Step Into My Shoes

I took my oldest two boys to Compassion International's Step Into My Shoes event today and was blessed beyond measure. They were able to step into the shoes of a child living in poverty in Burkina Faso. They literally took their shoes off and wore skinny flip-flops, then walked a field (the "dump") searching for items that they needed to survive. My boys found buckets, water, clothing, plastic bags, boxes, a tarp, and wood. They came up with amazing ideas to collect and boil water and to make shelter. It was such a joy to see them in this environment! I, as the mom, was working as a seamstress and made $.50 for the whole day. $.50! The kids then had to go to a market and purchase what they could to eat for the day. The market also had toys and other appealing items that kids would want...it was so interesting watching all of the children go first to the toy tables looking for what they could buy, before they realized they couldn't afford to buy anything there, and needed to buy food for their family to eat. My boys were creative. I was proud of them. After the dump experience we all went into the building where a live Skype call with a Compassion center in Bolivia took place. I got teary-eyed as the kids in this center had never met their Compassion sponsor before, and we were that representation to them. Wow. I encourage you, if you sponsor, try to go meet your sponsored child. It has been an amazing experience for our family to meet so many of our sponsored children, and I pray that many, many people we know make the investment in that relationship to meet their child and their family. It will be life-changing for all involved, I promise. Today our oldest asked the Bolivian children some questions, and even shared his favorite verse with them ("Great is our Lord, and mighty in power." Ps 147:5). What a blessing, and a wonderful experience. There are some more dates this summer for Step Into My Shoes, so if you are in Colorado, go! compassion.com/stepintomyshoes