Annual Christmas Gift Exchange

The lucky number 1!

Surprise, surprise! You throw a CSB Christmas Party, complete with food bank donations, gift exchange and of course a Christmas story from Captain Don and you get one of the biggest turnouts in a while. Who can blame them for not wanting to miss this annual extravaganza?

Best gift of the year: 12 Pack of Jones Soda

Most unexpected gift of the year: the silver sword of Mordor

But now, onto the Christmas story:
In the 1950's sailors from Norway would sometimes wrap up Bibles in waterproof packages and throw them into the ocean, hoping that they would end up on the shores somewhere in Russia, where it was illegal at the time to own a bible. The Russians knew this was happening and had soldiers who would scan the shores looking for these Bibles. Lots of times they found them and destroyed them, but one of the Bibles ended up in the hands of a Christian soldier who managed to tuck it into his coat unseen. The Bible made its way to the pastor of a local church where he gave it to a young 15 year old girl who treasured it deeply. She has kept this special gift that arrived from the Norwegians, through a Russian soldier and hands to her by her pastor to this day. Some gifts just have more significance than others.

The silver sword gift

May we all be as thankful for the gifts that God gives us.

This is the closest Captain Don has come to drinking pop in a long time.

Tower Power - November 30th, 2011

The final Wednesday of November and the second last night of the fall for the Battalion guys was an eventful one, filled with excitement and even a little bloodshed. 

We started the night of like normal with squad time; only this time we were given the task of constructing the tallest free-standing tower from nothing but newspaper and masking tape. Unfortunately the other squad’s towers did not stand up to Lance Corporal Nathan’s squad’s cleverly constructed and skilfully designed structure (thanks to project manager Mitchell). 

Josh, you can't win if you're still holding it.

After we moved on to the games portion of the evening; but this was no ordinary game. It was a new idea that maybe could use some work but was fun none the less. Mats were piled in the center of the gym with a basketball underneath, and the group was split into two sides of the gym and given a number each. A few numbers would be called out and the person who had been previously given that number was to run out and fight for the ball and bring it back to their side. Although it was more like a mad scramble/dog-pile that usually ended in no team’s possession; however Lance Corporal Nathan and Lance Corporal Josh thought otherwise. When their numbers were called (turns out they both had 11) they ran at each other, and not to put the blame on anyone but some would say Josh were to put his shoulder down and go head long into Nathan. Head long is right, because that is were exactly Josh’s shoulder ended up on Nathan, leaving him with a bloody mouth. Fortunately Nathan cleaned himself up and came back later in the game. The activity was a test of sorts, and luckily for some of us it wasn’t for marks. 

The winning tower!

Captain “Professor” Don had us write a battalion style test to survey our knowledge of various events and people in battalion as well as get some feed back of the fall. 

Lieutenant Matt came next to end the night off with a counsel ring about our theme of obedience. Guest-star MVP baseball player Josh Hamilton talked to us digitally and shared his testimony. Even wealthy baseball players with everything going for them have struggles in their life. 

You don't have to like tattoos to like what it says

We closed off with the Battalion watchword and just like that the night was over, but luckily many more nights are to come.

(Guest entry done by Corporal Justin)

Annual CSB Swim Night - Nov. 23

Hmmm, what do we do now?

Tackling each other into the water, being told by the lifeguards not to hang on the ropes (sorry, we forgot) and of course the ladder challenge. All time honored traditions that happen once a year when we have our swim night.

This year we added a couple new things too. Like watching the man who decided to throw the ball we were using to the other end of the pool while we all watched and wondered what was going on. We also found out that Moms with toddlers are like mother bears with their cubs (and rightly so) when we run towards them to retrieve the ball. We really are friendly you know, just a little competitive. Sorry if we scared you!

Looks like a belly flop in the making Lieutenant Matt!

But of course the best part of the night was the ladder challenge. As you can see in the photos below, the challenge is to climb up the rope and then pull yourself across the ladder before the guy on the other side of you can. It's not 'life or death' but it is definitely for bragging rights until next year.

So you are probably wondering who was the fastest across? Well, let's just say that both of the Stein brothers challenged Lieutenant Marv. The outcome? Well, the lifeguard watching and acting as unofficial judge put it best when Marv won both times and even proclaimed to Nathan, "he just kicked your butt!" Old guys still rule, enough said. 

Is he walking on water there? No wonder he was so fast!

The famous ladder challenge, with Lieutenant Marv and the rest waiting for their turn

King Dodgeball & Obedience - November 16th

Ahh, dodgeball. Is it really the king of games? To make sure of that, tonight "King Dodgeball" was the game of choice. And just like in the days of old, the cry was heard throughout the gym "protect the king!" Who is the king, you ask? Well, obviously it is anyone wearing a climbing helmet.

The King of Dodgeball!

During Council Ring, Lieutenant Ron talked about obedience, and shared some stories of how when we disobey, there are always consequences. From failing driver tests to failing ourselves and who we want to be there are always consequences. We all have a choice to make - we can choose to obey God and feel his blessing, or we can choose to do our own thing, and have to deal with the outcome. Either way, we all need to choose.

One of the verses he talked about was Joshua 24:15, where Joshua asked the Israelites to make a choice. Each day we need to ask ourselves, who will I choose to serve?

"But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

Romans 8 was the chapter of choice for squad discussion tonight

Track Meet, Cleanup & Survival

Drumroll please .... The annual district stockade track meet was held at LEFC tonight and the Battalion members were the awesome assistants to make sure things ran smoothly. From basketball catchers to score keepers to clothes pin counters, everyone was in the groove.

In the meantime a crew of guys was outside helping clean up, raking leaves and beating back the blackberry bushes trying to take over the parking lot. Great work, clean up crew!

If that wasn't enough excitement for one night, we all heard the amazing story of Andrew, our guest speaker. As a 19 year old back in 1987 he found out what it means to really 'cross the line'. While snowboarding with his dad and brother, he crossed over into the out-of-bounds area at Mount Baker. He ignored the orange line and the warning signs, looking for some of the best powder. But it didn't take long for him to realize that he was in a tough spot. Trying to get back to the main run, Andrew slipped down a steep slope and fell 40 feet, and then another 20 feet into a crevice. That is like falling from the top of a 6 story building!

The bad part was that no one knew exactly where he was and he was wedged in the crack of snow and ice with his arms stuck above his head, his snowboard wedged below him, and ice cold water  dripping down his back the whole time.

His dad and brother were waiting for him at the bottom of the run, and it didn't take long until they realized that something was wrong. A huge search started all over the ski area with staff coming from everywhere. Just by chance, one of the searchers noticed a chunk of snow that looked like it had been disturbed at the top of the crevice where Andrew had fallen in. It took the rescuer 30-40 minutes of steep climbing to get up to the top of the crevice to call down to see if there was anyone even there. They had found him!

But the story wasn't done yet. The first rescuer climbed down to where he was and a large group of rescuers waited above to help pull Andrew out with ropes and pullies. But even with a rope strapped around his wrist they couldn't budge him, so they had to come up with a new plan. The rescue team ended up digging out the snow into the bank and dug a tunnel to get to where Andrew was. From the time he fell in around 3:15, it took until 9:00 and the rescuers moving over 10 tons of snow by hand to get him out.

Normal human body temperature is supposed to be 98.6 degrees Farenheit (37 Celsius). When they got Andrew on the stretcher to get him down the mountain his skin color was blue, and when they got him to the ambulance his core body temperature was 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26.7 Celsius) and as they rushed him to hospital his heart stopped 5 times. There were so many times in his ordeal when it all could have ended, yet somehow he survived through the efforts of the rescue team, the paramedics, and also the hospital staff who managed to get his body temperature and vital signs back to where they need to be.

He even made it into the front pages of the Province newspaper. The cool thing is that he is now a pastor in Surrey after he started to follow God a few years after this all happened. Obviously his wife and kids and the rest of his family are glad he survived his teenage ordeal to still be around today and we were all glad to hear his amazing story of survival.

Chilliwack Search and Rescue - October 26th

It's an interesting story about how we made a connection with Chilliwack Search and Rescue, but you'll have to ask Captain Don for the full details. The short version is that his family is thankful for all they do. Getting a chance for our whole unit to travel out to see their operation and find out what it takes to keep everything running smoothly was the bonus for us.

So, read on to find out more about how Search and Rescue teams work and also see if you can answer some of the questions. (Hint -> If you read to the end you will find the answers.) 

Question 2. What does HETS stand for?

 Question 1. How much do "Search and Rescue" team members earn each year?

Question 3. Is this the latest body piercing craze?

We visited them on an equipment preparation night, because everything has to be ready to go on a moments notice.

We split into small groups and got guided tours of all the special equipment and also what it takes to be prepared for emergencies.

"Buddy" the Golden Retriever is a 12 year veteran of Search and Rescue.

The answer to question #1 is that all the members of the Search and Rescue team are volunteers. All the training they do, all the nights and weekends they spend making sure the equipment and gear is ready to go, and any time they get called out to search for people who are lost or need to be rescued is all on their own time! They truly become like a family and have to trust each other and work together constantly.

The answer to question #2 is that HETS stands for "Helicopter External Transport System". Team members are strapped in and connected to a helicopter on the outside and then lifted up while the helicopter takes off. They use this to get rescue team members into situations where there are no other options. Hanging from the bottom of a helicopter and being flown through the trees and mountains, now that requires trust and teamwork. Who needs amusement park when you volunteer with Search and Rescue?


The answer to question #3 is that pin coming out of her toe is not body piercing. It is to help set a broken toe. One of the search and rescue team members had her foot up when we first walked in and as much as she wanted to tell us it was the result of some daring rescue, she said it was from something far less interesting. Oh well, it still makes a great photo.

BC Lions - First Place on the Line

Saturday, October 29th was the annual event for CSB units from around the Lower Mainland and other parts of BC to gather together for a tailgate party just before we got to watch the BC Lions play the Edmonton Eskimos.

So, here's our very own play-by-play summary:

2:45 - met at LEFC with about sixty Stockaders, Batallion guys, leaders and dads to carpool into Vancouver.

4:40 - arrive at the tailgate party with all the other CSB groups - hot-dogs and pop for all. Somehow we missed the epic football game (it started at 4) against some of the other units - guess we'll have to save those special plays for next year.

6:00 - left the tailgate party, headed to the newly renovated BC Place, awesome new look. The screen was incredible! Can you imagine playing XBox on that?

7:00 - the game is getting close to starting and the whole stadium is practicing their cheers.

7:10 - kickoff! The Lions offense start off strong in the first quarter, slicing through the Eskimo's defense for two quick touchdowns.

8:30ish - some of the guys sitting behind us got a little excited and knocked their beer onto two of us. They felt really bad and offered us a beer - uh, no thanks. We're a little bit young for that. I hope Mom & Dad don't think we've been drinking, coming home smelling like beer.

Half-time - so far, so good. The Lions are up 16-7 against the Eskies.

10:00 - the game ends and the Lions won 29 - 20, putting them in a tie for first place in the West. Awesome game!

10:10 - Everybody was 'pumped' in the arena as we headed back to our vehicles.  We had to keep some of the younger guys from getting lost in the crowd, since it doesn't look good on the resume to leave them behind.
 
11:25 - back home in Langley, safe and sound. Another great CSB 2236 event.

(Guest Blog written by Lance Corporal Josh)

The Guardian

Who knew we should have brought popcorn to CSB tonight, and face some tense life questions, like:

• What would you be willing to do to save the life of another person? 
• What motivates you?
• Why is teamwork important?

These were just some of the questions we came away with after watching parts of the movie "The Guardian". The movie is pretty tense at times since the main character, Ben, is a veteran rescue swimmer with the U.S. Coast Guard.

It is 'just a movie', but it does a good job of showing the extremes that people are willing to take at times to try to rescue and help those who need it. After Ben's survives an accident where he is the only survivor on his rescue team, he becomes a trainer for new recruits who are trying to become the best of the best in the Coast Guard, the rescue swimmers.

So what does it take to become a member of this elite group? We see the training and preparation they go through to deal with the extreme conditions they will face. But we also see that working as a team and being able to trust each other is critical in order to succeed and survive. Probably a good life lesson for a lot of what we all face at times.

"You can't always be the one in the water... I need you to train the next generation"

This wasn't the main focus, but it was an interesting line in the movie, when Ben was asked to step back from doing the life-saving work himself, and pass on some of his experience and knowledge to others. Really, this is what our CSB unit has always been about, helping train the next generation of leaders to make a difference wherever God calls them.  It is the same idea as 2 Timothy 2:2

"And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others."

Hut!

"Petey, how many feet are in a mile? How many feet are in a mile? 5,280 feet! You pick this ball up and run every one of 'em!" - Coach Boone, Remember the Titans

Tonight was a big night. It was strategy night. After formation concluded, the squads split off into an intensive period of planning in which each group devised what they believed to be the perfect play. Our purpose? To defeat the mighty, the indomitable, and the ferocious interior battalion unit on October 29th at the annual tailgate touch football game. After much deliberation, the senior leadership team knew there was a standout play. In the end, the play code named Shoelace took the prize. What it is, well, you'll just have to wait and see. But let me tell you this. It's good. Very good. The interior will quake at the sound of it. Or maybe not. But they should.

Anyway. After our strategy and demonstration segment we moved onto a wild and vicious game of knuckleball. Let me give you one word to describe it. Chaos. Or maybe... pain. Paos? Chain? Whatever it may be, it was enjoyable. Squad vs. Squad and Man vs. Man, it was every person for himself. In the end, after our final championship round, Austin Schwartz arose the victor. Congrats.

After knuckleball, things took a turn for the gruesome. Vince Ford came to talk to us about how to prevent and/or survive wild animal attacks and other traumatic injuries while out in the woods. He covered everything from severed limbs to gaping chest wounds, filled us in on all the different pressure points for cutting off the flow of blood to different areas, and how to properly apply pressure and bandage various sizes and types of injuries.

After Vince's talk we had council ring, where we talked about King Saul and how he disobeyed God's commands because his heart was wrong, and how we can learn from this today and live with hearts dedicated to honouring and serving the Lord Jesus Christ and following His design for our lives, not our own. In closing, here's a verse to meditate on this week.

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." - Philippians 4:8

October 12 - Gone to the Dogs

Tonight was a "usual" Batallion night at LEFC, if you can call anything we do usual. For squad time Captain Don asked us all to read Acts 3, where we read about Peter and John healing a man who had been a cripple and those famous words "... I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!" (Acts 3:6 ESV). Not only was the crippled man healed but all the people who knew about him were astonished.

The scary part is that these are some of our leaders!

At game time we played Ultimate frisbee and a few of the guys decided to look as intimidating as possible. By the way, it was shirts vs skins and it came down to the final minute with the shirts winning. Captain Don had a Mr. Big bar he wanted to give away, so a quick "gauntlet challenge" was organized. Just check out the photo to see how fast guys can move when they have a whole lot of nerf balls being thrown at them and there is chocolate on the line.

Those guys are a blur! Is that the Flash at the front of the line?

The Mr. Big winner tonight, but who is that trying to grab the prize!

After that, there was a continuation of our first aid theme tonight, and we heard about what to do to help people who had broken bones, especially when you are out in the field and need to get someone to medical help. Captain Don had us thinking about some interesting angles and images of broken bones (we didn't know he could make his arm twist in that direction). Hopefully none of us will ever have to deal with broken bones, but if we do, we will be better prepared.

Lieutenant Marv got us up to speed about our dog facts (did you know that the smartest breeds of dogs include border collies, poodles and golden retrievers, and the dumbest are afghan hounds?) We also found out about his ADHD border collie Switch and some of his weird habits. Marv helped us to think about what it means to really love someone, and also what it really means to love God - you will act on your love and do what he commands, not just talk about it. Obedience to God shows our love to him.

Paintball or Pain-ball? - October 5th

On Wednesday the 5th of October, Battalion unit 2236 set forth to do battle against each other on the fields of Panther Paintball. We split off into teams "Halo" style: red vs. blue, to fight to the bitter, but colourful end. 


On the field known only as “The City” the first battle begins; each team starting at opposite ends of the field waited eagerly for their chance of glory. The referee yells “3! 2! 1! GO!” and it begins; a flurry of paint flies from every direction, red and blue players run for their respectable cover. A few brave enough move forward and try to push into the enemies base all while dodging the onslaught of enemy fire. It comes down to mano-a-mano, 1 red vs. 1 blue, and blue takes the victory in the end. 

A second battle takes place in “The City” but the teams take different starting positions. After that the men move on to “The Trenches” to do 2 battles. Just like the battles of the World Wars, the teams crawl threw the dirt and mud, evading paintballs whizzing by their heads. After a tireless struggle red manages to beat the blue team with a spectacular display of skill. 

For the final battle, the men of Battalion Unit 2236 gather their remaining ammunition and take it to “The Fortress”; where the red team would enter the fortress and defend it with all the paint they’ve got, fighting off countless waves of blue soldiers with seemingly endless ammo. 

This was how the finger still looked five days later!

In the aftermath, unlike most wars, everyone comes out friends sharing their own stories and perspectives of the different battles, showing their battle wounds, and bragging about their amazing skill. Only one injury was to come of it, as one unfortunate soldier in the first battle was shot in his trigger finger, leaving it a bloody mess; but with a good medic he was bandaged up to live and fight another day. 

(Guest blog written by Corporal Justin)

Mat Ball, and When Bears Attack - September 28th

Mat-ball is just one of those games that you have to play to truly appreciate. It is a cross between rugby and handball, and has been played at CSB 2236 for as long as any of us can remember. Epic battles and team pride is always on the line. The good news is that we managed to get through it without any loss of blood, but Austin and Isaac did take some hard knocks. Did that shoulder finally heal Isaac?

We had some special guest speakers for the night - Dr. Dan, and first-aid attendant Paul. Both had some interesting and helpful things to tell us about what to do when someone requires emergency first-aid. They covered everything from cuts and punctures, dealing with shock, and how to improvise with what you have to help people.

But the highlight of the night had to be hearing Paul's hunting story and how he had to use his first-aid skills to save the life of his brother a few years back. You would have to hear it first hand to do it justice so ask Paul about it the next time you see him. The short version: he was hunting with his son, his dad and his brother in Northern BC, and their group accidentally got in the middle of a couple of upset grizzly bears. Paul ended up having to shoot the bear that attacked his brother, and then they all had to figure out how to get him out of the bush and to a hospital before he bled to death. Lets just say there was a tense ride on the logging roads, a helicopter ride from a nearby bush camp, and a family story for the ages. The bottom line is don't forget to pray, and keep your head in an emergency.

St. Marks Summit Hike - September 24

If you have ever had the chance to take a ferry from Horseshoe Bay in North Vancouver, or take a car ride up to Whistler on the Sea-to-Sky Highway, you know what a beautiful view you have of the ocean in the Howe Sound. But you haven't really seen it until you view it from hundreds of feet up, like we did on the St. Marks summit hike.

Horseshoe Bay is on the left, Gibsons is straight across the water, and Squamish is up to the right.

 It truly was a "WOW" moment when we broke through the trail on the summit to this incredible view. It is still amazing that we can live in such an awesome place and still find new views of the rugged beauty around us.

Guys, maybe you should take a step back there...

Yes, Marv really did carry a watermelon all that way.

 

OK, everyone just take a few steps back...NOT!

For some more photos, click on this link. 

Start of Another Year - September 21

Another year of CSB started for the men and boys of CSB Batallion 2236 with another great group of guys. There are some seasoned veterans, and also a number of new people to start of the 2011/12 year.

Captain Don has everyone's attention for the first council ring of the year.

Check back with this site regularly if you are connected to our unit to find out some of the highlights of what happens each week. Thanks for your patience as we work out the kinks in using this site to keep you connected with photos and guest bloggers.