Facebook/Church Under the BridgeA smiling Arthur Bennett gestures as he stands using a cane beside his hospital bed in Midland Memorial Hospital in Midland, Texas.
He suffered a severe beating—with four broken ribs and numerous bruises—but there's one thing that the people who attacked him failed to break: his spirit.
Arthur Bennett, known as "King" Arthur, is a 65-year-old Christian man suffering from diabetes and cataract who lives on the streets of Midland, Texas—one of about 200 homeless people under the care of a local church, the Church Under the Bridge, according to News West 9.
People who know him say he is the most caring person on the streets of Midland. According to a statement posted on a GoFundMe page set up for him, Bennett is someone who "simply just wants to make people smile," a man who "has touched the lives of many people in our community."
However, despite his good reputation, he was mauled by two still unidentified men on the night of July 14, 2016 and left for dead.
Bennett, who stands just 4'11" and weighs 103 lbs, did not pose a threat to anyone, said Evan Rogers, the pastor of the Church Under the Bridge.
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Rogers said Bennett was found badly beaten in an alley and was rushed to the Midland Memorial Hospital. At first, his friends say they were unsure whether he would survive the severe beating he sustained.
But two and a half weeks later, Bennett woke up from his hospital bed and told the people caring for him, "Listen up, the king is back. He ain't going to die. He ain't going to die. He's right here."
The doctors say his ribs are still broken and he has to use a cane to walk, Rogers said.
The pastor bought a trailer for Bennett, using the more than $6,000 collected in his GoFundMe page.
Bennett is now recuperating from his injuries in his new trailer home, full of gratitude to all the people who have been helping him.
"Keep the beautiful work up," Bennett told them. "And give me a job."
To the two men who attacked him, Bennett has no ill words to say.
"God loves them," he said. "They may be mean, cruel, careless or whatever, but still, God loves them."
He told CBS 7 that forgiveness is the only avenue to true healing.
"The Lord forgives everybody," he said. "If they done wrong, if they stole, or whatever—the Lord still loves them."
