10 Years old

Good morning everyone! It's 6:40 AM and Mariana is ready for school, as always!

The difference: She is not 9 anymore! She is 10!

We are thankful for the wonderful way God has been protecting and caring for Mariana, and allowing us to be her parents.

Sorry, sorry...

Dear friends,

We have been out of the blogsphere for a while!

After our return from furlough last month, we are still on the process of getting back to normal life.

It hasn't been easy to find time to write here and share as we promised we would. Sorry for this.

Raquel and Mariana started a new school year at the Portuguese School of Mozambique, with new teachers, new classmates, and also completely different schedules.

Alice is back to the Central Hospital of Maputo where she volunteers at the Oncology department, and Jorge is back to his soccer players and friends at the orphanage, to his Ethics classes, translations and many other projects.

Step by step, we are re-arranging everything and prepared for a new season.

After almost 7000 miles traveling during 9 weeks, we had our first weekend of rest, at a small place in South Africa, 1 hour from the Mozambican border.

This place is called White River, but it's knowned for the beautiful green landscapes.

I believe...

Home,Sweet home

After 62 days e 7.000 miles, not considering 23 hours travelling between the two hemispheres, we arrived home safely.

At Frankfurt Airport, having coffee and the delicious homemade portuguese cake "Pão de Ló". Thank you Mrs. Elisa.

Take-off ...

Somewhere in the sky...

11 hours later, landing in África...

Soccer and Kids, what a combination...

We have started our "whole life soccer coaching" school 1 year and half ago, but for the last months, we've decided to do the training, not at the orphanage facilities but outside, at the soccer field, on a primary school in the area.

Every sunday, our group of 35 teens, walk for 5 minutes from the orphanage to this primary school. Today, as always, we went there, but for our surprise, there was a group of 30 kids already at our spot. "Well, someone get here first" I thought. But I was wrong, they were waiting for us! They said "We want to play with your team, can we?"

"Well, if you want to play with our team, you have to join us for all the training, including the discussion time and lesson, is that ok?" Sure! We are ready to join!


This is just incredible. We have started with 30 orphans and know we have 65 kids and teens wanting to be part of our coaching program! We had to split the group, and while Saidate was coaching "long pass" to one group, I was talking with the other group, about "serving others" and the history of the man who asked Jesus about what was the most important commandment!

We are so grateful for this opportunity to serve this group of kids. We know that maybe they will never reach a top position at the sports world, but we can't wait to see what kind of men, they will became, as we have this opportunity to coach "life skills" on their lives.

She is ready for 5th grade...

Mariana completed this week the first "cicle" of her "student life". At the Portuguese School of Mozambique, all the 4th graders received their certificate and were challenged for a new beginning next September.

Play Doh

Our little friends at the Central Hospital with their new funny activity! Everything is possible with play doh, from fruit baskets to people! Wonderful to see their faces.

Angola2010 Challenge

Angola is getting ready to host one of the major sports events ever held in this country - The Cup of African Nations in Soccer, by January of 2010.

During these last two weeks, we had the opportunity to train 40 volunteers and church leaders to serve their country during this Major Event.

Ubabalo "Whole Life Soccer Coaching", KidsGames and a overview of all the potential tools to be used with sports for community transformation, were the main topics of the training. We also had a city comittee from each one of the hosting cities in Angola for the CAN2010: Cabinda, Luanda, Benguela and Lubango.

We will be back soon in Angola, I'm sure!

Thank you

To all of you, that have contributed with clothes and donations to Mozambique, thank you so much, on behalf of the patients at the Oncology Department - Central Hospital of Maputo.

It was enought to everybody from little children to seniors.

The "teacher" (as we call him) didn't waste time and tried his new outfit.

A special word for these special friends Ana Paula, Clara , Teresa and daughter Raquel, for the support and encoragement in this mission!

Mother's Day

My mother used to say: I carried you 9 months inside me!

Here in Mozambique, mothers could say: I carried you 9 months inside me and 3 years on my back!

Here in Mozambique, there is no license to rest for young mothers. From the sunrise to the sunset, they carry their babys all over the place. They go to get water and wood, they buy and they sell, they even work on the farm, and cook. Always in their child on the back.

I wonder if one day these man and woman would understand the sacrifice their mothers went through.

What a rainy day...

What a day!

Its 3 PM and suddenly gets dark, and drop by drop, in few seconds we can't see anything around but rain, and rain, and rain. The emergency lights are on, and we can hardly see the car in front of us.

People run all over the places trying to stay dry, but it seems that water is everywhere.

This is a happy day only for these little kids, playing on the rain, and smiling when we stoped to take the picture.

Have a nice trip back home...

Its incredible, but time runs!

Our friends, the Calaim's are now traveling back to Portugal, after 15 days visit to Mozambique, not only to know more about our ministry here in Maputo, but to visit Beira, where their younger son, Nuno is working on a short term misionary project.

As always, here is the special moment at Maputo International Airport. In 55 days, will be our turn...

Welcome to Mozambique...

Visitors... who doesn't love to receive them at home, when we are far from our country?

This time we welcomed the Calaim's, who were bringing their son Nuno for the final phase of a missionary project in the city of Beira.

During a stop over in Maputo, they get to know the city, the "Ant's House" - an orphanage where we have soccer ministry, and the Central Hospital where Alice helps at the Oncology.

Of course we had time to see the wonderful and magnificent God's Creation, as we visit the Kruger National Park and the Mpumalanga Province landscapes of South Africa. Check this Sunset:

This place is called God's Window...

Nuno is somewhere in the middle of "Lisbon Falls"...

Finaly, this is one among more than fifty elephants crossing the road, 60 feet far from our car!

Happy Easter

Happy Birthday Raquel!

Raquel is now 13 years old!

This year we gave her something special: a day at the Badplaas Water Park.

Badplaas is a special place in the South African Mountains, only 150 miles from Maputo.

Check these videos:

School bus accident causes one dead and eight injured

A student of the Portuguese School in Maputo died yesterday and another eight were injured in an accident involving a private bus that provides transportation for the Portuguese school students.
The accident occurred at the Julius Nyerere Avenue, one of the main roads of the Mozambican capital, when a car crashed (Mitsubishi Pajero) against the private bus carrying the students of the Portuguese School.
In statements to Lusa, the director of the Portuguese School, Dina Trigo de Mora, said the student who lost his life is from Mozambican nationality and attended the 9th year of schooling.In turn, Alice Feliciano, a member of the board of the Portuguese School in Maputo, told Lusa that the injured were transported to a private clinic (Clinica Sommerschield).

Source: Lusa

Personal note: Dear friends, our family is shocked with the death of this 14 years old girl and also the driver. We also are grateful for God's protection to our girls. Mariana was traveling in this bus for the last 15 months, in this same schedule, until we changed the contract to another transportation company, last month. Mariana's best friend, Marisa, minutes before the accident, asked a friend's mother for a ride, and didn't take the school bus.

Izilda

Tropical Cyclone Izilda strengthened rapidly early Thursday before reaching the southern Madagascar coast. Izilda's winds reached 75 mph as it moved onto the Madagascar coast south of Toliara. Izilda began as a weak tropical storm early Thursday with winds of 45 mph. However, it strengthened rapidly over the warm waters of the Mozambique Channel. Izilda reached the coast late Friday morning local time. An estimated 4-8 inches of rain has fallen in the past 24 hours on the southwestern tip of Madagascar. Izilda is weakening, but it has stalled out. It will continue to pelt southwestern Madagascar with heavy rain while moving little through Friday. Izilda will eventually move back over the Mozambique channel this weekend. It is not out of the question that the cyclone maintains its intensity. by Accuweather.com Senior Meteorologist Dave Samuhel

Welcome to Maputo, Mr. Nuno!

We have a new friend, Nuno, our visitor for the weekend!

Arriving in Maputo last friday night, after a long travel by BUS from Beira where he spent the last 5 months on missionary work; he is now flying to Portugal for a 3 weeks period.

Nuno, you have 3 weeks to get spoiled by mom and dad! After that, please come back, your little students need your help with Math and English!

See you at the airport, Nzungo!

75.2 in Maputo

Tonight we fell cold and add an extra blanket!
Probably 68 outside...

This morning, we're still cold; and went outside with extra clothes!
Probably 71.6 outside...

It's 3 PM now, and it seems a winter afternoon!
It's 75.2 outside!

Please, don't laugh... our bodies are now adjusted to the African temperatures, and today we remembered our last winter in Portugal.

Men development...

"We want to focus on the athlete but also on the man - Saidate Moveia, general secretary for União FC, on the new season interview for the Maputo City Championship".

International Sports Ministries (MDI in portuguese) have been helping us with discipline and teaching. Each player is also a person who needs teaching and education so he can overcome all the struggles in live, family, friends, etc...

Read the interview (in portuguese) at the Newspaper Jornal de Noticias