Zach Benson
"Why I'm Doing Mission Year"
Things I will learn:
1. Learn how to become a team player
-community living
2. Learn how to Love God and Love People
-receive training in urban ministry, justice, and homelessness
3. Learn how to live and lead with a servant’s heart
-community service (25-32hrs a week)
I see this experience as a great way to grow personally, professionally, and spiritually. With this self-awareness/knowledge, I will have a greater chance of appreciating the beauty and struggle of life for others and can empathize more effectively with most people. Mission Year goes along with my personal mission statement which is to make life better for others by helping them recognize their own potential in themselves and seeing it so clearly that they will bring that potential into reality.
About Mission Year
Mission Year is a year long urban ministry program focused on Christian service and discipleship. We take teams of young people, place them in an area of need, and help them to serve people and create community. We are committed to the command of Jesus to “love God and love people,” by placing the needs of our neighbors first and developing committed disciples of Christ with a heart for the poor. Learn more about our first year program…
Zach Benson's Blog
::June Newsletter 2009 / Jun 28, 04:38 PM
Life of a Refugee
Do we really understand what they have been through? A refugee is a person who must leave his or her homeland because of persecution or fear of persecution of religious beliefs, ethnic background or political activities. A lengthy wait in a refugee camp is the first step for most refugees. The average stay in a camp is five years, but some families have lived in one camp for over fifteen years. The camps are usually guarded closely by guards and surrounded by barbed wire. Emigrants stay in these camps until a new country gives them permission to enter. While they are in the camps, they are “dehumanized” by their oppressors. Their oppressors try to overpower, subdue, manipulate, and control the lives of the refugees. They are kept down by the unjust use of power or authority, ruled harshly, and tyrannized over. This causes them to feel sub-human, almost like objects.
My teammates and I feel like “refugees”. About 3 weeks ago, an act of violence was committed against one of my roommates. She’s home with her family now and doing a lot better. For our safety, Mission Year relocated us to a new home in South Atlanta. We feel displaced and unwelcome. Everything is foreign to us. It’s like starting from scratch. We don’t want to start over. Not after all the effort and time we’ve put into relationships there. However, we must start over. This is reality. James Stockdale, says “You must maintain unwavering faith that you can and will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties, AND at the same time have the discipline to confront the most brutal facts about your current reality, whatever they may be.” I remain hopeful.
Corn Muffins
I like corn muffins. With everything that’s been going on, it has been difficult to find time to get outside and meet people in our new neighborhood. Back in Clarkston, this was very easy to do. All we had to do was step outside. Now, we have to take the bus and train for an hour an a half. Every Saturday night we try to have someone over for dinner. My roommate Matt invited Neil Shuman aka Doc Hollywood. Ever heard of him?? Google him. He’s a marvelous guy. Kathrine wanted to bake up a spaghetti casserole, but the only problem was we didn’t have a dish to bake it in. Matt and I weren’t doing anything, so we told Kathrine we could find her one. A few blocks from our house, we spotted a guy and a girl walking into their home. We walked up to their house and rang the doorbell. A high school-aged looking girl came to the door and said, “Hi, can I help you guys?” “Umm, yeah! I said. We’re new to the neighborhood so we’re just walkin’ around trying to meet some folks.” The young girl got her Mom. After a couple of minutes, Mrs. Rockfore, her older daughter Cynthia and son Rock came through the door onto the porch where Matt and I stood. Mrs. Rockfore was the first to speak. “Well, hi there! Where ya’ll from?” After talking for awhile, Matt decided to offer them the corn muffins we had brought in hopes of exchange for a dish and said “Here, these are for you.” Mrs. Rockfore said, “Well, that’s awfully nice of you boys, but nobody here really eats these.” “I want em!” said Cynthia. Matt and I smiled. We then asked for what we came there for. With casserole dish in hand, we walked back home. Today, I learned an important lesson. People like to help those in need. There are many needs where we live. It’s as easy as opening your eyes. Pray that God will give you the ability to see, to truly see. Be the person who sees a need, tries to fulfill it, and then meet another. This week, I challenge you to go out and meet some neighbors. I know its scary talking to people you don’t know, but……GET OVER IT. Bake up some cookies. Knock on some doors. Meet people. Remember to embrace the awkwardness.
ABOUT ME
The more I think about life, I think the goal is to learn how to be content wherever I am, whatever I have, whoever I am with, and whatever I am doing at the moment. What do you need to be truly content? This year, I have realized that…
It’s not possessions or things. I almost got robbed once. It is not worth it.
It’s not food. I have learned to be grateful for whatever I am given.
It’s not comfort. I do not need a TV, a personal computer, or a car.
It’s not money. I have been burned and conned by folks trying to “steal” people’s money.
It’s SIMPLE. I only need God and People. Nothing Else Matters.
Love,
Zach
p.s. Would you consider a special gift toward my Finish Strong Campaign? With less than 2 months to go your gift plays a critical role in my Mission Year as I continue to love God and my neighbors through faith and service.
You can Give Now by clicking here: https://www.missionyear.org/finishstrong/zachbenson
Thanks so much for your support this year!
slow down, drive slow homey / May 12, 02:57 PM
I think the biggest thing I have learned from my neighbors this year is how to slow down. Whenever I run into a neighbor, they are usually not in a hurry. One day, my roommate, Stephen and I went over to our Nepali friend’s house. We knocked on their door, they welcomed us in, and we sat down. We spent two hours there eating food and sharing life with them. When Stephen and I were ready to leave, they followed us outside. We asked, “Where are you going”? They said that they were supposed to pick-up their relatives at the airport 1 hour ago. oops. Stephen and I looked at them and said “Sorry”. They told us not to worry about it. To our refugee neighbors, time is not that important. However, in America, time is everything.
With that being said, How many of you find yourselves completing sentences for others? When someone comes to your office desk, your house, etc. are you able to drop whatever you are doing at the moment and give that person your full-undivided attention or invite them into your home? How many of you are in such a rush that you don’t take time to wash your hands after using the restroom? How many of you find yourselves scrambling to get small things done before an appointment, meeting, or a night out with friends, which then makes you late? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might want to try slowing down for once.
We live in a world where time is money. Everyday we feel like we have a million things to do (and most of the times we do). Most of us like staying busy because we often feel guilty sitting at home doing nothing. The truth is we are busy people who feel rushed wherever we go. In the morning, we wake-up, take a shower, get a quick bite to eat, say good bye, and then rush out the door. When we get into our cars, we realize that we were in such a hurry that we forgot something inside. So, we run inside to get whatever we left behind, say goodbye again and off we go to work.
As we are driving to work, our minds are elsewhere (daydreaming, thinking of all the things we need to do, etc.) so we usually aren’t paying attention to the road or being aware of things around us. Many of us don’t even enjoy driving. We try to spend the least amount of time in our cars as possible. Once we get to work, things don’t change.
I work at World Relief. It’s a resettlement agency for refugees. At World Relief, anytime someone is in need, we do our best to meet that need, see another, and then try to fulfill it. Our refugee clients have so many needs and we usually feel like there isn’t enough time in the day to do everything we need to do. When we fail to meet a person’s need, we often feel like “failures” or like “we are not enough”. This is not true. Yet, we continue to feel overwhelmed, stressed, and worried so we multi-task. But the truth is multitasking doesn’t help us get things done faster, it just makes us feel more stressed out.
The bottom line is I think we need to learn how to slow down more, rest, and just relax. Chill. The following are things I think we really need to do more of so we can be sure to always offer our very best in everything we do (serving the most vulnerable). Get up early one morning. Read a book or take a walk outside. Try sitting in silence for 15 minutes. Meditate on scripture and simply be in God’s creation. Spend time with your neighbors without worrying about where you have to go or what you have to do after. Arrive somewhere early for once. Try chewing each bite of food 25-50 times.. ha ha ha. peace.
In Service,
-Zach
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Mo' Money Mo' Problems- - April Newsletter / Apr 21, 09:00 AM
Dear Friends,
You will want to read this. For the past seven months, I have been on a “break” from break dancing. It’s been hard because I haven’t been able to find another creative outlet to express myself. Just to give ya’ll a little background, I have been dancing for 8 years now and I have taught break dancing to kids in several communities. I was very successful at this last summer. The sad thing was that I became so concerned with making money that nothing else mattered. And I mean nothing. God didn’t like this, so he took it away. Two weeks ago, God gave me my passion back. Last Saturday, I held my first break dance workshop at the community center and ten people showed up. It was awesome! And yes, I did get paid for it, but this time I felt like I was doing it for the right reasons or so I thought. On Monday morning, I got a call from a co-worker at World Relief, saying that the Internet Café needed my help. He told me that I would be helping 100 refugees fill out job applications for TJ-MAXX and then shuttling them in a van to their interviews. I agreed to help. Adam, the Director of the Internet Café, handed me the directions, drew a map, and off I went.
When we arrived, I realized that you had to pay $3.00 dollars for parking. Now, 3 bucks isn’t a lot to most of you, but it is when you’re livin’ off of $2 dollars a day! The first place that came into view was a Chik-Fila, so I parked there, took everyone inside, pumped them up for their interviews, and then returned to the van. As I walked towards the van, I noticed that all four of the van’s wheels were clamped. I looked up and saw a yellow slip of paper flapping wildly out the crevice of the window, it was a ticket! In bold letters, it said “CALL THIS NUMBER TO TAKE OFF THESE CLAMPS.” I did. Suddenly, a young man hopped out of his car and approached me. He said, “Excuse me Sir. Is this your van?” I said, “Yes it is. I work with World Relief. It’s a resettlement agency for refugees. What’s the problem?” He said, “Well, you’re not a Chik-Fila customer, that’s the problem. I watched you from the moment you got here. Didn’t you see the signs? You can’t park here.” I couldn’t believe it. Here I was trying to do some good and this guy was giving me a ticket. Give me a break. Immediately, I got angry. After arguing for awhile and seeing that it wasn’t getting me anywhere, I gave in and paid the $75.00 dollars.
Afterwards, I thought that I could have handled the whole situation better. Instead of mouthing back to this guy, I could have responded out of love and understanding. Next time, I will try to react differently. In the end, I learned two things: (1) We all have a “pause button” and (2) money doesn’t make me happy. God has given us the greatest gift bestowed upon mankind, the power and freedom to choose. In whatever situation we find ourselves in, we always have a choice. We can either respond in a tender way or lash out in an aggressive way. The choice is yours. If you are speeding and you get pulled over by the cops, how will you respond? Will you try to weasel your way out of it by manipulating, twisting, or exaggerating the truth? And, if someone spills something all over your new dress, how will you react? Remember to pause, think, and then respond as Jesus would. Be wise. Laugh it off. Smile. There are more important things in life; however, money isn’t one of them.
Money is an idol. And idols can be lost! In the Bible it says, “You cannot serve both God and Money.” So why do we worry about money? Some of us value wealth, success, and fame because they give us a false sense of security. We like to be comfortable and to live “the good life”. The truth is possessions and things don’t bring us happiness. Instead of filling our lives with “empty things”, we need to focus on things that are of eternal value and importance. We serve a generous God who calls us to give generously. As a body of Christ, we need to learn how to give freely as we’ve been given freely. Don’t give, just to give. We should give because we have a sincere desire in our hearts to do so.
This year of impact – both on myself and on my new community would not be possible were it not for your support and encouragement! Thank you for continuing to walk with me. All gifts received in April (up to $31,950) will be doubled and as of today there is 45% of the match still available!! This means every gift you make toward my Mission Year that arrives in April will still be doubled – $100 becomes $200 and $500 is $1,000! Would you please consider giving during this special opportunity? Gifts can be given online at https://www.missionyear.org/match/benson – this is a fast, easy and secure way to give toward my Mission Year as well! Thank you for your support and encouragement!!
With Love,
Zach
Give FREEly / Apr 14, 11:16 AM
Dear friends,
Yesterday, I took a Nepali refugee named Jaganidhi to the food pantry because his food stamps ran out. He shared some wisdom with me. He said, “In life, you must give and take. As a refugee I have been given much, but one day when I have a job I must give back to those who have helped me.” I told him, “Well, you can start giving back right now. You don’t need money.” After I helped him take the boxes of food up to his apartment, he gave turned to me, handed me some food, and said, “Here. Take this.” I was very grateful for this (and so were my teammates) since we live off of $2 dollars a day for food.
This made my day. Here was a guy who is trying to provide for his family and he gave me some of his food. Of all people. How blessed am I? What a random act of Kindness!!
In life, relationships must be mutually beneficial. They must be a two-way street. Many times we only think of what’s in it for us. We are self-interested people. We often say things like “Well, If I don’t get anything out of this or benefit from it, then why bother?” But Jesus teaches us that we must give freely as we’ve been given freely. Expect nothing in return. Give with no strings attached. Today, Give your time, money, resources, wisdom, or just simply a listening ear to someone in need. Be generous and remember that the best gifts in life are the one’s you don’t know where or who they came from.
And then tell me what happened. What, if anything, would God have you do this coming week to better love both God and people?
In Service,
-Zach
:::a random act of Kindness::: / Mar 30, 12:16 PM
Let me share a story with you. The other day, I was eating a sandwich and looking out the kitchen window when I spotted one of my roommates making his way back toward the apartment. Suddenly, he stopped, bent over and picked up a bag full of trash, and then proceeded to toss it into the dumpster. He repeated this process until there was no more garbage in sight and then continued to walk home. After a few moments, the door burst open and he said “What’s up bro?” and then walked up stairs to his room, totally unaware of the fact that I had been observing him the whole time. What a random act of kindness! Small things like this make me smile.
I took two things from this: (1) Whether we know it or not, each one of us influences another everyday and (2) Small things done with great love can make a difference. It’s important to remember that wherever we go, we are influencing people either directly or indirectly. Back in Jesus’s days, many eyes were always upon him. People were watching his every move. They paid careful attention to how he spoke to people and also how he interacted with others. It is still the same today. Random strangers see the unseen (the things that we do when we don’t think anybody else is watching). We are called to be more like Jesus and to share his love with others. The goal in life is to grow more in Christ Likeness. More of Him, less of me.
Mother Teresa always said, “In life, we can do no great things, only small things with great love.” I am a firm believer of that. Ask yourselves: How in this moment can I best love both God and People? The choice is yours. Choose to love. Make someone feel special and important today. Go out of your way to help someone in need. Do something small that will surely make someone else smile, like my friend did for me that day.
In Love,
-Zach
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