Weekly Challenge and Assignment (Week of May 29th)

Hi Carson Ward, Family, and Friends,

Congratulations! Linda Guyan won a Coleman Lantern at our May Monthly FREE Giveaway Drawing last Sunday.

Wow! What an emotional week we have had with the tornadoes in the Midwestern, eastern and southern states. As many of you know our daughter and her family live about 20 minutes from Joplin. They attend church in Joplin. Her husband and younger children went home after their church meetings about 4:30PM. Tammy went to the high school graduation for awhile to support the youth from their Ward. She left the graduation early and was on highway 170, headed home, when she heard on the radio to pull over, get out of the car and get to shelter (a ditch or building). After the tornado passed she headed home. Their 17 year old son was in Joplin with the church missionaries, getting ready to visit some members, at their apartment when the tornado hit about 5:30PM. They got out and headed for shelter. They helped an elderly lady trapped in her collapsed apartment. Eight members were in the Stake Center when the tornado hit, all are safe and well. After the tornado was over the Bishop asked them to check out the damages to the Stake Center. It was destroyed, the only thing left was a wall with pictures of the Savior on it, the tithing envelope crack with tithing envelopes in it, a small wooden table with a statue of the Christos still standing on it, part of the clerk and Bishop's office with important documents still in tack. The important things were protected!

Many many lives have been lost, and many are still missing, homes, churches, schools, businesses, the hospital and parks are destroyed. Everything in the tornado's path is gone!

When Guido and Tammy went the next morning to Joplin to help out, there were fires due to the gas leaks, you could smell the gas and hear the hissing from the gas leaks. There were live wires everywhere and it was pouring down rain. Stores to purchase food and water were gone. There was dangerous debre everywhere. There was no electricity and water. There were injured people everywhere, people walking around confused, in shock, disoriented, grieving and feeling numb. There were people who had died. Structures were either damaged beyond recognition or completely gone. It looked like a nuclear bomb had gone off. The devastation was unbelievable!

Stake President Jones shares story of Joplin Tornado, after the commercial:

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/bestoftv/2011/05/24/peirs.morgan.creed.jones.cnn.html

Story of Joplin Stake Center during and after the tornado, click on the white arrow:

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=15702528&nid=148

Would you be prepared if something similar like this happened to you, your family and your community? I think the majority of us are not prepared! I learned some very important things from speaking with our daughter and listening to the news reports.

1) Always listen to the warnings of our Church leaders and obey them.
2) Strive to be as prepared as you can for any emergency situation, natural disaster. Grab your 72 Hour Emergency Backpacks if you need to take shelter or leave.
3) You will be responsible for yourself and your family until help can get there.
4) You will need to assist your neighbors the best you can once you and your family are safe, and medical injures have been handled the best you can.
5) Check on your Home Teaching and Visiting Teaching families as soon as possible.
6) Do not use your cell phone during a storm when there is lightening, cell phones attract lightening and you could loose your life.
7) Texting usually works when the cell phone does not.
8) It will take Fema, rescue teams and equipment 3-4 days before they can get there to help.
9) It will probably take the community leaders, emergency preparedness teams days too.
10) Check with your community to see how prepared they are for an emergency situation and/or disaster.
11) Focus on the important things, not the material things we have lost, but on eternal relationships.
12) There will not only be life sustaining and physcial needs, but very high emotional needs.
13) Have different evacuation plans in place. Know your surroundings.
14) Keep at least half a tank of gas in your car at all times, no electricity mean no way to pump gas.
15) Have an out of state emergency contact number. So many people could not get in contact with loved ones in the area.

I received an interesting email from Bishop Ted and Carol Hansen regarding the hurricanes in Louisiana. "The Stake President in New Orleans told the members they should leave and go north. Those that went were protected. Those that didn't were not protected. We need to obey when our church leaders tell us to do something."

You may be saying, "but even those who were prepared have lost everything!" The important thing is that they obeyed the church leaders. When we are obeying our Church leaders and following their guidance we will be protected! We may not escape the trails, but we will be protected.

This blog is to help you and your loved ones, neighbors and community be prepared. Please read it, use it and apply it!

Let us all strive to be as prepared as we possibly can, for whatever comes our way!

Weekly Assignment:

Last week we completed, once again, the food part of our 72 Hour Emergency Backpacks. I was going to start the Personal Hygiene part but have decided we need to work on our home emergency medical supplies first. You can probably pick up most of these items at 99 Cent and discount stores. Watch expiration dates on medications! You can find the entire list on the "Weekly Challenge and Assignment, Week of May 8th".

This week add the following. Put all the items in a large plastic sealed container and keep in a place easy to access.

1) Band-aids (many assorted sizes)
2) Antiseptic/alcohol wipes (You can get the alcohol wipes by the diabetic supplies.)
3) Hand sanitizer (2 bottles at least)

Weekly Challenge:

1)Review your emergency preparedness supplies and organize them together (72 Hour Emergency Backpacks for each family member, food storage, water storage, medical supplies, shelter and sleeping bags, ways to cook, lighting, heating, personal hygiene, important papers are in order and together in one place, insurances in order and you understand your coverages, practicing fire and earthquake drills with the family monthly, out of state contact information, and whatever else you feel is important to you and your family.) All these things and much more can be found in this blog/website either in the postings on the right side or within the weekly challenges and assignments.
2) Make a list of the items in number 1 above.
3) Check off the ones you have completed.
4) Set goals to accomplish the ones that need completed and dates when they will be completed.
5) Start a saving account or jar for money to purchase the items you need.
6) Watch for sales on the items you need.

If you take one thing at a time you will not feel overwhelmed, and before you know it, you will have it done!

Remember: Post your name and comment at the end of these posting to have your name entered into our Monthly FREE Giveaway Drawing to beheld the last Sunday in June. If you have any questions please feel free to email me at theark.carsonward@gmail.com or call me at 310-835-0902.