I met Ben Jonas the summer of 1999 when I first moved to Tennessee. I was renting a room in a house, as was another man who was a painter. That man had hired Ben to do some work for him and we met at the house. Ben was a train hopper (one who jumps on freight trains and rides them long distances to get somewhere, or just for fun) at the time and that was something I had always wanted to do. He agreed to take me on my first train hop and I was hooked. For the past nine years, Ben and I have always kept up with each others’ whereabouts and happenings. I have been to his family’s home in northern Idaho twice now. Once for about three weeks helping to cut and bring in firewood for the cold winter. I was welcomed as a member of the family and certainly see where Ben gets his strength and faith. His mother, Ann, has strength not seen in women since the pioneer days, and his father’s faith warms their whole house.
While Ben’s humility will not allow him to say this himself, he is truly the most Christlike man I know. We are all human and born into sin, and certainly not perfect. Benjamin Jonas is not perfect, I would guess he has his struggles like all of us; however, I know no one who better lives the way Christ has called us to live. It is an honor to call our son Jonas Benjamin Seyfried, and we hope he will grow up to be close to the kind of man Ben Jonas is.