A Home for All
During the 2016 Olympics in Rio, one of the brightest stories was the International Olympic Committee’s decision to field the first-ever team of Refugee Olympic Athletes, a team of athletes who have no country. Thomas Bach, president of the IOC, explained the decision: “Having no national team to belong to, having no flag to march behind, having no national anthem to be played, these refugee athletes will be welcomed to the Olympic Games with the Olympic flag and with the Olympic Anthem. They will have a home together with all the other 11,000 athletes.” Ten Olympians comprised the squad—refugees from South Sudan, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Syria.
what God looks like
In March of 2012, Americans listened with regret and repulsion as we heard reports of an American soldier in Afghanistan who went on a killing spree in a rural Afghan village. This rogue soldier massacred 16 civilian Afghanis. This is an absolute horror. The aftermath compounds our grief because these evil actions (and several other travesties) will, for some, define American ideals to our Afghani neighbors. Because of the actions of one violent man, many will believe that Americans are filled with hatred and are to be feared. Who can blame them? When someone acts in our name or on our behalf, we’re represented by their actions.
