Back to the soccer field...

We are back to the soccer field, finally!

Well, this nice and green field is only 1 in 3 fields in the city, and this first game will be probably the first and last for all the season. Usually we play at dust and sand fields, and thats where they actually prefer to play.

It was a friendly game, against Costa do Sol team, and the result was 1-2 for our boys. Values on the jerseys and hopefully, on the players behaviour!

After the match, a short trip to the beach, for team building, and to know the vision, and purpose for this new season, where the Bible will be a part of the training bringing the values that will make not only better players, but also better young man, in the different areas of life.

Balls and Smiles

These "special" kids smiled when they realized the balls were for them.

Although the restrictions to play due to each particular situation, receiving a ball and touch it, is enought to make a different day. In fact, that's why we are here!

Thanks to "Operation Kid-to-Kid" for the donation of 20 soccer balls.

Thank you

we can praise the Lord that the doctors are hopeful to begin chemotherapy for Gabriel this week. However, the timing of it all depends on a number of variables (ie: scheduled bone scan, bone biopsy, lung biopsy and determining and treating the source of persistant fevers that Gabe has been experiencing). Chemtherapy can't begin until 48 hours after the bone scan and biopsies are complete and the fevers are gone. Obviously there is much to pray for! As well, we can continue to pray for Mike and Sarah as they need rest and energy to keep up with their daily routines surrounding Gabriel. Pray too for Simon, as he adjusts to the routine of visits with mommy, daddy & Gabriel and time with his grandparents and family in between. School is ahead for him also, and we can be praying that the transition to new friends and classroom goes smoothly. Today, the elders of our church had the opportunity to visit and pray over Gabriel. As I thought about that tonight, it reminded me of something. A doctor in our church has a beautiful painting of a surgeon operating on a patient with nurses all around him, but what captivates the viewer most is that standing behind the surgeon and guiding his hands is Jesus. What a hope we have. God IS the "Great Physician!"

In His Grip,Cathy

Know more at www.mikesarahthiessen.com!

Please Pray...

Our life can change in just a few hours!

That's what happen to our missionary friends from Canada, the Thiessen's, serving in Mozambique with OMS for almost an year.

They left Mozambique yesterday to go back to Canada to seek medical treatment for Gabriel. Obviously this was not in their plans, and has been quite a shock to all of us. They discovered on Friday in South Africa that Gabriel has a tumor of nearly 8 cm in his liver. The blood tests and other scans show that it is most likely cancerous and appears to have spread to the lungs, though a biopsy has not yet been done.

The doctors in Canada have already received the information and just tonight they heard that the chief oncologist and his team are ready to see them upon arrival. That was a comforting word to them!

Let’s lift them up in prayer during this time, knowing our God is still in the business of miracles!

A Special Day...

What a special day at the Central Hospital. First, the so waited reabilitation of the Oncology Department just started, and second, boys and girls went with "Aunt Alice" to have an Ice Cream and to fell the fresh water of the beach!

Fresh Fruit

Here, in Mozambique, not everybody can buy, but all can sell!

To buy fruit or vegetables, you don't need to get out of the car, as the sellers will came to you the fastest they can. You also don't need to find who sells the cheapest, because they all have agreed the prices.

The problem is to find the right Mango or the sweetest Pineaple! Anyway, we never do a bad choice - everything is delicious.

Smiling at the Oncology

Today was a special day at the Oncology Department of Maputo Central Hospital, when the kids discovered that Christmas is also a special season for them!

"Aunt Alice" and "Aunt Paula" arrived earlier to make sure everything would work fine and nothing would be missing. In fact, the table was full with chicken, fruit, juice and popcorn. Chicken was the special guest but the first to go! They just love chicken!

Santa was there for the distribution of small gifts, some clowns with balons, a group of missionaries who would bring music and a bible story about Christmas.

Our daugther Raquel, played as Christmas tree in the story, and took some pictures for us. It was a rainy day outside but a shiny day on the faces of those, sent to the hospital by a disease not invited for their lives.

Tho those who contributed to make this happen, thank you so much! God bless you!

On behalf of those at the Oncology... Kanimambo!

Workshop at Oncology...

A special day at the Department of Oncology.

Paper, color pencils and lots of imagination from those who entered this service with no date to go back to their homes.

It is wonderful how this simple "gesture" in our lives can be a tremendous moment for the lives of these children, hopeless and unsecure, awaking every morning not knowing nothing about a disease that will probably conquer their fragile lives.

2nd place...

This season is over and we are glad to see "Unity Soccer Club" finishing at 2nd place, not being promoted to the 2nd league.

Anyway it took them a lot of effort and commitment to reach this place, although they just play for fun, not having any kind of "income", having themselves to pay for their transportation to the field.

Note: A special word to Alice, who has been their loving "mother" washing their jerseys after each game, so the white can still be white!

Ant's House...

This morning, at the Ant's House - the orphanage in Maputo that we helped with a 20' container filled with gifts, the kids started to received what they were waiting for long time ago.

Thanks to the generosity of so many friends in Portugal, as some private companies and governmental departments in Mozambique, many families will be blessed by the gifs.

We will give the clothes and shoes gradually to the families, just to avoid that those things to end at te market the next day.

The Portuguese National TV Channel covered the event, and soon this will be seen on TV.

Partnerships...

We have been blessed by the visit of "Ambassadors in Sport" team, doing an outreach effort through friendly games and soccer clinics.

Our team (Unity Football Club) won by 6-0 (they sad they aren't used to that kind of fields... well, this is Africa, that's what we have!) and this morning they went to the Orphanage "Ant's House" to run a small "soccer clinic".

Thank you, AIS!

Happy Birthday Mariana!

9 years ago, our family was blessed with Mariana, our youngest daughter.

Now, she is 9 year old, and can't wait to celebrate her first birthday party with the Portuguese School in Mozambique classmates, this next Saturday.

We can't wait either to see what is going to happen...

Happy Birthday, Mariana!

PS - There are 9 candles in the cake! I can assure you that!

PS 2 - Check what happen on Saturday:

Good morning Maputo...

The day starts early in this city!
5:20 AM - The streets are clear! Some lights still on. Some runners doing their daily jogging before work.

Merchants setup their "business" to get the first customers of the day.

Minute after minute, the city starts to wake up and soon the streets will be filled by thousands of cars and "chapas" (a 9 seat van with 20 passengers).

A new day in Maputo, known in the past, as one of the most beautiful cities in Africa.

We love this city!

Kanimambo! (Thank you!)

The container just arrived!

Finaly we were able to open the container and to give all those donations to the Casa das Formigas (Ant's House), at Bairro da Liberdade, outside Maputo.

The joy of the children and the staff made us feel happy for the hard work to get this container released.

We must thank those who made this possible, not only sending the donations, but also contributing for the expenses involved.

A special word of gratitude for the official and private entities, from Portugal and Mozambique, which support this project, making it possible:

Portuguese National Television - "Praça da Alegria" talk-show
Maersk Line
Damco
Safmarine
ISM - International Sports Ministries
Ministry of Finance - Republic of Mozambique
Central Board of Customs - Mozambique
Maersk – Mozambique

Agal, Despachantes

MIPS – Mozambique Ports
Navemar, Lda

Raquel and Soccer...

She tried to play soccer, but the result was a brand new white boot!

We hope that she will be fine for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Our 14th Aniversary...

Let me tell you this - LOVE IS IN THE AIR!

14 years, actually 5110 days or, if you prefer, 122640 hours building our family! And it is still not done!

For those who take "marriage" and "love" for granted, please watch out and start doing your homework. We know how much it takes to nurture and grow a marriage, and even after 14 years of good and bad days, happy and sad moments, we can happily say: We love one another much more than we did 14 years ago, when we said YES!

My students...

Assessment time at the Leadership Development Center, 20 miles away from the capital city of Maputo.

I'm teaching "Leadership Principles & Christian Ethics", and this was the first assessement of the semester.

Don't worry, they did very well. It seems that the teacher is ok!