TECATE REPORT

Blake and Dee Richert took some children to Smiles of Tecate, Tecate, Mexico to receive surgery to correct cleft palates. We met 7 mothers and their children at Bethel church before dark in the early hour of the morning and left in a van for Tecate. We arrived at the clinic in Tecate around 8:30 am. Then the process of waiting began. The mothers and children patiently waited their turn to see the doctor. After the doctors determined who would have surgery and what procedure would be done the next day the mothers and children went to a motel to begin a long evening and night of waiting. The next morning they were taken to the clinic to wait their turn for surgery. When the surgeries were finished, around 5 pm, we began the 3-hour trip back to San Luis. During all of this driving, waiting and painful surgery no one complains. The children do very little crying. The mothers express their gratefulness and gently comforted their children.The trip to Tecate from San Luis is not an easy one. The road winds over the rocky high-altitude mountains of Mexico with very few guard rails. Again - no one complains.

The doctors that perform the surgeries are some of the top cleft palate surgeons in the US. The surgeries correct the physical imperfection and help to give the children a whole new life. A life of being "normal" instead of an outcast. Smiles of Tecate is truly being used by God to change the lives of Mexican children.

Every hour spent traveling to and from Tecate and sitting in waiting rooms is a blessing when we see the beautiful smiles of children like 13-year old Maria, 10-year old Carolina or baby Grecia. We are truly blessed to be a part of this ministry. Thank you for your support to Caring Hearts Ministries. You have made it possible for these children to have a "Whole new Smile!"