Shoes

It's Luke here. I am not even sure where to begin. Kathryn asked me to do a couple of posts about my trip to Uganda. There were so many incredible experiences that it's hard to pinpoint just a few to share. It was really overwhelming to see God at work in such a beautiful country.

I want to start off by sharing a beautiful picture of the church in action and how that action can change lives in a very real way.

I want you to meet a beautiful young girl named Angel. She is a very shy girl, but she is very full of life. She is one of the 500 plus children that Parental Care Ministries serves. From the moment we arrived at the school Angel was connected at the hip to one of our team members, Lucie. I would always see these two together singing and dancing. The language of love is such a powerful thing; it does not need words. You could see the love these two were sharing anytime they were together.

Lucie noticed something about Angel. Her shoes were way too big for her. Angel would stuff trash bags into the ends of her little white shoes just so they would stay on her feet.

These shoes were the only pair of shoes she had.

I know in my closet I have quite a few pairs of shoes. I have my nice tennis shoes and my work tennis shoes. I have my black dress shoes, brown dress shoes and my boots (OK and my Converse Chuck Taylor's admittedly just because I want to be a hip rock star when I grow up). In my closet alone, I have more shoes than this sweet girl may have ever worn in her life.

Because of the sponsorship program through Parental Care Ministries and Dance -n- Drill in Tyler, Texas, all of the children in the PCM school will be receiving a new pair of shoes this year. It is exciting to hear about these stories but it is another thing to see these stories come to life right before your eyes.

Come to life is exactly what happened one day while I was in Uganda. I had the chance to go with Driver Emmy and Lucie to the market to start picking up some shoes for the children. It was just a small start to getting shoes for the 500 children.  This trip was even better than I hoped because we were able to take beautiful Miss Angel with us!

I know shoe shopping can be fun for girls. It is a fun thing to do to pick out a new pair shoes. Shoe shopping was a little different in Uganda than in America to say the least. Once you spotted a shoe that you liked, you then had to search for the match. It proved to be a little challenging, but was so worth it to spend time trying to find just the right shoes for Angel.

After a little while of digging, we finally found a good match. You can see in the picture below that her white shoe is too big for little foot. It was all she had up until that moment. Until some people decided to put their faith in to action. Through the generosity of others, lives are being changed by something as simple as a pair of shoes. To me, this is small picture of what it means to be the church. People giving of their resources. People going to serve and love. People's lives being changed by the gospel in action. 

In this moment I caught a glimpse of something that pray I never forget. Prior to our shoe shopping adventure, throughout the week I would see Angel sitting around the PCM campus like any other kid. Feet just dangling off the side of steps or she would sit in Lucie's lap with her feet in front of her.

Not this day. Something happened when she slipped on a pair of shoes that fit her. She crossed her legs and sat like a little lady in this tiny market of mis-matched shoes. I saw before my eyes this little girl who didn't have much and for most of the world's standards may not really matter, transform in to a little princess. I saw that the simple gift of a $10 pair of shoes gave something priceless to Angel. A sense of pride. A sense of self-worth. In a way I saw a pair of shoes give life. I pray that as she grows she knows that she is a princess. She is a beautiful young girl created by a Heavenly Father who loves and adores her. I pray that as she grows she will remember that a pair of shoes were given so she would know that God loves her and will always provide for his children. Especially his little princesses. I also pray that she knows that no matter what is on her feet, that she is His.

There is actually another team on the ground right now with PCM and the latest blog post shows the 250 plus children at the Mbarara campus receiving their shoes! Check it out by clicking here on Parental Care Ministries. You will be blessed!