Food Storage, Emergency Preparedness and Weekly Assignment (Week of January 26th)

Hi Carson Ward Family, Family and Friends,

In this posting...

• Emergency Preparedness...What I learned from 2013
• Another reason to have Food Storage...
• The Winters of our lives...
• Weekly Assignment
• Monthly Assignment
• Emergency Preparedness Ideas

Emergency Preparedness...
               What I learned from 2013

2013 was an interesting year filled will different types of natural disaster, unusual weather and unrest around the world. As I observed each one and followed the stories and experiences of the people in those areas hit I learned a very valuable lesson...being temporally prepared is very important, but it can all be washed away or destroyed in just a few seconds. Do not get me wrong in thinking I am saying do not prepare by having food storage, water storage and emergency and medical supplies on hand, that is not what I am saying. Those things are very important and will save our family's lives and show our obedience to our Heavenly Father.

The most important thing I learned, we need is to be spiritually prepared. In all those disasters it was the faith, hope and testimonies of Jesus Christ that each person possessed that got them through the terrible disasters, loss of life and many other things they experienced. Many times I heard stories from people about how they had been warned ahead of time what they needed to do to be protected. It took days, weeks, even months to get the needed food, water, emergency and medical supplies needed, but without their faith and hope in Jesus Christ it was even harder to handle.

A few weeks ago I discussed what each of us needs to do to become better prepared spiritually. Go back to that week, week of January 12th, and re-read my comments. Hopefully, they will help you and your family be better prepared spiritually, as well as temporally.

I often ask myself if I am spiritually prepared enough to get through what I might experience. As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) I have a very strong testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and I think my faith and hope in Him is also strong. But is it strong enough? I sure hope so! We are continually preparing spiritual by praying and reading the scriptures daily.


 
Those who were temporally prepared with food storage, water storage, and emergency and medical supplies, that did not loose them, were able to help their family and those around them. I have also learned it is not about if it will be all washed away, but is is about my faith in my Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ and my obedience to the commandments. "If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear."

Another reason to have food storage...below 0 frigid temperatures in the Midwest USA and East Coast USA and drought in the West USA. How will this effect our food prices and supplies in the USA? The news channels are predicting food prices could rise and there may be less crops this year, which could effect the supplies and prices at our local grocery stores and farmers markets. In California USA farmers are concerned about their tomato crops. The Governor of California USA has called for a State of Emergency concerning our drought and is asking all Californians to conserve water the best they can, if possible by 20%. Now the meteorologist are predicting that the cold weather in the East Coast USA and Midwest USA could last until the end of January and possibly into February, the West USA will probably not see rain all the way through Winter and Spring. Rationing will probably start soon.

Also, due to the long lasting extreme cold weather on the East Coast USA and Midwest USA they are running out of propane to fill propane tanks for residences and businesses, and the propane tanks are freezing, no heat. Another reason to have emergency supplies like a way to heat your home, or at least one room. Cool idea if you have no heat in your home and it is extremely cold--Take all your mattresses and line the walls of the smallest room with the lowest ceiling in your house. The mattresses will insulate the room and keep the heat inside the room and your family warm.

Food storage and emergency supplies are not just for disasters, but for any time their is a shortage of food, water or emergency supplies and high prices. Why not be prepared ahead of time?

The Winters of our lives...


Heavenly Father put a natural instinct in animals to prepare for the winter. They gather items they will need for the long winters. What can we learn from them? That we all need to prepare for the winters of lives...natural disasters, economic collapse, loss of a job, health issues that keep us from working, etc. Many of us think these things will never happen to us, but they do and they only take a second. Why not prepare ahead of time with extra food and water, emergency supplies and medical supplies? Why not prepare for the winters of our lives?



Weekly Assignment: Emergency Family Bag

This week add the following:

1) Duct tape


 




2) Hand can opener (only if you have canned foods that will need opening)




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, insect repellent, small tool kit (regular and Philips screw drivers, wrench, pliers, small hammer), Venture 6 Tool, an extra large water proof tarp, roll of duct tape and hand can opener. See previous blog postings for information regarding these items and where to purchase them.

In the next few weeks we will add the following: 2 mess kits, wet stone (for sharpening blades), basic chow set (fork, spoon, knife), crow bar, small sewing kit, small hand mirror, compass, good set of Walkie Talkies. Note: You may already have the small hand mirror and compass if you ordered the 5 in 1 Whistle when we did this in Carson Ward, on emergencyessentials.com.)

Monthly Assignment: Emergency Cooking Equipment with Required Fuel

This month purchase some source of a way to cook if you could not use your stove, oven or microwave. It could be a Butane 1-2 burner stove with several cans of Butane fuel, a Coleman stove with several containers of propane, a charcoal BBQ with several bags of charcoal (including matches, kindling and charcoal lighting fluid if not the self-lighting type), a gas BBQ with extra cans of propane, a fire pit with wood, or a solar oven. For ideas regarding cooking equipment check out the posting under "Postings", or click on the link,"Cooking, Heating and Lighting".







If you already have one of these sources of cooking then check them to make sure they are working properly, purchase any additional fuel you might need so you can cook for 2-4 weeks, gather everything together and put in a safe place in your back yard storage shed or garage It is a good idea to use these items before a disaster or emergency situation happens. 

Remember:  Propane, by California law and for safety purposes, has to be stored away from your house, not in your storage shed or garage.

If you already have one of these sources of cooking equipment, possibly consider purchasing another type of cooking equipment with the needed fuel. It is a good idea to have more than one source of emergency cooking.

Carson Ward Sign-up for Venture 6 Tool

Carson Ward Family--This month, January 2014, we have a sign-up sheet going around in Gospel Doctrine, Relief Society, Primary and Priesthood for the Venture 6 Tool (shovel that converts into a hammer and hatchet, plus pulls nails and opens bottles). We already added this to the Emergency Family Bag a few weeks ago. If you are interested see the sign-up sheet at church or email me at theark.carsonward@gmail.com. The cost is $20, includes taxes and shipping. If there is a large order the price could be $16-$17. The deadline to sign-up and pay me is Sunday, February 2nd. If I do not have your money by February 2nd I will not order it for you. I will refund you any money not used of the $20.

Emergency Preparedness Ideas:

3rd Dry Pack Canning Method... Using food grade buckets, Mylar bags and oxygen absorbers

This is a great video to explain how to dry pack your grains (wheat, oats, barley, rice, etc.), pastas, dry beans and dry legumes. This would be a fun activity to do as a family for Family Home Evening or with another family or friends. You can purchase the grains and dry beans in large quantities at local LDS Dry Pack Canneries and box stores like Costco and Sam's Club.  The LDS Dry Pack Cannery tends to have better prices. Call them ahead of time to order the amount you will need. You can also purchase some items at store.lds.org under Self-Reliance. You can purchase the food grade buckets with their lids, Mylar bags and oxygen absorbers at emergencyessentials. You can also purchase the food grade buckets at WalMart. Make sure they are food grade. The orange ones at Home Deport are not food grade. Make sure you collect all your supplies before starting. Remember: You cannot dry pack whole wheat pastas, brown rice or brown sugar this way, they have too much moisture.Watch the great video below to show you this method.

This may look difficult but it really is not. My son did this and he said it was not hard to do.




Note: See the last two blog postings to see the other two ways to dry pack for long term storage.

12 Common Food Storage Mistakes:

Click on this link to view the article.

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