Carl Wasara

I was born in Finland, and my father died when I was about eight years old. My mother and her aunt were very devout Christians. No doubt it was their prayers that followed me and gave me an inclination toward the Lord.

My whole family could sing, and we always sang in the home, especially my aunt. When I was just a boy, I went to work in a minister’s home as a coachman. The daughter wanted me to train for a career in music, but the Lord had a better plan for my life.

In 1905 there was an insurrection in Finland against Russian rule. The Russian military rode through the streets on horses trampling anyone in their path. I barely escaped by jumping into a coal bin in someone’s basement. I was so upset by this incident that I left Finland and moved to Sweden.

While in Sweden, I had a dream that left a lasting impression. I was sinking in a river about to drown when I saw a woman standing on the bridge overhead. She reached down her hand and pulled me out of the water.

In 1908, when I was thirty-two, I came to America with my brother and several other men. We originally went to the East Coast and worked in a sawmill, but when we heard that better wages were paid on the West Coast, we traveled to Portland, Oregon. We found a section of town that had primarily Finnish immigrants and were helped with finding a place to lodge and getting work in a sawmill.

I became injured on the job and spent quite a while in the hospital. When I got out, I met a Finnish minister on the street while taking a walk. I told him I had a hunger in my heart to know God. He said to go to the Apostolic Faith on Front and Burnside and they would tell me what to do. I followed his advice and went to the church. There, I saw the woman who had been in my dream. It was such a blessing. I thought she was God’s rescuing angel.

As I sat in the service that night, tears streamed down my face. Though I didn’t understand the words being spoken, I understood the Spirit of God. The founder of the church, Florence Crawford, saw me sitting in the meeting, and after the service, came and led me to the altar. God’s people gathered around me and began to pray with me, and God wonderfully saved my soul.

Two weeks later while Mother Crawford was preaching, the Lord wonderfully sanctified me. He gave me that second, definite work of grace. I sought for more of the Lord, and He baptized me with the mighty Holy Ghost and fire.

I rejoice that the Lord has kept me faithful in the way of salvation all these years. I want my very countenance to glow with the light of Heaven. I love to spread sunshine wherever I am that other precious souls may find the light of the Gospel and be made followers of the Christ of Calvary. I have that burning desire to see Jesus when He comes to catch away His waiting Bride, should he let me live to see that glorious event.

Carl Wasara died at the age of ninety-seven after serving the Lord for sixty-five years. He had a beautiful voice in his younger years, and many times when he stood to testify, he would first sing the chorus and verse from a hymn.