Olympic Thoughts

I just finished watching the Olympics closing ceremonies. I have to admit I watched more of the Olympics this time around than ever before. The fact that it was in China definitely drew me in. I watched tonight with mixed emotions. The grand scale of the performances, the beauty, the color, the synchronicity brought lots of wows in our room. The thought though that was on my mind as I sat there with Myranda, one of China's little beauties, was the bus trip to her orphanage during our trip to bring her home to America. The poverty we saw all around as we travelled down a broken up highway came to mind. The orphange we visited that lacked sufficient cooling in the heat of summer and heating in the dead of winter, The babies that were under nourished and under stimulated, not due to the lack of caring, but the lack of funding, all flashed through my mind. I also could not help but think of all those in China that are being persecuted or imprisoned presently for their stand to practice religious freedom. I watched the Olympics with a sense of pride as an American and as one who will forever be tied to the complex country of China. I pray for China that someday her people will not only be acknowledged for their excellence in showmanship and there progression to compete in the global market, but in their courage to stand for change of the mindset of a government that squelches some basic human freedoms.