In his email he said that so many of the children don't have any shoes and their feet are cracked, bloody and infected. That about broke my heart into thousands of little pieces and I sent a message to family and friends asking if, rather than taking their kids' gently used shoes to Goodwill, they could give them to me.
I also sent a message to a local radio station, to Ellen, my neighbor's school and my son's school. I sent a pair of Drama Kids' hardly worn sandals as a "test" pair to see if they would be well received since they're not brand new. Sgt. said the people in the villages are rather proud. When he got the package he said they were perfect and he'd let me know once he'd given them out.
I have about 20 pairs of shoes in my garage right now, but I really hoped I'd get a better response from the schools. I've been bummed and mopey and disappointed that I haven't been more successful at the ONE thing Sgt. has asked of me. Then I got an email today that lifted me out of my funk a little.
On a side note, several people have asked how to get involved with adopting a soldier. I received two emails recently from Adopt A US Soldier and for the first time in years there is a surplus of soldiers waiting to be adopted. The weather in Iraq is about to change and fleece blankets, hats and gloves are on the soldiers' most wanted list.