I was a very spiritual person in a very early age. I remember the beating of my life in my second week of school. E 'was break and we were forbidden in the gardens or sanctuaries for the nuns frequently to prayer. It 'was the best small garden I have ever seen. He was a fish pond full of goldfish color, there were small waterfalls and fountains, and the sound of running water and birdsong was like aSymphony Orchestra in a performance. There were flowers everywhere, the most fragrant roses and the smell emanating hung in the air. I remember that, before an exquisite statue of the Virgin Mary standing looked at her as she has her little boy at his side, I thought of my mother and my new baby brother, Joe.
The moment was abruptly interrupted by the sound of heavy footsteps. Then I remember, looked up and saw a great big fat red neck old nun charged on me. Unknownto me, all my friends had seen it coming, and had scattered in all directions. Before I could even explain that I only get to play in the garden, before I could turn to work at all my little short legs, he took my arm and as small as I was, I was impressed. It 'was the hardest and most brutal beating of my life. They hit me so hard, until now even my parents did to me. Then everything went black. I must have been, because I remember waking up in theHospital in the hands of a kindly looking woman, and another nun in a soft, brown eyes. This was not the one who attacked me, his eyes were cold, ice, cobalt blue.
I heard screaming in the office behind me.
"Why did you do?" asked an angry voice.
"It was bad, so they had to be disciplined," was the reply.
"And as for the other three, you've met them too?"
"No, I ran away."
"Look, this is the first time we hadblacks children to school, "I heard the first voice." What do you think this will look like? Seem brutality and racism, and this is something to try, what we here in the monastery should be discouraged. "
"There was nothing, absolutely nothing racist in my actions," said the old nun with dignity.
There was a pregnant silence, and I could hear heavy breathing.
"Sister Magdalena," came the stern voice. "Times are changing, and what have you done today is unacceptable.Log mother superior. "
"I really think are unfair, the defense was angry. "These are Africans must learn discipline at an early age."
"I said, you get the same treatment to all children! Now higher gear."
A hand touched my face, I shrink into a far corner of my bed as I could. There was another nun bent over me, maybe they wanted to beat me?
"How do you feel?" The nun with the gentle brown eyeshe asked. I noticed that are not dressed in nurse's uniform. She was still wearing a veil, but she was different. All the sisters dressed in white, and all wore veils blacks with limited white bands. Therefore, the children called "penguins".
The nurse tried to touch the darkening bruises on her legs, but I shrugged, feeling that I could not believe these strange white women.
"Do not be afraid," he said softly. "I want to hurt you." It 'been somethingabout his voice that was honest and quiet, but I think it was her eyes. They were dark brown and its color was so familiar, not like the blue eyes of the nun who had attacked me. It took me a long time to trust people with blue eyes.
The nurse gave me the rest of the afternoon in the hospital, but he made me an hour before the end of the school day. After talking to my mother this evening for the accident I discovered that he never said what my parentshappened was just the sisters kept for himself. I remember saying to go to confession to confess my sins on the day after the pastor.
not in my head I had a confession computing element, it was Sister Mary Magdalene and their terrible way, but when I go to confessional to say that I had. "Forgive me, Father, I have sinned was my confession tenth of this month. I have sinned in the garden during breaks."
Rational does not yet make sense, and the priestseemed to know at all what I said. I was playing, after all, because God wants to punish me for this?
"Do ten Hail Mary and Our Father and three of your sins are forgiven," the priest told me. He had heard what I said? I had to play. How could I know that was a forbidden garden? What kind of God punishes the children to play? Later I discovered that it will not enter into a sign at the garden gate, warning children to the sanctuary, butThis was my second week at school and I could not even read.
So I went to one of the pews in the chapel and knelt and prayed.
"Hail Mary, full of grace
The Lord is with thee;
Blessed are you among women
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus
Holy Mary Mother of God
Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death,
Amen. "
Now, after this prayer times I've played as a 6 year old boy was confused. I thought that Marythe mother of Jesus and God was her husband. Now I was praying that she was the mother of God, which is where Jesus fits in the scheme of things? I was totally confused. When I got home, my mother tried to explain the importance of prayer, but with each statement, I would ask one more question. Finally, exasperated, and has told me to listen to the nuns and do what I was told and not ask too many questions. I'm sorry for my mother, who was not the end. If nothing else, theThe absence of a satisfactory response, made it worse, so at the age of 6 years, I started to question my faith.
We used to have a picture of Jesus on the wall of the living room, my cousin Kenneth, who painted a brilliant artist, and was able to capture life as a picture of this man Jesus. Kenneth was going through a religious phase in his life and has inspired hundreds of images of Jesus painting. They were everywhere, and people bought them by the dozen. I do not know how theImage in our lounge. It 'was very realistic and had eyes that follow you around the room, but what made it worse was the color of his eyes. It was exactly the same as that of the nun, whom I had a stroke.
I told my mother this. I'm just being honest, but to my horror, she did not understand me. I acted like it was obsessed with the idea that Jesus was an evil man, and so all his followers must be evil, have, it was simply logical. My mother recognizedthat he needed an operation, and decided to invite her cousin, Sister Kevin, to help.
Excerpt from my book "Born on the Continent - Ubuntu", buy a copy on my website http://www.bornonthecontinent.com, 100% profit goes to the Africa Alive Foundation for HIV and AIDS orphans in Zimbabwe
