Shoes to walk a mile in

Before Brian passed away, I remember him saying that he made 11 trips to the DR. I remember thinking that I couldn't believe it had been that many. He had been on trips with the Pulaski Baptist Association, our church (First Baptist Little Rock) and our school (Baptist Prep). It's amazing how these trips quickly became part of our normal during the year. When Brian got sick, it had been almost a year since he had been in the country he loved so much.

On every trip that B made, he would leave his running shoes. I used to tease him that this was his way of getting new shoes. He would say that after all the work he did down there it was best those shoes not come back in this house. While all of that was true, I knew the real reason. It was a small thing he could do for the pastors in the DR. These men and their families live on very little income and work tiredlessly (is that a word) to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the refugees from Haiti and with the natives in the area.

After B passed away and the service was over, I was almost immediately overwhelmed wondering what I should do with all of his things. I knew I could never part with his boots, but his tennis shoes and those Crocs were a different story. It took a bit for me to be able to ask our friend Jay Jacobs if he would take the shoes with him when went to the DR just a few short days after Brian's service. Jay graciously agreed. I included the service folder from the funeral so that he could share it with pastors.

Jay was in charge of the mission team from Baptist Prep who was going to the DR to minister. I knew that Jay would honor my request and Brian as he shared B's shoes. Of course, the response Jay received was that Brian always left his shoes with them. While I'm sure I do not have my facts completely straight, what I do know is that when the Baptist Prep team pulled up to the church there were shoes outside the door. This is not typical in the DR. Gina knew this was the perfect chance. She put B's shoes with the ones outside the door and grabbed a sign from the bus. The sign read: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news. Romans 10:15"

Thank you Jay and Gina for honoring B in such a beautiful way. He loved you both, and he loved the people of the DR. He loved sharing Christ with them as well as helping teenagers and others on the trips to love missions. My girls will never have the opportunity to travel with their dad on one of these trips, but I truly believe that his example will live on in them however they choose to share Christ with others.