Making History...

Those that know me really well, namely my family, know that I have a love for the Little League World Series.  I know...it probably seems strange, but ever since I saw the first world series game when I was a teenager, I have loved watching it every year!  The enthusiasm and joy those kids have for playing baseball is just so fun to watch!!  Baseball is sort of an All-American game, but in the Little League World Series, it truly is World wide!  There are 8 international teams that compete every year, and the final game is the winner of the International bracket versus the winner from the U.S. bracket.  Every year it is so fun to see these kids from opposites sides of the world come together in little Williamsport, Pennsylvania and play a game they all love.  They all have incredible sportsmanship and the kids can speak completely different languages, but they still have so much fun together and don't let a little thing like different languages keep them from forming incredible friendships.  Every year I look forward to August and watching the LLWS, but this year has been even more exciting.  For the first time in the 66 year history of the LLWS a team from Africa is playing, and that team just happens to be from Uganda!!  It is so heartwarming to see these kids who come from poverty and such hardship be able to come here to the U.S. to play a game they love!!  I was watching a little news story about the kids from Uganda earlier this evening and got a little teary watching.  Those kids are just so grateful for this opportunity and are having so much fun it's inspiring to see them there making history!  They played their first practice without cleats, despite being given shiny new uniforms and equipment to use and play in, because they are used to playing in Uganda without any shoes!  They came only with their coaches because many of them come from single parent families, and some are even orphans, but the fans in Williamsport have totally embraced the kids from Uganda as their own!  Its so awesome to see people come to support these kids just as much as they would their own teams.  Unfortunately, the team from Uganda was eliminated from the tournament today, but those kids played their hearts out, and everyone made them feel like winners!  They are winners just for making it to Williamsport and making history as the first team from Africa!  It just shows how much heart and joy kids in Uganda have!  It makes me even more excited to go meet some of those amazing kiddos!!  And who knows...maybe I'll even get to play some ball with them!!