Elena and Katya Delawder were once the recipients of shoes from Buckner when they lived in Russian orphanages. Since being adopted as young girls, both have been involved in their church’s annual shoe drive.
Shoe shopaholics answer the call
E
ach year as summer draws to a close, the Hersh- berger household starts getting a little crowded. There are shoes stacked on end tables. Boxes of shoes teeter on one side of the sofa. Shoes by the hundreds fill the attic. It’s the result of a year’s worth of bargain hunting and shoe shopping on the part of Ruth Jean and Nyle Hershberger. In the past six years of purchasing shoes, they have personally contributed more than 12,200 pairs of shoes to Grace Memorial Community Church’s shoe drive.
animals and wants to become a veterinary technician after graduating high school. Katya “tells it like it is,” says Ray – and is “a typical Russian” with strong opinions. Martha thinks Katya’s love for debate will make her into a great lawyer someday. Though neither girl is inter- ested in visiting Russia at this stage in life, Katya has made a study of her birth land’s history and politics and has been known to correct her teacher when he gets the facts wrong. Ray and Martha wanted to instill a love for serving others in both girls. Elena and Katya have helped out with the Grace Memorial shoe drive each year they’ve been home, and have even told their stories to spread the word about the need for shoes. They’ve taken the Shoes for Orphan Souls message into their schools and when the time comes to prepare shoes for shipment to Buckner, the girls are always involved in counting and packing. “As long as there’s a need and this desire is in our hearts, we plan to be a part of Shoes for Orphan Souls,” Ray says. “If we can change the life of a child, why would we stop?” n
They aren’t members of Grace Memorial – they actually live about an hour and a half away in Johnstown, Penn. – but they heard about the an- nual shoe drive through a Maryland radio station and immediately knew it was a cause they wanted to join. They spend the entire year scouring any shoe stores they come across for the best deals on high-quality children’s athletic shoes to contribute to Grace Memo- rial’s end of summer shoe drive. “How often do we go shopping? Let’s put it this way: when the Lord says, ‘You oughta go shopping today for shoes,’ we go,” Nyle explains. “That may sound goofy to other people, but we go. “God has blessed us, so we are able to bless other people. People make decisions how they answer God’s call to provide something that will help what God needs to have done. God’s hands are you and I, and therefore we are willing to let our hands go there.” n
WINTER 2015 ISSUE • Buckner Today 31
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