So I went out to see about a week and a half ago, and I never followed up. So here it is...
Monday: I showed up at 445 am, but we took off at roughly 6 am. We were SOOOOO late! Good thing we had a very high ranking person with us, who actually said "they can wait!" It must be nice to have that much clout that you can stop a ship from taking off!
The first day was a lot of wondering around the ship and getting lost. I found that most of my job is to talk with people, and get them to spill there guts. Haha! Not really, but we talk a lot to people. It was fun. It was a lot to take in though, because I am only there for a few days and I want to have meaningful conversations. When I have free time, they let me do my homework, being that I had a final due on the following day.
What was cool was seeing a pod of dolphins come along the ship, and they played along the side. They sort of got in the way though, so I am sure that our boss was not too big on that! At the end of the night, I got caught by the Captain wandering around, and he mistook me for someone else! That was sort of awkward. My bed was the third one (think bunk beds), so it was about six feet off the ground and I had a two foot space to climb into! That was interesting.
Tuesday: There was more walking around. The sailors had to wash down the deck, so I wandered around and kept them company. I figured I would put myself out there a bit. Being that I am prior enlisted, I find it strange to talk with enlisted guys, because I am never sure where the boundaries are. But it seemed okay. We start our bible studies tonight, so I will probably start to get to know them a bit more. I am at least getting to know some of the guys in the berthings.
I did the evening prayer tonight, which was no problem. I have done prayers before for retirements and dinners, so it was no problem. One of the quartermasters (guys who drive the ship) tried to teach me how to drive today. I laughed, and said, "I think I will let you do it!" The prayer was a fun experience.
Wednesday: Today it felt like I slept and ate a lot. It was weird. We had a rehearsal for the burial at sea, and I made my Bible Study Lesson. I figured out that I somehow bought female shoulder boards, so I have to figure out a way to get them to stay! Shoe laces do not work... so I might have to pin them down! Ugh. Have to be creative.
Bible Study tonight went great! We had more people tonight, and they were really into the lesson! I taught on being Salt and being light. I think it is a good lesson considering the Navy. I explained the different functions of each (Salt: healing, flavoring, fertilizing, and preserving, Light: Guiding, giving hope, warming, etc). I closed telling them to find one person to be salt and light to this week, and I think they are going to do it!
Thursday: We did a burial at sea, that was an interesting situation. I just stood in formation and watched, but it was interesting. I hope I do not get buried at sea! The high light of today was in bible study, one of the cooks was inspired by the message and the burial at sea and decided to make a can that said "Do you need healing, growth, hope..." she listed a bunch of the qualities, and then passed it around for people to put in a post it with their request. They then threw it out to sea. That was a really touching moment for me because you could tell that they were serious!
The other nice moment was being about to talk with a guy who had given up hope on his dreams. I was there to encourage him, and relay a story from my life. His spirits picked up right away. On a funny note, the Operations officer came into the lunch room today and asked me permission to eat with me. I looked at him and said, "you have rank on me, sir." But I was technically the highest ranking person at the table, so it was sort of a weird moment! I also got to talk with this one guy about faith and politics, the entire time in the dark... I never saw his face! So that was a unique situation.
Friday: We are got off the ship at 1000, and I had to go take care of a few things before I go home. It is nice to be on land again, not that this was bad. I got home around noon, and from there I had to type up and turn in my final for Church History. So that was my trip out to sea, I hope you liked it!
