we are all brothers and sisters

Joe and I found out the funeral plans, which included a lot of memorials for Alyn and Igor and burying Alyn in Wyoming, and made our travel arrangements: we would fly to Las Vegas, drive to Wyoming, and fly back to Tucson.

I found a family in our church to watch Corban and Jovi, which meant we would take Makenzie with us in all our travels. Joe and I were a little nervous about traveling with a 4 week old infant, so we put together a little ziploc bag for each passenger on our flight. Each bag had a few Starburst candies and a note which read:

Hi. My name is Makenzie. I am one month old and
this is my first flight. I have never flown before so
I do not know how I'm gonna do. My parents and I are flying
to go to my Uncle Alyn's funeral. I shouldn't even
be on this flight so I hope to not interrupt your flight too much.
Here is a little treat to help pass the time and my mom and
dad have ear plugs if you need them.

When we got to the airport a big Las Vegas Metro police officer met us on the airplane. He grabbed Joe in a big bear hug, hugged me, took Makenzie, and zipped us off the plane. He took us through the airport, past security, out a side door and into a squad car. He then went off to baggage claim to get our bags. While we waited for our bags our niece, Madison, and her husband, Evan, pulled up in another squad car. This was the first of many family hugs where we shed many tears. 

The out pouring of support and love I felt from the Las Vegas Metro Police Department was amazing! They took care of everything and everyone. They had a police detail outside of Alyn's house, they escorted the family to and from a lot of different places, they even were concerned enough with me and Makenzie that several offered to hold her. They talked with us, they laughed with us, they cried with us, because for them, they had lost a brother as well. 

Even the community was deeply affected by this tragedy. A memorial grew bigger and bigger outside of CiCi's Pizza through out the entire week for Alyn and Igor; fundraisers were set up for Alyn, Igor, and Joseph Wilcox (the civilian killed in Wal Mart); bank accounts were set up for each of the victims's families; and even the funerals were televised so the community could mourn as well. 

It's heartbreaking when the world is faced with so much evil. But it is over whelming to see people stand up to that evil with love and good and hope. We are all just brothers and sisters on this Earth for a probationary time. We are here to gain experience. To love. To serve. And the world lost three great examples of that in Alyn, Igor and Joseph.