A DAY AT THE FOOTBALL PITCH

31 of October, 2009

Such a long and tiring, but fun day! Today was the end of the big tournament that the boys at Cheryl's have been a part of. Two teams made it to the semi-finals so I spent Friday afternoon purchasing juice boxes and oranges that I sliced and bagged for the boys (you know, soccer mom-in-training stuff). Friday evening brought a lot of rain and I was worried that the games would be canceled but the sun came with Saturday and the boys were excited and nervous about their games. Walking to the football pitch was slow going because of all the mud and me slipping and sliding all over the place. It is a pure miracle that I didn't fall on my butt numerous times. The games were exciting and nerve racking. The under 12s team was tied at the end of their first game and lost in overtime (wait, when time runs out and you have penalty kicks is that called overtime?) but the under 14s team won their first game (the same way the younger boys lost theirs) and moved on to the finals. After a short break we returned to the field to watch the final. While we waited for the game to start I made a new friend, Kennedy. He was one of the people putting on the tournament and knew where I was from based on my accent (I informed him that I don't have an accent but he insisted). The game started and I was sooo nervous! At one point, I was standing on the side lines and looked over to see a precious little girl, maybe three or four years old saunter over to where I was standing. She walked right up to me and grabbed my hand (see picture) and stood there with me for a while. It was so cute. The game ended 0-0 and we gathered around the goal post for the penalty kicks and I almost forgot to breathe I was so nervous for them. They did well, but it wasn't good enough and we lost 2-3. I was again blown away by these children. They don't blame anyone, or get upset or angry. Clearly, they were bummed that they lost, but they also recognized that they had done well, gone far, and given it their best. They drank their juice boxes and shook each others hands and were just happy to be together. They never fail to show me what love looks like and I am always humbled in their presence. After returning to the orphanage to talk to the girls and play with the little ones for a bit I returned home. Tired, but pleased with the day and happy to be where I am. Today, there was no other place that I would have rather been.