Kindle and Keens

Sunday morning I opened up my Kindle to read something.  And it wouldn't wake up.  No matter what I did, all it wanted to do was sleep.  And I'm getting on a plane to PNG on Saturday... actually, 5 different planes, totaling 26.5 hours in the air.  I NEED my Kindle!  I knew Amazon would send me a new one, no problem, but I didn't have time to wait on one to come.  So I got a crazy idea that maybe Staples would do the same.  I mean, according to my dad, the people at the Staples in Lincolnton are super nice and helpful, so maybe... After church my sister and I headed over to Staples.  The manager was hanging out at the front door and I explained my situation.  He walked me over to the tech station, asked one of the guys to go get a new one just like mine, compared them to make sure they were the same, and handed over the new one, saying that he'd send my old one back to Amazon for me.  Oh.my.goodness.  "That was easy!" :)

Monday I went to REI with my friend Sandy for some last-minute camping purchases (and by "some", I mean all of my camping needs for training).  I'm a procrastinator, ok?!  Over the past couple months I've been looking for water shoes.  We'll be swimming a lot in the ocean where there are tons of coral.  So I need water shoes.  This was my last opportunity.  We checked out everything on the floor, all the clearance things.  They only had a couple water shoes, but none in my size.  We went on to other things because all the associates were busy.  I was about to check out when I realized that I STILL don't have water shoes.  So Sandy and I decide to walk back to the shoe section and pray, pray, pray.  We asked an associate if they had anything in the back that they were keeping hidden because it wasn't season yet.  At first the answer was no.  Then he realized that they got in a shipment that day and that all the clothes were their spring line.  He went to open a few boxes just to check.  He came back with some new Keens.  And not just any Keens.  A new kind of Keens that are narrower (I've always hated how wide they are because I have such skinny feet)!!  And they fit perfectly!  Bring on the coral and whatever else may come my way!

Isn't God good?  He takes such good care of me and knows exactly when and how to provide what I need.

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Update:  5 hours of air-time down, 21 to go... Emily and I are in San Francisco.  We love it!  I'll be doing a blog or two about that soon.  I'm leaving California on Saturday for Sydney.  Then from there to PNG.  I'll arrive at my final destination (Madang, PNG) early morning Monday (Eastern time).  Then I'll be 14 hours ahead of you!

Pray:

• I have 3 bags that I'm checking, each right at 50 pounds.  Pray for grace from the people that check my luggage!
• Pray that I can sleep on the plane.  Hopefully the Ambien that my doctor prescribed will work.
• Pray for lots of growth in my relationship with the Lord as I make this transition.  Pray that my eyes, heart, and mind will always be open to how He is working in me, through me, and around me.
• Pray for my brother... he's being shipped to Afghanistan on the 24th for 9 months.  Pray for his wife, Lauren, and my nephew, Carter!

Sweet Poncho all snuggled up in my bed.  He was sad that I had to leave him.