By Bo McDowell
WFRN Christian Radio
Elkhart,
Indiana
Last month, I traveled with a group from the Nazarene Church in Sturgis, Michigan to help build a church in a poor area of Managua, Nicaragua.
I knew I was leaving behind 3 degrees and snow to arrive in sunshine and 93 degrees. But I didn’t realize the impact that the trip would have on my life.
I was involved in a Shoes for Orphan Souls drive through the Christian radio station where I work. Shoes for Orphan Souls is a Buckner ministry collecting shoes for orphans and needy children around the world.
The drive involved a partnership with Payless ShoeSource stores in southern Michigan and northern Indiana. Payless provided space for our collection boxes and offered discounts to donating customers. One listener, from Valparaiso, Indiana, donated $500 in Payless.
Once all the shoes were collected, I spoke to station management and Rachel Garton, director of Shoes for Orphan Souls, to see how many shoes we could take to Nicaragua and I learned that our 15-member team needed to stay below a 50-pound maximum.
We decided to fill one bag with personal belongings for the trip and have each team member check-in a separate piece of luggage to carry Bibles, tools, blankets and other supplies we had collected, as well as the new shoes.
When we arrived in Managua, I asked God to show me where He could best use the shoes. A few days into the building project, I still had no answers, but remained confident that the right situation would be revealed.
One day, while on the church building site, I noticed that we had many children helping in the project that were without shoes or just had worn-out flip flops on their feet. We needed to look no further than right there at the new church site for future owners of the shoes.
Our team began measuring feet on pieces of paper and showed up the next day with the perfect pair of shoes for each child. I still remember the smiles on children's faces as they modeled their new shoes!
I can't wait to go back with more shoes to continue the work that started last month. There is so much need and such few resources. We couldn’t help every child. But we helped a few. We were grateful for that.
I thank God for allowing me to see what He has seen in this area of need for many years. I also thank Shoes for Orphan Souls for providing resources to help those who are in need.
God Bless,
Bob McDowell
WFRN Christian Radio
Elkhart, Indiana
574-621-2928
