Emergency Preparedness, Food Storage and Monthly Assignments (October 2017)

So much to say this month, so much happening . . .

Where can I find peace and inspiration? 

                                   By watching or listening to . . .
 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

187th Semiannual General Conference

Saturday, September 30th , 9:00am and 1:00 pm  (PST)
General Priesthood Session 5:00pm (PST)

Sunday, October 1st, 9:00am and 1:00pm (PST)

(You can watch conference at your local Stake Center, on the BYU channel on your location cable or satellite channel or go to lds.org and click on listen to conference.)

The First Presidency, members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles,

and other General Authorities and General Offices of the Church will 

deliver messages of inspiration and guidance.

Do not miss out on being spiritually prepared, comforted, uplifted and inspired!

So grateful  . . . 

When disasters strike, no matter where they are, human kindness emerges! We forget our differences, our dislikes, our prejudices, the Light of Christ shines through each of us. Thank you to all those who have helped with the hurricane and earthquake disaster victims and other disaster situations around the world. Thank you for coming together and being one. Thank you for your human kindness and forgetting about your differences, dislikes and prejudices. May we each strive for this human kindness each day, May we each remember we are all children of a loving Heavenly Father. 

President Thomas S. Monson (President and Prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) teaches us, ". . . Let us examine our lives and determine to follow the Savior's example by being kind, loving, and charitable. And as we do so, we will be in a better position to call down the powers of heaven for ourselves, for our families, and for our fellow travelers in this sometimes difficult journey back to our heavenly home." 

Are you ready for the aftermath? 

So many times we talk about being prepared, but why are we doing this? We are preparing for what comes after the disaster. Yes, we need to prepare before so we have the supplies we will need during the disasters, like plywood to board up windows during a hurricane and flashlights when we loose our electricity, etc.. But what about afterwords, what will we need?

I have been listening to many news reports after the hurricanes hit Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Porto Rico and the other Islands and the earthquakes hit Mexico. What do they all have in common?  There is no food, no drinking water, no electricity, no natural gas, no sanitation, no cell phone reception, stores are closed or destroyed, no gas stations open, etc. We need to prepare for the aftermath. First responders and rescuers may take hours, days, weeks to get to us. Why not have food, drinking water, flashlights with extra batteries, emergency sanitation and ways to cook ready before the disaster the strikes? What about medical supplies for those injured? Trying to get these supplies after the disaster is almost impossible if not impossible due to lack of supplies and being able to get to them.

We are told in the scriptures, "If ye are prepared, ye have no need to fear". In Doctrine and Covenants, Section 136: 5, as the Saints were departing Nauvoo, Illinois to the West they were told to prepare, "Let each company provide themselves with all the teams, wagons, provisions, clothing, and other necessities (food, etc.) for the journey, that they can". In verse 27 they were admonished to "be a wise steward". We are admonished by our church leaders and local authorities to prepare in our day with our 72 Hour Individual Emergency Preparedness Backpacks, food, drinking water, and emergency and medical supplies for what ever may come our way and to be wise stewards.

Do not become complacent once the disasters have passed, now is the time to prepare for what may happen in the future. Why not start now?

Lessons from a Sacrament talk  . . .

A few weeks ago in our Sacrament Meeting our Stake Young Men's Presidency First Counselor shared some interesting thoughts about what he had learned from serving a full time mission. I would like to apply to emergency preparedness.

1) Obedience: If we are obedient to the scriptures, teachings and admonishes of our church leaders and local authorities regarding being prepared we will be blessed. (See Doctrine and Covenants 82:10)

2) Prayer: Though prayer we can receive inspiration as how to prepare and what we need for ourselves and our families. Through inspiration from the Holy Ghost we will be protected and guided.

3) Organization: When our lives and households are organized we have no need to fear. (Doctrine and Covenants 90:18)

4) Seek the Spirit: The Holy Ghost will protect us and guide us when danger is close. He will inspire us what we need to do to provide for our ourselves and our family. (Galatians 5:22-23,25)

5) Share: Share the importance of being prepared with your extended family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc. Share this blog website with them. (Doctrine and Covenants 88:81)

  October Monthly Assignments

Emergency Preparedness . . .

          72 Hour Individual Emergency 

                 Preparedness Backpack . . . 

                                    The Stressor Kit  

Updates . . .  

  

Backpacks: Several people have asked me where I got my backpack from. I found that the ones from emergencyessentials.com are really good. They have 3 different size, small, medium and large. I purchased the medium size one. It is great and has enough room for your 3 kits (food kit, hygiene kit and stressor kit), extra clothing and other needed items I will list after we complete the 3 kits. There backpacks are now black. Click here to see them. 

What is a Stressor Kit?

 

The Stressor Kit contains items that will help you and your household family member better handle the stressful situation of a disaster or emergency situation. For the next few weeks will be adding 4 items, one each week for 4 weeks. You can purchase most of these items at the 99 Cent Store, The Dollar Tree, The Dollar General, Big Lots or other discount stores. A few items may need to be purchased at a regular store like Target or WalMart. Some you may have around your house. There are only 10 items in this kit. The complete list is below for those who want to complete this kit faster. 

Remember: You will need one Stressor Kit per household member. Place each item as we add them into a large zip lock plastic bag, write each family members name on their Stressor Kit and put it into  their 72 Hour Individual Emergency Preparedness Backpack.
  

Let's get started . . . 

         This month add the following . . .

 
1st Week: Book of Mormon or Bible. Add a softcover Book of Mormon (or Bible) to your Stressor Kit. You can purchase these from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints local Temple Distribution Center or go to store.lds.org. Book of Mormon, softcover regular size is $3.00, pocket size is $4.00. Bible, softcover regular size is $8.85. Shipping no matter how much you order, $3.00.

 
 


2nd Week: $3-$5 in change and $1 bills in a zip lock bag. You want change because if you need to buy something they will say they do not have change for a $1-$5 bill.

3rd Week: Small bottle of consecrated oil. If you are a Melchizedek Priesthood holder who can give Priesthood Blessings you should have this in your Stressor Kit, or if you are an adult member of your household you should also have this so someone without the consecrated oil holding the Melchizedek Priesthood can give you or your family member a Priesthood Blessing. 




4th Week: Set of clothing. Should include long pants, long selves shirt, under wear/garments, a couple of pairs of socks, hat, sweater or light jacket, sturdy shoes. Some people only keep an extra set of underwear/garments and a couple of pairs of socks in their Backpacks. We tie our shoes and sweater/jacket to the outside of the Backpack. The hat can also be fastened to the outside of the  Backpack. Check these items 1-2 times a year, especially for children, our sizes change. For winter time you might want to include some warm gloves. Don't forget the diapers for the young ones.


Note: Next month we will be done with our 72 Hour Individual Emergency Backpacks. Only a few more items to add. 

Emergency Preparedness Ideas  

Auto Emergency Car Kit . . .

Every car in your household should have an Auto Emergency Car Kit. (Click on the link to see the list of items.) Emergencyessentials.com also has some great ones. I like creating my own. If you will be traveling during the Winter where there is snow, keep a bag of cat liter in your trunk. If you become stuck, pour some just behind the tire, it will give you traction to get out. In place of the regular flares we have battery operated emergency flares. Click here how to order, they are about $7.50 each. When not in use keep the batteries in a separate zip lock bag.  Keep yourself and your family safe at all times.