In Case of an Emergency at Sea....



Esther makes a Mayday call



We have spent this entire week preparing for emergencies we might encounter while living and working on a ship.  The beginning of the week, we learned how to put out fires and save our ship.  The middle of the week, we learned how to save our fellow crew members with medical emergencies.  The end of the week, we learned how to save ourselves if we couldn't save our ship.

We practiced making Mayday calls- our creative sides came out during this part.  Some used real life disasters (ie: Titanic), some made up their own ship (ie: Good Ship Lollypop), the rest of us got creative with different ways to sink the Africa Mercy (all in good fun).



Getting the gumby suits on



Jen is ready for some cold water survival



Friday, we capped the week with a trip to a local jr college and their pool for some practical training.  We broke into 2 groups- one group practicing with PFDs (life jackets) and acquainting ourselves with the rescue raft.  The other group put on their immersion/survival suits (aka: gumby suits), practiced swimming and staying together, as well as jumping from a height into the pool and getting into the raft. 






Gumby Train




Everyone to the raft



Helping others to get to safety



If you have never had the privilege to don a gumby suit- you are missing out!  The suits were made of very think rubber, thicker than a typical wet suit.  They are made to fit over your deck cloths, so are baggy.  Mine was a little big, so when zipped, covered my eyes.  When you are wearing them, you loose your fine motor skills, most just give you three fingers.  The suits are designed to keep you afloat, even when filled with water, but on land they are awkward and heavy. 



Righting our capsized raft





We ended the pool portion with everyone taking a turn righting the raft by themselves.  A very fun and entertaining thing to watch.  Granted, if we had to do this in the real world, the conditions would be less than ideal, big swells, wind, rain, etc, but for the purpose of this course, it was just fine.

We ended the night celebrating our completion of BST with a trip to an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet.  So yummy!



We passed BST!



We only have a couple days left before we fly out to Sierra Leone.  Its exciting and scary at the same time.  I kinda know what to expect, but its weird to think it'll be over a year before I'm state side again.  Please pray for our safe journey.

Also, I added a feature to my blog that allows you to sign up for email updates.  Just add your email address in the box to the left, follow the instructions and whenever I update this blog, you're get an email. 

Thank you for your support and prayers and Thank you for following me.