Beautiful Strangers

Wednesday thru Friday were such beautiful days. I was looking forward to my ladies group gathering on Friday evening, though it was the closing of our current study, and already I'm missing them and being in their fellowship weekly! But I had several busy days ahead of me, cleaning, sorting & organizing......efforts toward trying to prepare additional rooms at our plant for all the donations that are pouring in. Also.....trying to seek some quiet time to work on a presentation for a women’s church group I'm speaking at about our adoption & ministry. We've only talked about doing this for 2+ years so it's not too serious that I waited this long, is it? Be nice now! But all of this isn't what stood out and made the days so beautiful. It was the strangers who I met, but don't feel like strangers at all. And the young girl who's not a stranger, but a little lady in training (my joyful 12 yr old daughter) also made these three days exceptionally beautiful.

During our travels, my daughter suddenly announces that "we should pray for our busy day Mom." And she did just that, in the most sweet & tender innocence of a child. Let's just say I had to pull over in order to not be a reckless driver and wait until I could see again. Pass the tissues please.....you get the picture right? So while passing through Middletown, I met with a gal at The Little Gym to pickup shoe donations from her. She happily introduces me to the manager, who was so excited to help us and work on establishing "shoe drops" in their establishments for an ongoing collection of shoe donations! That was awesome!

Later we meet several ladies at our plant who also have shoe donations. But that wasn't all - they sincerely, wholeheartedly, with devotion to serving, want to help beyond this. They have already rolled up their sleeves and are serving in many ways, and I'm sure I'm not the only person on this earth who has experienced the blessings through these women.

So thanks to Kristi, Deborah, Linda, Barbara & Wendy - strangers in passing no more, but ladies who I will be happy to continue experiencing the gift of their true desire to help others.
And also a special thanks to other women who have impacted me: Mom (aka Monnie), Laurice, Stef, Lynn, Maria, Heather, Merrily, Annie, Lisa, Kathy, Maureen, Kelly, Stacey, Debbie, Kim, Karen, Margie, Jamie, Cindy, Tammy, Elizabeth, Hope, Ellen, Nicole, Summer, Kris, Kathy, Chris, Robin, Isman, Sharon, Jacinta, Allison, Jen, Lisa, Joni, Margo, Stephanie, Lydia, Sandra, Cheryl, Gina, Nancy, Connie, Donna, Jo-El, Beth & Pocahontas (kidding, kinda). If your name is not here it's only because I'm running on overload with emotion and little sleep. I haven't forgotten you, but rather just my human memory is running at a slower pace than I'd like it to at the moment. My Ginko-Biloba herbal supplements don't always do what I'd like them to! HA! So much to be thankful for..........celebrate it daily! I feel like dancing - and I think I will!

Game Faces off the Field

Did you ever notice how much fun people have using "sports lingo" in everyday life. Like when someone yells at the TV "awe come on" during a competive sporting event. Or the kids playing wrestle mania and announcing " in this corner". And how about "you gotta put your game face on" before stepping on to the field of battle!

It's very admirable when athletes display true sportsmanship on and off the field. Well, we got to personally experience a whole team with their true "game faces on" after last Saturdays softball game at Caravel Academy. Cape Henlopen's Varsity Softball Team, after playing a good game of ball, did another good thing. One by one, bags of shoes were taken off the back of their bus and placed into a pile, next to the field, for donating to Shoes 2 Share. They were trying to leave quietly when we asked them to hop back off the bus and put their "game faces on" one more time for a picture with the shoes they collected and brought for us.



So from Caravel and Shoes 2 Share, we say a big "way to go" and "that's outta here" to all the players & coaches of Cape Henlopen Varsity Softball Team for taking the time to make a difference in the lives of others. You definitely exemplified the sayings "We gave it our all" and "There's no I in team".

Have a great season playing ball!

Tim & Rhonda Wampler

Surprise!

Just when I think my week is complete, I get a huge surprise birthday party.

Upon returning home from an Audio A & Mercy Me concert with my hubby
& kids - I'm surprised with a house full (and I mean full) of people to help me
say goodbye to my 30's. It was so shocking that I jumped up & down like a
rock star on stage - and there's video to prove it!

But you'll never see that! Instead here's some real rock stars and their fans!


Audio Adrenaline -
their program in Haiti - http://handsandfeetproject.org/

The Wampler Gang - 3rd row from stage!


Mercy Me

But beyond my fun weekend of "rockin the fish", getting surprised
and spending time with people very special to me - there's was an
even bigger gift. My sunroom is overflowing with shoes in bags,
boxes & storage tubs, that were brought for donations to S2S,
in lieu of gifts!



Thank you everyone for making my birthday special.......but thank
you even more for making a difference, in the lives of others in great
need, by donating so many shoes!

Getting older really isn't that bad after all! Rhonda

WOW!

3.22.07

Greetings All,

Wow, what a blessing! We're excited to announce the success of our first 2007 "SHOES 2 SHARE" school shoe drive held in February.

Our thanks go out to Marcia, a parent from our boys travel baseball team. Marcia led an enthusiastic group of school staff and students at Bay View Elementary School located in Cecil County, MD. Over 500 hundred "new & like new shoes" were picked up by S2S volunteers. Also in MD, Chesapeake City Elementary principal Tom Duffy has given his students a 3rd marking period challenge. For every student who shows improvement in their effort, grades & attendance, Principal Duffy has pledged $1 to S2S.

Just this week, the News Journal (Wilmington, DE) wrote a wonderful article about my husbands retirement from coaching softball at Caravel Academy. The story featured Shoes 2 Share and it's mission. The enthusiastic response, from the community at large, has been just incredible! We are just amazed at the amount of emails, web-hits & phone calls in the last two days. We have even been contacted, off our website from folks around the United States - Maine, Illinois, Oregon, Conneticut, New Hampshire, Texas, Arizona & Florida being the most recent. These individuals & groups are eager and excited to be a part of SHOES 2 SHARE and it's efforts to meet the needs of children & their families in great need.

As I write this letter we are preparing for our first purchase of an S2S delivery/pickup shoe trailer. A friend of ours, in the moving business, is helping us to make educated decisions on choosing boxes/containers to collect & ship. We're also in the process of making contact with a new direct shipping lane out of The Port of Wilmington to the country of Haiti.

So many things are falling in place, yet there's still so many more exciting things to do. Our benefactor list has continued to grow and we are discussing future "shoe drops" depending on the amount of donations we receive. No doubt these will be numerous thanks to all the folks willing to help us above and beyond what we ever expected! We've also been presented with new opportunities in other countries for the future.

The family of SHOES 2 SHARE would like to ask for your continued support and prayer in our endeavor to help those that would otherwise be forgotten. You can read more about who we are, and what we do, along with our mission statement on our website http://www.shoes2share.com/

Joyfully in His Service,
Rhonda Wampler & Family