Assumption parishioners have been collecting soccer balls to support the good will efforts of one of their own, U.S. Army Captain Joseph Himpelmann, who was married at Assumption in 2006 and is now serving in Iraq. He is part of a task force that seeks not only to clear neighborhoods of enemy activity but to work with neighborhood kids, providing them with recreational activities and encouraging them to help keep their neighborhoods clean and tidy. Soccer ball diplomacy is helping change young Iraqis' attitudes toward Americans.

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