today we hit the streets shoeless.....for a couple of different reasons, but all for the same cause.
for one day we wanted to feel just a tiny little bit of what millions upon millions of people feel every day without shoes.
shoes aren't just for fashion to most......
they are protection from the elements and disease and infection.
people become very sick and even die from illnesses caused from going without their feet covered.
so one reason we did this today was to feel what they must feel, with every rock stepped on, freezing toes, etc, but also to raise awareness for those who don't have the luxury that we have.
there are soo many things we take for granted.
this is one of them.
daddy had to go to work today, so this didn't work for him......but what if we lived over "there" or over "there".....would he have a job if he didn't have shoes?
children all over the world are kept home because their parents can't provide shoes for them.
and for soo many of these children it is a crying shame to not be able to go to school.
it is the only way they will become anything in their countries.
can you imagine?
we headed to the church this morning to help cook tomorrow night's meal and i got to share a little bit about what we are doing.
then we stopped at kohl's department store.
we are soo spoiled.....the floor was soo shiny and clean and smooth.......not at all what others have to endure.
the employees were pleasant.....only a couple of glances, but no one curious enough to ask "WHY?". only one kiddo stayed in the car for fear of embarrassment. :0)
 |
| driving......pretty sure this is against the law, but i'm standing for a cause here! :0) |
and then the big test......target.
we had several things to do here and i knew it would be busy as schools were out for the day for teacher in-service.
the kids got a feel for what it's like to be "different".
again, no one came out and asked us what we were up to, but the looks we got were pretty close to that of two teenage girls checking each other out.
it was uncomfortable for all of us (even me though i tried not to let my kids see it), but i was more than ready to fill anyone in when they asked.
the harshness of the discomfort only went as far as the stares and judgements of others.
we've gotten plenty of that since having aregash home.
mostly people are just curious.
after a couple of places the littles were complaining about how their feet hurt and they were cold.
if we only knew.
a little dirty and sore, but this was not about us.
this was about god's children who live over "there" and over "there" who can't afford to put shoes on their feet.
over 30,000 people n the philippines live in a landfill where they are exposed to glass, debris, etc.
we saw soo very many people in ethiopia walking the streets in bare feet that had sores, cuts, and some were just mangled.
if we all became aware and just did a little something.
one pair of shoes.
now that we know.....
we can't change the world.
or can we?
