"Long have I waited for your coming home to me..."

16 months later,
Paul Johnson-Reuben's family welcomes him home.

By RICHARD MERYHEW, Star Tribune
Last update: March 27, 2008 - 10:17 PM

They don't know how or when he died or whether he was tortured. They don't know where his body was found or who is responsible for his abduction and death.

But 16 months after Paul Johnson-Reuben disappeared after being kidnapped with four other security contractors in southern Iraq, his family and friends finally know this:

He's coming home.

"I am thankful ... that he has made it home," Quinten Reuben, 32, of Minneapolis, said Thursday of his older brother. "For me, that's a small victory, that we can give him a respectful funeral and put him to rest."

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Come back to Me with all your heart.
Don’t let fear keep us apart.
Long have I waited for your coming home to Me
and living deeply our new life.

The wilderness will lead you to your heart
where I will speak.
Long have I waited for you coming home to Me
and living deeply our new life.

Integrity and justice,
with tenderness you shall know.
Long have I waited for your coming home to Me
and living deeply our new life.

You shall sleep secure with peace;
faithfulness will be your joy.
Long have I waited for your coming home to Me
and living deeply our new life.

(Gregory Norbert, The Benedictine Foundation of the State of Vermont)