WR Blog
I’m currently waiting in the JFK airport anticipating my flight to India. A lot has happened this past year to get me to this point in my life. I can’t help, but look to beginning of this process to see God’s amazing hand in everything. It started when I applied in November and after an interview process I was excepted two days before Christmas (great christmas present!). The next step was raising over $16,000 of support. I was pushed greatly in this area, however, I was blessed with people in my life to help me. I began fundraising with support letter and from the need for support three fundraising events blossomed. The first event was a pamper party where you could come to Green Mountain nails in Lakewood and have your nailed done. Kim (owner) donated 100% of the proceeds to my race which turn out to be over $700! The second event was a 2 day garage sale at my grandparents house. Family member donate items and profit from the sale went towards my race. This event helped me raise over $500! The final event was at the D&F Clock Tower. Holly Kylberg offered her venue so I may have a fundraising/ going away party in the top five floors of this beautiful location. On top of that, Lisa Hidalgo hosted a jewelry party during the event. The event was a hit and I was able to raise over $5,000! These three amazing events helped me raise a significant amount towards my race. Thank you isn’t a great enough word for how grateful I am for their help and everyone else that donated to me. I am still a little a ways from reaching my goal, however, my final deadline isn’t due until December. This gives me a bit more time to raise what I need without adding that on top everything else I need to get completed before leaving.
I had quite the list of things to complete before leaving. One major task was packing everything I would need for 11 months in a 75L pack back and a 40L daypack. After going through three packs I finally decided on one that has straps with wheels. It took over two days to figure out how everything would fit, however, I finally completed the jig-saw puzzle.
Some stuff I packed:
– Two man tent
– Sleeping bag and liner
– Air mattress
– Chair
– Shower
– Laptop w/ external hard drive
– 4 Pairs of shoes (2 sandals, 1 pair of flats, and tennis shoes) – Malaria pills for 7months
– 6 pairs of thin pants
– 1 dress and 1 skirt
– 2 tank tops
– 1 t-shirt
– 2 pullovers
– 1 waterproof jackets and 1fleece
– Enough shower products to last a week (once in the country I can purchase more)
