Tuesday 29 April 2014

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. 





 

Thursday 17 April 2014

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


Friday 4 April 2014

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 .