We thoroughly enjoyed our class in Practical skills. It is amazing how a few adjustments in how you live can change your entire schedule and perspective on how to do “life.” During the entire 2 weeks of the course we practiced Simple Living, which basically meant simulating what it might be like to live in a remote location where all the conveniences we enjoy here are not available. It is amazing for what lights out at 9:00 PM does for your sleep schedule. 🙂 We actually enjoyed doing dishes by “hand” and found that our kitchen was actually cleaner than usual. Some of the other guidelines were:
Ordering Supplies By Two-Way Radio
As part of practical skills we had to plan a menu for the two weeks in order to compile a supply list. A few days into the class, groups were paired up to take each other’s supply orders for the entire time of practical skills. Using two-way radios to communicate, our groups exchanged orders then elected 2 brave souls from each group to do the shopping for the other team. The purpose of this was to help prepare us for living in remote locations when this will be the main way we receive our supplies. It also helps us learn how to communicate clearly to the supply buyer who has to try to buy what we are asking for. It is clear to us…but maybe not so clear to him. Our order turned out well, and it was great preparation for what may well be necessary on the mission field.
Scratch Cooking and Meal Planning
As part of the scratch cooking time the husbands had to prepare two of the meals from scratch. I made Granola for breakfasts and Cincinnati Chili and some biscuits. During one of our classes I, Jonathan, made two loaves of bread from scratch and they actually turned out.
Jenny is already very skilled in cooking and even cooking from scratch, but they had asked us to stretch ourselves during this week of scratch cooking. Jenny made pasta, which she used in a YUMMY pumpkin ravioli. She also made Enchilada’s from scratch meaning she made the Tortillas from scratch.
Weekend “Camping” without a Tent
The adventure got into full swing over the weekend while living in a shelter made from a tarp. Living in a tent as a family for a few weeks at a time is still a reality in some areas NTM serves.
We received a healthy does of reality complete with bugs to simulate a jungle-like experience. The area that we along with another family chose to setup our shelters in abounded with ticks and chiggers.
Some other things we covered
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