The ESAR Plunge

ESAR - Explorer's Search and Rescue, that's King County Search and Rescue. One of 9 branches of the search and rescue family in the county, Explorer's is the most active, involved in urban searches on up to bigger scale searches in the mountains and searches at local hiking trails in between. Due to the vast amount of outdoor recreation activities available in the county, I guess it makes sense that there are more people getting lost or hurt out in the great outdoors.

I was at a friend's birthday party this last November and met a gal who had started search and rescue training. It was interesting to talk with my new acquaintance about her search and rescue training. She described the training and it sounded challenging but rewarding - the final test was being dropped off in one place outdoors on the beginning of the weekend, and then having to find your way back to a certain point by a certain time on Sunday. It sounded like something up my outdoors' alley, and since I was involved with outdoors ministry, I got the ESAR website from her for more information.

I remember being impressed by my friends who hosted the party and how they had befriended several friends outside my normal realm of socializing - my church. It seemed they were doing what I was reading about at that time in my pastor's book - 'Radical Reformission'. This is a book about living a Christian life (and being a church) in the culture, not seeking to completely change the culture (and in turn not believing culture is completely evil), but to seek to redeem the things in the culture that are truly sinful. As I was reading the book, I felt convicted that I wasn't doing alot to get out into my community - the community outside my church. Sure, I'm involved in ministry at my church, but primarily these ministries were to folks who were already on track to Jesus. What about those who don't know Jesus - those people outside the church? I was challenged to get out - get outside the church and to live more 'reformissionally'. (So yes, I recommend the book)

So I hopped onto the ESAR website and saw that training only happened during the winter, and that the last round of training began very soon. This meant I had to make a decision very soon on whether or not I wanted to take the ESAR plunge. Navigational training was the majority of the training course - which was something I felt I was lacking in. Sorry to say it, but even though I am an engineer, and had a fair amount of outdoors experience, I still didn't have a practical understand the workings of a compass. This seemed to be yet another of several reasons to begin Search and Rescue training.

And so I did it. I took the ESAR plunge. I went to the intro 'Course A' training course on a Thursday night. I was excited but I think also nervous at the same time, not knowing entirely what to expect.

Next up was Course B...