Rehab #1

It's the beginning of February got a nasty injury in the middle of January and am starting my rehab program this week. It's quite easy to get depressed when your not doing what you really love but the advantage is that you get a great chance to reflect and plan on how to do things better next time and protect yourself from injury.

It's not easy because one is really tempted to get back on the pitch yet the leg has not recovered completely. Thus the risk of getting injured again is high. This is where one is encouraged to have other hobbies to take their mind off the injuries and recover well.

It's valentines month by the way :-) :-) .

#DreamBigPlayHard

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.