Obedience, a Part of Emergency Preparedness...
What do you do when everything is blown away? What is the point of having it (food storage) anyway? I would like to address some more things about this question again this week.
Many times people say to me, "Why have food storage and emergency supplies when they can be lost or destroyed? Why? Because you are being obedient to our prophet and church leaders. In Doctrine and Covenants 21:1,4-7 the Lord promises great blessings to those who follow the prophet. In the LDS Primary song chorus "Follow the Prophet" we read,
"Follow the prophet, follow the prophet,
Follow the prophet; don't go astray.
Follow the prophet, follow the prophet,
Follow the prophet; he knows the way."
At our recent The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints183rd Semiannual General Conference Elder Robert D. Hales, Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, shared a quote from President Harold B. Lee, "The only safety we have as members of this church (and I believe all people) is to...give heed to the words and commandments that the Lord shall give through His prophets." Elder Hales went on to say, "I testify that those who put their trust in the Lord and heed this council in faith will gain great strength to bless themselves and their families for generations to come."
A sister in my Ward shared this experience about how being obedient will bless you in times of trails... "A friend of mine has a brother living in Sugar City, Idaho. When the Teton dam broke his garage (an unattached garage, separate from his house) was washed downstream along with his year supply of food. When he was asked how he felt about loosing his food storage, he said that he believed the Lord had spared his house and his family because he had been obedient. So, his efforts were not wasted after all."
So the bottom line, strive to be as obedient as you can by keep God's commandments, and teach your family and others. If you are obedient the Lord will watch over you and bless you. Not always in the way you think he should, but in the way He knows is best for you and your family.
Weekly Assignment: Family Emergency Bag:
A few weeks ago we started working on our Family
Emergency Bag. This bag, either a sports bag or backpack, is kept in your
car(s). If you need to evacuate it needs to be taken along with your family's
72 Hour Individual Emergency Preparedness Backpacks we worked on this year. If you have not completed one for each family member go back to the December 30, 2012 posting and follow through until you have complete a backpack for each family member in your household. You only need one Family Emergency Bag, possibly one for each family car in case you are not together when an emergency situation arises.
This week add the following:
1) Sun block
2) Insect repellent
Note: You can purchase these items at discount stores like the 99 Cent Store, the Dollar General, Dollar Tree. If a small family you will probably only need 1-2 tubes/cans of each. If a larger family you may need more. Remember: these items may have expiration dates and need to be replaced from time to time.
So far you should have the following in your Family Emergency Bag: Portable regular or solar radio with extra batteries, street maps of local areas/cities, emergency flares and candles, water proof matches, 2 heat cells, flat fuel folding stove, a first-aid kit with a first-aid book, sun block and insect repellent. See previous blog postings for information regarding these items and where to purchase them.
Emergency Preparedness Ideas...Christmas and other celebration/holiday gift ideas
1) Family Emergency Bag (We are currently working on this. Here is the list--sports bag or backpack to keep items in, first-aid kit and first-aid book, portable radio (with batteries or solar), hand can opener, extra large waterproof tarp, 50 feet of nylon rope or paracord or paracord bracelet, roll of duct tape, heat cell fuel (emergencyessentials.com), flat fuel folding stove (emergencyessentials.com), water proof matches, 2 Mess kits (emergencyessentials.com or any camping department store section), street maps of local areas (make copies from Thomas Guide or other resources), utility knife (12 function Army/Survival with scissors), hatchet (with crowbar, hammer and hatches--emergencyessentials.com), fold up shovel (emergencyessentials.com), small tool set (flat head and Philips screw drivers, pliers, wrench), wet stone, basic chow set (spoon, fork, knife, one for each family member, or keep in 72 Hour Individual Emergency Preparedness Backpacks), emergency flares and candles, small sewing kit, small hand mirror (for signalling), compass, sun block, inspect repellent, good set of Walkie Talkies with extra batteries. Note: Click on the link to see the items on the emergencyessentials.com website.
2) Chain Saw--to cut down tress on cars, houses, etc.
3) Butane Stove with extra Butane fuel
4) Lantern--Coleman Lantern, LED lantern with extra batteries, solar lantern5) Solar Oven for cooking (emergencyessentials.com, $200)
6) 72 Hour Individual Emergency Kits (Food, Hygiene and Stressor Kits, see all the posts starting on December 30, 2012 and follow until completed.)
7. Disaster Cleanup Kit--See posting week of October 20th or UMCOR
8. Seychelle Filtration System--water bottles (store.lds.org for $16-$22 or Seychelle website), water pump for water barrels, pitcher.
9) Solar phone charger
10) Wheat grinder (hand one in case no electricity, emergencyessentials.com)
11) #10 Cans of dehydrated or freeze-dried foods (emergencyessentials.com, Thrive.com, LDS ProvidentLiving.org, Self-Reliance.com)
10 Survival Tips and Tricks While in the Outdoors (click on the link, great ideas.
Comments: All your comments, ideas, suggestions and experiences are welcome! We all learn from each other. Thank you for your comments.
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