If The Shoe Fits, Wear It

I know you have all heard people say something about "walking a mile in someone else's shoes." Well someone is literally doing that here in Nicaragua, but he is doing it in my shoes. Before I left the States for Nicaragua I put a box of old shoes on a container to El Crucero. I knew I would never wear them again, and that someone here might want them. I gave a few pairs of them to my friend Cesar. This morning I went to his office, and he told me a touching story. He was in Diriamba (a town nearby) at a meeting for the Gideons. An old friend and pastor he hadn't seen in a long time just happened to be there. They spoke for a while and Cesar noticed the man's clothes and shoes looked very worn. Cesar happened to have my shoes in his car and asked his pastor friend if he might want them. They were a little too small for Cesar anyway. When the pastor saw the shoes and tried them on he began to cry. Cesar was a little overwhelmed. He asked the man why he was crying, and the pastor replied that for the last 2 months he had been saving up to buy new shoes. It just happened that he was on his way that very morning to buy new ones in Jinotepe, but while walking he saw the Gideon meeting (of which he is no longer a member) and was compelled to stop in and see old friends such as Cesar. The pastor knew the Lord had led him to the Gideon meeting for this very reason: to get new shoes.

My friend from the football team, Luis (#69), asked me for some help a few weeks ago. He knew a guy who was selling a pair of cleats, and Luis really needed some for the team. He asked if I could help him out with the money situation. At the time I didn't have enough money to help him and really didn't want to just give him the money. So, I asked if the guy might be able to do a trade. I took 3 pair of shoes with me to meet the guy with the cleats. Once there, we started bargaining. He ended up giving us the cleats for 2 pair of my old shoes and 100 cordobas ($5). Luis was so proud and excited about his new cleats. He said it was a blessing from the Lord. However, I walked away feeling even more blessed to be able to help a friend. Jesus was right when he said it is more blessed to give than to receive. How often I forget that.

So, now there is literally a pastor walking miles in my shoes to bring the Good News to people in the mountains of Nicaragua. And a good friend of mine is playing a sport he loves in his new cleats because of my old shoes that have been collecting dust in the attic for years. It is just another example to me of how the little things we have yet ignore are an enormous blessing to many here in this country.