Congo (MNN) — The children of Congo want you to choose shoes this summer.
The Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA) has just introduced its 2009 Vacation Bible School (VBS) giving opportunity: it's a goal of raising $25,000 USD to buy 2,500 pairs of shoes for Congolese children who have none.
The EFCA's GlobalFingerprints ministry has an orphan sponsorship program in the Congo. Almost 15 percent of children in the Congo are orphaned, and the HIV/AIDS pandemic runs rampant. GlobalFingerprints is working to quell the problem with education and spread the truth of the Gospel with sponsorship. In their work, they have discovered that few children in the country have quality shoes to wear to get to the many places they walk. Many children have flip-flops that have been sewn back together several times and have soles that are worn through.
Each child walks an average of eight to ten miles per day in the Congo — everywhere from school to church to the water pump. Poor quality shoes are clearly a problem if children are expected to walk these distances.
You and your children can work together to reach the children of the Congo. For only ten dollars, you can buy a pair of shoes that will last and will minister the love of Christ to a child in the Congo. GlobalFingerprints reminds us of the Word of the Lord in Proverbs 19:17: "If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord, and He will repay you."
