黑料社入口

A casual walk through his wife鈥檚 Philippine hometown led Todd Steiner to an idea that has resulted in an outpouring of support for children who lack shoes and school supplies.

While walking past an elementary school with his niece, Steiner noticed that children going home for lunch were not wearing shoes. He asked his niece about it, and she told him the children didn鈥檛 have money for school lunch, shoes or backpacks.

He talked to his wife, Eloisa, about it later, and together they decided to help those children. 鈥淎t first, we wanted to do backpacks full of stuff,鈥� Todd said. They eventually decided on providing shoes.

The couple lived in Fairfax, Virginia, at the time and were aware of how many of their neighbors were trashing their children鈥檚 worn or outgrown shoes. 鈥淲e got the idea to ask members of our church to donate their slightly used shoes,鈥� Todd said. 鈥淪o, we started there, and the first time, we sent one box 鈥� 75 pairs of shoes.鈥�

The Steiners met in 2010 when Eloisa was a Ph.D. student at Philippine Christian University, where she also worked as director of arts and culture. She invited Todd to speak at the university. Retired from the U.S. Air Force, he works as a physicist for the Department of Defense. After that first meeting, they continued to see each other, and in 2013, the couple married, and Eloisa moved with him to the United States.

Their shoe project continued to grow and moved with the Steiners to South Carolina, where they have enlisted the support of members of Little River United Methodist Church. To date, the Steiners have sent or personally delivered more than 2,000 pairs of shoes to The Philippines, helping more than 1,000 children.

鈥淲e started by supporting children through Mt. Zion United Methodist Church in Samal, Bataan. The members were mostly farmers with little income,鈥� Eloisa said. She grew up in the area, and her father, a pastor, had started the Mt. Zion church. 鈥淢y father used to be a missionary, and we grew up in mission. We know and feel we have to give back.鈥�

Eventually, there were too many pairs of shoes for Mt. Zion鈥檚 children, so the church began sharing them with other churches. 鈥淲e expanded and helped Bangkal United Methodist Church, and then got involved with Orani United Methodist Church, a much larger church,鈥� Eloisa said.

After working on the project for a few years, the Steiners thought it would be good for others to see first-hand the work being done. So, last summer, they took seven members of Little River United Methodist Church with them to distribute shoes, school supplies, backpacks and hygiene items.

The mission team met with 250 children from 18 churches at a camp in Bataan, where they also led a vacation Bible school and interacted with the children through games, songs, and arts and crafts projects. They also visited churches individually, leading activities and providing gifts. 鈥淭hey were very thankful. Each church wanted to give us a show, singing and dancing, before they received gifts,鈥� Eloisa said.

In addition to the donated shoes, the 2024 mission team received monetary donations to purchase shoes 鈥渢hat grow with the child.鈥� Produced by Because International, the shoes expand to accommodate the fast-growing feet of little ones and last about five years.

鈥淭wo hundred of the expandable shoes are on the way to The Philippines now,鈥� Todd said.

The shoes go into boxes and then onto a container ship, arriving about two months from the time of departure.

In June, the Steiners and another group of Little River United Methodist Church members will distribute those shoes and more they will carry in suitcases on a second mission trip to The Philippines. Now called Shoes for Souls, the outreach has already expanded beyond shoes and backpacks, although those items are still central to the mission. Last year, due to a sizable donation from a church member, 鈥渨e built a well at the camp鈥� so water won鈥檛 have to be trucked in. They also are building new pews and have provided a large-screen TV for showing presentations.

Distributing the shoes isn鈥檛 always as easy as visiting churches or the camp. In one instance, there was an indigenous community living on a mountain near one church. Church members carried backpacks of shoes up the mountain, walking over a suspension bridge at one point, because they could not drive to the people.

鈥淚t is touching when you see kids really thankful for whatever they have, even when the shoes are old or slightly used,鈥� Eloisa said.

It鈥檚 not just the children who are grateful, Todd said, adding: 鈥淵ou can see it on the faces of their mothers and grandmothers,鈥� who watch as their children receive what, in many cases, is their first pair of shoes.

So many individual children stand out in their memories, but the Steiners especially remember a young boy named Bernard, who took a lot of time picking out just the right pair of shoes. After trying on several and deciding which pair he wanted, he put them aside and put his old, torn shoes back on his feet. When asked why he didn鈥檛 wear the new pair, Bernard said. 鈥淚 want to keep them for Christmas.鈥�