Upcoming Preparedness Class!

We have heard a great deal about preparedness this past weekend at stake conference. Truly, our leaders care for our welfare enough to encourage us to prepare for difficult times.

This Tuesday, October 18th @ 7:00 p.m. (Kim Adair's Home) we will have our emergency preparedness class on fuel sources for cooking and heating.

1. You will be able to make quart size cans of fuel. Instructions/supplies will be available. (Cost is about $6.00, depending on what you want.) If you have not signed up yet, you can contact me to give me an idea of how many you'd like. You're not committed to buy until you see that night what is offered. Then you can decide for sure.

2. We will show and tell about Alco-Brite--another heating/cooking source in a pint-size can. I will take orders for this item Tuesday night. (Discount/wholesale price about $3.50 per can.)

3. Cooking stoves and fire starters to accompany both options above will also be discussed, with the option to order. Cost TBA.

4. We'll briefly talk about other larger cooking/heating sources that are available out there for emergency use.

5. Also...if you'd like to bring your important documents (birth certificates, driver's license, other i.d., etc.), Laurie Johnson will have her document scanner for you to scan them and they can be saved onto a small portable memory device that YOU bring. You can then keep that in a safe/72-hour kit. (No cost...bring your own stuff--up to 8 1/2 x 11 size.)

Tons of great information will be discussed, so come and learn and enjoy!
Money will be due that night (Tuesday).

If you can't make it, but want to order any of the above, please contact Kim Adair.

More About 72-Hour Kits...

Whenever we have a 72-hour kit class, I enjoy the opportunity to rotate our kits. We have reworked our home space and now I have our kits in a more ideal and accessible place. As I have rotated them this time around (Remember to rotate kits/check contents at General Conference time each spring/fall.) a few things have made an impression on me.

1. FOCUS ON THE BASICS. Resist the urge to get overwhelmed by all the "possibilities". Get a container (such as a backpack) and put the BASIC NEEDS into it. Start with water, food and clothing. Next think of shelter/warmth/hygiene with an emergency reflective-type blanket, poncho and a few hygiene items (washcloth/soap). Now, there's a start. Once you've got all that down, then you can move on.

At one point in my own 72-hour kit repacking, I filled the pack with all my "junk" and then I realized, "Hmm, no room for my food!" That experience helped to inspire this blog entry! I said to myself then, "Simplify, simplify, simplify!"

2. THINK MULTI-LEVEL. Once you have a backpack full of the above, you can fill the rest of the space with the next level of essentials. Maximize the size and weight of your pack to what you know you can carry and do the same for other members of your family. After that is done, you can pack extra packs with even more helpful items. If you are loading your car, then you will have the things you need in one place.

If you are just getting started, then pay attention to #1 above and don't worry about the rest yet. GOOD LUCK!

Thinking About Your 72 Hour Kits...

I hope you are enjoying conference weekend as much as I am. I love to hear the words of our prophet and apostles and leaders! I challenge you to listen for the encouragement we receive on how we can be better prepared physically and how the church welfare system works. If the church was not prepared in advance, how would it be able to send so much assistance to those who are right now desperately in need? Is this not an example, a teaching, and a warning to us that we should be individually prepared for whatever may come our way? I was once given a suggestion that I would like to pass on to you. General Conference weekend is a great time to think about rotating your 72 hour kits. You can use this time to do a couple of different things. First, you can check for expired or near expired contents of you kit and put these items on your shopping list for replacement. What kinds of things will need rotating? Food and water, clothing, medicine, batteries, light sticks, lotions/sunscreens and anything else with an expiration date. Second, you can familiarize yourself with what is in your kit so that you know where things are when you need them. Some of you may have larger scouting-type backpacks that hold quite a bit of stuff. You may want to think about where things are placed in your backpacks. If you're out and about with your 72-hour kit and it suddenly starts raining, it would be nice if your poncho was in a place that was easy to reach. The same thing goes for your light source. You would want to have that easily accessible in case you're caught needing light when it's dark. We will be having our 72-hour kit class soon (April 19th) and I would like you to think about what you would prioritize as the MOST IMPORTANT things to have in your emergency kit. When you come to our class, we will talk this over and see what what we come up with!!!

STAKE EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS FAIR Coming Up SOON!!!

I hope you are all planning to attend our Stake Emergency Preparedness Fair.

Saturday, February 26th
9 a.m. to Noon
Stake Center (on Bowser Rd.)

The stake is putting forth a great effort in order to empower it's members to improve their self-sufficiency. This will be an inspiring event! Make an effort to come and get ideas and information. If you have not done so, I suggest getting a BINDER to orgainize all of your Food Storage/Preparedness information. Then, when you get information on a certain topic, you simply stick it right in your binder. Purchase some binder tabs and also pockets/sheet protectors to put items in in your binder that can't be hole punched. (Like the CD they will give to each family who comes to the fair!!!)

Just a word to those who may be feeling a bit overwhelmed: COME!--and after you have seen all the possibilities, pick ONE thing to start working on. No one can do it all at once, so keep it simple and start small. (...you know you should!)

See you there!

PREPARING FOR WINTER WEATHER

I don't know about you, but I prefer the warmer weather. Perhaps that's one reason I'm settled in the south. Lucky for me, we have more warm weather than cold and I'm certainly grateful for that! However, we all realize that Dallas can get PLENTY cold as you have likely experienced and will continue to experience (i.e. "arctic" weather is on the way and due to arrive THIS Sunday night...) Around here, the weather can do just about anything so if you're like me, you'll feel a happy sense of relief if you have thought ahead about cold weather preparedness.
Last winter, we had some neighbors whose heater broke during a cold snap...and it was several days before it was repaired. Can you say, "EXTRA BLANKETS, PLEASE!!!"

Let me share with you a few ideas for things to have on hand (and in surplus) if you're stuck "OUT in the cold" or "IN in the cold"! Obviously, you have to think of both and plan accordingly. If you have to leave the house quickly, you have to make sure you have quick access to your winter gear. You can pack what you can in your emergency kit and have other supplies handy as well.

First, look to your 72-hour kits. Do you have sufficient warm clothing? Long pants and long-sleeve clothing for you and your family? How about your minimum three-day water and food reserve? Okay, how about we make a little list...

A FEW WINTER WEATHER EMERGENCY SUPPLIES FOR YOU TO THINK ABOUT--

1. Minimum three-day WATER and FOOD supply in case you are unable to stir from home for a time.
2. Emergency blankets/wool-type blankets. Sleeping bags, too.
3. A full (or mostly full) tank of gasoline in your car. Blankets in your trunk? An emergency kit for your car.
4. Hand warmers
5. Matches (waterproof) and firestarters/lighters
5 Indoor-safe heaters using alternate power sources such as propane. "Canned" fuel for warming or cooking.
6. Emergency light sources--flashlights, lanterns, candles.

Take some time to gather some necessities and feel peacefully prepared!

As always, feel free to contact me if I can be of service to you or answer any questions you may have.

Kim Adair

IF YE ARE PREPARED. . . .

As a followup to our continuing 72 Hour Kit classes - we talked about the need of having important papers laminated and in our 72 Hr. Kit in an emergency. The contents of your wallet - credit cards, drivers license. Social Security cards for all your family laminated. If you have small children - laminate their pictures in case you were ever separated in an emergency. Our instructor Kim Adair, will have a laminator, we will have access to the library copier. This activity is planned for Tuesday, November 16, at 7 p.m. at the R.S. Room. Now is the time to get prepared - "if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear", If you haven't started on your kits - this is a good place to start, There will be a small cost for the laminate sheets. You will feel so good about working toward the goal of being prepared. It should only take about an hour. If you are planning to attend please comment on the bottom of this blog, so we will know how many to plan.div>

July is a GREAT time to think about WATER!

Joel's parents in Lindon, Utah, were reminded last month that the unexpected does happen. Their area was put on alert to boil tap water for a few days. In some homes the water looked like it had just been bucketed out of a dirty ditch. The city repaired the spring runoff problem quickly but they could not use the public water supply for about two days.

For those in the afffected area that were prepared, this event was just a mild inconvenience and a chance to practice using preparedness supplies. Those who were boiling water or running to the grocery store for bottled water were unprepared. Consider the scenario if it had been on a larger scale. Stores still open would be emptied of bottled water and food in a few hours. Power and gas services would likely be out and you would not be able to boil water on the stove. With this experience as a reminder let me encourage you to review your plans for--

Emergency Water Storage!

The most recent message from the First Presidency says, "Store drinking water for circumstances in which the water supply may be polluted or disrupted." Start with a three day supply for your family and work up to 14 days. The minimum recommendation is to store one gallon per person per day. This is just enough water to survive but not enough for things like washing dishes, sanitation, showering, laundry, pets, etc., so the more you are able to store, the better. If you are pregnant/nursing, sick or in harsh conditions, then the need is also increased.

MINIMUM Three to Fourteen Day Emergency Water Supply:

One Person---------3 Gallons--------14 Gallons

Two People---------6 Gallons--------28 Gallons

Three People-------9 Gallons--------42 Gallons

Four People--------12 Gallons-------56 Gallons

Five People--------15 Gallons--------70 Gallons

Six People---------18 Gallons--------84 Gallons

Seven People------21 Gallons--------98 Gallons

Eight People-------24 Gallons-------112 Gallons

If you need more information about how to properly store water, please let me know and I will get you the information. Also, I am always happy to help you individually with your preparedness planning, so feel free to get in touch with me at any time.

Coming Soon: Smoothie recipes using your powdered milk! YUM!

72-Hour Kit Class Report

By Karen Bateman



This past Tuesday, June 15th we had a fabulous meeting at Kim Adair's home on 72 hour Kits. When we came, Kim served Mango Smoothies and popcorn - then the "role play" began. Joel Adair, came running in and said there had been some kind of disaster in Dallas, and they had to evacuate their home. The whole family went into action; with Kim directing, everyone grabbed their 72-HR kits and extra bags and loaded their car. They did it in approximately 10 minutes. Kim said that was the first time they had ever done a drill, and that she learned several things from the experience.



Kim then sat in the middle of the floor, and unloaded their backpack kits. It was fascinating how many different things they had assembled. One thing that really struck me, was that she had laminated pictures of each child, and the family picture to which they belonged. On the back was critical information in an emergency: name, birthday, parents, food allergies, blood type, etc. She also had their birth certificates, credit cards, and social security cards all laminated on one sheet. She also showed us a number of water filtering systems large and small for filtering all types of water to make it drinkable. It was reinforced that WATER is your most important asset in most emergencies. She had a bag of small bills - dollars - five dollars - and some coins. If computers are not working - neither will credit cards.


Several sisters told of times when they were forced into an emergency; certainly most poignant was Sister Angelina Athian. When rebels invaded her village in Sudan, when she was just 15, she had to flee with five siblings from 13 to 2 years old without her parents at home. They just grabbed quickly what they thought they could take and fled on foot. They really had no water supply. Sister Athian quietly told us,"I lost my 9 year old brother on that trip". Sister Yvonne Gausman spoke of a time when her husband was in the Navy, based in San Francisco. There was a rather credible rumor which circulated that the Cubans were about to attack the West Coast. The Navy men were instructed to flee to some mountains for three days of a survival camp. The Marines acted as the enemy. She said that after only three days of the survival camp many of the men were breaking down mentally and it was effecting them physically. These were men in their prime and well trained.

Sister Adair talked about her in-laws in Salt Lake City. Several neighborhoods in Salt Lake last week--because of leakage from some old oil drums into one of the Creeks--had their water contaminated for several days.

It was a night of great information, some dramatic role playing and much reflection on how prepared we each were. We have been warned and warned by many prophets to be prepared. Prepared, so that we will suffer less, when these emergencies come into our lives. We each received a little flashlight for our own 72-HR kits. Sister Adair puts so much work and great information into her presentations. Start working on a backpack or a rolling bag for everyone for whom you are responsible. Don't waste your time worrying - just start to do something. WHEN WE ARE PREPARED, WE SHALL NOT FEAR!

Thank you Sister Adair. And thanks to all the women who attended this activity. We hope more sisters can join us next time.

Everyone's Invited

Fun week ahead!

Sunday--RS lesson is on the scriptures--be sure to read it beforehand and come prepared to participate in the discussion

Tuesday--72-Hr Kit Class--Kim Adair's Home--7pm

Thursday--Cooking 101--Joanne Poulson's Home--7pm--theme: Easy Appetizers
Everyone is welcome to bring an appetizer (w/recipe) to share if you'd like--but it's not required.

72-Hour Kits

Activity this week--Tuesday. Kim Adair's house.
Click HERE for the previous blog post with more info.

72 HOUR KIT

Saturday, I saw at the 99 Cent Store on Preston Road across from Valley View Mall, Black Rolling Bags, for $2.99. They would work for a small child's kit or to hold additional water or clothing for an adult.

Our first 72 Hour Kit class will be held May 18th - 7 p.m. at Kim Adair's home. Please bring with you (1) a calculator, and (2) your Provident Living Binder.
(could be prizes with this post today)