That is the question! How do you begin to pack your life up for a year in one foreign country and then three years in a completely different one??? My method at the moment is the don't pack at all method. Details are not my forte' and making a list ranks right up there with scraping my fingernails across a chalkboard......it's just not something I like to do.
However, my ducks are starting to come into more of a globular formation (no rows yet) and these are some of the things I have learned in this process.
1. Talk to everyone and their brother about what to pack. They may have some strange ideas, but often they will give you good tips and reassure you that it IS okay to take a year's supply of chai tea mix if that's what will help you survive.
2. Know what to pack today....this is figurative for "this year", and what to pack tomorrow......yep, the "next year." I realized today that I was completely stressing out about what I had to pack for Cameroon in 2010 and that it can wait until I get home next December. Now I can just try to focus on what I'll need for Switzerland and have a whole other year to fret over what to bring to Africa!
3. Research, research, research first and then buy later. Thanks to the Internet you can check on everything from European power cords to the latest DVDs for sale in Australia. I have been on many rabbit trails online. I start out looking for a laptop bag and end at a site for green polka dotted blenders that can charge your camera battery while they crush ice. Well, not exactly, but it does pay to do you homework if you are going to invest some serious money in equipment that you want to last for years. (This is where the "ask everyone you can think of" part comes in handy too. I wouldn't know of half the sites to get things from if it weren't for them.) I found a great site for security travel gear at www.pacsafe.com.
4. Know what things you can't live without. On my trip to Papua New Guinea last year I realized that Q-tips are something I need with me everywhere I go. There's just something comforting about having a little stick with cotton on the end to shove in your ear after a shower. Many people would put their china, bake ware, recipe books, heirloom quilt from great Aunt Delphine, etc. on the list........but mine will go more like chocolate, chai tea, q-tips, breyer horse model, Shrek, Enchanted, and Meet the Robinson's dvd's, and my camera. OF COURSE my Bible is at the top of the list, that's just a given and should not need to be named! :)
5. Keep your focus on the One who planned this journey out for you in the first place. In the chaos of packing, and the looming holidays, I have the attention span of a fly and keep losing one thing after another. However, there is ALWAYS one place I can go to find rest and solace, and that is in the presence of the Lord. I don't do this often enough but I am always met with welcoming arms when I do come. God just amazes me with His love and care over every detail of my life - I dare ya to let Him have control over yours!
"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:17-19
3 comments:
If you have not used it in the last 2 years, dont take it with you. =)
That's my life right now too. Thanks for sharing! Your honesty is refreshing, and it's nice to know I'm not alone in packing struggles and distractions. Keep up the good work.
I love Q-tips too!!
Great Blog! Keep on sharin'.
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