The day has finally arrived. My bags are packed and tonight I jump on a plane and head out to Gainsville, Georgia where I’ll spend the next week in more training for the journey that has been placed before my feet. 11 countries in 11 months. Holy freakin’ moses where did the time go!? One week from today, I’ll be soaring the skies once again and on the way to the beginning of the rest of my life. First stop, Asia!
I thought I’d throw down a quick vision as to what I’m bringing. I’m going into this journey with the attitude of a true disciple. It’s not quite exactly what the scriptures say, bringing nothing but the sandles on my feet and clothes on my back, but it’s not much that’s for real.
I was shooting for getting my pack to less than 35lbs. Made it to a mere 36lbs so I’m pretty hyped on myself. Talk about stressful. It’s funny because even through the packing process I’ve had to let go of a lot of things I thought I NEEDED. In the end I was forced to rely and trust that whatever I actually need, my homie up in the skies has got my back. Real life. Lets get rowdy.
Sleeping essentials. The next year of my life I’ve decided that I’m going to give up the comfort of sleeping in a bed. Hotels, host beds, hostels, anything that has a bed, peace out. I’m hitting the floor or swinging myself to sleep in my hammock. So with that, what you see is what I’ve got.
- 2 man tent
- 32 degree sleeping bag
- Sleeping bag liner
- Sleeping pad
- Pillow
- Hammock
- Hammock bug liner – Can’t be catching myself malaria or something worse and dying on all y’all. You dig it!?
Toiletries. You notice something different about this list than your typical weekend vacation essentials? Let’s be real I’ll be gone for 11 months over seas and this is all I’m packing? Yep. Who needs shampoo and conditioner when you’ve got God on your side right? Plus I haven’t washed my hair in over a month anyway so why not go another 11? haha No for real most things I need I’ll swoop up on the other side so I’m not bringing much. Trusting the words of my leadership and God on this one.
- Soap
- Toothbrush and toothpaste
- Razor – Just for looking “clean.” I won’t be touching my beard the entire year.
- Scissors – Once again just for keeping my locks of love under control. Long hair don’t care.
- Wet wipes – For quick showers when cold buckets of water aren’t available.
- Small med pack with band-aids, Ibuprofen, vitamin c, and so on.
- Malaria and travelers diarrhea medication. I’m about to poop my pants on a daily basis.
- Deodorant – I assume eventually I’ll just embrace the smells around me.
- Hair product? Once again, long hair don’t care.
- Travel towel and washcloth
- Clothes line
Clothes. I’m not taking much. I’ll be in hot and humid climates most of the time chasing summer so jackets weren’t needed and that helped the weight factor. I wear the same thing for days on end anyway so this wasn’t that hard to give up most things. However, if you know me and my love for t-shirts, that was probably the hardest decisions I had to make on what to actually bring. I could have filled my entire bag with wolves, wizards, and star wars shirts and would have been good but eventually I had to choose just 3. #firstworldproblems
- 3 t-shirts – Once again this was hard. Eventually I had to suck it up and pick the few that fully encompass my current passions. Mountain biking, the freakin’ Seattle Seahawks, and a WSU tee. Go Cougs!
- 1 tank top – ravenous wolf style.
- 3 pairs of pants – jeans, tech, and chill.
- 2 pairs of shorts – water and casual
- 1 button up shirt.
- 1 long sleeve t-shirt.
- 1 Sweatshirt
- Rain jacket
- 6 pairs of socks – I went with mostly merino wool, gotta stay fresh you dig?
- 5 pairs of boxer briefs – once again, went with merino and quick dry. Fresh to death.
- Chocos
- Nike frees – it really hurt that I couldn’t bring some vans.
- 1 hat
- 1 beanie
- cheap sunglasses
Day pack essentials. This was an extra 7lbs but it mostly consists of all my electronics and tools I’ll use to keep y’all up to date with the latest pictures. The list will change a lot as I go about traveling but here is what I’ve got.
- Nalgene – complete with all the ductape I felt I’d need.
- Rope and repair kit
- Sewing kit
- Lighter
- Cribbage board with cards – I’m about to slay the tournaments we’re about to have.
- Bible
- 1 book for our traveling library.
- Moleskins to document goals, experiences, the way God is blowing my mind, etc.
- Passport
- Extra visa and passport pictures.
- Headlamp
- 2TB hard drive
- External charger
- Knife
- Extra carabiners
- Cup, bowl, spork
- Sony A6000 camera and extra lens
- Gopro
- Random camera equipment
And boom there you have it. This picture seals the deal. I’m officially a world racer. Time to get wild. Kind of nervous. Extremely excited. Ready for God to blow my mind.
FUNDRAISING UPDATE:
I want to first say THANK YOU SO MUCH to those that have supported me financially and invested in my journey and the kingdom! I’ve raised over 80% of my goal of $17,562! Where the heck did I get over $14,000 in just a few month!? Wow. Mind blown! Seriously thank y’all so much for putting faith in me and trusting that this is where God has called me. Great things will be accomplished in and through me this next year. With that said I still have a little over $3500 left to raise before I’m completely funded. If you’d like to join my journey please pray and consider giving to my funds via the “support” tab on the left. Thank y’all again so much!
Also if you’d like to continue to be up to date with my travels you can subscribe to this blog via the “subscribe” tab on the left as well!
PRAYER REQUESTS:
Would y’all be lifting up my squad this month as we adjust to the life of world travel. Pray our bodies would stay healthy and we would have little to no jet lag. Pray that the holy spirit would consume us and that we would have ears to hear is voice and ready hearts to do what Hes calling. Continue to pray that we would have a constant attitude of yes and that we would be willing to give up comfort and distractions back home.
See y’all in indo!
