and so it begins

From what I hear from back home, the Shoes for Iraqi Kids drive is in full swing. I’m not sure how many pairs there will ultimately be, but I’m told I might need a warehouse. A few days ago I gave out the first pair (white tennis shoes with small silver charms dangling from the laces) to my favorite little girl Sa’ham (also known affectionately as “Elmo”). She was so excited. When she walked up to me she was wearing a pair of shoes that were several sizes to large and looked as if they had been soaked in mud. The toes of both shoes were torn open, exposing her small feet. Most of the eyelets for the laces were missing so she had wrapped the strings around her ankle and tied them in a knot so they wouldn’t fall off. I had to use my knife to cut one of the shoes off her foot. She threw the old pair off and held tight to her brand new shoes, fitted specially for her own feet. I told her friends that had come with her that they would be getting theirs soon also, and used the foot measuring device (thanks for that also dad) and wrote down a few names and sizes. Now every time I break out the foot measurer they rush over, knowing a new pair of shoes isn’t far behind.

Sometime this week I should be able to post a bunch of great pictures, so keep an eye out.