Holla at the future racers!!
Your time is here to go out to the nations and make disciples!!
I am so excited for what you are about to embark on. The race is a beautiful platform for you to learn more about The Lord, but just as importantly, to learn more about yourself and your true identity in Christ.
Most of you think you are going out to change the world, right? That’s what I thought I was doing! God quickly showed me that my race was about finding my identity in Christ, dying to my flesh, and loving people the way God loves us. I learned to grow in intimacy and conversation with Jesus this year and I would love to share with you all some of the things I would have liked to know before I left for the nations.
Some of this is spiritual encouragement, and the rest is the basic ‘what should I bring and what do you wish you had done differently? (A LOT)’
First of all, prepare your heart before you leave. Be in constant prayer and conversation with The Lord as you prepare to leave the most comfortable environment you have right now. Sit in quiet places and let Him speak to you, give him your fears and lay them at his feet. Remember, fear is not of God. Put your trust in Him alone, he will provide everything you need! Trust.
rally up many prayer warriors for yourself and your squadmates! You cannot get through this year without people supporting you in prayer. Make a prayer email list and send out prayer requests to anyone who will read them and pray for you!
journal before you leave and try to continue as much as you can on your race (I journaled every single day on my race and have 100% never once regretted it. I will forever be able to look back and see what God did throughout the year.)
print out tangible photos of the people in your life that you can look at when you’re missing home. I printed out photos of my friends and family and used the images as a reminder to keep them in my prayers.
bring any lies, fears and doubts you are hearing to the LIGHT. find someone who can speak truth into your life to help you through this. If you need to talk to- a family member, a mentor, a friend, find someone! Shoot, message me if there is no one else you feel you can talk to. The enemy is trying SO hard right now to get you to punk out of doing anything for the Kingdom. He will do everything in his power to make you believe lies about yourself because you are doing Gods work. They are FALSE and the truth is that you are a daughter or son of the most High King and nothing can come against you. Can I get a hallelujah?
speak life not death. Choose to be a positive person on your team because it is life changing and heart changing as well. Your words are powerful, use them for good.
seek out vulnerability. Be VULNERABLY! this is something I cannot express enough. I have such a heart for vulnerability and God uses this so heavily. Be open to being open.
now onto the random things.. :]
Now I know most of you have stalked all of those packing blogs but let me tell you, everyone is different and not everything that has worked for someone will work for you. Make sure to go to the places where you buy your gear and try on things, test out products, and get a feel for whether or not you will be able to use it for the whole year. That all being said, this is how I am packing for my race pt.2 for nine months of squad leading!
Osprey backpack: this is my big pack that I used my first time around and it is 65 liters. I am telling you, you do NOT need anything bigger than a 65l pack. You end up packing things that are non essentials and will hate having to carry that sucker around
airporter for your pack: makes sure everything on your pack stays in contact and is protected as it goes through many airports
a tent: whatever tent floats your boat! I have an REI half dome.
hammock/mosquito net (get a double nester because there is more space and its way better than a single which is what I have!) I have an eno hammock and looove it.
sleeping pad- find one that works for YOU. I have an air rail 1.5 from REI.
sleeping bag- I feel that this depends on your countries and the weather you will face, but get one that suits the climates you will be going to.
sleeping liner- yes yes yes this is gold! it’s a thin liner type blanket thing that you can use if your sleeping bag is too warm.
baby wipes- know that you can get these allover the world so don’t stock up on them and horde them like I did.
clothing… pack what you would wear in your normal life that works with the modesty of the race. I regret bringing things that were ‘missionary clothes’ that made me forget who I was. I’m someone who loves style and fashion and I didn’t realize I could have that on the race as well. You most definitely CAN. Just be smart about packing. Pack catering to the countries you will go to. (stuff sacks, packing cubes and compression sacks are great for packing all your clothes! it also save space) ladies, bring JEAN shorts. they make you feel human on the race and you can wear them on off days or to debriefs.
toiletries… most toiletries you can find around the world with the EXCEPTION of normal deodorant and tampons for the females, so pack these wisely. I brought 3 old spice mens deodorant for the race and I’m so thankful I did because by the time I got to Africa I was out of luck for deodorant because they don’t use it there like we do here. So stock up on those. As for tampons, those if you find around the world, are super expensive! Find a way to pack them for a year or get the kinds without the applicators to save space in your pack. Do not horde all your toiletries and bring so much as if you’re never going to see face wash or shampoo around the world.. because you will! bring travel sized to start and stock up in each country you are in. I have contacts so I brought a big size solution and made that last all year, believe it or not that stuff is heck expensive and hard to find!
electronics: I am bringing my camera, laptop, and a kindle. It’s always risky to bring valuable materials around the world but you bring it knowing the risk of having it lost or stolen. Make sure you are sure about the electronics you are bringing.
bible and journal: these should be at the top of the list!!
do not pack all the medicine as if you were a pharmacy. Your teams will get med packs and you can find most things at pharmacies around where you will be. (i brought the biggest bag of medicine and everyone laughed at me cause it ridiculous. bring the things you KNOW you will need.)
loose leaf paper- sometimes you will need this and you don’t want to have to rip out of your journal
extra phone charger/headphones: these are expensive some places and for me I always use these things so it was nice to have a back-up if one broke. I went through three pairs of headphones! Also, you can label your charges with duct tape so you can tell yours apart from the other 10 iphone chargers.
towel: I personally hate the REI towels and got a smaller normal towel at walmart and loved that so much better. I never regretted having a real towel- it makes you feel a bit more normal on the race.
a REAL PILLOW!! 100% didn’t bring one and wish I had and so I will this time. to curl up on planes/buses with your pillow and in your tent is priceless.
now here are things that I didn’t bring on my race but wish I had cause they make me feel like katie. lipstick (red and nude color), nail polish, and perfume. these are little things that we don’t think of at home in america but they are the things that make me feel, me. bring the things that are going to make you feel you because you’re going away for a year and it is nice to have a few things that make you feel like a normal person.
Overall I think this is a good start to packing up to leave! I’m sure I left out some things but you have the overall gist of it all. Be yourself, bring things that reflect yourself. Be open to sharing all of your stuff with your squad- it’s a fun and exciting thing to have such a loving and sharing family between you guys.
