Welcome, Summer
- Jun 26, 2018
- 3 min read
"Cause a little bit of summer is what the whole year is all about"
-John Mayer
Sunshine and warmth do something wonderful to the soul, and after a long, snowy Canadian winter, we are basking in the beautiful golden rays !
Our time in Europe was busy and wonderful, with one week of visiting friends and family, two weeks of intense training with RescueNet, one week of staff prep and debrief time for the course, and a few days of vacation on our way back to Canada. We are so thankful to have had this opportunity, and we recognize the overwhelming faithfulness of God as He provided for all our needs, from finances and babysitters to dairy-free foods (Elise's diet due to Jude's eczema) and plain old energy to get through the day ! All glory and honor to Him !
To give a brief summary of the RescueNet training: We were eight participants and twelve staff (with other staff who came and went), all gathered in "Fogland," the fictional country created for a simulation that lasted the duration of our course.
During the course we covered topics such as search and rescue, emergency medical care, psychological first aid, disaster childcare, safety and security procedures, fire suppression, and disaster awareness. As we learned about the various aspects of disaster relief, we would have periodic training exercises, or "scenarios", where we responded to emergent situations taking place in Fogland. These situations required us to put our new knowledge and skills into practice, and they included rebel army shootings, forest landslides, earthquake aftershocks, hostile checkpoints, and car accidents, among others.
A typical day:
lectures in the morning and afternoon, team time to build unity and trust among the participants, work duties around the base, and training exercises in the evening. As a participant, Elise was not allowed to know all the details of the schedule, but thanks to her incredible husband, our very gracious and understanding course leaders, and the 9 different babysitters who came to look after Jude, she was able to fully participate in every aspect of the course.
David was highly involved as a staff member, and his responsibilities ranged from teaching on disaster childcare and helping set up the various training scenarios, to evaluating the participants and acting as a wounded survivor from Fogland :) He also got to spend an entire night alone with Jude while Elise and the other participants were sleeping elsewhere (Elise slept very well that night).
We both loved being a part of this training course, and we look forward to what the future holds regarding the Therisod family's involvement with RescueNet ! David is currently deployable and is waiting for the next RescueNet deployment (basically waiting for disaster to strike). Elise's next steps are to apply for membership and then complete a second round of training.
Thank you for your prayers for us during this time ! It was intense, with very little down time (and any free time we had was spent being parents ;) ), but it was such a valuable experience for us as a family, and we believe a significant part of our family's future.
Jude grew by leaps and bounds during our European adventure, and he now wiggles his way around the floor, sits up on his own, eats a wide variety of foods, and is one of the happiest little guys you will meet ! We are so blessed to have this treasure in our lives, and is was a joy to have him with us (even if jet-lag was a bit of a struggle) !
Now, back in Quebec, we are readjusting to "normal life" and have hopped right back into our team activities here. We will write more about what these summer months hold for our family in another post, but for now a few prayer requests:
-Pray for wisdom, unity and inspiration as we prepare for our summer outreach to Mexico (end of July) -Our monthly financial support has recently declined, and we would ask for prayer that our faith would remain steadfast and that God's provision would be there in His perfect timing !
-Jude's eczema has gotten SO much better (praise God !), but he is still bothered by it and recently had an infection where the skin opened due to scratching, so please continue to pray for his healing and that we would find the best solution !
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