Hello everyone! It has been quite a while since I last posted a blog so I’ll update you a little on the past few months. God has showed up in big ways through fundraising and I am now about 80 percent funded (my blog may only show that I am at $7000, but I am putting in my yard sale fundraising money in and it should be processed by Monday)! Praise God! I’m leaving in just 9 days for training camp, where I will finally meet my team that I will be doing ministry with for the next nine months!! Lets just say I am more than excited to finally meet this group of people who have big hearts for the Lord that I have been talking with online for over six months. Personally, these past few months have been filled with a mixture of emotions. Excitement of what is to come mixed with fear of the unknown, but I know that God is greater than all of my worries. The best way to describe these past few months is what I captioned my last post on ig;I’ve been learning that fear is okay (even healthy) as long as it leads to submission and trust in God. His hand is in everything around us; people he places in our life, the beauty of his creation, and the path of life he is leading us down. There is joy in everything if we choose to let go, trust, and look up.
Now to the packing list!
What will you be bringing? How do you possibly pack for nine months of travel? These are just a few of the many questions I’ve been asked when it comes to packing. So I decided to lay it out in writing. Now I must start with saying that this list is based off of the “suggested” list AIM gives us and countless other blogs and tips that other racers have been kind enough to share. So in other words, I don’t really know what I am talking about but this is what I have gathered from others.
Lets start with the basics, I will be traveling with on main pack (a backpacking backpack) that is 65L and one regular backpack. The main pack will be checked onto planes and the regular backpack will be my carry on.
|Main pack| In this pack I will have:
– a 2 person tent
– tent footprint
– pillow
– 3 season sleeping bag
– sleeping bag liner
– packing cubes with my clothes
– 3 pairs of shoes (birkenstocks, chacos, and running shoes)
– headlamp
– an inflatable sleeping pad
– a quick dry, antibacterial towel
– a toiletry bag
– bug spray (100% deet, I’m not messing around here)
– an airporter (basically a big duffel bag that my pack goes in when being checked to airlines in order to keep it clean)
– a rain cover for my pack
– a waterproof electronics bag
– a compression sack (my tent and sleeping bag will go in this)
– collapsible bowl
– camping reusable utensils
– malaria medication
|Regular Pack|
– laptop
– bible
– journal
– pens
– watercolor supplies
– headphones
– external hard drive (for movies and picture storage)
– passport
– wallet
– phone
– waterbottle
– book
– small purse
This is the majority of what i am bringing on my trip. I’m sure I’ve accidentally left out a few things but I hope now you have a better picture of what I will be bringing for nine months. Thank you again to everyone who has support me prayerfully and financially throughout this whole process! I’ll be writing blogs more frequently from now on so if you’d like to stay up to date you can sign up for email notifications! Much love to all of you! – Julie
