The nine-day trip was possible because of Happy Feet International, based in Gardendale.
Happy Feet usually ministers to a country’s remote indigenous people group and to people who have never even owned a pair of shoes by washing their feet and giving them a pair of socks and shoes, said Bill Conlee, president of Happy Feet.
But in Uruguay, there isn’t an indigenous people group, so the team ministered in a barrio, an impoverished area where the children’s shoes were worn down to the last bits of leather. The team worked in Melo, Uruguay, and the shoes lasted only two days. Team members then worked with Southern Baptist missionaries Robert and Deborah Nichols, helping with in-home and follow-up visits from the decisions made during the shoe distribution.
Sam Hallman, NorthPark Baptist’s associate pastor of evangelism and missions, said the team shared the gospel with about 1,000 people and about 250 made decisions to follow Christ.
The opportunity to share the gospel with the people and be there to witness those who came to Christ was something NorthPark team members shared with expressions of joy and tears.
And the experience of spreading God’s love with the shoes left many of them forever changed.
"The most exciting experience for me was washing the children’s feet and seeing their eyes light up and the smiles on their faces as I put on their new pair of shoes," said team member Ray Walker.
NorthPark’s Senior Pastor Bill Wilks said the Uruguay missions trip is part of the church’s plan to minister locally and globally and he is excited by the effect these trips have on the participants. "We’re seeing our people be called to missions, and these trips are a big part of their calling," he said.
But the story doesn’t end there.
The Nicholses said several families whose children received the shoes and socks have gotten involved with the church in Melo. And the Nicholses, with some financial assistance from NorthPark, organized a trip in December 2006 to take a group from the church to a larger, more established church six hours away for a day of worship and fellowship. This experience not only encouraged the Melo church but also has led to a new partnership with the other church.
Hearing about the continued results coming from the shoe distribution only motivates the NorthPark members to get back on that 22-hour flight and six-hour bus ride again — sometime this year.
For more information, visit www.happyfeetmissions.com.
In John 13, Jesus performs His final act before preparing for the crucifixion — He washes His disciples’ feet. Using this as an expression of the extent of His love for them, Jesus said, "I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you."
Eleven members of NorthPark Baptist Church, Trussville, decided to act on that example as they headed to Uruguay late last year.
With 750 pairs of children’s shoes in hand — as well as lotions, baby powder and socks — the missions team set out to make a difference in the lives of the children who would receive those shoes. Washing the children’s feet came with the package. "The foot washing is a gesture of servitude and a model of Christ-like humility," said team member Todd Powell. "It sets the stage for the message that is presented [afterward]."
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