testing the shoes..

As we prepare for the Compostela, one of our bigger concerns has been to build up our calluses and to discover the right combination of boots and socks to wear.  Since the walking days will be consecutive, there won't be time for the blisters to heal if they occur.  Jo has been able to hone in on her boots fairly quickly settling on two pairs air of Merrell's.   I have been a bit more challenged by the scarcity of size 14 boots.  I have tried a couple but I couldn't find a pair that felt right.  Currently, I am going back to a pair of boots that I have had for a while but have never worn much.  It should be fine but as Jo knows, I like to test my hypotheses.  
In my travels in the developing world, I have seen many people walking barefoot or with flip flops for shoes, in the city, in the mountains and in the muck.  On rocky slopes which would cut the soles of the of good shoes and also through substances that I won't describe.  These memories remind me how blessed I am to have a problem of choosing the right boot.  Over the years, Jo and I have supported an organization called Soles4Souls that collects unwanted shoes and packages them for distribution into the developing world.  It provides a wonderful service that can help kids go to school, provides safety when walking and reduces the chances for injury or infection.  These shoes are processed in a sheltered workshop in Iowa where they are packaged for the developing world or recycled.  You can see how much good can be done with something that we would discard.
While we are gone, I would challenge you to look through your closets and find those shoes that you haven't worn in a year or two.   Those shoes that aren't fashionable and those shoes that the kids have outgrown and donate them to an organization that recycles shoes.  We collect ours at Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church at College Blvd and Nieman in Overland Park.
On the Compostela as in most endeavors, this will be a trip for the spirit as well as the body.   "I am not a human being on spiritual journey, I am a spiritual being on a human journey." -  Spiritual Maxim (thanks Jo).