Fast Shoes!

Lee-man got new shoes!  He calls them his "Fast shoes".  Every time Sam asks him to play outside he says, "Hold on.  Let me get on my fast shoes."

The smile on his face the first day he got them was priceless! He loves showing them off! :)

Things have really been but in perspective for me lately.  The other day, I was helping Mom plant some vegetables in our mini garden out back and it was beautiful outside!  It was finally warm enough to go barefoot. :)  Unfortunately, there were some thorns that were strangely attracted to my foot.  Anyway, the outside of my left foot has been really sore since then (I'm going somewhere with this, so hang in there.).  And it really got me thinking about the children who live in some of the poorest countries in the world.

The children in Liberia who run around and play in abandoned fields that were left littered with shattered glass and rusted bullet shells from a 14 year civil war.

The children in Uganda who walk miles and miles everyday to get water that may or may not make them sick.

The children whose feet now hurt from the debris in the grass they play in and the rocks and thorns they tripped over on their way to the contaminated stream, because they didn't have shoes.

The children who aren't allowed to attend school because they don't have shoes.

In Ethiopia, there are around 1 million people who are suffering from Podoconiosis, a debilitating and disfiguring disease caused by walking barefoot on volcanic soil. (I'm pretty sure my small cut isn't going to permanently disfigure my leg...)

I also wondered what their smiles would look like if they ever got a new pair of "Fast Shoes"?

Probably similar to this...

or maybe something like this...

PRICELESS!

Last year my family and I participated in this thing called "One Day Without Shoes."  Check out this video

April 8th, 2010!  going barefoot to raise awareness about the importance of shoes! :)

Also, there are these really awesome shoes called "TOMS Shoes".  When you purchase a pair of TOMS Shoes, they send a pair to a child who needs them.  How cool is that?!  I have a pair and they're the most comfortable pair of shoes I own.  Check them out @ http://www.toms.com/.

This has just been on my mind lately...