Onboarding Week 5: Basic Training

In this exercise we had to work as a team to get close enough
to the fire so that someone could turn off the gas.

This week we were stretched physically, getting to participate in some really interesting basic training. This included firefighting and at sea survival. For the firefighting part, we got fully dressed up in bunker gear, included SCBA’s (Self Contained Breathing Apparatus) and got to fight real fires. We used various extinguishers to put out different classes of fire; we put out a gas fire using a fire hose and teamwork; we entered a smoke filled container and had to save ‘Buck’ the 160lb mannequin; and we entered the same container when it was on fire, pretending to put out a 700 degree fire with a fire hose in teams of two (they didn’t want to have to reset the fire every time). It was very hot, but tons of fun! God blessed us with a cool windy day so that we didn’t roast too much. I feel way more prepared in the case of a fire, even if I don’t get put on a fire team.

These were the immersion suits that we
had to wear - look at the hands!

On Friday night, we went to the local pool and practiced things like flipping a 12 person life raft right side up; throwing the sea anchor from the life raft and getting in and out of it wearing life jackets; putting on the immersion suits (which are insane) in under 2 minutes and practicing various techniques such as swimming together on our backs, huddling around an injured person and getting in the life raft with those suits on (which was so difficult). The immersion suits are like giant teletubby suits that keep you warm in the water and help you float but also fill up with water making it very difficult to maneuver or swim. They basically give you paws for hands which can add to the helpless claustrophobic feeling, but I understand why you would want one on. You wouldn’t survive more than a few minutes in cold water without a suit on. Both of these practical tests were great team building exercises and there was lots of encouraging and laughing going on.

In exchange for braiding my hair, I had
to feed Windsor clementines. Teamwork!

The whole week seemed to pass in a blur. On Monday, we went to a large Independence Day celebration and played some Frisbee, enjoyed snow cones and watched a nice fireworks show. The property that it was hosted on is owned by an organization called Fatherheart that houses pregnant single women and helps them through the process, loving them and giving them hope. Wednesday, everyone kindly sang me happy birthday many, many, many times and they surprised me with a cookie cake and a beautiful card. It was great to receive messages from everyone back home too! Thursday we had some people over and had an awesome night playing all kinds of silly games. We played a drawing version of telephone which was hilarious, and a game that combined charades/word association, as well as something called Man Bites Dog, where you make up ridiculous headlines. There was a huge group of us playing, from all different ages, including kids. Times like that are so precious to me.

One new thing: Some new people arrived last Sunday and I love how quickly they became part of the group. It feels like they’ve been with us forever. That’s what happens when you spend all your time together. They have come just for basic training and most of them will be heading to the ship before us. On Wednesday we leave for our field service in South Africa, and I’m not sure what the internet will be like so you may not hear from me for a few weeks!

One thing I felt God was telling me: I think that one way to observe how much you trust God is to see what your initial reaction is to something unexpected. I got thrown a bit of a curveball this week (that may turn out to be nothing) and my initial reaction was to freak out and think through every possible outcome. I went in a hundred different directions at once. Thankfully I soon managed to take a deep breath and go before God in prayer. He quickly reminded me that trusting Him means trusting Him in ALL things, not just when things are easy. I was able to lift the whole situation up to God and am now (mostly) content to sit and wait to see how it plays out, trusting that His ways are good. However, I’ve spent some time reflecting on my initial reaction. I want to come to a place where that initial instinct is to trust God. I know I’ve got a long way to go, and that this journey never ends. I am so thankful that we serve a gracious God who picks us back up every time we fall. 

But I trust in your unfailing love;

    my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me.
- Psalm 13:5-6

Our whole Basic Training team getting ready to do battle!