Michael,

I can't tell you how it blessed me to see your post from the 16th. I have mentioned before that I am part of a small group that contains a number of people from here in Texas and even a brother and his prayer group in Puerto Rico, that have been preparing for a number of things you mentioned. We have actually been making preparation for some time now. I recently inquired of one of our pastors whether or not the church had a plan in the event of some catastrophic event occurring in our town - be it hurricane, tornado or terrorist event. The only response was that there was a future meeting planned with the Red Cross about possibly using the church as a shelter. I fear far few people have considered the idea of making plans for a worst case scenario. Let me say up front, I hope all of our plans are for naught and will never have to be implemented, but as a watchman myself, I don't want to be caught unprepared.

We have determined at which home our group will come together to ride out whatever event impacts us to a catastrophic degree. We know that there is strength in numbers and rather than try to maintain four or five homes, we will be better off expecting to live communally at this central location for the duration. As you can imagine, this requires a great deal of prayer and thought about even just the basic activities we participate in on a daily basis. Arrangements have to be made for sleeping, meal preparation, bathing, etc. These things need to be considered with scenarios that include whether the power is on or off, grocery stores being supplied regularly or not. Water needs electricity to be pumped to homes, if there is no power, there will be no water. Folks need to consider supplies for a number of different scenarios:

Food - Food would need to be stockpiled. We have taken the approach that as we consolidate everything we have gathered, we will either keep it at our home "compound" or if the Lord leads, we will take it to our church and have it shared with the entire body. We are prepared for either scenario. We have gathered foods that do not require refrigeration, just in case. Foods that are filling, yet do not require a huge amount of preparation should be given consideration. Rice, beans, pasta, flour, cornmeal, etc are easy to store, fairly inexpensive and filling. We have gathered dried milk, sugar, eggs, butter, cheese mix and other types of food. Thought needs to be given to other items such as baking powder, yeast, spices, bullion, etc.

Water - most sites (FEMA, etc) say to have 3 gallons of water per person per day. If an event is extended, trying to maintain that much water would be almost impossible, so any stored water should be rationed from day one. Water can also be purified by adding 12 drops of Clorox to a gallon. Having Clorox in storage is a good idea as well as having storage containers in which to catch rain water or collect water from reservoirs

Every day supplies - Extra supplies of tooth paste, hand soap, shampoo, floss, dish soap, paper plates, trash bags, toilet paper, candles, flash lights etc should be collected. We don't often realize how dependant we are on these things until they are no longer available

Medication and emergency medical supplies: It would be impossible to have a full supply of every medicine needed by every person, but some things should be in supply: Tylenol, Advil or their generic substitutes. Remember, some folks can only take one or the other. Medicines for battling allergic reactions will be important. Basic supplies such as band aids, cotton swabs, wound dressing supplies, hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, eye droppers, tweezers, will all be in short supply. Plus, consider throat lozenges, cold and cough medicines, etc. This list doesn't even address special medical requirements individuals may have that require prescriptions. Do any of the prescription meds require refrigeration? If there are generators available, they should be used primarily to operate a minimum number of refrigerators to preserve as much of the refrigerated foods available and for these medications requiring refrigeration.

Communication and transportation - short wave radios will be necessary since many emergency broadcasts will be able to be heard on these bands when they may not be available otherwise. Batteries will be of utmost importance, and having radio batteries that can be recharged through a hand crank or through a small solar panel will be extremely useful. Folks need to know that during some situations, cell calls may not get through but a text message sometimes can. If gas is at a shortage, do folks have bicycles in good repair that can be used until gas supplies are restored? Are patch kits, additional tires or tubes and a bike lock available? Use of vehicles should be limited to the ones with the very best gas mileage, and possibly a truck so gas usage is minimized. Have confirmed arrangements been made with all family members as to what they should do, and where they should go if something should happen. I have a daughter away at college 3 hours from home, special arrangements have had to be made to make sure she knew exactly where she should stay until I can get to her. We're still working out what to do do in the event she should be able to catch a ride home - how long do I wait before I go after her? What arrangements has the University made for the on campus students?

Pets - Have sufficient supplies been put back for pets. In a worst case scenario, an extended event, many folks will not be able to provide for their family pets. These pets will either have to be put down or released to fend for themselves. As they roam in search of food, they will likely form packs and resort to age old hunting behaviors. These animals will become dangerous and will probably need to be defended against. I love my Lab and have set aside approx. 70 lbs of food for him and another dog that will be with us. Do our pets need any special types of medication? If so that would need to be stockpiled also.

As you can probably imagine, this is just a minimal list of items that would make life better in the event of a catastrophic happening in our nation or community. I want to share one story that was shared with us by a strong, long time brother in Christ at our last dinner together. This brother has never been much for gathering emergency supplies. He has always felt the supply system of the US would come through and water, food, medicine would be quickly available in stores. After hurricane Rita had passed through our community, he went out looking for bottled water. As he drove through deserted streets he realized there were no supplies available. He confessed, for the first time in his life he felt a desperation like he had never experienced before. He gave serious thought as to how far along things would have to get before he smashed a window and took what he needed for his family. I live outside a large city in Texas. We have a number of men and women who work during the day to feed their family that evening. These folks gather in large groups waiting for work each day. Imagine what could happen should work no longer be available for these folks. What would they be willing to do to feed the family they have at home. These thoughts bring me back to the idea that the Lord may have us take all of our supplies to the church to be shared with anyone in need.

I pray none of these things will be necessary in our time on this earth. I pray that one day someone will read my "In case your reading this, I have been Raptured letter," and will have access to the supplies we have gathered. That may just give them the strength and time required to bypass the need for the mark and seek out the only One who can grant them the peace and hope they are seeking.

Your brother in Christ,

Rob

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5: 22, 23a