Several weeks ago, I’ve received a phone call from a pastor that I know from Southern California. He just came back from Mongolia mission and he shared his horrible experience at an airport in the "Far East". He told me that he was literally held in a room for questions after questions for more than an hour. And he had no idea what was going to happen to him. He kept on praying over and over again that God would deliver him from where he was. Then, after more than an hour later, they released him. He thought that he was not going to make it to Mongolia to meet up with his mission team. Story like this is very common to those people who are trying to visit "Far East" today. Christian ministries have traditionally sent representatives to the Summer Games to share the gospel, and that mission field has frequently been ripe for harvest.The field in B..eij ing, for the Summer Games, will also be ripe, but evangelistic efforts won't be nearly as overt due to the country's official ban on foreign missionaries. Making the field even more challenging is the fact that the host nation recently deported hundreds of foreign nationals for participating in religious activities not permitted under Communist law. Additionally, only Ch.i nese chaplains approved by the Ch.i nese government will be allowed to minister in the Oly. m.pic Village.Attempts to share the good news at these Games will have to be carried out subtly. Still, international evangelist Luis Palau believes Chi. nese authorities will mostly look the other way. Unless Christians try to assemble a large rally without government permission, Palau doesn't think those sharing their faith will be punished. And he thinks plenty of Chi. nese seekers will be listening."Young people in … Bei. jing are very open to talking to foreigners," Palau says.Published reports indicate the Chi. nese government-approved church plans to distribute 20,000 Bibles in English and Chi. nese to Oly. m. pic athletes and visitors. More than half a million people are expected to attend the Games—including 10,500 athletes representing over 200 nations.As for the ban on foreign missionaries in the Ol.ympi.c Village, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes won't be sending chaplains to the Games, but is instead encouraging Christian athletes and coaches to spread the gospel by developing relationships with people. They're also working with current and former Oly. m. pic athletes, including retired swimmer Josh Davis, a three-time gold medalist with a long history with FCA and Campus Crusade for Christ's Athletes in Action."God's stripped us down, simplified things," said Dan Britton, FCA's senior vice president of ministries. "But the work of the Lord has always been person-to-person, not program-to-person. [Far East's restrictions] allow us to be creative."Through this person-to-person outreach, Britton believes God will change lives in ways we might never have imagined.

"Coaches and athletes are going to rise up," Britton said. "God's story is going to be told."

Steve Hwang