Fire and Water!

Tomorrow morning at 3am, myself with 10 other Mercy Shippers, will be leaving to go and serve down in the Dominican for 17 days.  After 4 weeks of intense classroom training down in Tyler TX i am excited for this change of pace but moreover to go and serve and work with those in the DR.  Please be praying for us all.  This past week was the most physically intense week that we've had thus far.  We did both fire fighter training and basic sea survival training.  I am proud to say that the entire "Gates family" were able to finish both courses and everyone came out in one piece except for a broken toe. Here are some pics from this past week which I think you will all appreciate!

Getting fitted for our Self Contained Breathing Apparatus. (Left: Julle and me, Right: some of the fam)

This is my partner Maaike and myself during our fire fighter drills.  We went into a metal box with a Class A fire that reached temperatures as high as 800 degrees while saving Buck (our 165lb victom).  Maaike and I were quite the team.  

At the end of a long and HOT day (TX heat reached up to about 105), I definitely respect and am grateful for the many fire fighters who do this stuff for a living.  I'll stick with nursing for now!

Left: Elliot and I being really tough.

Right: The whole Gates family with the Lindale Fire Dept.

The following day we did sea survival according to Coast Guard regulations.  It was definitely tiring but so fun!  Drills, immersion suits, flipping life rafts, etc.

 Left: Cici's Pizza... all you can eat Go figure!

Mid: Immersion suits

Right: Life rafts

I know this is just a glimpse of the many things that have been going on but thought that pictures said a lot more than words for this past week.  Anyway I will be gone in the DR until August 6th but email me and/or I'll update once I am back in the states.

~tata for now~