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.