Shoes for Santiago

 

I recently made a trip back to Denver so that I could reconnect with the organization that sent me as a missionary to Montreal, as well as my church community there and some of my supporters. The visit was great and it was a good opportunity to update everyone on how things are going so far in Montreal.

During the visit, one of the people I met up with was my friend Michael, who lives and works at Christ’s Body Ministries, the organization I worked for when I lived in Denver. We met early one morning to have breakfast together and, as we were walking to the restaurant, we passed a guy who was asleep on the steps leading up to an apartment building. I thought to myself that he looked familiar but I wasn’t sure at the time exactly who he was.

On our way back from breakfast, we passed him again and this time he was sitting on the steps with his head down over his crossed arms, showing his tattoos. I recognized the tattoos but I still wasn’t sure who he was. After walking a little further, I felt an urge to see if he was okay and ask if he needed any help, so Michael and I walked back to him.

I gently touched his arm and asked him if he was okay. When he looked up, I immediately remembered his name… Santiago, a regular client of Christ’s Body Ministries. He also recognized me right away, got up to embrace me, and asked me where I had been.

Santiago explained that his sister who is disabled was just recently displaced and needed to find shelter. He also said that he needed to go see his parole officer but had no way of getting there. Michael offered Santiago two bus tickets and I asked him if he was hungry. Santiago gratefully accepted the bus tickets and said that he hadn’t eaten for a while and would love something to eat.
 

As Santiago and I were talking and sharing our mutual faith in God, I noticed that he was wearing flip flops and that his feet were very badly beat up. He told me that it’s hard to find his shoe size in any of the shelters that provide clothes. So I stopped walking and said that we should pray for shoes in that exact size to be provided for him that morning. He agreed with me in prayer as we asked the Lord for a solution to Santiago’s need for shoes in a specific size.

 We continued walking and, no more than half a block further, we came across a pair of Nike running shoes sitting on some steps. We were astonished to find a set of car keys, a wallet, and a cell phone inside the shoes. Santiago handed me the personal belongings. I looked inside the wallet for an address and it appeared that it belonged to a guy who lived in a different county. I pressed the alarm button on the car key pad, but no car in sight responded. The phone was locked. I decided to bring the personal belongings to Christ’s Body Ministries so the staff could contact the owner and make sure he got them back.

As for the shoes, they were the exact size that Santiago and I had prayed for, so I told Santiago he should keep them. I didn’t think the owner of the shoes would mind as long as his wallet, cell phone, and car keys were returned. Santiago praised God for the provision and it built both of our faiths to see how quickly God provided for the needs of one of his children.

Michael from Christ’s Body Ministries contacted the Denver Police and they were able to reunite the owner with his belongings.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7