Cuenca Feb 10th
Yesterday we met the most marvellous couple, Marjorie and Ken. Their story has moved me profoundly, to the point of keeping me awake since 3:00 this morning.
They fled South Africa in 2008 and came here to Ecuador with virtually nothing. Ken returned to South Africa and began the process of selling their possessions, giving notice and going through 18 months of rigamarole to get his funds to Ecuador. However, that is not the story that has moved me. Marjorie had 2 sons who were murdered in South Africa. The youngest was 3 and was murdered by his schizophrenic father (he was not diagnosed until after the crime). The older son had a freak accident at the age of 12 when a table umbrella blew up into the air and then struck him, piercing right through his brain. Amazingly he survived until he was 17 but in that time he first made great strides in rehabilitation but then insanity struck him. After much trial and tribulation he was institutionalized and one day he was murdered. The crime was covered up but somehow they were advised to request an autopsy which revealed that the poor soul had been stabbed in both eyes and all around his mouth and throat. (originally they had been told he fell and struck his head on the toilet). They attempted for 3 years to get some sort of justice but in the end they had to give up.
I cannot imagine living with all this tragedy but the amazing thing is that they have forgiven the different people involved in the crime and cover up. They are so warm hearted and generous that I can easily compare them to Immaculee Ilibagiza (Left to Tell author) in their Christian spirit.
There is a lot more to their story but this is all I will write at this time. We are going to spend another day with them today and I look forward to it with pleasure.
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