Let me start with a huge THANK YOU to all of you who donated money to purchase shoes for these orphans! Less than two weeks ago, God put it on my heart to let you all know about the children at The Lamb Center here in Haiti and their need for shoes. I should have taken some photos to show you the "shoes" many of them wear everyday. If they wear any, they are typically cheap flip flops that break after a few wears or shoes with chunks missing or bits and pieces flapping around. I talked with Kalebe (the director) about what kind of shoes to buy for them. He said that dress shoes would be wonderful. They could wear them to church and to school. He also mentioned sandals... more about that later.

Within days of getting the word out about this need, so many of you responded! I didn't really have an expected amount of money to raise in my head, but had I tried to anticipate an amount from the beginning I would have way underestimated what God was about to do! (Isn't it funny how that happens?) I don't even have the total figure raised yet because the money is still trickling in! I realized early last week that there would definitely be enough money for every child at the orphanage (63 in total) to receive a new pair of shoes. How wonderful! And there is still money left over! As I mentioned at the beginning of this fundraiser, any remaining money after purchasing the shoes could be used to buy clothing--the second biggest need for the children as they often share clothes and don't have many back-ups if something is dirty. Though I'm leaving in less than two days, I've organized a way for those purchases to be made and they'll keep me updated on what the children receive. I think there is enough money left over for each child to get a new outfit and maybe even the sandals that Kalebe mentioned for everyday use.

I did get to participate in the great adventure shopping for the shoes. Last Saturday I headed to the market with Nathan (the Program Manager for SP's project at The Lamb Center) and we did our best to negotiate reasonable prices for each pair of shoes. It was all the more interesting since neither one of us is super great at speaking French or Creole! We came away with over 40 pairs of shoes and were excited to take them to the kids. I finished up with the rest of the purchasing on Tuesday, this time with a Haitian friend who works for Samaritan's Purse. I was happy to observe that I paid around the same price with him negotiating as Nathan and I paid on Saturday.

The kids beamed as they tried on their new shoes. One of them named Kervens, seated on the steps in one of the pictures below, even did a little dance to show how excited he was. I don't think many of us can grasp what it means to these children to receive a gift like this. Most of us don't even know how many pairs of shoes we have in our closet. Many of us would be embarrassed to admit how many we haven't even worn in the last year. Just last week I met a man who is the country director for another NGO here in Haiti. He was an orphan in Angola and shared with me how up until he was 10 years old he never owned a pair of shoes. Hearing his testimony of how significant a pair of shoes can be for a child made me all the more thankful for God's provision through each of you! Thank you for caring for these precious children whom you have never met, but whose day (and days ahead) became a little brighter because of your generosity and kindness! I know they would love to give you all a big hug if they could!

Some photos...