Merry Christmas

Sorry I haven't put anything on here for awhile.  We were out of the State during the last two weeks of October visiting family in Oklahoma and Missouri and then I had my left hip replacement surgery on November 3rd.  I've been recovering from that and trying to get back to a "normal" mode of operation with exercising my leg and hip to get it up to strength.  Now my wife says I'm bionic what with having two new hips.  haha. 

More and more, I see, hear and read about Santa Clause and gifts being the main focus on Christmas.  It's time we got back to and teach the true meaning of Christmas which is the Gift Heavenly Father gave us of his Son, Jesus Christ.  I hope that is the message we can give to everyone we meet.

I have been thinking about what I can write about preparedness this month and thought what a great time it would be to give gifts of something we can use to be more prepared and follow the council of the Prophet.  We have been thinking about what would we do if our Bishop told us we had to leave the area and gather in a more secure place because of the increasing wickedness of this area and the world.  What would we do for shelter, sanitation, food and other necessities?  I know what Maslow's hierarchy of needs says but by now, we generally have the top three covered.  The last two areas of the triangle are Safety and Physiological.  What would we need if we were told to leave or "get out of
Dodge"?  These are my thoughts; yours may be different. but here we go.

1.  Shelter:  What would we use for shelter?  We are working on two different types of shelter.  We purchased a same as new 7'X16' V nosed cargo trailer off of Craig's list at a hugh discount and are in the process of converting it into a "stealth camper".  By most all outward appearances, it looks like a cargo trailer......well except for the windows on each side, but in the interior, it will be all set up with everything we need to live in.  It will have a kitchen area with refrigerator, sink, stove top, oven, microwave and cupboards.  It will also have a shower stall, toilet and a queen size bed.  It will have A/C and heating, storage areas along with a fresh water tank, hot water heater and possibly a black water tank.  There will be a shore hookup for outside electricity and water hookups with a generator and DC batteries with an inverter when no commercial power is available.  I am also going to put a solar panel on the roof so the internal batteries can be recharged without using any outside external source that requires fuel or commercial power. Of course, I will have a small area for my Ham radio to mount with a couple of different antenna mounts on the exterior so I can talk to the world and Church Headquarters in Salt Lake City.

While working on the trailer, we have been watching for a deal on a good tent.  After doing a lot of research, we settled on an outfitters style walled tent.  In our case, it is a Cabela's Alaknak 12'X20' tent.  Your needs may be different but get the biggest one you can afford and move around in easily with equipment inside it besides your beds.  We called around to several Calela's with a Bargin Cave and found one for $600 off the regular price.  They said they would ship it free to the Glendale store and it would be there in 4-5 weeks.  9 weeks later it wasn't there and they didn't know what happened to it.  I just happened to be looking on Craig's list and found a brand new one that a disabled VET had won and not used.  He sold it to me for half the new price.  You might think that the size is overkill but our thoughts are that the space will get used.  I want to be able to do everything inside that I could do outside like sleep and cook if the need arose.

2.  Security.  I don't know how you feel about defending yourself and family or friends but I am all in favor of it and so is the Lord.  There are plenty of scriptures to back it up.  If you don't have any firearms experience, get some training.  There are qualified people who can teach you.  Besides my training in the Highway Patrol, I am a NRA certified instructor in basic handgun and personal protection in the home.  After you get some training, purchase a firearm that is right for you and then practice with it.  Teach your children about it and be a responsible firearms owner.

3. Physical needs.  Do you have at a minimum a 72 hour kit for each person in your family?  Have you been stocking up on "no flame" food, you know, the kind you eat every day and don't need to cook?  Have you been stocking up on your long term food storage?  Another reason for us for getting the trailer was so that we could pack our food storage in it and take it along also. 

Here are some pictures of things to think about that you would need.  Think not having any fuel, like what would the pioneers have when they traveled.  It's great to have generators, coleman stoves and lanterns and heaters but what if there was no fuel available?  Cast iron dutch ovens and frying pans and knowing how to cook with them would be invaluable.  Here are some pictures to help give you some ideas.

When it comes to staying warm, my thinking is that you purchase the warmest sleeping bags you can get.  It is a lot easier to unzip it during warm weather or sleep on top of the sleeping bag and throw a sheet over you than it is to have to light of a bag and not be warm enough when it is cold.  For that reason, we bought military surplus extreme cold mummy sleeping bags several years ago on a deal through Ebay.  I always had two of them with me when I was delivering new RV's to dealers around the country and Canada.  They came in handy when I got struck for several hours in Canada and it was -40 degrees outside and the engine would not start because the diesel fuel had gelled.  I put one under me and the other one unzipped on top of me with my feet in the partially zipped end of the bag in the back seat of my crew cab truck and waited for help.  I would have frozen with out them.  We will have a down comforter in our trailer with extra blankets but we are also going to get a sleeping bag for two rated at zero degrees and remember, two people put off twice the body heat as one. 

Use your imagination.  What would you need to survive with out electricity or fuel?  Here is a You Tube link to a documentary that was made in 2013 by National Geographic.

The American Blackout, a National Geographic Documentary

 I think it is very realistic.  If you don't think it will happen, go ask people up and down the east coast, especially New Jersey after the hurricane went through or ask every one in Joplin Missouri after the tornado two years ago, the people in Japan after the tsunami or the people in the path of the lava flow in Hawaii.  Have a family home evening after watching it and council together what you can do as a family to become more prepared.  It is far better to be able to say, "I am ready" than to say, "Oh how I wished I would have been ready".  I know as you plan and start to become more prepared, Heavenly Father will bless you with inspiration and ways to accomplish the things you do to follow the council of the Prophets.  He did for us.

Preparedness, not just food and clothing.

I want to share a You Tube video that has come to my attention lately.  I have seen Al Foxs' video before but this time, I really listened to it.  She hits the nail squarely on it's head. 

It's great that you have made up a 72 hour pack and are ready to go in a moments notice by not letting your fuel tank get below half empty.  It's great that you have acquired your years supply of food storage.  It's even greater because you are being obedient to the Prophet, but, is your testimony of Jesus Christ and the restored gospel on solid ground?  Are you prepared enough on your own to stand when the times get tough, others ridicule you for your beliefs or those strong friends you have been leaning on move or are not in your circle of influence any more.  Lehi's dream recounts what happens.

26  And I also cast my eyes round about, and beheld, on the other side of the river of water, a great and spacious building; and it stood as it were in the air, high above the earth.
27  And it was filled with people, both old and young, both male and female; and their manner of dress was exceedingly fine; and they were in the attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers towards those who had come at and were partaking of the fruit.
28  And after they had tasted of the fruit they were ashamed, because of those that were scoffing at them; and they fell away into forbidden paths and were lost.
(Book of Mormon | 1 Nephi 8:26 - 28)

Al Fox

If you are going to pick which part of her interview to listen to, turn on your spiritual ears starting at 4:41.  " What it comes down to is prayer, really; honest prayer.  Choose who you want to follow, choose to trust, choose to have faith, choose to keep going.  If you have a question, don't turn to the internet, don't turn to other people.  If you want to know if God's there, ask him."

How profound and how easy. 
5  If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6  But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.
(New Testament | James 1:5 - 6)


A young boy of 15 years of age did exactly that.  We don't have to see our Father in Heaven or his Son Jesus Christ to get a sure foundation of them or the restored Gospel, all we have to do is ask Him with faith, nothing wavering and He will answer you.  He will not lead you astray.  I know, he answered me.

Bob and LouAnn Singer

Waste not, want not.

It's fall time and a good time for making things and preserving.  Have you ever made apple pies, applesauce or dehydrated apples and just thrown away the peelings and cores?  I just found this and thought I would pass it along.  Make Apple Cider Vinegar with the "waste".  

Homemakers of times past had the perfect use for all this “waste” – making vinegar!
The process includes four steps and can take up to six weeks to complete.

1. Make a clean cider from ripe apples.
2. Convert all the fruit sugar to alcohol through a process called alcohol fermentation.
3. Change all the alcohol to acetic acid referred to as acetic acid fermentation.
4. Clarify the acetic acid to prevent further fermentation and decomposition.

Which Apples are Best?

     Fall and winter apple varieties are best for making vinegar because their sugar content is higher than summer apples. Gather fruit and wash it well. We soaked our apples in a diluted solution of vinegar in water. This is recommended to remove any surface pesticides and most of the surface bacteria. While the fruit is soaking in the vinegar solution, thoroughly wash and rinse some half-gallon jars (a good run through the dishwasher works well, too).
Peel and core the apples. Leave the scraps to air. They’ll turn brown. Fill the jar about 3/4 full of scraps and top with filtered (non-chlorinated) water. We covered the jars with coffee filters held in place with a rubber band and placed the jars into a container (to catch the foam-over from the fermentation process.) Cover and place in a warm, dark place (60-80ºF.) You can leave it for up to a month. You’ll notice the contents of the jar thickens and foams and a grayish scum forms on top. 

We separated the peelings and cores from the liquid after a week, strained the liquid into clean jars, covered them, put them back in the warm space and left them to ferment. After about a month, you can taste test it for strength. When it pleases you, strain it again and bottle it. It may be cloudy and have a sediment. This is “the mother.” This slimy looking thing consists of acetic acid bacteria and cellulose. It’s a natural product of the vinegar-making process. Filtration through a coffee filter will remove most of it.                  There are lots of uses for apple cider vinegar, from drinking it, rinsing your hair with it and using it as a cleaning product – don’t forget making pickles!

I'm going to make some and then bottle it in quart size mason jars.  

Have fun with your food storage.

Bob and LouAnn

We are being noticed

President Goettl passed along this message from the Maricopa City Manager's office.  It is in response to all the help the Boy Scouts and members of the Church gave in the last flood preparation. 

"Flood Preparations: Maricopa Fire Department is very thankful to the groups who came out to assist fire crews last week in preparation for forecasted potential flooding. The fire department urges all residents to always be prepared for such emergencies by ensuring there is always an adequate amount of water, non-perishable food, spare batteries, blankets, candles, full tank of fuel in resident’s personal vehicles, and spare cash on hand. Being prepared takes little effort but the benefits are immense. Having each family in Maricopa prepare for such events in this proactive manner allows the emergency services to concentrate on those areas and people most in need of services during these times."

WOW, the Maricopa Fire Department has caught the vision of food storage and encourages you to be prepared.  We echo that.  

The year long Stake Food Storage Challenge is officially over but we encourage you to keep expanding your food storage as you see and identify needs.  Also, how about other areas of preparedness.  For instance, do you have a tent that will fit your family if the need arose?  How about sleeping bags, cook stoves and serving ware?  What about after dark lighting, extra clothing and socks?  Does everyone in the family have a pair of warm closed in shoes, long pants and long sleeved shirts, hoodies and jackets?  Are you keeping your fuel tanks at half full or above?  Do you have on hand extra toilet paper and other personal needs?  Not last or least, how about extra cash on hand to get you through an emergency?  We will be talking about these and other things in the next coming months.  

I saw a commercial between the sessions of General Conference that tickled my funny bone.  It showed a man in the kitchen in the dark eating out of a bowl.  His wife turned on the light and asked him if that was food storage he was eating.  With a spoon full of what looked like noodles, he just had a sheepish guilty look on his face.  His wife then said, that's for emergency's.  His response was, the power is out.  She then flipped the light switch and the light came on.  He then slowly brought the spoon full of noodles to his mouth and put it in while she disgustedly turned around and left.  He then said, it's macaroni and cheese.  We SHOULD be eating our food storage, and then replacing what we use.  If you don't, how will you know how to use it when you need it and have developed different ways to prepare it?  For those of you who made the 72 hour kit in a can, I hope you used it this weekend to see how it was.  I did and it was good except the instant Quaker oats.  If you didn't use it, be sure to use it soon as some of the items only had a one year shelf life. 

Have fun with your food storage.

Bob and LouAnn

Final countdown to October General Conference

Our one year official Stake Food Storage Challenge is coming to an end.  That doesn't mean you can stop.  haha.  We want to encourage everyone to keep working on your food storage plan.  Remember Egypt had 7 years of famine and President Hinkley compared our times to that of Joseph.  No, we are not having famines in this country for the most part but we are not guaranteed anything tomorrow.  Famines are raging in other countries as well as plagues and other disasters.  I am putting a copy of what President Monson said in this months Ensign.

"In the vicinity where I once lived and served, the Church operated a poultry project, staffed primarily by volunteers from the local wards. Most of the time it was an efficiently operated project, supplying to the bishops’ storehouse thousands of fresh eggs and hundreds of pounds of dressed poultry. On a few occasions, however, being volunteer city farmers meant not only blisters on the hands but also frustration of heart and mind.

For instance, I shall ever remember the time we gathered the Aaronic Priesthood young men to give the project a spring-cleaning. Our enthusiastic and energetic throng assembled at the project and in a speedy fashion uprooted, gathered, and burned large quantities of weeds and debris. By the light of the glowing bonfires, we ate hot dogs and congratulated ourselves on a job well done.

However, there was just one disastrous problem. The noise and the fires so disturbed the fragile population of 5,000 laying hens that most of them went into a sudden molt and ceased laying. Thereafter we tolerated a few weeds so that we might produce more eggs.

No member of the Church who has helped provide for those in need ever forgets or regrets the experience. Industry, thrift, self-reliance, and sharing with others are not new to us.

We should remember that the best storehouse system would be for every family in the Church to have a supply of food, clothing, and, where possible, other necessities of life.

Of course there may be times when our members are in need of help from the Church. The Lord’s storehouse includes the time, talents, skills, compassion, consecrated material, and financial means of faithful Church members. These resources are available to the bishop in assisting those in need.

We urge all Latter-day Saints to be prudent in their planning, to be conservative in their living, and to avoid excessive or unnecessary debt. Many more people could ride out the storm-tossed waves in their economic lives if they had a supply of food and clothing and were debt-free. Today we find that many have followed this counsel in reverse: they have a supply of debt and are food-free.

I repeat what the First Presidency declared a few years ago:

“Latter-day Saints have been counseled for many years to prepare for adversity by having a little money set aside. Doing so adds immeasurably to security and well-being. Every family has a responsibility to provide for its own needs to the extent possible.

“We encourage you wherever you may live in the world to prepare for adversity by looking to the condition of your finances. We urge you to be modest in your expenditures; discipline yourselves in your purchases to avoid debt. Pay off debt as quickly as you can, and free yourselves from this bondage. Save a little money regularly to gradually build a financial reserve.”¹

Are we prepared for the emergencies in our lives? Are our skills perfected? Do we live providently? Do we have our reserve supply on hand? Are we obedient to the commandments of God? Are we responsive to the teachings of prophets? Are we prepared to give of our substance to the poor, the needy? Are we square with the Lord?

We live in turbulent times. Often the future is unknown; therefore, it behooves us to prepare for uncertainties. When the time for decision arrives, the time for preparation is past."

Listen closely to the talks that will be given in General Conference.  Take notes as you are prompted by the Spirit and then act on those promptings. 

We will be back with more interesting things next month.

Have fun with your food storage.

Bob and LouAnn

September, National Preparedness Month

It's September and this is National Preparedness month.  It is the last month for the goal of having a one year supply of food storage by October General Conference.  I want to include part of the message that President Monson wrote in this month's Ensign magazine.

"We urge all Latter-day Saints to be prudent in their planning, to be conservative in their living, and to avoid excessive or unnecessary debt. Many more people could ride out the storm-tossed waves in their economic lives if they had a supply of food and clothing and were debt-free. Today we find that many have followed this counsel in reverse: they have a supply of debt and are food-free.

I repeat what the First Presidency declared a few years ago:

“Latter-day Saints have been counseled for many years to prepare for adversity by having a little money set aside. Doing so adds immeasurably to security and well-being. Every family has a responsibility to provide for its own needs to the extent possible.

“We encourage you wherever you may live in the world to prepare for adversity by looking to the condition of your finances. We urge you to be modest in your expenditures; discipline yourselves in your purchases to avoid debt. Pay off debt as quickly as you can, and free yourselves from this bondage. Save a little money regularly to gradually build a financial reserve.”¹

Are we prepared for the emergencies in our lives? Are our skills perfected? Do we live providently? Do we have our reserve supply on hand? Are we obedient to the commandments of God? Are we responsive to the teachings of prophets? Are we prepared to give of our substance to the poor, the needy? Are we square with the Lord?

We live in turbulent times. Often the future is unknown; therefore, it behooves us to prepare for uncertainties. When the time for decision arrives, the time for preparation is past."

Re-read the last sentence.  When the time for decision arrives, the time for preparation is past! 

We have been admonished by SEVERAL Prophets and General Authorities to become prepared.

 To name just a few, Lehi was warned to leave Jerusalem and take his family with him because the city would be destroyed. He listened and obeyed and was blessed.  In the Old Testament in Numbers when the Lord sent serpents down as a result of the people speaking against God and Moses, Moses made a fiery serpent and set it upon a pole and told the people that had been bitten that if they would look up upon the pole at the fiery serpent, they would live.  There were those who would not look and died.  The only thing they had to prepare was their hearts and faith to be saved.  There are many more instances where Prophets had warned their followers and some would not listen and perished.  Another example of that was at Hauns Mill in Missouri.  Had they listened to the Prophet Joseph Smith, they would not have been killed.  Click on the link and re-listen or re-read President Hinkley's address in the October 1998 General Conference titled "To the Boys and to the Men".  President Hinkley 

September food storage tips: Dried whole eggs and dried egg whites:  For real tasting scrambled eggs, purchase Ova Easy Egg Crystals.  A #10 an contains the equivalent of 72 eggs.  Use whole powdered eggs in a #10 can for your recipes.  A few ways to use dried whole eggs: in baking, making mayonnaise or miracle whip, pancakes, puddings. Dried egg whites are excellent in angel food cake, frostings using egg whites, etc. Unopened, they store at least 5 years in a cool/dry/dark place. After opening, will keep for several months if refrigerated (in #10 can with lid secured).  If you purchased this last year in September, work on something else this month that you might need more of.

Honeyville Farms is having a 35% off of selected items sale for the first two weeks in September.  Here is another GREAT buy there.  The new All American Sun Oven.  

This is a bargain price at $289.79.  If you have been considering one, now is the time to get one.  

Don't procrastinate building your food storage supply.  If you can only afford to spend $5 a payday, do that and put that purchase under your bed or in your closet and add to it when you can purchase more.  You will be blessed as you do, miracles will take place, your food storage will grow and you will start to receive that peaceful feeling knowing you are becoming more prepared.

Have fun with your food storage.

Bob and LouAnn Singer

 

How is it coming?

We are only about 5 weeks away from our goal date of having at least a one year supply of food storage on hand.  How are you doing?

Two weeks ago, I was called to be a Stake High Councilor.  It just so happens that one area of my responsibilities is Temporal Welfare.  The Stake has not released us as the Stake Welfare Specialists yet but will when they receive inspiration on who should be called to that position.  In the mean time, we are pushing ahead with that calling also. 

During the last year, we have been feeling a greater need to encourage everyone to become more prepared and listen to the Prophet.

 In his October 1973 conference address, President Ezra Taft Benson gave some excellent instructions about home storage:

“For the righteous the gospel provides a warning before a calamity, a program for the crises, a refuge for each disaster. …

“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. …

“Brethren and sisters, I know that this welfare program is inspired of God. I have witnessed with my own eyes the ravages of hunger and destitution as, under the direction of the president of the Church, I spent a year in war-torn Europe at the close of World War II, without my family, distributing food, clothing, and bedding to our needy members. I have looked into the sunken eyes of Saints, in almost the last stages of starvation. I have seen faithful mothers carrying their children, three and four years of age, who were unable to walk because of malnutrition. I have seen a hungry woman turn down food for a spool of thread. I have seen grown men weep as they ran their hands through the wheat and beans sent to them from Zion—America.

“Thanks be to God for a prophet, for this inspired program, and for Saints who so managed their stewardship that they could provide for their own and still share with others.” (“Prepare Ye,” Ensign, Jan. 1974, pp. 69, 81–82.)

In General Conference of April 1976, Vaughn J. Featherstone gave a talk on becoming prepared. 

"The Lord will make it possible, if we make a firm commitment, for every Latter-day Saint family to have a year’s supply of food reserves.... All we have to do is to decide, commit to do it, and then keep the commitment. Miracles will take place; the way will be opened, and.... we will have our storage areas filled. We will prove through our actions our willingness to follow our beloved prophet and the Brethren, which will bring security to us and our families."

"I bear my humble witness to you that the great God of heaven will open doors and means in a way we never would have supposed to help all those who truly want to get their year’s supply. I know we will have time and money if we will commit and keep the commitment. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen."

Since we were inspired to start the Stake Food Storage goal a year ago, miracles have happened in our Stake.  One person donated over 300 cases of canned and bottled food that was distributed to the Bishops and Branch Presidents to be divided up to the members who they were inspired to give it to.  Pantry's have been filled and more families are working on their food storage and being prepared.   "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."  (Book of Mormon 1 Nephi 3:7)
 
 If you have not started or have but have quit, decide to do it, commit to do it and then keep that commitment.  The Lord will bless you in your efforts.  If ye are prepared, ye need not fear. 

Bob and LouAnn Singer.