Homeless, Without A Mission

Sorry. Ben Been Busy. Here you go…

If you’ve read my book, you know that at one point in my life I was broke, homeless, without a phone and Sleepless in Seattle. It was not a good time. Luckily, I was able to avoid freezing to death, broke the downward cycle and returned to my home. It made me much more emphatic for those who are down on their luck and without a casa.

So this morning, having been released several months ago from being the Ward Mission Leader in my local ward, I decided I would write up a short account of what happened over the past year. I didn’t do this on my own. I keep getting emails from the powers that be requesting this info.

First off, I needed the names of the young missionaries who have served in our ward. The young Elders live with us and yet I can barely keep up with their names, let alone remember the guys who were here six months ago. And after just yesterday having forgotten where I had left my primo pickup for the last 2 weeks, I knew there was no way I could remember all the names.

I decided I would go right to the source and contact the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Mission office. I looked for their phone number and noticed that there were some Google Reviews attached to the Kennewick Mission website.

I decided to check out the reviews. I saw they were all 5 stars except for a 1 star review. I wondered about the one star so I clicked on the disgruntled reviewer. Here’s what I found…

I chuckled, realizing that the guy had probably found the “mission” in the phone book, walked or drove at least a few miles and then couldn’t find a bed in the place and for sure no coffee on the stove. From his point of view, they deserved just one star.

I feel for the guy as I can tell he struggles. In fact, I helped out a homeless guy for several months one winter by providing room and board for him. He was happy for a roof over his head and I was happy I owned a roof.

And even though the LDS “mission” couldn’t help him, they do have avenues of assisting folks like him.  The LDS Church gives tens of millions each year in helping people and communities down on their luck.

It’s just that their idea of a mission and this homeless guy’s idea of a mission are not in the same ballpark.

I then decided to check out his other reviews and comments. They show a tale of sadness and humor, telling his story from his point of view via the stars and comments.