Interview and article by Ethan Neufeld, during his internship at Christ House. Paul is a former patient and has been a Kairos Member since 2010.
Paul Deonaraine grew up in British Guyana, living with his grandmother, and spent some of his early adult years serving in the army there. Eventually, he moved to Washington, D.C. in the 90s, where he has lived ever since. He looks back fondly on his years in Guyana and loves to continue to cook the food he grew up with in his apartment at Kairos.
Before coming to Christ House, Paul had a busy life between work and spending most evenings at local night clubs in DC. He doesn’t describe this time as “rock bottom”, but simply as a time when he wasn’t living how he felt that he should be.
“I was seeing but still blind, I was listening but still deaf, I was in light but still darkness. When I was at Christ House, they shined this light, and the light overcame the darkness.”
Things changed for Paul when he needed a surgery, and the doctor recommended that he come to Christ House, so that Paul could recover and have the opportunity to live his life in a healthier way.
“When I came to Christ House, that was the best thing that ever happened in my life, to be honest.”
Paul likens his treatment at Christ House to the way he was raised by his grandmother, in Guyana. He describes this process as relearning, or re-practicing, many of the lessons that he learned at a young age but hadn’t kept as an adult. The routine of living by a schedule with meals, medications, and appointments proved particularly helpful for Paul.
“The staff of second floor, they were allowing God to work through them for people who really need help, people who were down and out.”
Still, Paul’s mindset coming to Christ House was focused on recovering so that he could return to his old lifestyle of working and going to night clubs. Eventually, Paul began to see the people who came in at the same time as him recover miraculously from serious injuries and conditions, which helped him realize how transformative Christ House could be- providing food, shelter, case management, and a path forward in life. The New Day program was also helpful in this endeavor, encouraging Paul to engage in prayer and meditation, which improved his conduct with people, and his relationship with the “God of [his] understanding”.
Being interviewed by Ethan, intern at Christ House
“The only way that I can love and respect other people is to love and respect myself first.”
What was so transformative for Paul about the love he felt by the Christ House staff was that all he felt asked to do in return was to give to others what had been given to him. To listen to newcomers, be patient, and show unconditional respect for everyone. To Paul, all of this is about respect. When Paul began to respect himself, he found that he could respect others.
Through his time at Christ House, Paul also grew in his faith with the God of his understanding. He says that because he doesn’t know who God will work through to help him, he must respect everyone around him and accept help no matter who it comes from. He believes that God gives people choices, and that he was offered a choice between going back to how things were or committing to a new path.
Today, Paul gives his time back to Christ House through volunteering and mentoring newcomers, to offer them the care and respect that he was offered. He has turned down other job offers through other organizations to focus on giving back to Christ House because of how unique the organization is, and how profound of an impact it has had on Paul’s life.
“I’ve been around other places, but I’ve never seen none like Christ House.”
Especially today, Paul still feels called to continue to give back to Christ House and stick around for the “long haul”. With Medicare and SNAP benefits under threat, Paul is worried about vulnerable people in the United States and wants to do what he can to help alleviate pain and cycles of harm through Christ House.
Leave a Reply