{"id":406,"date":"2016-12-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-12-07T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/carrying-stories-silent-heroes\/"},"modified":"2021-12-28T21:28:26","modified_gmt":"2021-12-28T21:28:26","slug":"carrying-stories-silent-heroes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/carrying-stories-silent-heroes\/","title":{"rendered":"Carrying stories of silent heroes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some people tell stories. Ben Peterson \u201912 carries them.<\/p>\n

The 29-year-old founder of Engage Your Destiny<\/a> is committed to help people discover their purpose. And recently, he\u2019s started to help veterans tell their stories.<\/p>\n

A world-wide journey<\/h2>\n

Peterson entered the U.S. Army right out of high school with plans to serve his country through Special Forces. A vision test indicating severe color-blindness ruled-out that option and he was told the only job they had for him was as a chaplain\u2019s assistant. Looking back, Peterson sees this as one of his own \u201cengage your destiny\u201d moments. Although he had only become a Christian a few months prior, at that moment, he \u201cjust knew,\u201d and said to God, \u201cI think you have a plan for my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Called into active combat in Iraq at age 20, Peterson experienced things that are difficult to talk about, including seeing seven of his fellow soldiers killed in a helicopter crash.<\/p>\n

After his tour of duty was over he returned to civilian life, but floundered as he processed his experience. Struggles with PTSD (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder) led him back to alcohol\u2014something he thought he had previously conquered\u2014and he found his way out by his faith and choosing to associate with friends from church and mentors who encouraged him.<\/p>\n

Two great years of education<\/h2>\n

A stop at a large university where he \u201cfelt uncomfortable all the time,\u201d left him still looking for a place to fit in. He eventually found out about North Central, got in, and spent the next two years studying music, Bible, and ministry.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo of the greatest years,\u201d Peterson said of his time at NCU. \u201cSo many of God\u2019s promises were fulfilled there\u2026it was probably one of the most special periods of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a worship leading major, Peterson was active in music and after graduation toured with Jeff Grennell as a lead guitarist. \u201cI was determined to be a rock-and-roller revivalist,\u201d Peterson said. Instead, after the tour ended he ended up at a job refinishing hardwood floors.<\/p>\n

A friend\u2019s invitation to be sales manager for a start-up creative agency led to three years of pavement pounding, perseverance, and great success in landing significant accounts for the company. \u201cI won a lot of business,\u201d Peterson said. \u201cIt just took building relationships and it was a lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

God said \u201cGo\u201d<\/h2>\n

In the back of his mind was always a sense of purpose to a different calling and it got to point where he knew he was wrestling with God. \u201cNine months ago, I woke up and knew I was done,\u201d Peterson said. \u201cI called out to God and asked, \u2018Father what do you want me to do?\u2019 and I heard [the answer] loud and clear: \u2018Go.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Peterson left a high-paying, high-influence job to start something out of nothing.<\/p>\n

Compelled by a dream<\/h2>\n

One night a vivid dream set Peterson on a course to serve military veterans: \u201cI was sitting on a bus asking veterans to tell me their stories. I had a bag at my feet filled with thousands of stories.\u201d And then the dream ended.<\/p>\n

Galatians 6:2 came immediately to his heart: \u201cCarry each other\u2019s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

What he needed to do next was as clear as his dream. Peterson created a video inviting veterans to share their stories with him. Once he receives their stories, he prints them and puts them in a duffel bag, and he carries the duffel bag everywhere he goes.<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

Breaking the\u00a0silence for veterans<\/h2>\n

Peterson\u2019s work is giving people who have long lived in silence a safe place to tell their difficult stories of war. \u201cThe majority of stories are coming from Vietnam,\u201d Peterson observed. \u201cWe\u2019re seeing a pattern.\u201d He explained how people have shared about the Tet Offensive, extreme combat, special forces\u2014stories they were told to keep to themselves when they came home from Vietnam.\"Alumni<\/p>\n

Peterson is moved to compassion as he reads these stories, noting the brokenness can be overwhelming. \u201cI saw tough things and the worst doesn’t even compare to what they went through,\u201d Peterson said. \u201cTo see what they are going through breaks my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

He started a Facebook page where Veterans are responding and connecting with one another. Many admit, when they send him their stories, it is the first time they have ever told anyone about their experience.<\/p>\n

As he carries the stories on his back, Peterson prays for the men and women writing to him, and will tell anyone who asks why he is carrying this load. He is taking this initiative to six cities with high concentrations of veterans, ready to obey in this endeavor because it\u2019s what God has called him to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m on the wildest adventure of my life,\u201d Peterson said, \u201cand it\u2019s all because I have pursued a relationship with God. I have seen the greatest increase since I just started sitting with the Lord every morning. It is the key to life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Follow Peterson\u2019s blog<\/a> to stay up to date on his work and ministry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ben Peterson, founder of Engage Your Destiny, is helping veterans tell their stories by carrying them on his back.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":611,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47,52,48,38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni-friends","category-college-of-church-leadership","category-college-of-fine-arts","category-ncu-news"],"yoast_head":"\nCarrying stories of silent heroes - Table Salt | NCU Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ben Peterson, founder of Engage Your Destiny, is helping veterans tell their stories by carrying them on his back. Read more here!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Carrying stories of silent heroes - Table Salt | NCU Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ben Peterson, founder of Engage Your Destiny, is helping veterans tell their stories by carrying them on his back. Read more here!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/carrying-stories-silent-heroes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Table Salt | NCU Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-12-07T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-12-28T21:28:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/News_BenPeterson_Profile.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"wpengine\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"wpengine\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/carrying-stories-silent-heroes\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/carrying-stories-silent-heroes\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"wpengine\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/cec79fabe51ddbb5998b16a2fe5a3ebb\"},\"headline\":\"Carrying stories of silent heroes\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-12-07T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-12-28T21:28:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/carrying-stories-silent-heroes\/\"},\"wordCount\":863,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/carrying-stories-silent-heroes\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/News_BenPeterson_Profile.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Alumni & Friends\",\"College of Church Leadership\",\"College of Fine Arts\",\"NCU News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/carrying-stories-silent-heroes\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/carrying-stories-silent-heroes\/\",\"name\":\"Carrying stories of silent heroes - Table Salt | NCU Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/carrying-stories-silent-heroes\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/carrying-stories-silent-heroes\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/News_BenPeterson_Profile.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-12-07T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-12-28T21:28:26+00:00\",\"description\":\"Ben Peterson, founder of Engage Your Destiny, is helping veterans tell their stories by carrying them on his back. Read more here!\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/carrying-stories-silent-heroes\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/carrying-stories-silent-heroes\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/carrying-stories-silent-heroes\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/News_BenPeterson_Profile.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/News_BenPeterson_Profile.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"|\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/carrying-stories-silent-heroes\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Carrying stories of silent heroes\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Table Salt | NCU Blog\",\"description\":\"A University blog with a Christian twist\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Table Salt | NCU Blog\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/blog-logo.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/blog-logo.avif\",\"width\":576,\"height\":153,\"caption\":\"Table Salt | NCU Blog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/cec79fabe51ddbb5998b16a2fe5a3ebb\",\"name\":\"wpengine\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d8770fe9625ca7c4601f13d9d0ab86565a6dac8cd6a77bfe2ada6d83c6837870?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d8770fe9625ca7c4601f13d9d0ab86565a6dac8cd6a77bfe2ada6d83c6837870?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"wpengine\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/author\/wpengine\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Carrying stories of silent heroes - Table Salt | NCU Blog","description":"Ben Peterson, founder of Engage Your Destiny, is helping veterans tell their stories by carrying them on his back. Read more here!","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Carrying stories of silent heroes - Table Salt | NCU Blog","og_description":"Ben Peterson, founder of Engage Your Destiny, is helping veterans tell their stories by carrying them on his back. Read more here!","og_url":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/carrying-stories-silent-heroes\/","og_site_name":"Table Salt | NCU Blog","article_published_time":"2016-12-07T00:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-12-28T21:28:26+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/News_BenPeterson_Profile.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"wpengine","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"wpengine","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/carrying-stories-silent-heroes\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/carrying-stories-silent-heroes\/"},"author":{"name":"wpengine","@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/cec79fabe51ddbb5998b16a2fe5a3ebb"},"headline":"Carrying stories of silent heroes","datePublished":"2016-12-07T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2021-12-28T21:28:26+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/carrying-stories-silent-heroes\/"},"wordCount":863,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/carrying-stories-silent-heroes\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/News_BenPeterson_Profile.jpg","articleSection":["Alumni & Friends","College of Church Leadership","College of Fine Arts","NCU News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/carrying-stories-silent-heroes\/","url":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/carrying-stories-silent-heroes\/","name":"Carrying stories of silent heroes - Table Salt | NCU Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/carrying-stories-silent-heroes\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/carrying-stories-silent-heroes\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/News_BenPeterson_Profile.jpg","datePublished":"2016-12-07T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2021-12-28T21:28:26+00:00","description":"Ben Peterson, founder of Engage Your Destiny, is helping veterans tell their stories by carrying them on his back. Read more here!","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/carrying-stories-silent-heroes\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/carrying-stories-silent-heroes\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/carrying-stories-silent-heroes\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/News_BenPeterson_Profile.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/03\/News_BenPeterson_Profile.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"caption":"|"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/carrying-stories-silent-heroes\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Carrying stories of silent heroes"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/","name":"Table Salt | NCU Blog","description":"A University blog with a Christian twist","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/#organization","name":"Table Salt | NCU Blog","url":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/blog-logo.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/blog-logo.avif","width":576,"height":153,"caption":"Table Salt | NCU Blog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/cec79fabe51ddbb5998b16a2fe5a3ebb","name":"wpengine","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d8770fe9625ca7c4601f13d9d0ab86565a6dac8cd6a77bfe2ada6d83c6837870?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d8770fe9625ca7c4601f13d9d0ab86565a6dac8cd6a77bfe2ada6d83c6837870?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"wpengine"},"url":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/author\/wpengine\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=406"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}