As I was teaching an art class I glanced down and thats when my eyes met Ponchais. Then I saw her shoes. They were torn in the back and barely wearable but here in the Philippines you can't go to school if you dont have shoes, so she wore them. At that moment something inside of me twisted and I knew what I had to do. I asked the head teacher how I could go about getting this little girl some new shoes. After a couple ideas were thrown out, we both decided it would be best for me to take her to the store. So a couple days later I met up with Ponchai and her mother and thats when her mother handed off her daughter to a complete stranger trusting that I would get her back safely. So we hopped on a trike and then a jeepne. As soon as we stepped off the jeepne Ponchai was glued to my arm. I don't know if she had ever been to the store. We went to the shoes first where she picked out a brand new pair of black shoes for school. Next we went to dairy queen and then to the hypermarket where I bought her a sprite and a barbie doll. Everytime she smiled my heart melted. While we were waiting for some of my team, we sat down and looked at her stuff. SHe put her shoes back on and started walking around then she just stared at her barbie doll. I so badly wish I knew what she was thinking. On our way back home she fell asleep and thats when the whole thing hit me. This little girl is so grateful for what she just got but at home it wouldve been just another day of shopping. I wonder if she will even take the barbie doll out of the box or even wear her shoes. When we got home and she saw her mom she ran up to her and started speaking in tagalog and showing her what she got. The smile on her face was the biggest gift anyone could ever give me because I knew that God had just used to me to give this little girl and unforgettable moment. Because of a pair of shoes she got to see God's love. This was probably the best day I have had here in the philippines.
here are some picutres 🙂
