On July 18th and 19th, the community of San Saba, and many others around us, came together to show support for Jessica Estrada. Many people wanted to help this little 8-year-old girl, who had been diagnosed with bone cancer, but didn't know how.

A softball tournament was put together and to our astonishment, 11 teams were registered to play! Those teams were:

• The Golden Girls - Jessica's teachers and their families;

• The Mavericks - SSHS students;

• The Coyotes - Richland Springs residents;

• The Hope Warriors - led by Marion Deans;

• The Contenders - Richland Springs residents;

• The Misfits - Llano residents;

• The Rangers;

• The Milagros (Miracles);

• The Silver Bullets;

• Bagley's; and

• Ramiro's team.

Friday evening started out with a circle of all those present on the baseball diamond. Cecilia Huron led us all in a prayer for Jessica while we had her on the phone. Jessica had wanted to be present to throw the first pitch, but was unable to make it since a virus kept her at Cook's Hospital in Ft. Worth. After the prayer, we all yelled out, "We love you, Jessica!," and released a storm of pink (her favorite color) balloons.

If you weren't there, the presence in the stands and field was awesome. There were people everywhere! The stands were full; there were people in chairs, standing, sitting in their cars, and even children in strollers along the fence line!

The First Place trophy was taken by the Misfits from Llano, led by Boyd. Second Place went to Bagley's team, led by Terri Hibler. Third Place went to The Silver Bullets, which was led by Paul Stewart and Mando Garcia.

A total amount of $3,720 was raised for Jessica and her family. This amount was comprised of monies from team registrations, private donations, home run fees, and concession sales.

Jessica has kept her spirits high and will undergo 30 weeks of chemotherapy to shrink her cancerous tumor. If her physicians think the tumor needs to shrink even more after the 30-week series, Jessica will then undergo 10 more weeks of chemotherapy. No surgeries are anticipated at this time.