By Analiz González
Buckner International

(CAKOVEC, Croatio) — First Baptist Church Knoxville hand delivered the first round of Shoes for Orphan Souls to 500 children in the area of Cakovec, Croatia on Sept. 19.

First Baptist Knoxville partnered with local radio station, WYLV in early September to collect the shoes, which were almost immediately put to use. All the shoes were distributed to Gypsy children in two Romani villages outside of Cakovec.

After being involved in Croatia since 2003, First, Knoxville now has the opportunity to minister to children through Shoes for Orphan Souls. They sent their thanks to Buckner International for helping them make this possible.

Rachel Garton, director of Shoes for Orphan Souls, said that before the church delivered the shoes, the children’s feet were measured, so they knew exactly what shoes sizes they needed to bring. Before the delivery, some of the children didn’t have shoes at all.

 “I think it’s wonderful that they have made this commitment to serve the people of Croatia,” Garton said. “And now it’s exciting that Shoes for Orphan Souls can be there to offer even more support.”

Carol McEntyre, director of Buckner community ministries at First, Knoxville, said that this was the first time the church hosted a shoe drive with WYLV.

“When we started our drive, we asked if we could deliver the shoes to Croatia. Buckner was more than willing to let us do that,” McEntyre said.

“We were particularly interested in this area of Croatia because our youth group had gone on a trip there this summer and came back with pictures and stories about specific children who lived there. We knew a lot of the children by name.”

If you’d like to learn more about how your church can partner with Shoes for Orphan Souls, contact Buckner at 1-866-774-SHOE.