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Showing posts from March, 2020

Can you hear me now? Communication is Key!

Having an emergency communications plan is an important part of being prepared for short and long-term disasters. The ability to connect with others and report information not only about your own status of safety but about changing situations and new threats is invaluable. If land lines are cut and cell phones are down, how will you transmit the information you need to faraway people? Let’s think about and do something about that. Having communications with members of your neighborhood/ward/stake, your family, and emergency response personnel might just be the factor that makes the difference in receiving help you need or being of help to others. It is of great importance to have a plan in place before a disaster strikes, just like a fire drill, so that you will be able to remain calm and know just what to do, how your radio works, what station you need to be on... even where your extra batteries are. Being prepared means, we plan for the worst possible outcome, not the best ca

I prepared you so...

"Yesterday's preparation can provide today's calm while also fostering's tomorrow's confidence." I absolutely LOVE this article and the message it sends.  The Lord will never say "I told you so." He and his servants, the prophets and apostles, will only say "I prepared you so..."     Boyd Matheson: As uncertainty increases, search for the affirming voice — ‘I prepared you so’

Sowing the Seeds of Love and Faith

I am so grateful for the opportunity to be living at this time.  While that may seem a strange thing to say right now, I truly believe that through all these trials we are going to see amazing blessings and miracles happen.  Our faith is being tested and we will (hopefully) come out on the other end much stronger as a person and a family with even greater beliefs.     Now that we have all been told that the school closures will last until May 1, I'm sure there are many out there wondering what they are going to do to fill the time.  Well look no further we have been brainstorming to come up with some fun ways to pass the time while safely practicing social distancing.      The first thing that came to mind that will also help your family be a little better prepared and is an invaluable skill to have is GARDENING .  My kids absolutely love to garden.  They love to help get our garden ready to plant and then plant their favorite things and new things they want to try.  That way th

Feeling Moved?

With the Covid-19 Pandemic and the Utah earthquake last week, many people are feeling motivated to review, update, increase or even begin gathering some emergency preparedness supplies. Whether a 3 hour kit, 72 hour kit, 2 week storage, 3 month supply, 6 month supply, year or more supply.  Whichever stage you are on or just beginning, we are here to help guide you through your project. We have been working this month on 72 hour kits .  The "grab and go" bag for each family member or at minimum a large bag, suitcase or bin with enough supplies for you and your family to grab in the case of an emergency evacuation in which your home becomes inhabitable or is threatened and you are instructed to leave quickly and get to a safe place.   This week, we want to focus on some miscellaneous items, beyond water, food and clothing. Including adding some spiritual preparedness to your kits too. Even in emergencies we still need to have our spiritual wits about us. As we gather sup

Faith Precedes the Miracle

Spencer W. Kimball said " In faith we plant the seed, and soon we see the miracle of the blossoming. Men have often misunderstood and have reversed the process. They would have the harvest before the planting, the reward before the service, the miracle before the faith… If we can walk now by faith, if we can believe in the rich promises of God, if we can obey and patiently wait, the Lord will fulfill all his rich promises to us: “… Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” ( 1 Cor. 2:9 .).    With all that is going on in our little corner of the world I have had several thoughts but the one that keeps coming to mind is that we need to remain faithful and keep pressing forward. Everything is going to be OK. If you need more reassurances just listen to Pres. Nelson's message again. I sincerely hope that we have all been doing our part to faithfully follow the Lord's counsel

Honey? Have you seen my socks?

They're in your 72 hour kit! Okay, maybe your only pair of socks should not be in your 72 hour kit.  However, socks are a great item to add!  This week we want to work on adding or updating the clothing items set aside for that emergency dash out the door kit. Hopefully you have been working on your "go bags" all along and have started to compile items for an emergency.  The earthquake this week has grabbed the attention of many and caused us to evaluate our preparation level.  Have faith over fear and continue to work toward your goal of readiness.  Beware of false rumors that cause panic and find comfort and calm in being as ready as possible.  Check on your family and neighbors, buoy each other up and remember that prayers are often answered by the actions of another.     If you are observing the beginning of the 5k, taking Baby Steps ... add a pair of socks & underwear.  Dry and clean socks and underwear are usually the first thing needed as well as the

Finding Peace in the Storms of Life

Yea, and it came to pass that the Lord our God did visit us with assurances...yea, insomuch that he did speak peace to our souls, and did grant unto us great faith . " -Alma 58:11    It is so easy to get caught up in the hysteria and think the worst but the Savior has taught us to find calm in the storm.   I, for one, am so grateful for the guidance and counsel we have been given time and time again from the prophets and apostles that help us prepare for these situations.  I loved the message that Pres. Nelson sent out last night.  If you haven't watched it yet, do it and share it with those you love.      Now that our pantry has been stocked it is time to stock up our family's spiritual pantry.  As you get the opportunity to spend more time together as a family over the next 2 (or more) weeks let's make the most of it.  We will be posting some fun ideas of things to do to keep the boredom at bay as well as ways to help you find opportunities to have meaningful s

President Nelson Shares Message of Hope

President Nelson Shares Message of Hope During COVID-19 Outbreak Prophet encourages members to care for themselves and minister to those in need. https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/president-nelson-message-covid-19

A Provident Living Testimony

MESSAGE FROM STEVEN SEOW, 2nd COUNSELOR,         THE SINGAPORE STAKE PRESIDENCY Dear Brothers and Sisters, On behalf of all the members of the Singapore Stake Presidency, I bring you our love and wish all members well in this rather difficult time. As this COVID-19 situation continues, I am, however, thankful for being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We are led by a living prophet who has constant communication with the Lord that allows him to warn the members of the Church of things that lay ahead. Principles have been taught that if followed, would have prepared us for the situations we face today. Food storage, financial preparedness and home-centered gospel learning are just three of the principles that come to mind. Food Storage When there was the initial run on food and supplies last month, members who have had some form of food storage would not have panicked. My family is not the best example, but we made it a habit to have around 2 weeks of food

Let's add some FOOD!

Continuing with this month's challenge,  focusing on getting our 72 hr. kits going or updated,  this week we will be adding some food items. There are several different options for storing food items in case of an emergency.  One option is to have a 3 day supply of food packaged together and placed in a backpack or small suitcase with other essentials like clothing, first aid, heat source etc.   You may choose to have enough for your entire family in one large bag or have individual packs for each family member. These type of "Pantry Foods" will need to be rotated & replaced more often than dehydrated meal pouches, however they are generally foods that can easily be used and replaced as they are foods most commonly consumed on a regular basis.  Long term food storage items are separate from a 72 hour kit.  These kits are designed for grab and go in the event of an emergency evacuation.  Other food storage items are needed for extended power outage situations, non

Coronavirus

How do you prepare yourselves for the Coronavirus?           I read a news article the other day that had some really great information.  It did interviews with leading  epidemiology experts  and the best advice they gave was: REMAIN CALM. Essentially they said don't get caught up in widespread panic because the coronavirus is like other respiratory diseases. Here are some of the important highlights from the article: 1. Don't go out buying masks and a bunch of unnecessary things.  The masks only prevent a person with the virus from spreading it. It won't prevent you from catching it.  The masks don't fit tight enough. Same goes for the gloves.  They will get contaminated too.  If you want to buy something stock up on decongestants, anti-inflammatory drugs and acetaminophen for fevers.  2. Best practice is to have good hygiene: wash hands for at least 20 sec., sneeze/cough into your arm, clean objects and surfaces you touch often. 3.   “A lot of preparedness i

March: 72 Hr. Kits

This month we are focusing on getting our 72 hr. kits going or updated depending on where you are in your preparedness journey.  We have some great resources on our blog for 72 hr. kits . There are checklists that you can print out to see what you need to get for your kits.  We will be breaking this down into weekly tasks to make it a little more manageable and also for your preparedness level.  We have this all broken down on our March newsletter , if you haven't had a chance to read it yet go check it out.   This week we will be focusing on getting water supplies for your kits.  Water is vitally essential to every survival situation. It is recommended to have 1 gallon of water/person/day at a MINIMUM. BABY STEPS: If you are just getting started we recommend saving 2L bottles, washing them out and then storing some drinking water in them.  The church has a great tutorial which can be found here . There is also another  here .  Other resources can be found on the blog here .