My teammate Aisha, (who is a creative genius, by the way) thought of this amazing idea
that we could buy about two dozen pairs of shoes with some of our team money, and put some
legitimate shoes on these kid's feet instead of these five cent sandals the African kids always wear.
So after finding the children, tracing their paw prints, and getting them organized by size, some fellow racers and passport girls, went to the market and purchased the shoes. A few days later the children were lined up at the compound’s door- the guard had to contain them so that they wouldn’t all rush in (it was a beautiful moment,) and the kids that who were the most in need, some were orphans, running the streets, got to find the winning pair first. ? They also got some pencils, pens, and notebook paper, as a take away gift with their new shoes- it was really amazing.
So if my word for the year hadn't already been chosen, it would be redemption.
The Lord has shown me a lot of redemption thus far on the race..
point blank- I used to be a shop –a-holic. I have had over one-hundred pairs of shoes at one
point or another; I still have a sign in my room at my parents’ house,
quoted from Cinderella, "One shoe can change a life;" I don’t think I ever fully understood how much that to be true, until I witnessed shoeless children receiving a nice pair of shoes, cute too!
It was such a beautiful moment because God allowed His Glory to shine through a pair of plaid polo tennis shoes.. As Bob Marley stated in his Redemption Song-
But my hand was made strong
By the hand of the Almighty
We forward in this generation triumphantly
All I ever had is songs of Freedom
Won’t you help to sing these songs of Freedom
Cause all I ever had redemption songs, redemption songs
As John states in the Gospel- “So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.” John 8:36 (NLT)
Amen.
P.S. I haven’t done any research on this so correct me if I am wrong or if you know more information, but all these clothes that are sold by street vendors in Africa, all seem to sell American clothing. Most of the clothes people are wearing is such that that one would find at a Good Will- lots of old collegiate apparel (what up East Carolina) and sport apparel. So, please know that clothes donated are never a waste of time. Thank you!
