All Things Work Together For Good

Romans 8:28-30 (NIV)

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

I was to be in Brazil from the 16^th to the 22^nd so I would be coming back to Kenya from tomorrow.  This was a missionary trip that coincided with the 2014 World Cup.

When volunteers for this trip were being looked for I had no idea I would sign up. In fact I was not interested because there was no way I could raise the air fare which at that time was $1570.  So I was content with watching and experiencing the world cup here at home in Kenya. Oh what a surprise when my parents asked for the flier and told me to pursue the idea. 

There were so many things going on in my mind

First of all I was not a missionary. Secondly where would the money come from? Thirdly I have never been on a plane before.  Fourthly where would I get pocket money. Fifthly when and how would I learn Portuguese? So I prayed about it and began the process of getting all the necessary information and document s to prepare for the trip including doing my own research on the place we were to go and how to evangelize. In less than 1 week all my fears were no more.

So I got everything including the air ticket paid in full. My work was now to wait for the visa board the plane and go spread the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ.  With this knowledge that I was guaranteed  to go, I went and told the whole world “ninapanda ndege kuenda Brazil” ( I am going to board a plane to go to Brazil)Trust me I told the whole world.

 It started with my family, then the friends who would be praying for me as I was on the mission, then my team mates both current and former, then my coaches, then twitter and then Facebook. I even started a mini count down to the World Cup.

From this eventful adventure of telling everyone that I was going to Brazil everyone thought I am going to play football or to watch the world cup. You should have seen the look on their faces when I told them I am going as a missionary. Most were like how come your not going to Turkana or something? Why Brazil? My response was simple I do not know but all I know is that everyone needs Jesus even the Brazilians and everyone attending the world cup.

Then there were the crazy requests from some of my friends. 

“Eliud when you go please come back with Brazilian hair for me.”

“Eliud make sure you do not come back empty handed you guy, buy for me soccer boots and bring the brazuca with you too (World Cup ball) “

The Brazilian hair request made me laugh silly. How on earth I, a dude walk in a shop even here in Nairobi to go ask for hair….. Never .I do not think I will ever do it. So that ends there.

The one for shoes and the brazuca got me all excited because deep within I was imagining how I would use my juggling and football skills to get the attention of a scout and also to minister. So I went to OLX (an online shop like eBay) searching for the cost of  chutiera (shoes in Portuguese)  in Brazil.

The cost was the same no big difference. So I resolved to do all my shopping here and when  I would get to brazil it was strictly mission work.

Things in Brazil started becoming crazy, strikes and protests from teachers, bus drivers and even the police. So you can imagine what was happening here on my side. Serious prayer and fasting so that everything could be okay and we could get to travel. Things got worse and eventually our host sent a letter of cancellation.

It was unbelievable I was like :

“What! How?”

 “I have already paid…. God I have prayed and I have fasted… I have told everyone I am going… I have done my shopping already….  Lord I am ready”

There was depression, confusion and embarrassment all together at once.

 There was depression because I was really looking forward to the trip and boarding a plane for the first time and playing football with the Brazilians (inventors of the samba).  I was confused because I had planned how I would blog about it from there and now I did not know what was next.. Embarrassment because I had told the whole world I am going. So in short it was a big disaster.

But remember that verse I shared at the beginning:

Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him who have been called according to his purpose.

I ended up getting a blogging job for this world cup and I did not have to travel to Brazil I could just watch the games from home and blog about it. Here is the link to an article I have written : 

My pal came from the States and brought me new boots and an official world cup match ball. That was really awesome.  I got to meet his family too and talk about Christ and football .I need to check up on him. 

I bet your wondering what happened next our mission trip has been rerouted to the UK.

Right now all I can do is wait and see what’s next and prepare my mind and heart to serve.  God is good all the time and that is His nature and indeed His love endures forever.  No matter how hopeless the situation looks like God is in control. He loves us so much that He gave us his only begotten son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins so that we can gain salvation and live free.

My lost Phone

The lost and found phone.

The inspiration to write this has been fuelled by the past two weeks occurrences. A tournament I played at Sadili Sports Club,my journey home and the complete effects of this obsession I have with #DreamBigPlayHard but most of all the great commission (Matthew 28:16-20) I have to begin with a disclaimer though I am not a qualified Pastor or religious leader so feel free to correct me in the comment box below.

The tournament was great everyone was scared of us cause some of my team mates are well known and I think they have been reading my blog and tweets about training. Any way the first game we drew two all,the second game we drew again nil nil this time and the third game we won taking us to the second round. In the second round things got tough.

 I can not fail to emphasis the value of prayer in terms of countering anxiety and ultimately building you up as a Christian. More so your faith in God, because how else do you speak to God if you do not pray literally i.e. Black and White without hiding and without being ashamed of His power and completely having faith in God. My basis for this paragraph is :

Philippians 4:6-11

 (NIV)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

So we ended up being eliminated in the quarter finals through penalties. So the usual depression that occurs post game especially after a loss.(Arsenal fans know this too well and Manchester United fans together with Dortmund are the latest victims) It's a game it's that simple whether your earning millions or playing for free do not let evil overcome you but overcome evil with good. The cool thing about the loss is that even after it we still prayed and thanked God for the loss and reflected on our weaknesses too as individual players and as a team. 

Quickly fast forwarding to the phone: After we bid each other farewell, I went home with one of my team mate using a matatu where we were seated at the front next to the driver. Of all coincidences the driver was a former opponent who we played against some time back (like 2years ago). We shared with him how we were from a tournament.As any normal person who is not interested in a conversation I started texting my friends talking to some about the world cup and how it's like 40 something days to go and others how the game was. The texting continued for a while as I still talked with the driver and my team mate.Talk about being a super multitasker :-)  . ( Fact you can not serve two masters  plus it is well researched that men are poor at  multitasking)

I liked the two verses below they hit the nail on the head.Different writers same message.

Matthew 6:24

 (NIV)

 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Luke 16:13

(NIV)

¹³ “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

Talking and texting is not good one of the two suffers and ends up not being done well. I wish I knew and acted upon this then. 

As the journey continued I had to reach into that secret pocket in jeans where coins are stashed to pay for my fare. No sooner could I say Arsenal are winning the league than I dropped my phone (points) and had no idea it was dropped. Heck the conversation with my team mate and the bus driver just continued. I arrived home safe.

This has nothing to do with this story it's just to capture your attention

During supper time with the family I started checking for my phone wondering why my texts had not been replied (we all dislike slow texters) then that's when it hit me..... You do not have your phone.So I did the usual back tracking of my steps checking the clothes I had worn during the day and the bag used. My final conclusion was that the phone was probably where I had last used it, that is in the matatu front seat, next to the driver and my friend. Logical solution the phone had fallen. 


All this time as I think  my family is calling me to the table to sit down pray and eat supper because guys were really hungry and some wanted to sleep it was already past 9pm. So we seat down and bow down to pray and I blurt out "I don't have my phone please pray with me I get it back and find it"  Wait do not judge me I was judged enough on that table by the eyes I got just because I said that. 


I knew a phone was a "thing" but still I valued it a lot and trust me it's not an i-phone or Blackberry or anything expensive in fact the phone costed me less than Sh.3000.00 and it does not have Internet.


Why I valued the phone a lot: 

• That weekend I had just opened a new bank account and the passwords were to be sent to me via text they call it mobile banking.
• There were so many contacts I had.
• I just like my phone it's simple and does not have many issues.
• I find it cool texting in pink.
• I dislike touch screens. 
• People are more important than phones.

My brother offered to pray. Immediately after the prayer my mom suggested I should call it (thank God for mum) and see whether it had been turned off. It was the weekend the driver would be probably busy or some passenger would have seen it, slipped it in his pocket and gone with it,or some "entrepreneur" would want to take the spare parts and making something new. I mean so many theories were in my head but there was that verse in Philippians then another one from Ephesians 6 that I desperately clung to.

Ephesians 6:18 

(NIV)
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

I hung on to the "all kinds of prayers and requests"  and went for it with all my heart and mind. I called my phone and lo and behold someone answered it. It was the driver I recognised his voice... Thank God! Prayer does work and more so Faith in God and what He has said in His Word.

Talked with him and he said "Ntakuwekea poa msee usijali" (I will keep it for you well do not worry) . 
My Brain took over again - what the heck does he mean by that,does he want some sort of reward or is will he actually put the phone well for me???

To cut the long story short it took four days to get the phone back and mental trauma with the bank stuff and all. I did not pay him a single cent. How was this possible??? Simple I serve a big God :-) who cares for me so much.

One last thing you should know I was going everyday to the stage to see if I would meet the driver but I never saw him not even once in those 4 days. A pal of mine criticised me telling me that was lack of faith because I had already prayed. People having faith does not mean being irresponsible or mystical.

James 2:14 - 26

(NIV)
 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?  Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?  

 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
 
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.  You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?


Those verses capture the point quite well. In conclusion I got the phone back in one piece after four days and all the glory belongs to God. He is always on time. 





 

Der Kaiser

 

Der Kaiser is a German phrase meaning The Emperor and that was Franz Beckenbauer's nickname. He has been praised for great vision on the football pitch and an undying desire to win. Speaking of winning this past weekend I participated in a tournament where we got eliminated in the quarter finals it was quite painful because one of my team mates missed their penalty.
We were the better team and we deserved to win but that's football for you any one can be beaten even the one's who deserve to win ask Arsenal, Barcelona and Manchester United fans.


 

Back to Der Kaiser he got this name from a journalist and soon after he became the captain of Bayern Munich in the 1968 -1969 season where he lead them to the Bundesliga title and became German footballer of the year. From the videos I have seen of him he is quite good at dribbling and he played as libero i.e a deep lying playmaker just like Pirlo. I play as an attacking midfielder more up front but the great similarity is the vision. You have to have the greatest eyes, control and passes to play in these positions.

Most of the time you find the players playing this position are the team captains e.g. Steven Gerrard, Xabi Alonso, Xavi just to mention a few.

Another thing I have learnt from Der Kaiser is tackling.... When you tackle you tackle hard and strong so that the opponent does not come and try anything again. It sounds a bit too much but it's the passion any slight mistake or missed tackle and boom your scored.

Der Kaiser represents domination at it's best which naturally became part of his team's culture (Bayern Munich) . He played for them for around 20 years. If you see Bayern's game most of the time when they win they win with more than 2 goals. Especially these last two seasons they have dominated World football like no one's business. Currently they have already won the Bundesliga and last week they eliminated Manchester United from the Champions League.

I am amazed at how Pep Guardiola has managed to maintain the winning culture at Bayern Munich. The interesting fact though is that during his time as a player he played in the same position as Der Kaiser. So it seems there is a big correlation towards that position and the ultimate performance of a team. Maybe I should switch roles and take on more responsibility not just in attacking but also in defending and mainting the whole balance of the team....

But I need to mature first, that role requires a lot of experience and composure. These are the next two things I need to work on. So the big question as to why Der Kaiser is among the best???? It is quite simple. He has won the World cup which is now around 1 month and a some days away. He has won the Champions League, German Bundesliga, German Pokal and the Ballon d'or. In short he has won almost everything here is a full list I got it from wikipedia Franz_Beckenbauer

Honours

Player

Bayern Munich

• Bundesliga:
• DFB-Pokal: 
• European Cup: 
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 
• Intercontinental Cup: 

Hamburger SV

• Bundesliga:

New York Cosmos

• North American Soccer League
• Trans-Atlantic Cup

West Germany

• FIFA World Cup
• UEFA European Championship

Manager

Marseille

• Ligue 1

Bayern Munich

• Bundesliga
• UEFA Cup

West Germany

• FIFA World Cup: 1990

Individual

• Ballon d'Or
• FIFA Presidential Award
• UEFA President's Award
• FIFA Order of Merit
• FIFA Centennial Player and Football Personality Award
• Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award
• Marca Leyenda
• World Cup Young Player of the Tournament
• World Cup Silver Ball
• FIFA World Cup All-Time Team
• FIFA 100
• World Cup Team of the Tournament
• Regionalliga Süd
• UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament
• German Footballer of the Year
• NASL Most Valuable Player Award
• World Soccer Magazine Player of the Year
• FIFA World Cup All-Time Team
• ‏World Team of the 20th Century
• FIFA World Cup Dream Team

Civil

• Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
• Bavarian Order of Merit
• Cross of Merit 1st Class of the Federal Republic of Germany
• Honorary Golden Coin of the City of Munich
• Honorary Doctor of the National Sports Academy
• Commanders' Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
• Lower Saxon Merit 1st Class
• Order of Merit of the State of North

When I said everything I meant everything from as a player to civil awards to even as a manager I just have to meet this guy one day Germany here I come. I wonder if this years National mannschaft will go far in the world cup and be inspired by his legacy

World Cup Fun Facts.

So for me it seems the world cup fever caught me quite early. The event is more than 60 days away and I am already blogging about. Lets say I am motivated due to the fact that I will attend it for the first time in my life as a missionary. Yes Christians watch football too and enjoy the world cup. It has been so exciting till I have had to postpone my German exam to June.

Group tables from Bleacher

What is this thing called the FIFA World Cup? It is the biggest football competition on Earth. Every four years, 32 national teams take part in the World Cup finals. This year the following teams will be taking part and are grouped to compete as follows:

Oh, how I wish one day Kenya participates. Or maybe I am part of the players who should be pushing the team to do it. Checking my age now and the next World Cup, I have the chance to play in two tournaments before I retire i.e. the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Pirlo

It will take a lot of hard work but I am ready to do my part in whatever role I will be playing ,most probably as an Attacking Midfielder/Holding Midfielder too bad Pirlo will have retired. I look up to him and would love to play against him.

Current World Cup design and Original design 

The ultimate prize is usually the FIFA World Cup Trophy made of pure gold. The first one was called the Jules Rimet Cup. There is an interesting story about how it was stolen you could read more about it on the following links:

• http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/20/newsid_2861000/2861545.stm
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theft_of_the_Jules_Rimet_Trophy

There have been 19 World Cup tournaments and 8 teams have won the World Cup

BRAZIL	5
ITALY	4
GERMANY	3
ARGENTINA	2
URUGUAY	2
ENGLAND	1
FRANCE	1
SPAIN	1

“To hold the World Cup in my hands is one of the most incredible moments in my life.” Brazilian striker Ronaldo . I would definitely say the same thing too the World Cup trophy is huge I would be among the greats s. Very few players can boast of this I think less than 500.

From my little research there is only one player who has won as a team captain (1974) and later, as a coach (1990). That man is Franz Beckenbauer of Germany. I should read more about him.... Infact the next post will be about him I need to compare myself with him and see what made him to be such a great player. Here is a funny clip of him talking about aliens and how they are about to challenge us to a football match. 

The most fans that ever crammed into one stadium was 199,854 during the 1950 World Cup Final match between Brazil and Uruguay. The match was played in the Maracana Stadium in Brazil. I wonder how guys could even see the pitch. I hope there was no stampede or anything of the sort. 

That is enough for today I will write more another time. I just can't help but think what would happen if I played in the world cup and represented my country. The emotions, the preparation, the expectations all that combined to form pressure. But one thing about we footballers is that we thrive on pressure that is when we know how good we are. When everyone is watching you, you’re playing a better team and miraculously you beat them either by luck or skill. 

One way I handle the pressure is by remembering some verses Philippians 4:6-7 tells me: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

You could get more interesting stuff on the links down below:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_World_Cup_records
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_World_Cup

Enjoy your day and make sure you #DreamBigPlayHard .

VALUE OF INFORMATION

Photo Courtesy: Lulu Akaki

Today I have a lot on my mind just from my first training session and it was all about recovery. I did the yoyo intermittent recovery test and clearly I am unfit we had no game this weekend so I ate a lot and suffered the consequences. To the theme of this post (value of information), I had the chance to attend the Daystar language workshop and there I had a chance to meet with experienced bloggers.



One thing so far that I understand about growth is that you require to surround yourself with the right nutrients and ingredients to grow.Just like a plant and its need for sunlight,water and warmth for growth. What I learnt about blogging better are the 2C 1Q (yes I loved algebra).

Add caption

1. Content: Content has to be there and you have to know what you are talking about.
2. Consistency: You do not just start and stop otherwise you will not impact and help anyone. That's why presidents have around 5 year terms and not 1 month. There impact is judged before,during and after what they do.
3. Quality: That is self explanatory you do not need me to explain that to you.

As I was seated there listening sometimes staring at the presenters with a blank face I could not help but wonder how and what does this have to do with my football???? 

The answer was obvious I had to be consistently fast,consistently scoring goals,consistent at just about every great attribute I have as a footballer. Oh yes and blog consistently about it too (once a week or something) . Just look at the El classico headlines, "Messi scored a hattrick", "Cristiano complains about officiating" etc etc. Why are they capturing headlines because they are great at what they do.....and most of all consistent.

Enough blogging I need to get the correct training ("CONTENT") , apply it( "CONSISTENCY") and give my best ("QUALITY") .

Almost forgot the world cup is around the corner 72 days to go. I believe I will attend ;-) 

THE INVESTMENT

Today was a really great day. I spent most part of the day with my younger brother attending the Capital Markets Authority open day to learn more about investing. Basically what they do is regulate the market (the cops/law). They ensure the market is running well and everything is smooth and above board. If you want to learn more about them go to their website ( http://www.cma.or.ke/)

Groups you  need to be aware about and what they do:

KASIB - The Kenya Association of Stockbrokers and Investment Banks (http://www.kasib.co.ke/)

They are the umbrella association comprising of all stockbrokers and investment banks in Kenya.

NSE - The Nairobi Securities Exchange (https://www.nse.co.ke/) 

It is the only licensed securities exchange in Kenya established in 1954.Where the actual buying and selling of shares happens.

CMA - Capital Markets Authority 

CDSC - The Central Depository and Settlement Corporation (http://www.cdsckenya.com/)

They manage the Central Depository System (CDS) in Kenya for securities listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange. The central depository system can be compared to a bank where the records of all shareholding of listed companies are kept. It is actually a data base where the records of all the share holding of listed companies are kept.


All this information I have got from page 4 and 5 of the investor handbook which I got for free after attending the event.

Meet some interesting companies like Fusion Management they have interesting stuff.

Bottom line is this as I strive for my football dream, I have to be responsible with whatever little coin I get. Information is power there is a great verse also in the Bible Hosea 4:6 talking about guys perishing because of lack of knowledge.

A lot of information is out there especially when it comes to investments and thus one makes their own decisions to what their risk appetite is. If you are aiming to make money in a week nope that will be a big challenge especially if you are new.

Be challenged to go tomorrow and attend and see for yourself.

I am thinking of joining a bloggers association so as to learn how to write better and come up with better content. I should definitely work on my consistency in terms of coming up with interesting stuff. Hmmm....

Talk about an introduction. So far it has been tough thinking about my football dream how to make it work, what I need to do and who I need to talk too. Today has not been such a positive and exciting day in regards to this. But I have to stick to my mantra because I completely believe in it and it encourages me  #dream big play hard #DREAM big play hard! #DREAM BIG play hard #DREAMBIGPLAYhard and finally #DREAM BIG PLAY HARD!

Brazil vs SouthAfrica

What better way to celebrate 99 days to the world cup than to watch a game between the current hosts (Brazil) and the former hosts (South Africa). The final score was 5 - 0 victory to the Samba boys and a l
oss to the Bafana Bafana. Many people would say how it was a big embarrassment and all to the South Africans but I would love to bring the unseen point of view of the player.

If I was a Bafana Bafana player I would have so much pressure on me.Why you ask? I am just about to play against the World champions a team where Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Rivaldo. Kaka, Roberto Carlos, Lucio and now Neymar, David Luiz, Robinho, Ramires just to mention a few have played and play in. Another thing that would be on my mind is also how they are mega stars how they have won so many world cups how they make football so fun and how they are really  fast. Then there is also the pressure of playing in my own home country infront of my family,friends and mostly people who do not know me personally and are ready to judge me in and instant when I miss-control the ball or give a bad pass or fail to take a shot. But I am a professional so I need to man up get my confidence on and go out there and play for my nation with all those factors in my mind.

If I was a Samba Boy I would definitely
have pressure too. Why you  ask? I am about to play against a Country that is not ranked in the top 10 in the fifa rankings. They have never won a world cup but the facilities in their country have improved remarkbly so they might have a trick up there sleeve and this will be no easy match. They watch me everyday on tv and they even know my salary which is on wikipedia my clips are all over youtube so they defntly know my moves.But I am a professional so I need to man up get my confidence on and go out there and show them why I am a Samba boy.

Clearly these are two different mindsets and they great thing about football matches is that there are only 3 results.A win, draw or a loss. In this scenario Bafana Bafana were on the receiving end. What I am learning from this is that confidence is a big deal whenever it comes to creating a winning culture just like the Samba boys.As I plan to win the Champions league also one day I also need to work on my confidence as a player. Train really well and execute things perfectly, confidently and with such ease as the Samba Boys. They are definitely a team to watch in this coming World cup. So sad though we shall not be experiencing the vuvuzelas in mass this time round but I am looking forward to the samba dances and great skills on the pitch. It's now 98 days to go to the World cup whoop! whoop!

99 Days to the World Cup

It is now 99 Days to the World Cup. One of the biggest sporting events in the world. 32 teams one trophy and all this will be done in the beautiful country of Brazil. This is one of the most coveted trophies in sports more specifically football everyone usually wants to be a part of it and I might as well join the band wagon too and do my part in preparing to celebrate and participate in the World Cup.

The last time I blogged was 2 years ago wow!! That's long. I need to take this thing seriously now.