We’ve been talking to the kids this week about what happened in Haiti. We rarely have the news on in our house (no cable or satellite anymore so no 24 hr news to watch). I read all my news online. So in one sense I guess we’ve sheltered them a bit. I don’t necessarily think they need to see the images of arms protruding from piles of rubble and bodies being emptied into a dumpster by a huge front loader to understand the gravity of the situation in Haiti.

We’ve talked about what an earthquake does (which led to questions I had to Google to answer) and what that means in terms of buildings collapsing and lack of clean water, power, etc.  We prayed together – for those missing loved ones, for those who already know the fate of their loved ones and for the many people in need of food, water and medicine.

This morning as we were going through our morning routine (which is spurred on by my “What do you need to do next?” every few minutes), Natalie is frantically running around looking for her wallet. I was getting somewhat impatient with her but was luckily distracted by a sibling for a few minutes.

Before I knew it she had dug out a few dollars and handed it to me.

“It’s for the kids in Haiti, mom.” (insert guilty silence and a few tears from mom)

They get it!! They have not, like so many of us, been jaded by life’s disappointments. They do not succumb to “the problem is so big what can one person do?” excuse that passes through our heads.

If we let them, they will just give.

So talk to your kids. This is a perfect opportunity to demonstrate being the hands and feet of Christ – whether that means your family donates $10, $100 or $1000. If you give them ownership in it, you’d be surprised at some of the ideas they come up with.

If you need one to get you started – try this:

All 55 Sports Chalet locations are accepting donations of gently used kids, mens and womens shoes that will go to Haiti in coordination with Soles4Souls. Go door to door in your neighborhood, get your kids school involved. (I’ve already talked to our girls Girl Scout Troop leader.)

Shoes may seem unimportant in contrast to food and water.

But wearing shoes prevents feet from getting cuts and sores from contaminated soil. Not only are they painful, but these sores turn dangerous when they become infected. The leading cause of disease in developing countries is soil-transmitted parasites which penetrate the skin through open sores. This is true in “normal” times. Think about how much more dangerous it is going to be for the people of Haiti to be walking around without shoes in a city that lies in ruins and without proper sanitation.

If you have other ways for kids to get involved, leave them in the comments section. I would love to hear what you and your family are doing.