as possible I know. And it's 386 00:23:50.200 --> 00:23:52.240 not even just the alligators. I mean, here's a kid, 387 00:23:52.279 --> 00:23:55.279 there's no food, there's no water. He shot in the head, 388 00:23:55.319 --> 00:23:57.720 he stabbed in the chest. Yes, like the fact that 389 00:23:57.759 --> 00:24:02.240 he survived any of that is just incredible. Yeah, he 390 00:24:02.279 --> 00:24:05.680 went through some horrific things that it's just amazing he 391 00:24:05.759 --> 00:24:06.880 survived those things. 392 00:24:06.960 --> 00:24:07.720 But poor kid. 393 00:24:08.039 --> 00:24:11.319 Also the faith of that little boy, yeah, oh, it 394 00:24:11.359 --> 00:24:14.680 gets me emotional just thinking about that little that sweet 395 00:24:15.119 --> 00:24:18.640 little mustard seed. I know, a faith that he had, 396 00:24:18.680 --> 00:24:21.279 and his prayer is something that I will never forget. 397 00:24:21.319 --> 00:24:26.079 When he just said father, well you know, and I 398 00:24:26.160 --> 00:24:28.359 think that's just like the most sincere prayer. Like I 399 00:24:28.400 --> 00:24:31.160 think sometimes we have to say that ourselves, you know, 400 00:24:31.240 --> 00:24:32.839 and it's just like you don't have the words. 401 00:24:33.319 --> 00:24:37.680