Why do I and 11 friends deserve to watch the Rockies play from a suite at Coors Field?

I can watch the Rockies play any time I want to because I live in Denver. But the 11 very special friends that I'd love to invite can't! Why not? Because they are 3 American families with kids who live abroad in some very difficult places-like Uzbekistan and Morocco and Malaysia. Places where it isn't popular (and sometimes isn't safe) to be an American. Places where they play soccer-but never see baseball! These 3 families have made long-term commitments to adapt to new cultures and to live among their national friends who are predominantly Muslim. They serve in such work as urban planning, teaching English, and education with a non-profit organization. Their lives make them attractive grassroots "ambassadors" for America. And they are just really, really great people!

Let me tell you a little about one of these families. I met Jack and Diane when all of us were working in Uganda in the 1980's. Hard times, post-Idi Amin, rebels and coups, malaria-they faced it all to serve in both rural and urban settings in community health and university work. Jack is a baseball fanatic, believe me! I remember getting up at 2 A.M. to drive to the only place in Uganda one could tune in to the World Series: the Marine barracks in the capital city of Kampala! It was one of the few times we felt free to sing our national anthem vigorously and wear red, white, and blue without risking our safety!

Well, Jack and Diane now have teenagers, and they've lived in Malaysia for several years. They speak the local language and their kids attend local schools. They were among the first internationals to arrive on the scene after the tsunami hit, just helping out desperate people wherever and however they could.

This is a multi-cultural family (like the other two families I've mentioned). Their kids have learned to adapt in many cultures. They aren't just Americans . . . they are Third Culture Kids: a blend of many. As some of the older kids prepare to return to the U.S. to attend college, they are wrestling with their national identity. What better way to help them embrace the American part of who they are during their limited time in the States than through baseball!

And it just so happens that these families are all going to be in the Denver area next week (July 8-15)! It would blow their socks off to get tickets to a Rockies game . . . to let their kids experience a truly American sport . . . and to be treated like royalty in a suite! Please, YourHub folks, consider these friends in your contest for the July 8 game!