Another Story

So here's another story about the Ethioipia trip. Several weeks ago, before I left on my trip, we decided to make a plea to a few family and friends. We wanted to take shoes over to the children in the orphanages Kyle would be visiting, and we decided that Crocs, or Croc-type shoes would be the most practical - they're light, indestructible, easy-to-clean, inexpensive, and they come in all kinds of fun colors! So...we sent out an email to about thirty people, plus our Community class at Asbury. Somehow this thing has exploded. People have been over-and-above generous, as they always seem to be. Our church never ceases to amaze me. People grumble about the size of the building, and the worship music...same old stuff. But when it comes to giving, I've never been in a church that does it with the level of love, enthusiasm and sacrifice as our church does. And I will include our family members (most which do not attend our church) in that group. Both sides of our family have responded to needs in an unbelievable way. When I asked for help with funds for orphanage toys, our family was right there, supplying all that we needed and more. It's beautiful. So, we have somewhere around 500 pairs of Crocs and the knock-offs right now, with many more to come. We are strategizing how to fit them all into a large suitcase and three duffel bags, but it's a good problem to have. Our plan right now is to fit small Crocs into medium Crocs into large Crocs. We'll see.

Here's why shoes are so important: when we were talking about taking medicines over for the children, we included in the list worm medicine. The missionary who works over there said that would be fine, but that the worm medicine only solves the problem for a time, then they get worms again, and need more medicine...an endless cycle. What they really need, he said, is shoes, because many times they get the worms through their feet because they are barefoot. I did not know this, but then again I am no expert on worms (thank goodness). As a child, I went barefoot all the time in the summer, and I can attest that I had all kinds of things happen (rusty nails, scratches, cuts, bruises, etc.). Imagine what could happen in a third world country with barefeet. So Kyle is taking somewhere around 500 Crocs. And yes, it is a drop in the bucket. But for those kids that get a new pair of shoes, it's a very important drop.