Monday was a glorious day in Ajijic—one that will be seared into the memories of the youth of this community for the rest of their lives.
After an excruciatingly long bus ride from the airport in Mexico City, 29 teenagers from Ajijic entered the soccer (fútbol) field on Calle Revolución and were met with cheers, applause, streamers, balloons and fireworks. These boys comprise Union Ajijic, two local soccer teams that were invited to represent our community and, in fact, Mexico, at a tournament in Cali, Colombia. After a week of grueling and incredibly physical games, our two teams returned as the winners of the tournament!
Armed with gold medals around their necks, shiny trophies held high and brand-new passports tucked into their gym bags, they were met by an exuberant crowd of friends, neighbors, supporters and, most importantly, family members. The weight of every heavy emotion you could draw upon was palpable. The initial shock of the fanfare quickly turned to a rush of tears as parents searched for their boys and embraced them with great intensity. Everyone on that field surrendered to tears of joy, excitement, exhaustion and relief. It was a beautiful sight to witness.
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