• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About Us
  • Videos
    • Featured Video
    • Foodie Friday
    • Monthly ReCap
  • Online E-Editions
    • This Week’s E-Editions
    • 2023
    • 2022
    • 2021
    • 2020
    • 2019
    • 2018
    • 2017
    • 2016
    • 2015
    • 2014
  • Social Media
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
  • Advertising
  • Local Jobs
  • Puzzles & Games
  • Circulation Request

The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

       

Click to join our weekly e-newsletter

  • Home
  • News
    • Land O’ Lakes
    • Lutz
    • Wesley Chapel/New Tampa
    • Zephyrhills/East Pasco
    • Business Digest
    • Senior Parks
    • Nature Notes
    • Featured Stories
    • Photos of the Week
    • Reasons To Smile
  • Sports
    • Land O’ Lakes
    • Lutz
    • Wesley Chapel/New Tampa
    • Zephyrhills and East Pasco
    • Check This Out
  • Education
  • Pets/Wildlife
  • Health
    • Health Events
    • Health News
  • What’s Happening
  • Sponsored Content
    • Closer Look
  • Homes
  • Obits
  • Public Notices
    • Browse Notices
    • Place Notices

Lutz couple seeks to touch souls at Olympics

July 20, 2012 By Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By B.C. Manion

The rivalry between swimmers Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte will play out on a world stage and amazing feats of track and field stars may capture global attention.

But behind the scenes there’s a network of people who will be in London tending to the athletes’ needs during the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Two of those people are from Lutz.

Asif Shaikh, who pronounces his name Ah-sif Shake, and his wife, Leaha, will be at the XXX Olympiad. They’ll be focused on the spiritual needs of the athletes who are converging in Great Britain for the international games.

The Lutz couple is excited about the opportunity.

Leaha and Asif Shaikh are on a mission to tend to athletes’ spiritual needs during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London starting July 27. (Photo by B.C. Manion)

They know they will enjoy seeing the sights in London and soaking in the excitement of the global sporting event, but their motivation for making the trip goes well beyond that.

Like the athletes they’ll be serving, they are focused on a mission.

“It’s a calling, maybe something that we would have not chosen,” Leaha said, but she said she and her husband feel compelled to share their Christian faith.

“We’re not there to go to the events,” Asif said. “We’re working. We’re not on vacation. By the time we put our head on the pillow at night, we will be dead tired.”

Leaha said she hopes “to at least connect on a heart level with one athlete.”

Asif and Leaha are among 10 chaplains from the United States who will work with Team USA, as representatives of Athletes in Action, which is the sports ministry for Campus Crusade for Christ.

Normally, the couple works for Athletes in Action serving student-athletes at the University of South Florida.

Asif and Leaha said they’re eager to serve.

The idea of interacting with world-class athletes is nothing new for Asif. He recently returned from the 2012 U.S. Olympic track team trials in Eugene, Ore., where he offered daily chapel gatherings for the athletes competing to be on Team USA.

The athletes came to worship and to pray, said Asif, who was born in Pakistan and was raised as a Muslim before converting to Christianity when he was 11 years old.

Asif was also a chaplain to the U.S. soccer team at the FIFA World Cup in South Africa two years ago, and last year he served in the same capacity at the track and field IAFF World Championship Athletics in Daegu, South Korea and the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Asif and Leaha are not intimidated by the athletes’ international status. Rather, they view them as being human, like everyone else.

Many athletes are young and some are at the Olympics by themselves, Asif noted.

Sometimes difficulties arise in their personal lives — a death in the family, a divorce or some other tragedy — at the same time they are facing an athletic challenge for which they’ve been training for years to take on.

“They’re in front of the whole country, the whole world. Who do they turn to?” Asif asked.

“We represent a neutral person they can go to,” Leaha said.

Asif plans to spend three weeks in London, while Leaha will be there for a week. The games run from July 27 to Aug. 12.

While the couple is away, Leaha’s mom will be looking after the couple’s daughters, Makenna, 9, and Janessa, 6.

In addition to this year’s Olympics, Asif plans to travel to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil and to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil.

He’s excited about reaching out to athletes from all over the world, especially those who do not enjoy religious freedom in their homeland.

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Reddit
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Email
  • Print

Like this:

Like Loading...

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

Search

Sponsored Content

WAVE Wellness Center — Tampa Bay’s Most Advanced Upper Cervical Spinal Care

September 5, 2023 By Mary Rathman

Tampa Bay welcomes WAVE Wellness Center, a state-of-the-art spinal care clinic founded by Dr. Ryan LaChance. WAVE … [Read More...] about WAVE Wellness Center — Tampa Bay’s Most Advanced Upper Cervical Spinal Care

Only a Few Homes Remain — It’s Your Final Chance to Build Your Home in Del Webb Bexley

August 29, 2023 By Special to The Laker/Lutz News

Time is running out on your chance to live at Del Webb Bexley. We’ve built the ideal active adult community to suit your … [Read More...] about Only a Few Homes Remain — It’s Your Final Chance to Build Your Home in Del Webb Bexley

More Posts from this Category

What’s Happening

09/29/2023 – Teacup Fairy Garden

The Zephyrhills Public Library, 5347 Eighth St., will host a thrifty craft project for adults on Sept. 29 at 9:30 a.m. Participants can make a teacup fairy garden. Registration is required. Call 813-780-0064 for more information. … [Read More...] about 09/29/2023 – Teacup Fairy Garden

09/29/2023 – Worship Concert

The Cathedral of Worship and Praise Center will present “The Wonder of Worship Concert” on Sept. 29 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center, 8550 Hunters Village Road. Admission is free. For information, call 813-943-9773, or visit TheCathedralOfWP.com. … [Read More...] about 09/29/2023 – Worship Concert

09/30/2023 – Great Discoveries

The Starkey Ranch Theatre Library Cultural Center, 12118 Lake Blanche Drive in Odessa, will host Charles Zidar, executive director of MAPS, for a lunch adventure, on Sept. 30 at noon. Participants can hear a talk on ancient Greek and Roman cultures, while museum artifacts are brought to your table as you eat. There will be a second session on Oct. 7 at noon to discuss ancient Mayan culture. Tickets are $28 plus taxes and fees, which includes lunch and the presentation. Tickets can be purchased at bit.ly/45yx47C. … [Read More...] about 09/30/2023 – Great Discoveries

10/03/2023 – Drawing Workshop

The Starkey Ranch Theatre Library Cultural Center, 12118 Lake Blanche Drive in Odessa, will host a Drawing Workshop: Exquisite Corpse, on Oct. 3 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., as part of its Museum + Art Series. Participants can learn about the exquisite corpse drawing method and create a drawing inspired by surrealist artists. Registration is required; call 727-815-7126. To learn more, visit MOMA.org/collection/terms/exquisite-corpse. … [Read More...] about 10/03/2023 – Drawing Workshop

10/03/2023 – Halloween Games/Crafts

The Land O’ Lakes Library, 2818 Collier Parkway, will host Teen Halloween Games and Crafts on Oct. 3 at 6:30 p.m., for ages 13 to 17. Supplies will be provided. For information, call 813-929-1214. … [Read More...] about 10/03/2023 – Halloween Games/Crafts

10/03/2023 – Library Book Sale

The Friends of the Land O’ Lakes Library, 2818 Collier Parkway, will host a porch book sale on Oct. 3 from 10 a.m. to noon, featuring all genres of books including novels, nonfiction, biographies, sewing, cooking, self-help, and more. The porch sale takes place every Tuesday. Call 813-929-1214 for information. … [Read More...] about 10/03/2023 – Library Book Sale

More of What's Happening

Archives

 

 

Where to pick up The Laker and Lutz News

Copyright © 2023 Community News Publications Inc.

   
%d bloggers like this: