The Island-Fish

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  “O ye passengers, whom may God preserve! come up quickly in to the ship, hasten to embark, and leave your merchandise, and flee with your lives, and save yourselves from destruction; for this apparent island, upon which ye are, is not really an island, but it is a great fish that hath become stationary in the midst of the sea, and the sand hath accumulated upon it, so that it hath become like an island, and trees have grown upon it since times of old; and when ye lighted the fire upon it, the fish felt the heat, and put itself in motion, and now it will descend with you into the sea, and ye will all be drowned: then seek for yourselves escape before destruction, and leave the merchandise.—The passengers, therefore, hearing the words of the master of the ship, hastened to go up into the vessel, leaving the merchandise, and their other goods, and their copper cooking-pots, and their fire-pots; and some reached the ship, and others reached it not. The island had moved, and descended...

Today I Am Learning About . . .

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Refugees. This week on the campus of Columbia International University we are learning about refugees, the crises of forced displacement, and begin taking steps to provide assistance for refugees.

Our speaker in chapel every day is Paul Sydnor, EU Director of the International Association for Refugees and an active founding member of the Refugee Highway Partnership in Europe. Through local churches, Paul has come alongside of a number of refugee leaders over the years to strengthen and support them in their own efforts, including refugee leaders from Croatia, Kosovo, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and several parts of Africa. The goal of IAFR is to "help people survive and recover from forced displacement." 


Students, Faculty and Staff are involved in special activities through the week outside the regular class schedule enjoying International food, even participating in a "refugee experience" through simulated forced displacement scenarios. Also present on campus this week are representatives from other various agencies who seek to impact the nations with the message of Christ. 

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