Luther grad died fulfilling his passion (working with Haitian poor)

[Wickerman]

This will be my only post on Haiti. I didn't know Ben personally, but I know a lot of folks who did and he represents all that is good in people of faith. Forget the Robertsons and the gospel of wealth and prosperity fools; so many are like this guy - just wanting to make a difference.

http://gazetteonline.com/local-news/2010/01/14/luther-grad-died-fulfilling-his-passion

Luther College graduate and soon-to-be Lutheran minister Ben Larson died doing God’s work among the poor in Haiti, say friends of the earthquake victim.

“He cared deeply for the poor and had a passion to serve them,” said the Rev. Mike Blair, campus pastor and a friend of Larson and his wife, Renee, who survived the Tuesday earthquake that may have killed more than 50,000 people in the destitute Caribbean island nation.

Blair said the 2006 Decorah college graduate’s “strong calling to bring the poor an authentic sense of hope” drew him toward Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

Larson, 25, his wife and his cousin Jonathan Larson, all fourth-year students at Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, were in Haiti to help with the new Haiti Lutheran Church. It was the second time in the past year that Larson and his wife had visited Haiti.

The three were staying at St. Joseph’s Home for Boys on a mountain in Port-au-Prince when the magnitude 7.0 quake hit. Renee and Jonathan Larson managed to escape the collapsed building and are safe at the U.S. Embassy, awaiting return to the United States, said Wartburg President Duane Larson, a distant relation.



http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/01/15/seminarian-duluth-memorial/


Horswill said her cousin, who had visited Haiti in 2009, wanted to go there to serve people in need.

"We hope that all of these stories about Haiti inspire people to do what Ben did, which was be dedicated to serving the underserved and making all of our communities better," Horswill said.

http://www.startribune.com/local/81511572.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUsZ

Ben Larson, the son of two Lutheran pastors, died while on a mission trip in which he was teaching Haitian lay leaders, according to Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa, where he was a senior working toward his master's of divinity degree.

Larson, his wife, Renee, and his cousin Jonathan Larson were together in a guest house when the quake hit, according to an e-mail sent by the seminary's president, Duane Larson.

He wrote in an e-mail that Jonathan Larson and Renee Larson "made it out, eventually found each other, then returned to St. Joseph Guest House in the attempt to rescue Ben, to no avail."

[janedum]

1. WoW! Thanks for posting. The good die young.

[A-Long-Little-Doggie]

2. Sad. Seems like a really good guy. n/t

[madrchsod]

3. that`s what real believers in christ`s message do...

they tend to the sick and the needy. he will be known by all those lives he has touched.

[Crabby Appleton]

4. Molly Mackenzie Hightower

Another fine young person that died in the earthquake

http://mollyinhaiti.blogspot.com/

[Wickerman]

5. R.I.P

thanks for the post. What a beautiful person.