Emergency Preparedness, Food Storage and Monthly Assignments (Week of February 21st)

Hi Torrance Stake Family, Carson Ward Family, Family and Friends,

I get it!

All we need in our hectic busy lives is one more thing to add to it or worry about. With family responsibilities, home responsibilities, work responsibilities, church responsibilities and all the other things going on you want me to work on emergency preparedness and food and water storage? I have no time!

Just like our family, home, work and church callings we can make emergency preparedness a part of our daily lives without feeling so overwhelmed with the challenge. "You are free to choose, and are permitted to act (or not act), but you are not free to choose the consequences" ("Running Your Marathon", Joseph B. Wirthlin, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, General Conference October 1989).

Russell M. Ballard (Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) stated, "Although the prophecies tell us that these things are to take place, more and more people are expressing great alarm at what appears to be an acceleration of worldwide calamity . . . .
Admittedly we have ample reason to be deeply concerned because we see no immediate answers to the seemingly unsolvable problems confronting the human family. . . .

. . . The Lord is in control. He knows the end from the beginning. He has given us adequate instruction that, if followed, will see us safely through any crisis. . . .  Therefore, today we must be careful not to overreact, nor should we be caught up in extreme preparations; but we must keep the commandments of God and never lose hope!" (Ensign, November 1992, 31-32, "The Joy of Hope Fulfilled")
 
None of us really knows how we will handle a natural or man-made disaster until it is upon us. Yes, we can learn from others experiences and strive to be as prepared as possible, hope and pray we will be inspired and follow the promptings from the Holy Ghost, stay calm and act not react to the situation. We need to be aware of and know how to prepare for the types of disaster where we live or visit.

Our General Authorities (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) have admonished us for generations to be prepared both temporally and spiritually. A few years ago they started admonishing us to work towards a 3-Months emergency supply of canned and packaged foods, water and emergency supplies, but still emphasize we should have a years supply of the basic food storage (wheat, flour, sugar, honey, oats, rice and beans).


 Yesterday one of our daughters called, after organizing their food storage, and told us they were amazed at how much food storage they now have by purchasing extra cans and packages of food each time they went grocery shopping. It does not take long to build up your 1-Month, 2-Month, 3-Month supply. The important thing is to start and gradually add items your family will eat, do not go into debt trying to prepare.



 
Spiritual Preparation 

On Sunday, February 14, 2016, we had a USA West Coast Stake Conference Broadcast from Salt Lake City, Utah USA. We were blessed to hear some amazing wonderful uplifting spiritual talks. Elder James J. Hamula, of the Seventies of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, spoke to us. He made these statements, paraphrased--"We live in perilous times before the coming of Jesus Christ. The whole earth is in commotion. There is world conflict, there is fear and anxiety in families and neighborhoods. Fear not! Be not afraid, only believe. Jesus said, 'let not your heart be troubled'. How do we do this--1) Keep our eyes fixed on the Lord.  2) Trust the Lord and His power of deliverance. He left a comforter, the Holy Ghost, to guide us.  3) Stand with the Lord's church and His leaders. Be strong and fear not! The church is a defense and refuge from the latter storms. The Lord is our refuge. We need to build our lives on the gospel of Jesus Christ. We need to hold onto the rock, the sure foundation. We need to keep our eyes fixed on the Lord. No need to fear of the world events."

Yes, we need to be both spiritually and temporally prepared.  It cannot be done overnight, in a week or a month. It takes making a plan, starting and not procrastinating, time and enduring to the end. We can be better prepared and feel the peace that comes from  being spiritually and temporally prepared!

February Monthly Assignments

Food Storage . . .

               Soups, Stews and Chili

 

This month we will be adding soups, stews and chili to our food storage. To determine how much to store for your family keep track for 2-4 weeks of how much of these products your family eats. Most families eat the same thing within a 2 week period. Then multiply that number by the number of months you have set your food storage goal, 1-Month, 2-Months, 3-Months, 6-Months, a year and work towards your goal. If you make your own soups, stews and chili figure out how many cans it would take to replace your home made soups, stews and chili.  Only store the types of soups, stews and chili your family will eat.Try different varieties to see which ones your family likes.

Remember to store all canned foods in a cool, dry, dark place. Below 70 degrees if possible. The cooler the place the longer your food will last. Most canned soups, stews and chili will keep about 2-3 years. You can keep it longer as long as the can is not dented or bubbled on top, it loses it's nutritional value the older the canned foods become.

Emergency Preparedness . . . 

                       Water, Water, Water 

Water is our the most precious item to store. You can live without food for about 30-40 days but you only live without water for 2-3 days. 

You should store at least 1 gallon per person per day, more if you plan to use it for medical needs, bathing or washing dishes. Preferably store paper products to use during an emergency so you do not have to use our precious drinking water. If you need to bath, only do sponge baths, use as little of your drinking and cooking water as possible. If you store dehydrated/freeze dried foods you will need to store more water. 

You should have a good water filtration system if the water is contaminated.  See under "Postings" on the right, "Water Storage and Water Barrels" for ideas.

We are continually reminded of how vulnerable our water is by the news stories we hear about how a communities drinking water supply has been contaminated. It can happen at any time.  

To learn all about storing water click on the link under "Postings" on the right, "Water Storage and Water Barrels".

Emergency Preparedness Ideas 

4FEMA Text Alerts . . . They may help save your life

FEMA's text message program can be used in two ways: 

• To receive regular safety tips for specific disaster types.

• To search for open shelters and open disaster recovery centers. 

All FEMA test messages are sent from their dedicated recovery centers. 

Standard message and data rates apply for any messages you receive from them.
Their test message program is not a substitute for 9-1-1.
During an emergency, call your local fire/EMS/police or 9-1-1.

Below is a list of all the disaster specific keywords you can sign up to receive bi-monthly safety tips for:

•  Hurricanes: text HURRICANE to 43362 (4FEMA)
•  Home fires: text FIRES to 43362 (4FEMA)
• Wildfires: text WILDFIRES to 43362 (4FEMA)
• Tornadoes: text TORNADOES to 43362 (4FEMA)
• Earthquakes: text  EARTHQUAKE to 43362 (4FEMA)
• Winter storms and extreme cold: text  WINTER to 43362 (4FEMA)
• Power outages: text  BLACKOUT to 43362 (4FEMA)
• Floods: text  FLOOD to 43362 (4FEMA)
• General monthly safety tips: text PREPARE to 43362 (4FEMA)
• To search for open shelters: text SHELTERS and a Zip Code to 43362 (4FEMA)
• To search for open Disaster Recovery Centers: text DRC and a Zip Code to 43362 (4FEMA) Searching for Disaster Recovery Centers will not add you to the list. It is a search for an open Center. 

For more information visit: hhtps://www.fema.gov/text-messages 

Comments and Questions: Please share your comments and questions below. Remember, we all learn from each others experiences and knowledge. You can also send them to me at theark.carsonward@gmail.com. Thank you for sharing.