The Shoes

From Daniel...

Hi to Andy's family,

When we were at Walter Reed, I was told a story about my brother in Afghanistan.

While Andy was in Afghanistan, he ordered a pair of shoes that he really liked. They arrived in the mail but he would not wear them, because of all the dust, dirt, grit and grime that is Chowkay, he didn't want to wear them and get them dirty.

So for two months he planned to wear his shoes at home on leave.

It was told to me that he would take them out of the box and actually smell them. He told some of the guys that he liked the "new shoe smell" a lot better than the smell of the world around him. He would look at them, shine them up and imagine wearing them back home. For two months, he dreamed of wearing the new shoes, and then he was wounded.

At that point, he wasn't thinking about shoes--just surviving and getting better. A few weeks back, Andy remembered those shoes and once again they became something to hope for. After some checking we were able to find out that one of Andy's best friends had them and would be hand delivering them as soon as he could.

So more waiting--Two more months to be exact.

He had to wait four months after he bought them but on Friday of last week I put them on his feet and he got to show them off. Matt--Andy's friend--brought them all the way from Afghanistan and, like he said he would--he hand delivered them.

The most important thing Matt brought with him was not the shoes, as cool as that was. It was rather the understanding of a fellow soldier. It was a tremendous blessing to see how those two men helped each other. I am so amazed at how God works things out for our benefit.

--J. Daniel

From Sarah
And because I know some people will want to know...they are Under Armour Shoes.