All God’s Children Ain’t Got Shoes

Because I am now a grandmother I allow myself wild abandon to re-visit some of my favorite childhood games, toys, and stories. I know, some of you reading this may not be aware I am a grandmother because I mention Patrick the Magnificent but rarely.

Ahem.

Recently, while attending The Allume Conference, I was reminded of one of my favorite fairy tales by The Brothers Grimm. Remember the story of The Elves and The Shoemaker? Although the shoemaker was very honest and worked very hard, he could not earn enough money to make a living. He had just enough leather to cut out a single pair of shoes, which he did, and then he went to bed with a clear conscience and left his cares to Heaven.

When the shoemaker awoke, after having said his prayers, he found the shoes already stitched together as though by a master craftsman. Because the shoes were so well made, he was able to sell them for more than his usual price. This pattern continued until the shoemaker’s fortunes were restored. One night the shoemaker and his wife stayed awake in order to learn the source of their good fortune and, upon the stroke of midnight, discovered two naked little elves stitching and tapping away on the shoemaker’s bench.

Have you ever wanted to step inside a Fairy Tale, get in touch with your inner elf, and be the unseen answer to another’s prayer? Well guess what? I’m about to point you toward some folks who can help you do just that.

During Allume, I learned about the work of Sole Hope and got to participate in a shoe-cutting party with them. Sole Hope describes itself as: A group of passionate, committed people who are putting closed toed shoes on African children, one pair at a time.

Shoes created by Sole Hope, made from jeans and rubber from old tires

Now, I’m a fan of allowing children to run around in their bare feet throughout the summer. However, Asher Collie–founder of Sole Hope–began this ministry when she noticed bare-footed children in Uganda contracting Jiggers. Jiggers are painful parasite which burrow themselves deep within a person’s foot and lay eggs. The only way they can be removed is by means of a sharp instrument such as a needle or thorn. Often these instruments are used on multiple children, increasing their risk of contracting blood-borne diseases.

These children aren’t choosing to run around in their bare feet; they have no option. They have no shoes.

Sole Hope began teaching men and women in Africa the simple trade of shoe-making, and created shoe-party kits to provide them with the materials needed to construct shoes. This is one of those ideas which is so simple, yet has such profound power to reduce suffering and change lives for good. Anyone who can trace a pattern with a Sharpie marker, who can use a pair of scissors, and who has an old pair of fat jeans or skinny jeans or mom jeans which are too embarrassing to wear any longer, can help.

Shoe cutting parties could be such great activities for any number of groups:

Sunday School classes
Youth groups
Women’s missionary societies—Do these still exist? This seems like the kind of thing they would do.
Students looking for service projects
Bible study groups
Birthday parties
Kids who say they’re bored
Home school co-ops
Sororities and fraternities
Campus ministry groups
Knitting clubs
Family reunions—especially the awkward ones when you’re trying to keep conversation to a minimum
Friends who want to get together during the holidays beneath the glow of a Christmas tree, to listen to carols, sip mulled wine and get in touch with their inner elves

Note: Even though I am a fan of the original shoe-making fairy tale, I’m not advocating anyone conduct a shoe-cutting party while naked.

How about you? Can you think of other kinds of groups who might consider hosting a shoe-cutting party?

Thanks for stopping by! If you would like to receive future posts via email, click here. And click here if you would consider “liking” my Facebook page. Thanks–I appreciate you!

Linking with Laura and Jen: