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Local police ask The Salvation Army for emergency disaster assistance.
In the Republic of the Marshall Islands, boats occasionally go missing. Recently, the Ine Corps, located in Majuro, responded to an emergency disaster request by the local police to help locate a missing government boat.
“The Ine Corps boat assisted in the search and eventually the missing boat was found,” said Captain Rosebee Rakin, Ine Corps Officer with her husband Captain Benji Rakin. “God received the glory and praise.”
Major Judy Bennett, Leadership Training Center Director for The Salvation Army in the Marshall Islands, said, “We all take the issue of missing boats seriously and praise God that the Ine Salvation Army was able to offer assistance and a good outcome occurred.”
Bennett noted that most transportation between islands and atolls is by boat and if something goes wrong the consequences can be extreme. In a Sept. 9 report, the Marshall Islands Journal reported on a small, 18-foot boat that had been adrift for 17 days. Drifting within sight of the pass into Jabor, Jaluit Atoll, the boat’s pilot was able to restart its engine and motored safely to shore.
Sometimes the end is tragic, though. Bennett recalled an incident from last April, involving the parents of a senior soldier from Laura who lived on an outer island on the Aur Atoll. The couple traveled by boat to catch a plane to Majuro. Between islands, the boat had engine problems. The husband swam to shore for help, but the wife remained in the boat as it drifted. Despite an extensive search, the boat and its occupant were never found.
Thankful for the more recent positive outcome involving the Ine Corps, The Salvation Army in the Marshall Islands stands ready to assist when needed in future emergencies.
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