A formula for saving lives...

"Severely malnourished and wasted..." These were the exact words and heart breaking diagnosis from the Yale Pediatrician who saw little Kebek at 5 months old, shortly after his new American parents picked him up in Ethiopia two years ago... The following is the nearly tragic, true story of Kebek as told by his adoptive mother whom we met along with Kebek and family while in Ethiopia on a FormulaOneLife mission... Our team provided some of the formula used to nurse little Kebek back to health...

A little over 2 years ago, my heart pounded to see my baby boys for the first time... As they were brought around the corner I quickly embraced them both... But as I embraced my second son, it became reality... My nearly 5 month old son was as light as a feather... He struggled to hold his tiny head up and his muscle tone was so poor he could not close his mouth... His legs looked like skin and bones and his belly was distended... 

I was holding my son... who was starving and close to death. 

Thanks to hospitalized emergency care, feeding and the power of prayer... our son survived his severe malnutrition and is a healthy boy today... 

A year later we returned to Ethiopia and a number of orphanages with infants who were- like my son was not long ago- severely malnourished and in dire need of nutrition... We had the honor of bringing formula to an intake orphanage on behalf of FormulaOneLife during our visit. This orphanage had no formula, so as starving infants came in, they were given powdered milk out of the only provisions the orphanage had...  I held infants’ arms that were half the size of my sons on the day I met him. I feared taking their blankets off to see how tiny and wasting their legs were... These infants needed nutrition and formula desperately. 

FormulaOneLife is returning to Ethiopia June 25th-July 1st and they need our help to feed these infants... Please consider helping them feed infant orphans just like our son... just two years ago...

Kebek today

"I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink... Then the righteous will answer him ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?..... The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:35-40 

Dan & Alisha McClintock www.allthemomentsthattakeourbreathaway.blogspot.com 
**Please visit www.formulaonelife.org to make a vital donation in support of our next mission to Ethiopia, June 25th-July 1st... Thank you!

Set 2 Serve @ Second Baptist!

FormulaOneLife sends a HUGE and heartfelt thanks out to Brian Harris, Ken & Valerie Bridges, Nicole Dallas (pictured) and ALL who participated in this wonderful'Set 2 Serve' fundraiser last week at Second Baptist Church in Kingwood!! Thank you for serving His precious little ones through our FormulaOneLife cause... God bless you all!!

FOL@MariettaArtHouse!

FormulaOneLife's Mary Beth Lavin and friends celebrate historic Marietta Day at Claire & Tom Lavin's new MariettaArtHouse in Marietta, PA May 2012

Many thanks to all who visited us at the MariettaArtHouse this past weekend! On top of the support we raised for Ethiopia next month it was a truly beautiful reunion of family and friends in a beloved hometown and home full of the sweetest childhood memories...

Message In A Bottle...

As I was kneeling in prayer this evening at church, I opened my eyes to see an empty baby bottle sitting in the pew right in front of me... with no baby in sight. My eyes filled with tears because I sensed immediately a message in this half sized, empty baby bottle that seemed to belong to no one... At the end of Mass I waited to see if anyone would claim the bottle... No one did... so I picked up the baby bottle and took it home... feeling certain it was left for me to find... As FormulaOneLife prepares for a critical mission to Ethiopia next month to feed infant orphans... Will you please receive this God sent message in a bottle... and help us fill as many empty baby bottles as possible with life... and love... Please help sustain infant orphans in need at www.formulaonelife.org

An Easter blessing...

UAL Flight Attendant Ken Bridges and crew at Amor Del Nino, Guatemala, Easter 2012 A huge and heartfelt thanks to United Flight Attendant Ken Bridges for flying to Guatemala on Easter Sunday to deliver $1500 of formula to the 22 precious infants of Amor Del Niño... Ken even talked his crew mates into joining him on this special visit to the home. Amor Del Nino Director Shyrel Osborn had this to say about the delivery, "The formula is the fundamental life line for the babies here and they are so incredibly blessed!!! ...God bless you abundantly!” Thank you Ken and crew for being such a beautiful Easter blessing!

THANK YOU WELLS FARGO!

Many thanks to Mr. Michael Reyes and his wonderful staff at Wells Fargo in Houston for their heartwarming donation of Wells Fargo ponies! Since many of the Wells Fargo employees at this branch are from Guatemala they have asked us to bring the ponies on our next mission to Guatemala... We will happily comply and cannot wait to see the joy on the faces of the children who will receive these fantastic ponies! Thank you Michael and wonderful Wells Fargo friends!!

THANK YOU JETBLUE!!

THANK YOU JETBLUE for donating a wonderful round trip ticket to FormulaOneLife! This will certainly be a blessing to our MILES FOR MISSIONS program or as a silent auction item in one of our upcoming fundriasers! Many thanks to JETBLUE's own Pam Findley for her dedicated volunteer hours which qualified us for this wonderful donation!