Thankful

I just spent a wonderful day with my family for Easter. You may ask, what was so wonderful about it? It was spending time with the family.

Even though Easter is not Thanksgiving, I have a lot to be thankful for these days. To start, would be my wonderful wife, Leilani, and our wonderful children Isabella and Westy. They have been so supportive during this project of trying to get the Afghanistan National Water Polo Team to the United States to train. We would not be where we are with this project without them. Other family members have pitched in as well. All have pitched in emotionally to support us and some have used sweat equity to help and some have even donated. There are many ups and downs during this great opportunity to create heroes for Afghanistan and my family has been supportive every step of the way.

The athletes are patiently and anxiously waiting in Afghanistan. I pray every day that the team will all make it the United States safely and that nothing horrible will happen to them prior to making this trip. These athletes showed me how to shove adversity back and create something positive in such a difficult environment. They also showed me what things are truly important in life. They are the reason that this whole dream started. I am so thankful for these honorable men.

Our volunteers have stepped up to the plate and have brought us to where we need to be. Whether it was people who volunteered to be on the board of our nonprofit organization, people who have put us in contact with potential donors, people who are helping spread the word and help create awareness, those who want to provide lodging, meals, pool time, or hand out towels to the team after practice, I am just thankful for the extraordinary volunteers that are ensuring the development of this team to promote peace through sport.

Our donors and sponsors have been phenomenal and I will always thank them. Some of our sponsors even go back as far as before there was even a national team. All of our donors and sponsors help us get closer to bringing the team here. Whether it was a small, anonymous donation, to donations of equipment, pool time, and the like, it takes the team towards the pathway of the Olympic dream.

The general public has been remarkable. From teary-eyed calls of support to referrals to people who may be able to assist our program. Sometimes people accidently run into our website or they read or watch something from the news, just the calls or emails are always very encouraging. Our supporters from the public have been outstanding and I couldn’t ask for more. Thank you.

I had a quarterly newsletter prepared to send out but felt that this letter was more appropriate. If you have not already picked up what I am trying to point out in this letter, I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am so blessed and thankful of your support of our program.

We are now so close to bringing this team to the United States in August. Let’s all come together, push through, and ensure this happens.