Pink Converse Sneakers

By Jenny Pope

Her name is Stefani and she lives at Manchen, a girls’ orphanage in Antigua, Guatemala which is currently swelling with more than 140 teenage girls and infants. Like many of the girls at this orphanage, Stefani is pregnant.

If you’ve ever been to Manchen, then you know it’s a tough place. Most of the girls have been abused, neglected, molested and mistreated. Many have special needs and have been victims of abuse most of their lives. These precious girls have some dark, dark places in their hearts… places I can never truly understand. But God does. And that was our prayer as we entered this home.

Stefani wasn’t feeling very good about herself the day we were there. Her feet were swollen, and she’s starting to show. You could see low self esteem written all over her face. My friend Courtney asked Stefani if she liked her new shoes, and she looked up at her and shook her head, “No.”

Courtney looked down and saw a huge pair of white sneakers on her feet, puffy and plain. They were probably boys' shoes, she said. Then she told Stefani to wait.

“We brought an extra pair of pink converse,” Courtney explained. “We just knew there was going to be a girl with big feet who could use them. Us big feet girls have to stick together.”

So Courtney ran to her bag and pulled out a new pair of pink converse with a hot pink star on the side. She came back to Stefani to show her the shoes and for the first time that day, Stefani smiled.

So many times, when people think of giving shoes to orphans, they think of little babies. They go to the store and buy tiny shoes with lights and super heroes, picturing tiny feet and tiny smiles. But most often, the children who so desperately need new shoes are teenagers. Boys and girls with big feet.

So if you've ever considered buying a new pair of shoes for an orphan, think about Stefani. Think about the teenage boys who wear out their shoes so quickly, running around playing soccer and basketball. Think about the girls in the world with size 10 feet who need to feel pretty in their shoes, too.

Jenny Pope is the publications editor for Buckner International. She traveled with a Shoes for Orphan Souls team to Guatemala in September 2008 where they delivered 750 new pairs of shoes to children living in orphanages across the country. You can read more about this team's trip and others at http://blog.itsyourmission.com.