Follow the Light . . .
In the last 185th Annual General Conference (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), Elder L. Whitney Clayton (Of the Presidency of the Seventy) shared a wonderful story in his talk, "Choose to Believe" . . .
"Last January, seven-year-old Sailor Gutzler and her family were flying from Florida USA to Illinois USA in a private airplane. Sailor's family was at the controls. Just after nightfall the aircraft developed mechanical problems and crashed in the pitch-dark hills of Kentucky, upside down in very rough terrain. Everyone but Sailor died in the accident. Her wrist was broken in the crash. She suffered cuts and scraps and had lost her shoes. The temperature was 38 degrees Fahrenheit (or 3 degrees Celsius)--it was a cold, rainy Kentucky winter's night---and Sailor was wearing only shorts, a T-shirt, and one sock.She cried out for her mother and father, but no one answered. Summoning every once of courage, she set off barefoot across the countryside in search of help, wading through creeks, crossing ditches, and braving blackberry briars. From the top of one small hill, Sailor spotted a light in the distance, about a mile away. Stumbling through the darkness and brush toward that light, she eventually arrived at the home of a kind man she had never met before who sprang to her care. Sailor was safe. She would soon be taken to a hospital and helped on her way to recovery.
Sailor survived because she saw a light in the distance and fought her way to it---notwithstanding the wild countryside, the depth of the tragedy, she faced, and the injuries she had sustained. It is hard to imagine how Sailor managed to do what she did that night. But what we do know is that she recognized in the light of that distant house a chance for rescue. There was hope. She took courage in the fact that no matter how bad things were, her rescue would be found in the light."
He goes on to say that during her way through the night she probably could not see the light at times due to high hills,valleys, trees and brush, but she pressed on. Whenever she could see the light she knew she was on the right path. She did not know exactly what the light was but she had trust and hope that it would lead her to safety.
What does this story have to do with preparedness?
We need to be spiritually prepared, we need to follow and act on the promptings of the Holy Ghost. We need to follow the light, the light of our Savior Jesus Christ. We need to choose to believe, we need to put belief in to action and we need to never give up. Many of us have gone through or will go through things when we cannot see the light and we may feel like giving up. Those who have suffered in loss of loved ones, illness, economical disaster or natural disasters have probably felt this way at times.
"Then Jesus spake unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." (James 8:12)
If we can stay focus on the light of our Savior Jesus Christ and listen to and follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost we will be lead to safety, we will survive, we will be safe and home again.
Watch Out For Distractions . . .
Are you often distracted from your priorities? I know I am sometimes. Satan really tries hard to distract us from important things. There are so many things today to help us become distracted, television, video games, social media, the Internet, etc. How do we stay focused on our priorities? I find making lists of the things I want to accomplish like daily scripture reading, family daily scripture reading and praying, weekly Family Home Evening, regular temple attendance, a daily/weekly schedule, home maintenance/repairs, adding to our food storage and emergency supplies, etc., helps me to stay focused and accomplish my priorities. Be careful of distractions!
May Monthly Assignments
Food Storage: Grains
What are grains? They consist of wheat (both red and white hard winter), flours, oats, barley, quinoa, popcorn, etc. You can store them in #10 cans and 6 gallon buckets for long term storage (20+ years) and packages for short term storage (1+ years). You need 300 pounds of grains (store a variety) per person in your family for a year. Determine how much you need to store for your family and your your goal of 1-Month, 3-Months, 6-Months or a year. As all foot storage, store your grains in a cool, dry, dark place. You can purchase grains from your local grocery store, from long term food storage companies like the LDS Dry Pack Cannery, emergencyessentials.com, honeyville.com, foodinsurance.com, thrive.com, foodforhealthinternational.com, etc.
Emergency Preparedness:
Emergency Cooking, Lighting and Heating
You should have in your emergency supplies at least . . .
One, or more, way to cook if you cannot use your conventional stove/oven. You should also have enough fuel for the type of cooking equipment you have to last for about 3+ months. Examples: Coleman Stove with propane, Butane Stove with Butane fuel, Gar BBQ with propane, Charcoal BBQ with charcoal, outside Fire Pit with wood and matches, etc.
One, or more, way to have lighting if the power is out. They can be battery operated or solar. It may be a good idea to have booth. You should have a working flashing in each room of the house with batteries and emergency lanterns. Examples: Coleman lantern, Battery or solar lanterns, Flashlights (battery and/or solar), candles (unscented) with matches, etc. A gas (DO NOT use inside the house) or solar generator would be great to have to since you can run electrically appliances and electronics from them.
One,
or more, ways to provide heat for colder weather if you cannot use your
conventional home gas or electric heater. I love the idea in the
picture shown. It really does provide heat. Click here
to see how to build it. Examples: Fireplace and heat candles. You can
line a room with mattress to keep the heat inside the room. You should
also have warm clothes and blankets. DO NOT use a charcoal BBQ inside
the house, it will KILL you. For more information and great ideas on Emergency Cooking, Lighting and Heating check out the posting on the right of this blog under "Postings", "Cooking, Heating and Lighting in an Emergency".
Emergency Preparedness Ideas
We all should learn different types of basic skills like carpentry, electrical, plumbing, how to use power tools and other tools, camping skills, outdoor cooking, how to set up an outdoor fire, how to build a simple shelter, first-aid, safety skills, fire safety, water filtration, sanitation, auto mechanics, and some basic survival skills.
Skills, why are they important regarding emergency preparedness?
After a major disaster we may not have the use of our home, people will be injured, there may be no electricity or plumbing, there may be no way to cook using our traditional stoves, etc.. Basic skills will help us survive. It is also important to teach your children these basic skills too.
How can you learn these basic skills? Ask someone you know who knows how to do them. They will probably love to teach you.Read books, take classes and learn by doing them. Have your children beside you when you are making repairs to your home, car, etc.
Not only can we use them after a disaster but by doing things our self we can save a lot of money. Set a goal to learn new skills that will help you during and after a disaster.
Comments: We love your comments. We all learn from each others experiences and knowledge. Please share your comments below. If you have any questions ask them below or email me at theark.carsonward@gmail.com.
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