One of my favorite books of all time is Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible. Set in the 1960s, it tells the fictional story of the Price family, Southern Baptists who leave behind their comfortable life in Georgia to become missionaries in the poverty-stricken, politically tumultuous African Congo.
The opening chapter describes the Prices’ struggles of deciding what to pack, how to pack it, and what things they must leave at home. Ranging from cake mixes to Easter dresses to band-aids, they selected “the bare minimum” that they would need overseas. And just when they thought they’d packed it all, they realized the airline limited each bag to only 44 pounds each. Their solution? To carry the extra items under their clothes, layering everything onto their own bodies, hopefully carrying the right things into the unknown.
While I hope my missionary experience is not quite the same as theirs (those of you who’ve read the book understand why), I couldn’t help but think of their journey as I began packing for my own.
“How am I supposed to pack of 11 months in only two bags?” I thought. “How do I make it fit? How do I decide what is important enough to take?”
After four hours and only one minor panic attack, I had the finished product, and luckily I didn’t have to resort to carrying stuff under my clothes. Here are the things that made the cut and will be traveling the world with me this year.
First, my backpack. Weighing in at 46 pounds, it contains the following items:
3 pairs of camping pants, two of which convert to shorts
1 pair of jeans
7 v-neck shirts (including one long-sleeved)
1 button-down shirt
1 long skirt
1 sundress
1 pair of leggings
1 pair of running shorts
1 pair of sweatpants
1 cardigan
1 swimsuit
3 camis
27 pairs of underwear
12 pairs of socks
4 sports bras
2 regular bras
2 towels (one large, one small)
1 mesh bag (for dirty laundry)
1 clothesline
1 voltage converter
1 gear strap
1 multi-tool
1 pocketknife
1 bottle of sunscreen
1 bottle of bug spray
1 bottle of bug bite cream
1 bottle of baby powder
1 bottle of febreeze
2 containers of just-add-water laundry detergent sheets
2 types of stomachache medicine
12 anti-malaria pills (amounting to a 90-day supply)
2 band-aids
2 first-aid hand-cleansing wipes
1 toothbrush
2 toothbrush covers
1 tube of toothpaste
1 pair of retainers
1 thing of floss
1 bottle of shampoo
1 bottle of conditioner
1 bottle of mousse
1 razor
1 back-up razor blade
1 bottle of shaving cream
1 thing of deodorant
1 bottle of body wash
1 tube of Neosporin
1 mirror
1 hairbrush
4 headbands
A handful of hairbands
A handful of bobby pins
A handful of q-tips
3 packages of wet wipes
1 bottle of contact solution
1 bottle of eye drops
24 monthly contact lenses (amounting to a 12-month supply)
30 daily contact lenses (in case of emergency)
2 small rolls of toilet paper
1 sleeping bag
1 sleeping pad
1 sleeping bag liner
1 single-nest Eno hammock (with straps)
1 mosquito net
1 mess kit (including plate, bowl, and cup)
1 tent
1 pillow
2 pillowcases
1 pair of closed-toe shoes
1 pair of Chacos
1 copy of important documents
All together, it looks like this:
Next, my daypack. Its 20 pounds are composed of these things:
2 journals (one of which doubles as a photo album)
1 medium-sized notebook (for keeping up with finances)
1 small notebook (for everyday life)
1 English Bible
1 Spanish Bible
1 tablet
1 iPhone
1 GoPro camera
1 pair of earbuds
1 jump drive
1 portable charger
5 connector cords that go with various electronics
2 AAA batteries
1 powerstrip
1 external harddrive/back-up
1 pair of prescription glasses
1 contacts case
1 pair of sunglasses
1 headlamp
1 spork
3 ink pens
1 raincoat
1 fleece
1 coat
3 tubes of chapstick
1 Tide-to-go pen
1 makeup kit
2 pairs of earplugs
1 small roll of toilet paper
9 extra carabiners (for future use)
1 pair of TOMS
1 water bottle
1 extra copy of important documents
It comes out looking like this:
Put it all together, and you get this lovely ensemble:
And this, my friends, (with the exception of the clothes I’m wearing, of course) is how I will look when I head out the door tomorrow morning. My family and I are driving to Atlanta tomorrow (January 6th), and then on Saturday (January 10th) I fly with my squad to El Salvador, where we officially begin this one whirling adventure.
And although I seem to already be overloaded, I’ll be taking even more things with me, things a bit less tangible.
I’ll be carrying…
Countless memories of my life so far
Immeasurable encouragement from my friends and family
Infinite prayers from those back home
Unconditional love from Jesus Christ
And as I leave everything else behind, it will be these last things, the intangibles, that will be most important over the next 11 months. It doesn’t matter how many pairs of underwear I packed or if I will regret leaving my laptop at home. What counts is faith, hope, and love.
The bags are packed, I’m ready to go. And once again, I think The Poisonwood Bible says it best:
“…[T]hat was our burden, because there was so much we needed to bring here. Each one of us arrived with some extra responsibility biting into us under our garments: a claw hammer, a Baptist hymnal, each object of value replacing the weight freed up by some frivolous thing we’d found the strength to leave behind. Our journey was to be a great enterprise of balance. My father [the missionary], of course, was bringing the Word of God—which fortunately weighs nothing at all.”
