Catholic Sun columnist and author Chris Benguhe was only a few blocks from his home in Central Phoenix when he was mugged by a teenaged gunman demanding he hand over all his money or else!
“The peach fuzz on his face was still not mature enough to make a real beard, but the gun was all too real,” writes Benguhe in his most recent column where he describes the harrowing experience.
The incident occurred on a weekday last month in the early evening hours at a well traveled restaurant in Central Phoenix only a few blocks from Benguhe’s home. After parking his car and making his way toward the front door he was approached by a hooded youth who stuck a small caliber gun in his face and began screaming at him.
“I had just given a teen talk at a local church a few nights earlier, and as strange as it sounds, the first thing that popped into my head was that he reminded me of one of those kids,” says Benguhe who at first couldn’t believe what was happening. “Was this for real? Could this be some badly conceived prank? But the gun was no joke, and as I hesitated he became more irate.”
Benguhe hopes that by writing about the experience he can reach troubled teens in these very desperate times and convince them to stay on the straight and narrow. He is also talking to the juvenile corrections department about bringing the message to incarcerated youths in Maricopa Country.
“So that maybe eventually every one of them will know what he didn’t — that God created us to live, to let live, and to revel in the love that surrounds us no matter how much we have or don’t have everything we want,” explains Benguhe. “And that blessed mission is priceless.”
Chris Benguhe is a columnist for the Catholic Sun newspaper of Phoenix Arizona.Benguhe’s latest book “Overcoming Life’s 7 Common Tragedies: Opportunities for Discovering God,” examines the positive potential of tragedy to bring people closer to each other and to inspire them to realize their ultimate purpose.
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