Beckman - Sat morning post

Wow is all I can say !! Watching our family and our team grow in faith while on this trip. My favorite part would be water truck day, Cite Soleil is the size of Abq (500k population). Its hard to imagine that there is no running water and  the people have to have every drop of water  delivered by truck. We spent 2 days delivering water there 3 stops per day, with a 3000 gallons of  water per load 500-600 @ 5 gallon buckets we helped deliver to every hut we could. It was by far the hardest job  I ever loved. The sweetest words we hear are "HEY YOU!!" the little kids scream as they come running out to greet you. They love to be held and loved on and my sons were amazing with kids and hauling 5 gallon buckets. What a Blessing to be here and our God. 

Mike McClain

On Friday, several of us visited the Home for Sick and Dying Children.  It was the most tender, humbling and heart-wrenching day of this trip for me.  My two oldest sons, Ryan and Alec, were part of the group that went also.  Watching those 17 year old boys love on the tiniest, weakest babies was amazing and I fought tears the entire time.  Many of the “mamas and papas” of these sweet children came during the short visiting hours that were allowed.  It was precious to watch the babies light up as much as they could when they saw their parents. 

As I held one tiny, sick and very lethargic baby girl and her dad arrived to hold her, I loved knowing that he saw her being held and treasured.  When she reached out her arms to him, it was overwhelming.  I didn’t count the number of babies and toddlers but there must have been at least 60.  The staff and volunteers were amazing and kept things running smoothly, but there are only so many arms to hold them.  We held and fed all that we could, and as hard as it was, we had to put them back in their cribs and say good-bye when our time was up.  We have 10 teenagers with us on this trip and every one of them has been amazingly flexible, humble and giving of themselves.  I have no doubt that this experience will have a lasting impact on us all.  I am thankful to Sarah for reminding me that as a family, it is great to show our sons – this is who we are meant to be.

Tracey McClain