Weekly Assignment, Food Storage and Emergency Preparedness Ideas (Week of June 23rd)

Hi Carson Ward Family, Family and Friends,

The great blessings of food storage and emergency preparedness....

After the Joplin, Missouri, US tornado hit Joplin over a year ago, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Bishops in the area went into action. They called a meeting of their Ward Councils, which were held by light from a lantern due to no electricity, that same night after the tornado hit that afternoon, and put into action their Ward and Stake Emergency Plans and the church Welfare Program. As many of the Ward leaders that could attend who did not have damage or loss to their homes were there, even some of those with loss were there. Being the Young Women's President at the time, our daughter was in attendance. They assigned teams to go out and assess the needs of the Ward members and surrounding neighbors. Since cell phones were not working well they text as many Ward members as possible to see how they were and their needs. They reported back their

findings. They also assessed the Ward members who were not effected by the damages or loss and assessed how much they could help with food, water, clothing, bedding, shelter and other emergency needs. Overwhelmingly the members helped other members and neighbors. How could they do this?

Many of them had food storage and emergency supplies because they had followed the council and warnings of our General Authorities and local church leaders. They were able to help their Ward member families and neighbors. Supplies came pouring in. Great blessings and spiritual experiences came from their preparedness!

Other blessings of being prepared are ...

Having peace of mind and spirit knowing you are prepared

Knowing you will be able to take care of your family and loved ones

Knowing your family is not only temporally prepared, but also spiritually prepared
Knowing you will be able to help your neighbors and friends
Knowing you followed the council and warnings of our church General Authorities and local church leaders

Many may say their food storage and emergency supplies are for their family. If they help others, others will come and soon they will not have what they will need for their own family. I am not saying give it all away, be wise. The Lord will truly bless you if you give to others. You will have sufficient for your needs.

I read a quote given by spokesman Bill O'Reilly, "Helping others...isn't just the right thing to do. It is the patriotic thing to do." It is the Lord's way too. We are disciples of Jesus Christ. As disciples we promise to help others in need.

In Luke 6:46 we read, "Why call ye me Lord, Lord and do not the things I say?"

We need to be people of action, we need to be prepared by having on hand food, water and emergency supplies so we can help our family and others when the time comes.

Weekly Assignment: 72 Hour Emergency Individual Personal Hygiene Kit

This week add the following:

1) Comb or small brush per family member's personal hygiene kit.    

2) If you wear eyeglasses, an extra pair of old glasses in case yours break. Place them in an eyeglass case or wrap them so they do not break.

Place these item in the large plastic zip lock bag for each household family member along with the other items we have already added: tooth brush, a small tube of tooth paste, a bottle of "no rinse" shampoo (one per every two people in the family), a small bar of bath soap with a wash cloth, baby wipes, hand sanitizer, heavy work gloves, roll of toilet paper, feminine hygiene items or diapers, 3 respirator masks, rain poncho and an emergency (reflecting) space blanket.

LDS Dry Pack Canneries Closing:

There have been rumors going around on blogs and emails about the Federal Government closing down The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Dry Pack Canneries. This rumor is not true. I personally called our Los Angeles Dry Pack Cannery and the director said it is not true. They are, however, changing how 89  of the 101 dry pack canneries in the United States will operator. Click on the link below for more details and a statement from our church leaders..

LDS Dry Pack Canneries not closing

Emergency Preparedness Ideas:

Summer/BBQ Season: A great time to stock up on condiments, sauces and charcoal which are usually on sale this time of year. Also, if you do not have a vegetable garden, it is a great time to stock up on fresh vegetables in season and on sale, blanch and freeze them for future use. If you blanch them before freezing in plastic freezer zip lock bags they will keep for up to a year. Make sure you mark the date on the bag.

How long do you blanch vegetables before freezing? You will need to slice or chop them first. Do not blanch whole vegetables. You usually only blanch them about 2-3 minutes in boiling water, then put immediately into a large bowl of ice water, drain well, then freeze. You can "Google" a chart that will tell you how long to blanch for each type of fresh vegetable. Do not blanch bell peppers before freezing them. Slice them, remove the seeds, lay on a cookie sheet, place them in the freeze, freeze until frozen, place in a plastic freezer zip lock bag, write the date on the bag and freeze. Will keep for a year.

Comments: All your comments, ideas, suggestions and experiences are welcome! We all learn from each other. Thank you for your comments.