5.02.2011
Are We Still The Good Guys?
In the book The Road written by Cormac McCarthy, a father and son travel through a ravaged post-apocalyptic world. Over and over the son asks his father, "Are we still the good guys?" This question is posed in extremely difficult situations which include making the choice to share food and possibly go hungry themselves. Clearly many characters are no longer good guys, but have abandoned their humanity with completely selfish actions, some of which are beyond imagination. Others, despite their realizations of the consequences, reach out anyway. The father, with his heart full of the desire to save his son, struggles throughout the book with the questions of how to act - with selfishness or with compassion. And his son over and over helps him to remember that goodness and humanity is the answer.
Lately, as I've browsed the news, I been both thrilled with the unselfish actions of the good guys and simultaneously disappointed in extremely selfish actions of others. I look at the ravaged neighborhoods of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Sendai, Japan and Christchurch, New Zealand and read of looting1 and exploitation. From preparedness sources, I read about individuals who claim they won't need food storage because they have guns and plan to take it3. I read of plans to loot, steal and hide2 resources from fellow neighbors if tough circumstances arise. Thankfully, in contrast, I see individuals with destroyed homes and lives setting their own needs aside and helping neighbors who are worse off. I hear of the poorest families sacrificing their own funds to help a little in these disaster areas. I hear of families storing extra so they will be able to help their neighbors if needed.
I'm not so naive as to think that there aren't people out there that will continue to act without humanity regardless of what I think and say. I also recognize the need for me to provide for and protect my family in difficult circumstances. But what is survival without humanity? If sharing and helping others meant my family would starve? Well, I would much rather have the last acts of my life be ones of compassion and charity rather than of selfishness, greed, and violence.
As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I look closely at the example of Jesus Christ. His life was full of compassion and love despite knowing his death would ultimately result from those actions. He was definitely one of the good guys.
I encourage you in your preparedness plans and in your home-storage plans to plan with compassion rather than selfishness and to plan with love instead of greed.
And make sure that you ask yourself over and over and over again, "Are we still the good guys?"
Source:
1 - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42834400/ns/weather/
2 - Sorry, not going to post the links and add traffic or credence to these sites.
3 - http://www.survivalblog.com/2011/04/two_letters_re_confronting_tho.html
3.15.2011
Helping Each Other in Japan
Yesterday, Polliwog commented and shared a blog of a family housed on a US military base in Misawa, Japan. On that blog (Acte Gratuit), Emily shares insights into her own food storage - and what she wishes she had stored. She also describes how her church congregation is gathering supplies for those affected by the tsunami and earthquake.
It's a fabulous example of how preparedness enables you to reach out and help others!
Acte Gratuit:
Humanitarian Aid for Hachinohe
Surviving the Earthquake in Japan
12.26.2010
Serving Others
I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and urge you find a way to help others during this Christmas season. Make it a family tradition! Our annual family service tradition brings the Spirit of Christ and Christmas into our home especially when selfishness threatens to prevail.
The first commandment is to Love God and "the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There are NONE other commandment greater than these." (The Holy Bible, Mark 12: 31) I don't know of a better way to show love to God and our neighbors than by serving others. In fact, Christ was teaching us this principle when he said, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." (The Holy Bible, Matthew 25: 40)
Be generous with your funds, time and talents. And be generous about the circumstances of others. Everything that we have comes from God. "Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have? . . . O then, how ye ought to impart of the substance that ye have one to another." (The Book of Mormon, Mosiah 4: 19, 21)
I know that Jesus Christ, my brother lives again. Merry Christmas!
6.26.2010
More for Preparedness/Home Storage Specialists
Ward Food Storage Specialists
Main Objective: Teach and assist families to become self-reliant in home storage.
"President Hinckley clearly recognized that change and adaptation are needed so that all of us might benefit from the Lord’s inspired program." (Evelyn Jeffries, Family Home Storage, A New Message, Ensign, March 2009)
6.06.2010
Preparedness Outreach Ideas
In my last post, I asked for ideas from you about how to help single parents become prepared. I received this fantastic email from Jennifer. She has given me permission to share her ideas.
"I love this! As the parent of a baby, it was parenthood that made me get serious about “preparedness”. Sure, we always had some stuff around, but becoming a “Mama Bear” made me realize that I fiercely want to protect my Baby Bear, and make sure that he always had what he needed. Single Moms have so many more things working against them including lacking that partner. This would be my approach:
Map out a series of steps based on immediate needs for an emergency. Have a buying plan for an extra $10/week.
1.) Storing Water:
Have a soda bottle drive at your church. It doesn't cost a thing! Just by announcing the collection, you’ll have people thinking about their own water supply. You can’t make it more than ~ 3 days without water. This would be my first step because it’s free. For the next big holiday (4th of July?) ask members to buy their soda in plastic bottles for their party and bring them in when they’re done.
2.) 72-hour kit:
Make up a list and an approximate cost. Make the list in phases of “essential” (water, food, flashlight), “like to have” (extra shoes, toiletries, etc.). Perhaps a “drive” in the church for unused kids backpacks and bags? Have the kids make up a 72-hour kit in Sunday School. Moms might not accept charity for themselves, but they won’t say “no” to something that will benefit their children. I know I wouldn't. (Around here we have a chain of stores called “*****”. They often have “free with rebate” items, and backpacks are a big item. Other times they’re $0.99 with rebate.) Also the little “drawstring” backpacks are <$3 online. Combine it with Biblical stories – Joseph, the 10 virgins, Noah, etc. Fill it with what kids could reasonably fit and carry – 6 bottles of water, granola bars, fruit cups, pudding etc. It’s a start.
3.) Lifestyle Issues:
Getting out of debt, savings, living within your means, etc. Real resources and problem solvers for issues at home (eliminating cable, Netflix, etc.). Smartly using a credit card. Having a garage sale. Scoring great kids items at other garage sales. Free entertainment (think public library instead of the movies). Trading child-care services with other parents instead of paying a sitter. Advertise local resources - WIC, school programs, etc.
4.) Helping your moms get their 3-month-supply:
Compile Easy Recipes – Sure we’d all like to whip up a Martha Stewart meal every night, but busy moms need recipes that are tasty, easy and can eliminate the frozen convenience foods (pizza, etc.) “30-Minute-Meals” sound appealing, but a 10 minute prep then throw in the oven/crock pot is even better. 20 minutes not in the kitchen, is 20 more minutes with the kids. Also focus on one-pot meals for easy cleanup. From this list, compile a 2-3 week menu rotation that is diverse and nutritionally complete. Multiply by 4-6 for 12 weeks (3 months). Yes, I know about having wheat and grinders handy, but initially, this is a lot for a single mom to swallow. She doesn't have time to shower, so she’s not whipping up home made bread. Am I right?
My faves: Cheap Baked Beans - can of pork and beans, ketchup, mustard, and brown sugar. Heat on the stove. Serve with hotdogs bought on sale and frozen. :) Baked chicken breasts with Dijon mustard and crushed saltines on top. Pasta & Sauce (boil pasta, drain, then add sauce in same pot, and heat) Easy peasy
Create a recipe booklet with the ingredients in a standard format to inventory ingredients. Include substitutions or extras. Along-side, create a master ingredient list for the 3 months of meals. This could be a great thing to “sell” at church, allowing the proceeds to help fund other phases of your endeavor. Include a mini-sharpie with the cookbook and encourage people to write the purchase date on their canned goods if there is no exp.
Start a coupon exchange at church. Lots of people get the big Saturday/Sunday paper with coupons. Some people just throw out the coupons. Formula and diapers are a big one to save on. Moms have to have those.
5.) Maintaining emergency supplies, rotating stock, establishing a long-term storage:
eNewsletter with hints and tips – Amazon has diaper prices that are competitive with Babies R Us AND they ship for free. Timesaver! Remind your moms of what they can do with their $10 that week: 10 boxes of Mac N Cheese. 5 jars of pasta sauce. Discuss building an emergency car kit before winter cold or summer heat. $10 should cover new batteries for smoke and CO detectors each fall and spring – a wise investment. Talk about squirreling away $10 in the car for emergency gas, $10 away in the 72-hour kit. An extra $10 on the credit card bill. Discuss this Tylenol recall and the benefit of diversifying supply sources. (Our stores were out of generics, too!) I’m thinking about the peanut recall, too.
Move on to longer-term storage dehydrated vs. freeze dried. Educating your readers instead of giving instructions will help them to think about how they can attain these goals within their own situation. Don't forget to include your single moms in the giving back! They'll have kids clothes that are outgrown or toys that they no longer need. They can donate them too."
Thanks Jennifer for all of your fantastic ideas! I shared some of these ideas at a recent brainstorming meeting and our Stake is already talking about doing a soda-bottle donation drive.
5.27.2010
Home Storage Specialists 2
*Meet with leaders to discuss the goals and objectives of the stake.
*Be a broken record about the three-month supply.
*Make retraining the ward home-storage leaders a priority.
*Set up a communication lines with the ward home-storage leaders.
*Eliminate the stake workshops - encourage the new program to be taught at the ward level.
Medium Term:
*Attend Bishopric training and RS training and present a message about the importance of the three-month supply. Encourage them to emphasize this in their wards and support their ward "home storage" leaders as they try to do so.
*Offer to teach fifth Sunday lessons or Additional RS Meetings as needed or encourage use of ward home storage leaders to teach these lessons.
*Set up an email newsletter (OR set up a paper newsletter) to go out to the wards anywhere from monthly to quarterly.
*Develop a worksheet that simplifies (walks you through) the process of getting a three-month supply.
*Place motivational quotes/reminders on the bulletin boards in the different building RS rooms.
*Contact (or encourage ward home-storage leaders to contact) those in charge of printing bulletins and ward newsletters. Have them include motivational quotes and reminders about a three-month supply.
*Provide outlines for FHE lessons to support the family in teaching these concepts.
*Create a description page and schedule for families who want to reserve stake canning equipment.
*Encourage ward home-storage leaders to volunteer to meet with individuals and/or small groups and help them as needed.
*Help ward home-storage leaders to know about new information including Ensign articles.
Long Term Ideas:
*Maybe do a every-other-year home-storage fair - emphasizing the new program.
*Coordinate and carry out a Stake emergency simulation.
3.16.2010
More for Home-Storage Specialists
My Preparedness Calling
Valerie also has other fun handouts:
First Aid
Sanitation
Family Emergency Plans
Family Emergency Contacts
Emergency Water
Preparedness Organization Planner (inventory, planning, binder sheets).
NOTE - The food storage calculator in the organization binder is based on the OLD home storage program (which can still be applied to longer-term storage). I have not verified the accuracy of the information included in the above handouts.
Click here for iPrepared's past post on ideas for home-storage specialists.
3.01.2010
Home-Storage Specialists
In the past it seems, many home-storage specialists traditionally took orders, gathered money and delivered food storage. Because of tax-exempt issues in our area, we have specifically been asked by our leaders to not take orders or collect money anymore. But there is so much more that a home-storage specialist can do to encourage, teach and model preparedness than just take orders. So, I've included a list of ideas below.
As a HOME-STORAGE SPECIALIST you can:
*Schedule cannery trips. Create car-pooling groups to travel to and from these trips.
*Make arrangements for and educate congregation members about ward/stake home-storage equipment.
*Do "home-storage spotlights" each month in church.
*Include preparedness and home-storage information in ward newsletters, ward bulletins and ward emails.
*Create and distribute a monthly home-storage newsletter.
*Emphasize the *new* program. Too many people don't realize that there has been a change in the way the church is asking us to collect home storage. You could devote several of your spotlights to educating your ward members about these changes. Here it is in a nutshell: 1-Get a three-month supply of foods you regularly eat; 2-Store drinking water; 3-Save up for a financial reserve and THEN 4-Work on your longer-term storage (no longer a one-year supply).
*Pass around sign-up sheets for you to visit homes and help families inventory their current supplies and make goals.
*Help individual families transfer foods, menus, and recipes that they regularly eat into a three-month supply. It may be helpful to turn their menus into lists that can be tracked and rotated.
*Give ideas for Family Home Evening lessons that teach preparedness.
*Draw attention to church-magazine (Ensign) articles that teach home storage concepts.
*Use quotes and information from Priesthood Leaders to instruct and motivate.
*Make members aware of deals. Doing this requires caution and care to preserve the tax-exempt status of the church. Instead of promoting a specific business or sale, you can indicate that December is a good time to buy baking supplies, March to buy gardening supplies, etc. If individuals in your area want to do group orders, you could encourage them to collect orders through community resources instead of at church meetings or through church networks.
*Teach classes (or arrange for teachers to teach classes) to the Relief Society or ward about home-storage concepts including financial preparedness. These classes can be taught as a part of Sunday meetings (as directed by priesthood leaders), additional Relief Society meetings, ward activities, or workshops.
*Invite the ward or stake to a storage "fair" with displays. Include financial, water, and home-storage information.
*Facilitate and teach gardening classes. If space is available, develop a ward garden.
*Become educated yourself so that you can answer questions as they arise. Be aware of current food safety recommendations.
*Counsel with Priesthood Leaders and/or Relief Society leaders in order to understand the priorities that they feel are important to emphasize in your area.
*Educate about ideal storage conditions and packaging.
*Plan and carry-out ward or stake preparedness simulations.
Are you a ward or stake home storage specialist? I would love to hear about your experiences and ideas. Please respond below with your comments.
2.09.2010
Car Preparedness and Helping Others
"One of the things that was always difficult for me was the homeless people on the corner. I've never liked the idea of giving money, but still wanted to do something. I love it when I see someone after a trip to the grocery store because then I can pass out a box of cereal or some fruit. This was nice if the food was in the car, but what about the times when the food wasn't there.
"Well, my husband went on a business trip this summer. He was living in a hotel for a few days and purchased some soup to microwave. He ended up not eating all of it and then just left it in his car. Then the next time he saw a person asking for food/money on the side of the road, he gave them some soup. Ever since then we have kept a few cans of non-condensed soup with pop lids in the car. They can be eaten straight out of the can - hot or cold. This has served two purposes, obviously we can now be charitable to those in need. But it's also comforting to have some food in the car if there was ever an emergency. As you know, those pop-lid cans don't withstand extremes in temperature, etc. We see people in need often enough that I haven't had anything in my car too long."
2.04.2010
Preparing to Help Others
I'm going to be featuring several guest posts over the next while. They are a grab bag of ideas from my family members. We grew up in a home where my parents made having their food storage a priority. Preparedness is one of those righteous traditions that each child is now trying to perpetuate. I'm so thankful for my parent's goodness and example.
These thoughts are from my Mom:"After watching all of the Haiti disasters and trials AND giving the Visiting Teaching message on self-reliance, I had a thought run through my mind. I got thinking about “work." I see all those (Haitian) people standing around and know that sometimes things are getting tense there – and they would be with me if I was starving. But (even) after they have received food and water, many are still just waiting. My thought is how much better they would feel, how much stress could be released, and tensions eased if they had something to do to contribute to making things better. I know that they are in need of big trucks and equipment, but is there not something they could be doing – removing the smaller pieces of cement, helping to clear the roads, digging down to restore the water, etc.?
"I suspect that there are many who are doing works of service – but my most important question is for us. We have our 72-hour kits. If we are able to get them and all of our family members to a place of safety – then what would be our plan? Would we be just sitting and waiting for someone to call out the next move? Is it possible that we need to have some plans in place – besides those of ward, city, stake, etc. – that we can take action upon? Is it possible that we need to store some shovels, saws and other tools (not electric tools) near doors in our garage or house that we could (easily) get and go out and make a difference. I noticed in the Church News this morning an article about one of the church humanitarian agents who was playing games with the children so the children would not be wondering aimlessly. What is it that we individually could do to help even though we were a victim in a disaster?"
2.01.2010
Two Weeks
It's now been more than two weeks since the earthquake in Haiti. One thing I've noticed is that finally some of the water and supplies are getting through to help many (but still not all) of the displaced and injured people. You might assume that it took additional time to get supplies into Haiti because of a more rudimentary distribution situation. However, it is interesting to me that it also took up to two weeks (or more) for aid to get to many Katrina and Rita victims. In all three cases after two weeks there were still many who were not getting any help.
There is a lesson in this for our own preparation. It's a good idea to have at least two weeks of supplies including water, medical supplies, shelter, money, food and fuel (more would be even better). It takes time after emergencies, disasters, or economic crises for help to arrive.
In an emergency, I've always assumed that our family could just leave our area and stay with family if things were bad enough. Recently, though, I've realized that floods, earthquake scarps, pandemics, winter storms and panic all block roads. It is likely in many different scenarios that you will have to shelter-in-place and be ready to take care of yourself. Many emergency kits provide three or four days worth of supplies which just isn't enough to make it through those first two weeks during which you'll likely be without any help.
If you are just starting out, make gathering two-weeks worth of supplies your first priority. If you've been working on your home storage supply for a while, take time to inventory and make sure you have the supplies on hand to help you navigate through the first few weeks of any type of emergency. It would be even better to be prepared for a long haul with a three-month supply, a water supply, a financial reserve and some longer-term storage so that you can take care of your own family without relying on outside aid. Being well prepared will also put you in a position to better help others and allow those who are less prepared to utilize any aid available.
1.18.2010
Haiti
I've been thinking a lot about the earthquake and subsequent suffering in Haiti. I've thought about preparedness and have wondered what lessons could be gleaned and which troubles avoided by paying attention to what is happening there.
After a lot of thought, I would like to recommend two things (beyond your prayers):
First, donate to the relief effort. I was struck by the recent instruction that preparedness is not just about taking care of ourselves, but it is also about taking care of others. Elder Robert D. Hales said "It is important to understand that self-reliance is a means to an end. Our ultimate goal is to become like the Savior, and that goal is enhanced by our unselfish service to others. Our ability to serve is increased or diminished by the level of our self-reliance." (A Gospel Vision of Welfare: Faith in Action, Basic Principles of Welfare and Self-Reliance, World Wide Training, February 2009).
We are truly rich compared to most of the Haitian people. Each of us can sacrifice in some way to help. It may mean waiting a little longer to finish your basement. It may mean going out to eat a few times less this month. It may mean sacrificing the amount you spend on gifts this year. But I really believe Heavenly Father gave us all that we have so that we can help others. If you are unsure of where to donate, I can recommend either Red Cross or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Emergency Response (100% goes to help). Our family agreed unanimously to take money from our basement-finishing fund and donate it to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Emergency Response.
Second, store more water. The most fundamental need of those affected by the earthquake was and still is water. Jenny Fyall from The Scotsman quoted Jimitre Coquillon, "a doctor's assistant working at a triage centre set up in a hotel car park. 'This is much worse than a hurricane. There's no water. There's nothing. Thirsty people are going to die." A foreign aid worker told Reuters, "Money is worth nothing right now, water is the currency."
In both of these suggestions, you can do a little or a lot. Even a little more water stored or a little money donated could make a huge difference.