52 Weeks, Week 52

Our ward preparedness blogs:

www.todaywhilethesunshines.blogspot.com

www.1stpreparedness.blogspot.com

We are finished our 52 weeks to preparedness.  I hope that it has been helpful for at least some of you to help build your storage through this last year of 2009.  During 2010 I will continue on with a weekly bulletin insert and a monthly newsletter.  It won't be quite the same thing, but will still give suggestions on preparation weekly and monthly.  Keep up the great work, preparedness never ends, it is an ongoing process!

Remember my motto for 2010 is D&C 88:118,119 - Prepare Every Needful Thing - Establishing a House of Order!

 

52 Weeks to Family Preparedness for Two

Week 52

President Brigham Young "My faith does not lead me, to think the Lord will provide us with roast pigs, bread already buttered, etc.; He will give us the ability to raise the grain, to obtain the fruits of the earth, to make habitations, to procure a few boards to make a box, and when harvest comes, giving us the grain, it is for us to preserve it-to save the wheat until we have one, two, five, or seven years' provisions on hand, until there is enough of the staff of life saved by the people to bread themselves and those who will come here seeking for safety. Ye Latter-day Saints, learn to sustain yourselves."

Food Storage and Preparedness Challenge Of The Week:

Food Storage Purchase 5 Quarts of cooking oil in small containers

Extra Item Purchase 2 Quarts of Peanut Butter also in small containers

Family Prep: Have you thought about what your children might need in case of an emergency when your not around? If it's beginning to get dark, are the flashlights in an accessible location? Are fresh batteries with them? Did you check the light bulb and store a spare? Do you have snacks ready to grab for them? Do you have bedding in a location that can be used if the house is locked up? Have you discussed with the older children where emergency supplies: phone numbers, money (phone), and shut offs are in case they are home alone with the younger kids are? Do you have meeting place pre-picked to go to? If not, now is the time to get these things done. Don't put it off, knowledge now could save lives and heartache. It also helps eliminate fear, and give you peace of mind knowing that the kids are taken care of.

Spiritual Preparedness: Put your lives in order and all else seems to take it's proper order....D&C 88:118,119

A Houston Member's Experience With Hurricane Ike

....Just to let you know that we are doing well. We have a 6'x6' hole in our roof, no electricity, or running water, Trees down everywhere. However, because we listened to the counsel of our Prophet, we were prepared. In fact, it seems to me that it's only the members of the church who seem to be calm, prepared, and helping one another with trees on roofs, flooding, etc.

There is a Point of Distribution in Tomball, TX where we live (slightly northwest of Houston). There, you get water and ice IF you have enough fuel to wait in the 3-hour lines. We don't have to do that because we have 3 full water barrels, 75 juice bottles filled with water, and our pool, which is dirty but we use it to flush.

I am grateful that we have a generator. We run it 4 hours a day to keep our fridge running and to give us light. I am grateful that we have had fuel for it. You can't even buy gas containers as they are rationed. We can only buy bread once a week and are limited to 2 loaves at a time. Water is rationed by the case at the grocery store; 3 cases per family.

The ATM machines do not have power. For the past 6 months I had stashed small bills away because I have had such a feeling of foreboding. We have cash because of that. LISTEN TO THE SPIRIT! Get cash in small bills because the stores can't make change, and credit and debit cards often don't work. I had to pay 5 dollars more for an item because they couldn't make change for me, and . . . PHONES ONLY WORK OCCASIONALLY.

Believe it or not...I have not had a bath in 4 days. Today was the first day I got to wash my hair with pool water. I haven't fixed my hair in a week!!! It just doesn't matter anymore. We

can not do laundry because we don't have water. So, we wear our clothes until they are literally disgusting. When we do finally get water, we will have to boil it since it is contaminated.

Please get your generators, 5 gas cans full of gas, canned goods, baby items, baby wipes to bathe, and all the water you can store...even if you have to trip on it in your home. Have your lanterns, crank flashlights, tarps, rope, etc., ready to go because you never know when it will be your turn to endure the test.

52 Weeks, Week 51

 www.1stpreparedness.blogspot.com

www.todaywhilethesunshines.blogspot.com

 

52 Weeks to Family Preparedness for Two

Week 51

"Economic and social conditions appear most ominous worldwide today. With revelation and prophecy as our guide, I think it is not extreme for me to say that when all is written about our present generation, it may truly be said that we had hardly enough time to prepare to meet the impending crisis. I venture to say that all our spiritual and  emporal resources will be taxed to the very limit. The Lord has declared: If ye are prepared ye shall not fear." Ezra Taft Benson, "Ministering to Needs through the Lord's Storehouse System"

Food Storage and Preparedness Challenge Of The Week:

Food Storage Purchase     8 Cans of Tomato Sauce

Extra Item Purchase         8 Rolls of Toilet Paper

Family Prep: It is important for every member of the family to know where important utility valves and shut-offs are located in the house. It is also important to know where important papers, emergency supplies and other important resources are stored. A simple floor plan of each floor of your home drawn on graph paper will be of great assistance. Include in the plan primary and alternate routes of evacuation from all locations in the house.

Spiritual Preparedness: Read - Helaman 5:12, Check your foundation and see where there may be cracks, and do what is necessary to repair and strengthen them.

Rice should be part of your family's long term storage. It falls in the grain category.

Store Times: White Long-Grain (20 yrs +) Parboiled (10 yrs) Brown Rice (3 yrs)

If your family are big rice eaters you will probably want to increase the amount you store. If you don't want to store pasta or barley you will double the amount you would store. Rice is cheap right now so store lots and get it soon.

Rice Facts:

- Rice is the staple that nourishes two-thirds of the world's population

- Rice is a complex carbohydrate source that is low in fat and calories

- Rice contributes over 15 essential nutrients to the diet, rich in B-vitamins, potassium, magnesium and iron

- Most white rice has been enriched – do not rinse it before cooking

- At 103-108 calories per ½ cup serving, rice is a low-calorie food

- Over 85% of rice's calories come from energy-providing complex carbohydrates

- Less than one percent of rice's calories come from fat

- Rice is naturally sodium and cholesterol free

- A ½ cup of brown rice counts as one serving of whole grains

- Research reveals that in Asia 132 pounds of rice is consumed per person each year (23 % of daily calories)

- Americans obtain only 1 percent of their daily calories from rice

- Approximately 90% of the rice consumed in the United States is grown in the United States

- Nearly half of the U.S. rice crop is exported to over 100 countries

- When paired with beans, can provide all essential amino-acids for a complete source of protein

• One cup rice yields about 3-4 cups cooked rice

A House of Order - January 2010 Newsletter

Happy New Year!!

Can you believe it is 2010??? As I have pondered what to do for the year 2010 - I have felt the Spirit of the Lord guiding me. This scripture - D&C 88:119 - is one of my favorite scriptures. I use it as my home motto - even though some things I am great at and others…..I have a long way to go. The time for each of us to establish "A House of Order" is long overdue, and is needed so desperately in our lives today. I am making it my goal, to work really hard to make my house A House of Order this year.

D&C 88:119 Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God.

D&C 33:17&18 "Wherefore, be faithful, praying always, having your lamps trimmed and burning, and oil with you, that you maybe ready at the coming of the Bridegroom - For behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, that I come quickly, Even so, Amen."

 

72 Hour and Emergency Evacuation Kits

Once again we will be working on building up our various kits. We are going to focus first on our Emergency Evac Kits - as we will be having a great adventure later this year, in which we will get a chance to test them out. So let's work on getting them up to the task.

For this month, make sure you have:

Emergency blankets for everyone

Water purification tablets and canteens

Several plastic tarps, enough to cover your tents, and / or make shelters if needed

Gather all your medical / immunization records for the family and put them into your evacuation binder.

Stock up by the Week

Throughout the month, purchase the following items to help build your supplies. Buy the largest amount possible within your budget and store it. Date it, and rotate it. If you miss something, keep going.

Medicines, and first aid supplies

Laundry detergent, bleach, and cleaning supplies

Personal supplies like feminine products, and toothpaste

Family Home Evening Ideas

Water Storage

Songs: The Wise and the Foolish Man

Give Said the Little Stream

The Iron Rod

Book of Mormon Story: Lehi and Nephi's visions of the Tree of Life

Read 1 Nephi 8: 5-38 and 1 Nephi 12:16-18

Discussion: What ran along next to the rod of iron and the strait and narrow path? What body of water did the strait and narrow path go past, where many were drowned? What was the water like in the fountain?

Objectives: Lehi and Nephi saw filthy water as a symbol of the filthiness in the world that can drown our spirits and keep us from following the path to eternal life with our families. Just as clean water is essential to the healthy life of our bodies, clean living is essential to the healthy life of our spirits.

We should prepare for emergencies by storing clean water and equipment to purify water. We can also learn how to purify water.

Activity Ideas:

Choose purification methods your family will use. Purify some root beer and see what happens.

Fill or refill your water storage containers

Find the water intake for your house and learn how to turn it off. Find other sources for water within your home.

Store water in your 72 hour kits, for two weeks, and for longer term, if possible.

Treat ideas:

Root beer floats

Smoothies

Things We Can Learn From Noah's Ark

Speed isn't always an advantage. The turtles, were on board with the cheetahs. Just do what you can do, and be consistent and persistent. J

A Thought:

"Reading habits vary widely. There are rapid readers and slow readers, some who read only small snatches at a time and others who persist without stopping until the book is finished. Those who delve into the scriptural library, however, find that to understand requires more than casual reading or perusal - there must be concentrated study. It is certain that one who studies the scriptures every day accomplishes far more than one who devotes considerable time one day and then lets days go by before continuing. Not only should we study each day, but there should be a regular time set aside when we can concentrate without interference…..Perhaps what is more important than the hour of the day is that a regular time be set aside for study. It would be ideal if an hour could be spent each day; but if that much cannot be had, a half hour on a regular basis would result in substantial accomplishment. A quarter of an hour is little time, but it is surprising how much enlightenment and knowledge can be acquired in a subject so meaningful. The important thing is to allow nothing else to ever interfere with our study." President Howard W. Hunter

 

52 Weeks, Week 50

 

52 Weeks to Family Preparedness for Two

Week 50

"For the righteous the gospel provides a warning before a calamity, a program for the crises, a refuge for each disaster," said Elder Ezra Taft Benson . "The Lord has warned us of famines, but the righteous will have listened to prophets and stored at least a year's supply of survival food." ("Prepare Ye," Ensign, Jan. 1974, 69)

Food Storage and Preparedness Challenge Of The Week:

Food Storage Purchase 2 lbs. Bouillon Cubes

Extra Item Purchase 30 lbs. of Beans

Family Prep: To start the new year right it is probably time to recheck our BOB's (Bug Out Bags). If you use a backpack are the straps frayed? Seams tight and sealed against water infiltration? Are grommets tight and not frayed? If these items are not up to snuff maybe it's time to fix it or get something new if the pack can't be fixed. If you use a bucket, is the handle free of cracks, is the bucket sound and not fragile? If left in the sun buckets do break down and need to be replaced. What about the weight you are carrying? What is missing? What condition is your BOB in?

Spiritual Preparedness: Have personal prayer and scripture study each day for three weeks. It takes three weeks to start a new habit.

Milk Carton 72 Hour Kits

Large milk or juice cartons are cleverly used to store enough food that one could live on for 3 days. Each carton is washed with soapy water and dried. If you are making one for each person in your family you may want to save the cartons up and prepare them all at once. For every kit you make you will also need a 2 litre pop bottle filled with water to be used to prepare the food. Each carton once prepared has a shelf life of 2 years. For each kit you will need:

2 packages of gum, 14 pieces of hard candy, 2 fruit rolls, 3 packages of crackers, 1 can of nutritious soup, 2 instant soup packages, 2 packages of hot chocolate mix, 1 1/2 cups of trail mix, 2 sticks of beef jerky, 2 packages of apple cider mix, 1 small can of apple juice, 4 granola bars

Pack these items in the milk carton. Place large items in first and tuck smaller items in empty spaces. The fit is very tight. Once everything has been put into the kit, staple it shut. Tape the top with duck tape and tape the pop bottle filled with water to the kit. Label the kit with the date that you made it and the best before date. Also attach a list of the contents and a menu to each carton. Cover any label that needs to last with clear packing tape so the information is there when you need it even if the kit were to get wet. Replace the kit every 2 years so that the food stays flavorful and nutritious.

MENU: Day 1

Breakfast: 2 granola bars, one can of juice

Lunch: 1 package soup mix, 1 package soda crackers

Dinner: 1 stick beef jerky, 1 fruit roll

Snacks: 4 pieces candy, 3 sticks gum

MENU: Day 2

Breakfast: 1/2 the trail mix, hot chocolate

Lunch: 1 stick beef jerky, 1 apple cider mix

Dinner: canned soup, 1 package of soda crackers

Snacks: 5 pieces of candy, 4 sticks of gum

MENU: Day 3

Breakfast: 1/2 the trail mix, 1 apple cider mix

Lunch: 1 package soup mix, 1 package of soda crackers

Dinner: 2 granola bars, 1 fruit roll, 1 hot chocolate mix

Snacks: 4 pieces of candy, 3 sticks of gum

52 Weeks, Week 49

 

52 Weeks to Family Preparedness for Two

Week 49

"When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest, in that moment God will endow us with power." ~ Ezra Ezra Taft Benson ~

Food Storage and Preparedness Challenge Of The Week:

Food Storage Purchase Fruit Drink Mix to make 30 qts.

Extra Item Purchase 20 lbs. of Oats

Family Prep: Do you have your evacuation plan ready for your family? Have you reviewed it lately? Do you have your lists ready? What would you grab in 3 minutes? 10 minutes? 30 minutes? If you knew you would be back in a few days? If you knew it would be several weeks? If you didn't know if you would ever come back? Get a notebook and start doing some planning! Then put the plans into action.

Spiritual Preparedness: Read and study Mosiah 5:15, Ask yourself these questions:

• What does it mean to be steadfast and immovable?

• How can I become steadfast and immovable?

• What blessings are associated with being steadfast and immovable?

Hold a family home evening and discuss this as a family and what you can do, what goals you can make to be more steadfast and immovable as disciples of Christ.

Storage Notes for a Rainy Day

Phyllis Hooker, Ensign June 1977

My children woke the other morn "Dad! Mom! There's something wrong! There's no heat in the heaters and the TV won't go on. The bathroom light won't function. Is it just the bulb that's old? Nothing in this whole house works. It's drafty and it's cold!" I rose in semi-stupor. Stubbed my toe against a chair. "I ought to have a candle. I know there's one somewhere." "Fear not," I told my children. "We'll weather out the storm. Because we have a fireplace to keep us somewhat warm." "We're hungry, Mom. Where's breakfast? Could you make something hot?" We piled logs in the fireplace, and then...a sudden thought: When cooking in a fireplace, what things should I aquire? Just how long would my frypans last atop an open fire? Within the house a fired glowed, outside was cold and bleak. Our meager wood and coal supplies would last about a week. "Hooray! Hooray!" the children cried. "Oh, this is really neat!" I thought, "It's good we have our food. For a year, at least, we'll eat" The baby needed to be changed, and then the thought did strike: However would I launder clothes, to keep them clean and bright? Assuming I had water, a fire and a pan..... I'd hate to have to wash and wring those diapers out by hand. We've always stored some water in an emptied-out bleach jug. We opened up a gallon, poured it out to drink and....ugh!! I'd also filled some fruit jars with the water from the sink. It was processed in my canner and was easier to drink. "My mittens need repairing." "There's a button off this dress." I've stored buttons, thread, and needles, extra fabric, and I guess I could darn most things quite handily, from socks right up to suits. But suppose the broken item, was a pair of leather boots? I have lots of baking soda, for all its many uses. From toothpaste and a cleaner, to the cookies it produces. I've string and twine and medicines, and ammonia to help me cope With cleaning up the dirt and germs. But how did pioneers make soap? I must save my old newspapers. Might there be a paper ration? They're used for wrapping garbage and making good insulation. Soak the papers in detergent, roll them into logs, then dry. They will give a bright, warm fire, and almost free supply. I must have thought of everything. Oh, no. One thing can spoil it. I have the toilet paper, but what about the toilet? That night we piled into our beds. "It's cold! The wind! It blows! How nice hot water bottles would feel against our frozen toes." Next day I woke up early, and the crisis was long gone. Everything was back to normal – even the TV set was on. Water dripped into the sinks, the downstairs lights all burned. It was nice to have them on again after the lessons we'd learned. Though yesterday was trying, it's troubles had been shared. Our family had decided that we'd better get prepared .Some folks might think we're silly, like whistling in the dark. Still, we know it wasn't raining when Noah built his ark.