What every missionary needs ... smart shoes!

Leave your hurricane lanterns and pith helmets behind! What every missionary ministering in Kampala, Uganda needs is ... smart shoes!

That's right! High-heeled sandals for ladies and shiny pointed leather shoes for men are essential. Ugandans have a passion for shoes and will spend a lot of money buying as many pairs as possible. It is a common sight to see immaculately dressed women picking their way through muddy or dusty roads in 3 inch heels!

I'm more of a flip-flop girl at heart, but every day I totter off to work in my “smart” shoes. It's a small part of adapting to cross-cultural living, and I'm glad to do anything which will help me belong more completely in my community.

To show the people of Uganda the love of God involves changing to become more like them. This helps make one's message of hope and redemption easier to hear, understand and accept. But changing the attitudes and behaviours of one's home culture is harder than simply swapping foot wear! Missionaries can really struggle, as local people don't see how much they have adapted to belong in the culture, but rather how different they still are. Pray for missionaries that they would be flexible to learn new ways that sometimes feel strange, difficult or awkward for them. Pray that they would know which things in their lifestyle hinders the gospel of Christ and that they would be able to let those things go, in order to more fully identify with the people they are trying to reach.

May our attitude be like that of Jesus, who took the most drastic lifestyle change - becoming a man and living on this earth as a servant, washing the feet of others. My prayer is that when people look at me, they may see past my smart shoes and socially acceptable behaviour and see my love for them and for our Saviour, Jesus!