Going Barefoot for Souls

Don’t tell Trudianne Stubbs “No shoes, no shirt, no service!” For this California teen, not wearing shoes is her service. Convicted by the plight of those less fortunate, Stubbs, 16, started a ministry called Barefoot Souls.

“I started my personal mission project Barefoot Souls because I felt God calling me to action,” said Stubbs, a member of Crossroads Christian Reformed Church in San Marcos, Calif.

Trudianne Stubbs is going barefoot for one year to raise awareness and funds for people without shoes.

Starting last July, Stubbs is going barefoot for 8,760 hours (or one year). During places and times she isn’t allowed to be barefoot (schools, businesses, playing sports) she is keeping track and adding on to the end. A student at Calvin Christian School in Escondido, Stubbs said, “Even though I have to wear shoes during school hours, I know I have my teachers’ support and prayers.”

Stubbs didn’t go into this without a lot of thought and planning. She received permission from her parents and her doctor. She researched charities and promoted it on Facebook. According to her pastor, Mark Vermaire, “Half a year ago, she began a concrete journey of obedience, following a half year or more of coming up with a ‘ministry business plan.’”

Stubbs is raising money for two different charities. Her local charity is Casa de Amparo, an organization offering, in part, an emergency shelter and a transitional housing program for youth who have aged out of the foster care system. Many of them arrive without much of anything. Stubbs’ donations help to provide shoes for these young people.

She is also working with Christian Reformed missionaries in the Philippines Bob and Patti Harris. Her donationshelp provide shoes to those who may have never had a pair of shoes before.

Stubbs has learned some lessons in all of this. She said, “Asphalt can get really hot in the summer, and at football games it can get really muddy. And when you step on a bee, they don’t like it very much.”

Barefoot Souls has already donated more than $1,000 to these charities. Stubbs said, “I didn’t expect anyone else to go barefoot like me, but I hoped it would remind people everyone can do something for someone else; no matter how minor the effort, it may change a life and share God’s love.”