Happy New Year to each of you. May this coming year be a great one for you, your family and your loved ones. May you find happiness, peace, the strength to overcome and learn from your trials and challenges and become more temporally, physically, mentally and spiritually prepared.
In the coming year, "May God grant unto you that your burdens may be light, through the joy of His son." (Alma 33:23)
The Ark 2017 Emergency Preparedness Goals
Note: This year I will only be posting once a month. I will give you an assignment for each week listing the things we will be adding for the month.
What can we learn from
natural and man made disasters?
Whenever a natural or man made disaster hits an area I watch CNN intently to learn from them so I can pass the information onto each of you to help you become better prepared for whatever might hit you. The past 10 years many people have experience some sort of natural or man made disaster . . .
2005 Hurricane Katrina
2010 Haiti Earthquake
2011 Joplin, Missouri EF5 Tornado
2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami
2012 Hurricane Sandy
2014 Flint, Michigan Water Crisis
And many more throughout the world
What have I learned from these disasters? Yes, you can be prepared temporally with food storage, 72 hour emergency bags and emergency supplies, but these can be washed away, blown away and destroyed in a few seconds. I am not saying you should not have them, of course you should. Most of the time they are not destroyed and we can use them to help others.
Marcy Peterson, second counselor in the Joplin, Missouri Stake Relief Society Presidency, said, after the tornado hit, that preparation is important to her because of the peace it brings. "For me, being prepared means . . . I don't need to worry. I know that if I've done my part by preparing myself spiritually, having food storage, and being willing to share with neighbors and others, I have a sense that I'm going to be okay--that the Lord will bless me whatever happens."
I find when listening to the news programs on natural and man made disasters the best way we can be prepared is SPIRITUALLY!
Spiritual Preparation . . .
Let me share some comments form those in the Joplin Tornado . . .
"Mike and Becky Higginson have faithfully built their home storage over time, and while the tornado destroyed their home, their food storage shed survived the destruction. The Higginson are grateful for this blessings, but they are quick to point out that physical (temporal) preparation alone is not enough to get them through this kind of event. They know that obedience to the gospel builds another kind of storage that natural disasters and other calamities cannot destroy.
Bekcy Higginson said, 'We've had hard experiences before, and the gospel is what sustains you through everything. So although it is a shock and a trauma . . . it didn't change anything. You revert to your gospel roots, your spiritual roots, immediately."'
Bshop Richins of one of the church Wards said, '". . . faith give us the hope that allow us to press on.' Modern technology, emails, text, phones did not work. They had to revert back to having prayers and listening for answers. He went on to say, 'You recognize very quickly---if you didn't already---how reliant you are on Heavenly Fahter for answers, because you need them, and you need them quick. But the answers come. They always come. They always will.'"
(These quotes are from an article by Melissa Merrill (Church News and Events), "Preparation of All Kinds Bless Saints in Joplin, Missouri")
When Joplin Stake President Creed Jones was interviewed by a CNN reporter, he had lost his home, the church building he presided over and even lost his job a jew months later due to the local hospital being destroyed, he told the report he still had his faith and hope in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I remember one woman who had lost everything in a tsunami, her home, her family, her belongs. She was putting together some shelter from pieces lying around. When the reports spoke with her she was at peace because she had the gospel, faith and hope all would be okay.
When windstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, droughts, wildfires, natural and man made disasters and crisis and loss of income or health issues come, it will be your spiritual preparation, your spiritual roots, your faith and hope that will get you through the ups and downs and the tears shed. You can rebuild.What can we do to prepare spiritually?
Attend church regularly, read your scriptures daily individually and as a family, say your prayers daily individually and as a family, listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost and act on them immediately, and for those that are Latter-day Saints, attend the temple regularly.
January Assignment
72 Hour Individual
Emergency Preparedness Backpack . . .
We all have been advised by our federal and local governments and our church to be prepared by having a 72 Hour Individual Emergency Preparedness Backpack for each house hold member. Each backpack contains a food kit, a hygiene kit and a stressor kit along with a change of clothes, sturdy shoes and some other items. We will first start with the food kit.
Note: If you already have your 72 Hour Individual Emergency Preparedness Backpack for each house hold member you might want to review the Food Kit to see if any items need rotated or replaced. The rule is if you keep your backpacks in your car the food needs to be rotated/replaced every 6 months due to heat. If in the house at about 70 degrees rotate/replace the food once a year.
Food Kit . . . will contain food for 3 meals a day for 3 days, plus some snacks. They are high in calorie because this is all you might have to eat if a disaster strikes or you have to evacuate immediately. You may need to adjust the menu due to allergies, medications you take and special diets. It is a good idea to keep one for home, another one at work and one at your child's school. Most schools now require your child to have an emergency backpack. We keep ours in our car just in case we are away from home when a disaster or other emergency issue happens. It will take us a few months to complete each kit.
Each food kit per person contains the follow for each of the 3 days . . .
Breakfast: Instant oatmeal, small box of raisins, instant hot chocolate
Lunch: Peanut butter or cheese crackers, fruit cup, trail mix
Dinner: Instant soup (Chicken Noodle, Onion, etc.), granola bar, fruit juice box
Water: 2 liters to 1 gallon per family member for the 3 days (you will need to be very careful how much you drink, some is used to cook the above food)
Snacks: Hard candy, chewing gum, fruit snacks, beef jerky
The month (January) add the following items each week. Remember, you will need 3 of each item for each house hold member. Each days menu is the same for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
1st week: Purchase a backpack for each family member. Use old ones or check out the thrift stores. emergencyessentials.com has great ones, 3 sizes, to hold all 3 kits, clothes and other items you might need. A sports bag will not work because you may need to carry, will be harder to carry.
2nd week: 3 packages of instant oatmeal per person in your house hold.
3rd week: 3 small boxes (not the tiny ones) of raisins per person in your house hold.
4th week: 3 packages of instant hot chocolate per person in your house hold.
5th week: 3 packages of peanut butter or cheese crackers (comes with 6 crackers in a package) per person in the house.
Place all the items as you add them to a large plastic zip lock bag. Write each family members name on their bag. Place inside their backpacks as you add the food.
To go to the blog posting on the right under "Postings" for more information on the 72 Hour Individual Emergency Preparedness Backpack or click here. Some of you may want to complete the food kits all at once.
Emergency Preparedness Ideas
The Emergency Essentials Blog has some great articles you might want to read. Click on each title to read them.
Build Your Emergency Car Kit
Communication During and After a Disaster
My Diabetes Emergency Plan
5 Steps to Being Medically Prepared
Preparing the Elderly for Emergencies
Prepping in an Urban Setting
Please share! Please share this blog with your family, friends, co-workers, neighbors and others so they too can be better prepared.
Comments and Questions: Please share your comments or questions below. Or go to theark.carsonward@gmail.com. We all learn from each others experiences and knowledge. Thank you for your comments and questions.
