war scars.

 

I've written about Paul in my blog.
he ended up being one of the favorite people i've met here.
he told me his story. here's a part of it, in the context of a conversation i had with chase:

caitlin: so it starts with me hanging out with paul. he's spent so long trying to tell me that he just wants to tell me his story so i can know him and his heart, which is kind of weird, but turned out to be amazing. paul is an incredible person and, though he has faults, i will try to never speak harshly of him again...he told me the story of what happened to him in the genocide
caitlin: his family was killed by their neighbors, their friends. they took him, they beat him, they cut his face up with these metal sheets (hence these scars he's got all over) and threw him down this big, well-like hole that they were using as a mass grave, i assume
caitlin: they left him for dead. he survived by standing out of the way of the other bodies that they threw down and stepping up on each one, until he reached the top of the hole and got out. holy shit.
chase: wow
caitlin: then he went back to his house (i think this is the chronology) and found his family dead. all of them. he found his mom and she was naked, so he went and put a blanket over her (i might have told you this already...) the woman who was with the people that killed his family came and stole this blanket
caitlin: paul later met this woman and forgave her, i think...told her who he was
chase: yeah, you did tell me that part
caitlin: after the genocide he was a street boy, an orphan...a compassion international rep. found him and got him set up for an education. he did really well, made a lot of friends, got great marks, etc...ended up befriend the son of the lady who owns the shop he works for...
caitlin: he currently lives in a little house where he supports another boy, some street kids, i think...and sometimes doesn't get paid by the shop owner, so he can't afford rent
caitlin: but he's so generous. he's always giving, always. and he's revolutionized the way i think about giving to street kids and beggars. he talks to them, he really talks to them. tries to figure out their story and why they're where they are. he's so passionate about helping people and loving people.
caitlin: he sees his life this way: God intentionally saved him, picked him to live and now he has a responsibility to help those around him, to understand people, why they do the things they do, forgive them and help them
caitlin: i've met no africans like this