Weekly Challenge and Assignment (Week of February 6th)

Hi Carson Ward Family,

Quote:

"We want you to be ready with your personal storehouses filled with at least a year's supply. You don't argue why it cannot be done; you just plan to organize and get it done." Spencer W. Kimball, August 1976

".... Great trails lie ahead...and we must prepare ourselves temporally and spiritually." Bruce R. McConkie

This past week has been a challenging time for the people in the middle states and east coast with enormous amounts of snow, wind, ice and below zero temperatures. They say this is the worst winter storm since the 1970's. We have family and friends who live in those areas that were hit hard. Our daughter, who lives in Missouri, had snow up to the back door door knob. The roads are undriveable, schools and business have been closed all week with more snow on the way this weekend. They have been shut in their home all week, not able to get out onto the roads. Other family members and friends are facing the same scenario.

Would you be able to take care of your family if something like this happened to you? Are you prepared enough to handle an emergency situation? Would you have enough food to eat, water to drink if no public drinking water was available, a way to heat and light your home if there was no gas or electricity? A way to cook your food? These are questions we need to ask ourselves on a regular basis. How prepared are we?

Ward Family, I am trying my best to get the information to you, to help you so you can be prepared for what ever may come your way. It is not only important we are prepared spiritually, but temporally too! This blog/website is to help you be prepared. It is not my responsibility to fish for you, but I will do all that is possible to teach you how to fish, so you will always be able to take care of yourself and your loved ones. This blog/website is dedicated for this purpose. It is an accumulation of 40 years of experience. Take advantage of it, use it to help you prepare!

I testify to you, "If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear." If Heavenly Father sees you are putting in a honest effort, he will bless you with the things you need, not wants, but needs. I testify to you of this!

Weekly Assignment:

72 Hour Emergency Family Pack/Bag;

Add the following--

1) utility knife (12 function Army/Survival knife with scissors. I found this on emrgencyessentails.com for $4.95. They can cost as much as $50-$100 depending on the name brand, type you get and where you get them.)

2) wet stone--to sharpen your knife and hatchet (I found this at most sporting good stores, survival stores and Harbor Freight for $3.00.)

3) small sewing kit (Do not purchase this, but your own together. Wrap different colors of thread around a piece of cardboard, put in a couple of sewing needles, buttons and safety pins. I put mine in a small plastic container I got at the 99 Cent Store, comes with 4 of them.)

You should have the following in your 72 Hour Emergency Family Pack/Bag:

1) duffel bag to put the items in
2) first-aid kit with a First-aid book
3) portable radio with extra batteries (or a solar radio with extra batteries)
4) hand can opener
5) large waterproof tarp
6) 50 foot nylon rope/cord
7) roll of mashing tape
8) heat cell fuel
9) flat fuel folding stove
10) water proof matches
11) 2 Mess kits
12) street map of local areas
13) utility knife
14) wet stone
15) small sewing kit

Weekly Challenge:

Last Sunday I gave you the chart, "Food Storage Grocery List", to use to inventory your emergency food storage and to determine how much you have and how much you need to purchase if you are using the 7-14 Day Year's Food Storage Menu Plan.

Now that you have your families favorite 7-14 breakfast and dinner dishes on the two different colored 3x5 cards, have listed the ingredients and amounts of each one for each dish on the card (a separate card for each receipe), and have multiplied the ingredient amounts by either 52 weeks or 26 weeks (depending on if you are using the 7 day or 14 day weekly menu), you are ready to complete the "Food Storage Grocery List" chart. You should also have the ingredients "equivalency information" chart I gave you last Sunday.

1) List all the ingredients you will need alphbetically on the chart in the "Item" column.

2) List in the "Meal" column all the dishes (by name) that use this ingredient.

3) List in the "Need" column how much you will need for a year for that ingredient
4) In the "Have" column list where the item is stored in your house. Example: Under our bedroom bed or closet, etc. Then put down how much you have and the expiration date on the items.

5) In the "Buy" column figure out how much you still need to buy

Put these pages in sheet protectors and put them into a notebook. Each time you go to the grocery store take the notebook with you. When you see an items on sale that you still need you can purchase it and make the changes on your chart from "Buy" to "Have". Make sure you keep tract of when items need to be rotated. Take them from your Food Storage and put them into your pantry for current use and buy new ones to place the ones you are rotating.

Once you get into the habit of this it will seem so easy. I love this method. In stead of trying to store everything your family eats in a year, which is almost impossible, you are only storing the 7-14 breakfast and dinner meals. If you want to, on the dish card, on the back, include bread, side dish and a dessert. Make sure you include those on your chart.

You may be asking, what about lunch? When in an emergency situation you will need to do most of your cooking in the day light, especially if you are using an outdoors solar oven, so have your larger meal for lunch and make your evening meal simple, leftovers, sandwiches, soups, etc.

This may seem a little confusing right now. I plan to do a class on this at our Ward Emergency Prepared Fair I am working on to have either in the Spring or Summer. I am happy to sit down with you to help you with this great and easy plan to figure out how much to store for you and your family for a year.

Remember: Post your name at the end of this posting for the "FREE Monthly Giveaway Drawing". The item will be 2 things for your 72 Hour Emergency Family Pack/Bag. Good luck to all who enter!