The other day an Afghan friend of mine died. He was a friend of many of us here, and from what I knew of him - he was a good man who cared about this country and did what he could. I wrote about him before in past entries, and right now - I really can't believe what happened to him. This is why I don't understand this place... It's so surreal. I have been to ramp ceremonies to say goodbye to a comrade in arms from various countries (and our own) more times than I wish to remember. Like I said before - it's like being at a funeral every week. The other guys we said goodbye to were people I never knew or had a connection to - other than that they were comrades and brothers-in-arms who will never go home. This is the first time I experienced having someone I knew and served with, get killed. The weird thing is that he was killed trying to do good for the people. He was out doing charity work and going about preaching and carrying out Islamic duties for Ramadan. This man was the first contact I had with someone who would answer my questions about Islam. As a Christian, I tried to find ways where our faith in our common God was the same, and I appreciated his time and friendship. I hope he was able to take away something positive about Christians from the time we spent working together. We had an agreement before with each other: "I'll teach you how I pray, if you teach me how you pray." Today when the Afghan soldiers knelt (or bowed) for the Mullah to lead them in prayers for our dead comrade, I couldn't help but kneel to pray our own prayers... it just seemed the right thing to do. A friend of mine - reacting with anger said to me in a low tone: "Because of this ____, I _____ hate this place!". I shared his sentiment, and even had to think it over. We have to keep a supernatural outlook - even in this mess... or the enemy (both worldly and spiritual) wins. Somehow - God will sort out even the biggest mess we make... and make some good come out of it. 'Omnia in Bonum' as St. Paul says... 'Good in all things'. We have to keep on doing what is right. I'm going to miss my friend, and so will the others around me who knew him. It was a quieter day here as people worked away. My friends here posted a picture of him on the wall beside my space - a space that has somehow turned into a makeshift 'RIP for friends' wall.
M.C.A.H.: Rest in Peace, Sahib.
Eternal Rest grant unto him O Lord, and may Perpetual Light shine upon him. May he Rest in Peace - Amen.
...and as they were saying in Arabic or Pashtu (loosely translated): 'May God give him a high position and enjoyment of the fruits in Paradise'.
1 comment:
Joe, sorry to hear about your Afghan friend and thx for keeping up the blog. It's a great way to follow your adventure. Hope that you got a new thermug and that you bought a pair of dishdashsas to wear back home. School is off to a good start - a good number made the university retreat at Cedarcrest and the house is full with new and old residents. Write when you have some time. Cheers!
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