-Beijing China: Olympics Bring Additional Persecution of Christians?
by Dr. D ~ August 6th, 2008
I just heard yesterday from a Korean-American friend who has some contact with underground Christian leaders in China.
The word that he brings is that the Chinese authorities rounded up many of the ‘house church’ leaders in Beijing and transported them out of the area or ordered them to leave. The government was wanting to avoid contact between the local Christian leaders and dignitaries from other countries.
This is anecdotal and can’t be verified but does ring true with some of the other stories that we run across lately, even posted on, and recently noted by Compass Direct. It is a reminder that we really do need to be praying for the Chinese Christians during this time.
The VOM Persecution Blog along with Release International is sponsoring— "31 Days of Prayer for China" -Check it out! *Top
August 10th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
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August 14th, 2008 at 11:30 pm
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August 19th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Do you have a way to forward an email to a participant in the Olympics? We have a group praying for one of the participants…see below…and would like him to know of that support. He is scheduled for his event on Thursday.
Larry Langowski To Wrestle For Mexican Olympic Team
EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern University will have another representative in Beijing as Larry Langowski will wrestle for Mexico in the upcoming Summer Olympic Games. Langowski was a three-year member of NU’s wrestling team at heavyweight.
Opening Ceremonies are scheduled for August 8 and wrestling competition will take place from August 12-21.
I understand that Larry Langowski will compete in Wrestling on Thursday in China. Add him to any of your prayer groups. Larry is from Chicago (Logan Square.) Pastor Charles Lyons knows this man and his family. They attend another fellowship and have a business in Logan Square called ‘Heavenly.’
Pistachio is the big seller at Heavenly, the little gelato and ice cream shop in Logan Square. The guy behind the counter, the owner with the scoop, is Larry Langowski, a 6-foot, 250-pound Polish guy from Chicago.
“It’s real good,” Langowski said. “The pistachio has the nuts in it. The fruity stuff has the fruits in it.”
Langowski is roughly the same, big guy you’ve seen around town for years. And here’s another thing about him:
He is the Mexican Olympic wrestling team.
Let me go over this again: A Polish guy from Chicago who runs a neighborhood family Italian ice business is the entire Mexican wrestling team going to Beijing next week.
A Chicago story.
I looked it up: He’s the only athlete in any sport competing for Mexico with a last name that ends with ski.
“Bueno,” he says, when he answers his phone.
Langowski says that when he walks down the street, people don’t identify him as Polish or Mexican. Usually Greek. Sometimes Cuban.
“We used to go to my grandmas for all the holidays,” he said. “She used to cook great Polish dinners. Pierogis, sausages, deserts.”
Meanwhile, though, his mom is a Mexican immigrant who, he said, “hasn’t adapted as much as she should have.”
So you put it all together, and there you have it: Larry Langowski. His Dad calls him “Junior.”
Langowski — Junior, that is — is a Chicago story because this is one of the only places you can tell it. He fits so well here. But he’s also an Olympic story.
From a distance, you watch the Olympics and see great sports and also a medal count. You root for the USA. It’s that way in person, too, really, but moreso, there is a togetherness, a blending of cultures among the athletes, the fans, everything. This will be the fourth Olympics I’ve gone to, and I can say that that blending is the best part of it.
Anyway, if Langowski does well as a heavyweight freestyle wrestler in the Games — and it’s a bit of a long shot — he could become a cult figure. Or, he might be the focus of criticism, competing for a country he doesn’t live in.
Who is Larry Langowski?
Personal: Born Lawrence Michael Langowski on 6/11/85 …Competed individually at the Clansman Wrestling Championships … Wonsilver medal at 18th Mexican Senior Olympic Festival in Mexico City …Fourth-place finish at Junior Pan American Wrestling Championships inMaracaibo, Venezuela … First-place finish at Olympic Elite JuniorNational Wrestling Championships in Culiacan, Mexico … Won silvermedal at the Senior Pan American Qualifications … Competed at theCanada Cup of International Wrestling … Active in Fellowship ofChristian Athletes … Son of Lawrence and Lupita Langowski …Enrolled in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences … Double majorin economics and psychology … Business institutions minor.
August 19th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
Hi n netsuke:
I am sorry I have no one to forward it too at the olympics but someone may see this comment and I will put it on the PRAYER line.
Thanks, and God BLess
August 11th, 2009 at 11:56 pm
Hi,
Just saw netsuke’s post about prayers support during my time at the Olympic Games. It’s an old post, but want to say thanks for all the prayer support. It really was a blessing to be in the 2008 Olympics. I ask for continued prayer support as I am heavily considering the decision to train for 2012 and have really no financial backing for training or competitions.
Blessings