We would like to say big thank you to shoe manufacturers Russell and Bromley, located in Bromley, Kent, for their kind donation of over 3,000 shoes every year which Smile is able to distribute to AIDS orphans in Africa, tsunami-affected children in Sri Lanka, children in the slums of Bangalore, India, and fatherless children in Kosova. Our thanks also to Mr Peter Huxstep of Southborough Lane Baptist Church who faithfully collects and prepares the shoes for shipment.

These shoes make a huge difference to the lives of the children, not only protecting their feet from discomfort, injury and infection (especially from sewerage in the slums) but also enabling them to travel much more easily between their villages, where the roads are just stony dust tracks. Bare feet can often be a mark of poverty and having shoes to wear contributes to a sense of hopefulness and self-worth. In Kosova, two girls were sharing a pair of shoes, and only one of them could leave the house at any time, leaving the other housebound – providing them with their own shoes meant that they were able to attend school and not miss out on their education.

   
Kosova – Clive in Zimbabwe – Molife School, Zimbabwe

SMILE CELEBRATION 28 JUNE

Thank you to everyone who supported our Celebration day on Saturday – we were delighted that so many people chose to spend their afternoon with us and hear all that God is doing around the world through the ministry of Smile. We had a great time meeting up with so many friends, and of course making new ones!

We were able to conduct a live video link with Ronali da Silva who directs the work at our Smile Centre in Hambantota, Sri Lanka, and also spoke via telephone with John Matiza, our Project Manager in Zimbabwe. Anna Rogers interviewed many of our gappers on their time in Kosova, Uganda and Sri Lanka, and we enjoyed hearing their inspiring testimonies of how they have benefitted from their travels and experiences during their time abroad. Gap year girl Emily Hanbury and Pastor Astrit sang in Albanian for us, and we enjoyed showing our new DVDs on Gap Years, Zimbabwe and Ministry Trips, which we hope will be an encouragement to those who are considering these options.

Our thanks go to those at Christ Church for allowing us to host the event in the church, to the church Worship Group for their leading of the joyful praise and worship, and to all those who helped make the day a success.
 

   
Live link with Ronali in Sri Lanka – Anna Rogers interviewing the gappers in their Sri Lankan costumes – Clive interviewing John and Hamish on their fund-raising climb of Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

   
Pastor Astrit's theme was"Jesus said Go" and he spoke regarding Lord's command to go into all the world with the good news of salvation and on the importance of  taking a courageous and active part in sharing the Gospel. His commitment and zeal for the Lord, and his prayers for those present, were greatly appreciated and very refreshing to our spirits. Afterwards folk enjoyed food and fellowship in the church's spacious new function facility.