This is an extra post as I usually try to keep it at every 2 days but some important things need to be said here after what happened recently. If you're of a mind to, please refer people to this post—friends, neighbors, etc. It truly can save lives and is very important.
I've sadly been thinking about the devastation in New York and New Jersey lately and how it could have been better for the people there. I'm definitely not judging and I mean that as I'm a very soft-hearted person. I do believe that if they had done as their leaders had advised, their circumstances might have been better. When Katrina struck, the LDS Church was working before it even hit landfall. Salt Lake City had trucks at the borders of the states affected waiting to be given the word that they could go in. Trucks of food, water, clothing and essentials. We're a prepared people.
We, as Mormons, are told to have a three day emergency kit available, water storage, and a year's supply of food and essential items. Now, not all listen and obey but hubs and I do our best to do what we are told. But I'm going to reference a couple of articles and for those interested you can do what you want with it, but this is how The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints works.
First, at the lowest level are the wards. A ward has about 250-300 people living within neighborhoods or close proximity to each other. Then we have Stakes. A stake may be about 2,000 people, usually within a city. Then we have areas, which are within several cities close to each other and it goes up from there. We try to help each other, especially when a catastrophe happens. At the lowest level, we have a bishop and he has counselors and men within the ward who are his "helpers" and or advisors. (Let me say here that this is their calling in the Church, not their job. Our current bishop is a pediatrician.) He gets paid absolutely nothing for doing anything in the Church. Not one of us does. It is all volunteer work we refer to as "callings". Each organization in that ward is responsible for a group of people. This article and this article will reference the Teton Dam break in 1976 and through the Church's system of helping, only one person lost his life. No one went without the basic essentials of life for even one day—food, water, clothing—because we were prepared. We had tractors to help, short wave radios, food, clothing, water stored and people who helped. Most lost their homes but the local college opened it up to all those families who were left homeless. That's what happens when you have good organization and don't depend on the government for help. They really can't help as evidenced by Katrina and this hurricane last week, Sandy. But if you don't listen to the people who tell you to get out, you're in trouble. I feel so sad over those who lost their children, one woman in particular I read about whose 2 little toddlers were swept from her arms and found hours later drowned. I truly am devastated for that family. I can only imagine how the mummy and dada felt. No one wants to experience that. I cried when I read about those two little boys.
We had a flood in the small town we first lived in when we moved from California to Idaho in the 90s. Hubs and I were high up so we didn't have to worry, but our bishop then was near a creek that overflowed and he and his family were stranded. He was gotten out posthaste through our system of phones and being in contact. We had four-wheelers out there immediately, short wave radios and a church building where he was able to take his family for the night to consider all their options. Help was immediately available to all. Phone calls were made by all the Home Teachers and Visiting Teachers to their groups of people they were responsible for—usually this is 2 to 5 people for each of us. Keeping in contact with them saved many lives and we were able to help them immediately. Say what you want but it works, people; it worked that day and in 1976 at the Teton Dam! We really and truly do have to look out for our neighbors and each other.
Food? Yes, hubs and I have a year's supply. Water? We have a 200 gallon tank full for emergencies, a generator and gasoline. (I never go below a half tank in my car for that very reason. Look at all the people striving to get gasoline in NY and NJ now.) But if something happens devastating to our area, we are commanded, and I mean commanded, to share with others. I could not sit by and watch our neighbor with 2 small girls go hungry while hubs and I had plenty of food. I'd choke on the food. But we can't feed the whole neighborhood. So I advise and admonish those of you to get prepared. Things will not get better in the coming years. They'll get worse. If you're religious, you know what I'm talking about. I'm not a fanatic; I'm prepared as we are told to be. And if you doubt me, just look towards NYC and New Jersey. I want you all to be prepared and alive.
*
I've sadly been thinking about the devastation in New York and New Jersey lately and how it could have been better for the people there. I'm definitely not judging and I mean that as I'm a very soft-hearted person. I do believe that if they had done as their leaders had advised, their circumstances might have been better. When Katrina struck, the LDS Church was working before it even hit landfall. Salt Lake City had trucks at the borders of the states affected waiting to be given the word that they could go in. Trucks of food, water, clothing and essentials. We're a prepared people.
We, as Mormons, are told to have a three day emergency kit available, water storage, and a year's supply of food and essential items. Now, not all listen and obey but hubs and I do our best to do what we are told. But I'm going to reference a couple of articles and for those interested you can do what you want with it, but this is how The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints works.
First, at the lowest level are the wards. A ward has about 250-300 people living within neighborhoods or close proximity to each other. Then we have Stakes. A stake may be about 2,000 people, usually within a city. Then we have areas, which are within several cities close to each other and it goes up from there. We try to help each other, especially when a catastrophe happens. At the lowest level, we have a bishop and he has counselors and men within the ward who are his "helpers" and or advisors. (Let me say here that this is their calling in the Church, not their job. Our current bishop is a pediatrician.) He gets paid absolutely nothing for doing anything in the Church. Not one of us does. It is all volunteer work we refer to as "callings". Each organization in that ward is responsible for a group of people. This article and this article will reference the Teton Dam break in 1976 and through the Church's system of helping, only one person lost his life. No one went without the basic essentials of life for even one day—food, water, clothing—because we were prepared. We had tractors to help, short wave radios, food, clothing, water stored and people who helped. Most lost their homes but the local college opened it up to all those families who were left homeless. That's what happens when you have good organization and don't depend on the government for help. They really can't help as evidenced by Katrina and this hurricane last week, Sandy. But if you don't listen to the people who tell you to get out, you're in trouble. I feel so sad over those who lost their children, one woman in particular I read about whose 2 little toddlers were swept from her arms and found hours later drowned. I truly am devastated for that family. I can only imagine how the mummy and dada felt. No one wants to experience that. I cried when I read about those two little boys.
We had a flood in the small town we first lived in when we moved from California to Idaho in the 90s. Hubs and I were high up so we didn't have to worry, but our bishop then was near a creek that overflowed and he and his family were stranded. He was gotten out posthaste through our system of phones and being in contact. We had four-wheelers out there immediately, short wave radios and a church building where he was able to take his family for the night to consider all their options. Help was immediately available to all. Phone calls were made by all the Home Teachers and Visiting Teachers to their groups of people they were responsible for—usually this is 2 to 5 people for each of us. Keeping in contact with them saved many lives and we were able to help them immediately. Say what you want but it works, people; it worked that day and in 1976 at the Teton Dam! We really and truly do have to look out for our neighbors and each other.
Food? Yes, hubs and I have a year's supply. Water? We have a 200 gallon tank full for emergencies, a generator and gasoline. (I never go below a half tank in my car for that very reason. Look at all the people striving to get gasoline in NY and NJ now.) But if something happens devastating to our area, we are commanded, and I mean commanded, to share with others. I could not sit by and watch our neighbor with 2 small girls go hungry while hubs and I had plenty of food. I'd choke on the food. But we can't feed the whole neighborhood. So I advise and admonish those of you to get prepared. Things will not get better in the coming years. They'll get worse. If you're religious, you know what I'm talking about. I'm not a fanatic; I'm prepared as we are told to be. And if you doubt me, just look towards NYC and New Jersey. I want you all to be prepared and alive.
*
I've had two of these wall pocket holders for several years now, but in redoing the walls, this one has just sat on a table in my living room until I figured out what I wanted to do with it. Then I came upon a photo of one and thought I could imitate it. This is how it turned out. I just stuck some pink crinkle paper in it, added feathers, a piece of lace scrap, a pink polka dot ribbon, a snippet of pretty pink trim, a string of faux pearls, a pink rose and a bottle of Christian Dior "Poison" to spray on as I get ready to go out the door. Worked out rather well.
This is another of my favorite rooms as I absolutely love pink and white stripes.
Cute eye candy for ya.
Sweet vignette in a kitchen.
Another gorgeous bottle.
Cute cottages on a river.
Gorgeous purple flowers.
Lovin' the lace and ribbon roses.
Cute idea for necklaces.
A stunning and dramatic room in blue.
And another one in red and pink.
;-)
Cute getaway when it's not raining.
Fruit growing on a balcony in a big city.
Sweet.
Even though I'm not Mormon, the two things I do like is how prepared they are for the end times and how they help each other.It would be lovely if all denominations did this.From an old Foursquare Gospel girl
ReplyDeleteLove your blog and the beautiful pics.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about needing to keep supplies on hand at all times to survive. Down here in Alabama on ANY given day we could have a tornado with little or no warning ANY TIME of the year. It doesn't matter if the power is off for a couple of hours, a couple of days or a couple of weeks a person needs water to drink, wash your hands etc, food that needs little (a candle can make hot coffee and heat soup) or no cooking and extra clothes and blankets in cold weather. Living in the south I also have battery operated fans for hot weather although I have survived with an old fashion "church" fan. To me it is just common sense to be prepared and that also includes a months supply ahead of my medicine.
Take care and may God bless you
Mary
Great article. I do wish more people would be prepared. As we watched the devastation from the recent hurricane, it was reassuring to know that we would not have to wait in line should something like that happen in our neighborhood.
ReplyDeletewhen I was younger, my mom always had emergency items (food, candles, etc). I am not prepared for an emergency too well. I will begin to prepare for an emergency.
ReplyDeleteHeather
Wise words, Connie.
ReplyDeleteI am not Mormon but Ive always agreed with their preparedness. I always felt they were an example to follow when it comes to that. Thats also why I think Romney will be a great president.....he knows about all this and this country needs that lesson bad...to not rely on govt. I too try to have some things around altho things have gotten pretty tight around here and I cant have as much as Id like. But I look at everything as....can I use this as backup or will I need this if things got bad. I liked reading about how its done with your church. Its good stuff.
ReplyDeleteI was living in Southern California in the 80's. There were multiple earthquakes that decade that caused much damage and loss of life. Several major highways also collapsed. After that, we were advised to keep a backpack in our cars with first aid supplies, water, granola bars, etc. I have always made an effort to keep emergency supplies on hand at home such as bottled water and canned goods. You just never know what the day will bring, no matter where you live :)
ReplyDeleteI am not Mormon but I do admire their sense of organization and the help they provide during times of disaster! I love that perfume bottle, Connie, and also the Marie Antoinette tag!
ReplyDeleteYour article was a breath of fresh air. It gives me hope to hear there are places where people still look out and care for their neighbors. I do not always take direction as well as I should, but I kind of think when you are told to get out for your safety it is a good thing to listen.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I realized you were Mormon. Some of the nicest people I have ever known were Mormon.
ReplyDeleteI am not religious, but I was a Girl Scout, and the motto is Be Prepared. Having lived through several awful hurricanes and horrible tornadoes, I am fully prepared in the event of a tornado or hurricane.
I think we all cried over that mother and her children who were turned away when they sought shelter from the storm from the man who turned them away. However, she should have left sooner when there was time. That is the most important thing to take from this story. If the powers that be say "Get out" -- then do it for heaven's sake!
Thank you for posting such vitally important information. I think sometimes those of us that prepare are thought of as a bit weird but what those people don't realize it that we could be the very ones that are able to help them when they need it most.
ReplyDeleteI am prepared at home and I have a drawer full of emergency supplies in my desk at work but I am not prepared in my car. I need to work on that.
Thanks again for the important reminder.