NGZ Newsletter - May/June 2012
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Transcript of NGZ Newsletter - May/June 2012
Preparation Begins At Home
M AY / J U N E 2 0 1 2
Mankind has devised numerous ways to carry what
is important to them. We have pocketbooks, purses,
wallets, backpacks, knapsacks, totes, baskets, cool-
ers, lunch boxes, shoe boxes, tackle boxes, diaper
bags, saddle bags, grocery bags, doggie bags, briefcas-
es, suitcases, lockets, pocket watches, cat carriers,
baby carriers, baby strollers, bikes, wagons, wheelbar-
rows, and wheelchairs. We can be very creative when
it comes to toting things around.
As we are packing and planning our emergency
backpacks, we need to be mindful of those things
that the medical experts feel are important and
necessary for our physical survival in case we must
leave our homes. But wouldn’t it be nice if we could
pack a special pocket of spiritual things in our hearts
in the same way we pack the physical things in our
packs? Instead of a pillow for our head, we would
pack “peace” so we could lay down in peace at night.
Instead of a compass, we would carry the “knowl-
edge” of the word of God, so we would always know
which way to go. Instead of a flashlight, we would
walk by “faith” knowing that God would go before us.
Instead of a knife, we would use the “Spirit” to help
us cut to the heart of a matter and discern what was
right and true. Instead of salves and ointments for our
blisters and wounds, we would pack “repentance” and
“forgiveness.” Instead of Band-Aids and dressings, we
would pack “mercy” and “kindness.” Instead of food,
we would feed on God’s word and His goodness to
bring our hearts and minds into a state of “righteous-
ness” and “truth.” Instead of water, we would drink
in God’s “love.” Instead of games and toys, we would
pack “joy.” We wouldn’t want to forget any of God’s
good gifts—we would want to weave them into the
fabric of our heart’s “backpack.” Our spiritual experts
have been very particular in the things that are most
essential to our spiritual survival. Have we heeded
their advice?
When God created man and woman, He gave them
a spirit and clothed it with a body, or physical home,
that they could move with them wherever they went.
But as God prepared a home for them in the garden,
He gave them a special gift that went beyond just
a place to live. He talked with them each day, and
gave them the gift of HIS PRESENCE. When they were
cast out, they lost more than just their home. They
lost their ability to see and hear the Lord their God.
No longer would they be able to walk with Him in
the cool of the day with no distractions. Now their
sorrows would be multiplied, their burdens would
become great and they would no longer have the
presence of the Lord to bring them peace. All that
they did would be done with great effort on their
part. They would now have to provide their own
shelter, their own clothing and their own food. Their
time would be taken up with just surviving instead of
enjoying and basking in all that the Lord had created.
They would be separated from HIM. How long will we
continue to separate ourselves from HIM?
The children of Israel were led by Moses out of
Egypt and out of captivity; they moved into the desert
and camped in tents. When they were instructed to
build God a Tabernacle in the wilderness, they essen-
tially built Him a tent. A tent is merely a portable
this issue
Preparation Begins at Home 1
Recipe of the Month 1
Resource Team Spotlights 3
Sanitation Tips 3
Coming Events 4
Want Ads 4
Recipe of the Month
Canned Tomato &Green Pepper SalsaYield: 3 Pints
• 3 cups peeled, cored,
chopped tomatoes
• 3 cups seeded, chopped long
green peppers
• ¾ cup chopped onions
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded
and finely chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1½ cups vinegar (5 percent)
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons oregano leaves
• 1½ teaspoons salt
Caution: Wear plastic or rubber
gloves and do not touch your face
while handling or cutting hot
peppers. If you do not wear
gloves, wash hands thoroughly
with soap and water before
touching your face or eyes.
Hot Pack: Combine all ingredients
in a large saucepan and heat,
stirring frequently, until mixture
boils. Reduce heat and simmer for
20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Ladle hot into clean, hot jars,
leaving ½-inch headspace. Remove
air bubbles and adjust headspace
if needed. Wipe rims of jars with
a dampened, clean paper towel;
apply two-piece metal canning
lids. Process in a boiling water
canner according to the
recommendations.
1
“home” that you can move with you wher-
ever you go. It is not the type of building
materials or the decorations and furniture
that makes it a home, but what takes
place within. Our home is a reflection of
our heart and what we value. Many of the
Israelite people murmured and complained
because their hearts were more concerned
with the past and what they had lost, rath-
er than with the future and what it might
hold. Can we trust God with our future?
The scriptures tell us of a family who
left their home in Bethlehem to escape a
famine in Judah. Elimelech and Naomi took
their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, to the
country of Moab, and while they were in
this strange land Mahlon married Ruth and
Chilion married Orpah. After 10 years, all
three men died. By this time, the famine
in Judah had ended, so Naomi decided to
return to her original home. She thanked
her daughters-in-law for their kindnesses,
and released them from caring for her, tell-
ing them to return to their own mother’s
houses. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law
and left, but Ruth said, “Entreat me not
to leave thee, or to return from following
after thee; for whither thou goest, I will
go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge;
thy people shall be my people, and thy God
my God. Where thou diest, will I die, and
there will I be buried; the Lord do so to
me, and more also, if aught but death part
thee and me.”
Ruth was blessed by God for remaining
faithful and true to Him and to Naomi. But
Naomi was blessed, also. She had wanted
to give herself the name Mara, which
means “bitter”, because she thought the
Lord had dealt very bitterly with her in
taking away her husband and two sons. She
did not know at the time what the Lord had
in store for her. After Ruth married Naomi’s
kinsman, Boaz, she bore a son to replace
and redeem all that Naomi had lost. And
Naomi was told that Ruth was better than
seven sons. How far did the Lord have to
take Naomi to find a daughter-in-law that
was better than seven sons? Can we say to
the Lord, “ Entreat me not to leave thee,
or to return from following after thee; for
whither thou goest, I will go; and where
thou lodgest, I will lodge;
thy people shall be my
people, and thy God my
God.” Can we trust the
Lord to lead us and guide
us in times of famine and
death, and to restore unto
us all that we might lose?
God is our Creator AND our Redeemer and
Restorer.
Here we have three examples of people
leaving their homes: the first was because
of a desire for sin, the second was because
of a desire for freedom, and the third was
because of a desire for a new beginning.
In the midst of the Garden of Eden, we
find the true source of life and freedom
and new beginnings: GOD HIMSELF. In the
middle of the camp of the Israelites, in
the midst of the Tabernacle of God, in the
center of a special carrier, we find the
words of the Covenant of GOD. In the midst
of each of our homes, we are to build a
special altar honoring our GOD. And in the
midst of each our hearts, we are to carry
the Words of our GOD. If we value our cov-
enant with GOD, that covenant will literally
occupy the central place in our lives, both
spiritually and physically.
In each of our hearts there is a
recognition that we are not truly “home.”
We have a yearning for something better.
We have a desire and a longing for that
which we have lost. When we come back
into the presence of the Lord, we find what
we are looking for: that sense of comfort
and peace that comes from Him. We belong
to Him, and in Him we find our “home.”
Anything else is just a replica
of that original home. We
all constantly long for that
home, and try to imitate it
in our lives. We try to bring
order from chaos, and peace
from all our distractions
and labors. But no matter
whether our home is a beautiful garden,
a comfortable abode with four walls, a
portable tent, or even just a backpack, we
need to take our God and His spiritual gifts
with us. Our children need to know that
the number one thing we do to prepare
for an emergency is the same thing as the
number one thing we do to prepare for
eternity—cleave unto the Lord Jesus Christ,
and love Him with all our heart, might,
mind and strength.
From second Nephi chapter 11, verse 48
we read: “And we talk of Christ, we rejoice
in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy
of Christ, and we write according to our
prophecies, that our children may know to
Don’t forget to fast and pray for the Neighborhood Groups of Zion on the third Thursday of each month.
“Let us prepare
for HIS true home
that exists only in
HIS PRESENCE...”
2
what source they may look for a remission of
their sins.”
We should be talking about Christ, and
thinking about Christ, and reading about
Christ, and taking notes about Christ, and
sharing about Christ, and singing about
Christ, and praying about Christ, and look-
ing forward to Christ, and serving Christ and
most of all, loving Christ. Our lives should
be so saturated with Christ and all that He
stands for, that there is no more room for
anything else. Our “homes,” no matter what
or where they are, should be so full of the
Spirit of the Lord, that the evil one can NOT
have sway in the hearts of men, women, or
children.
When we talk of Emergency Preparedness,
perhaps we should also talk of Eternal
Preparedness. One has no meaning without
the other. When the question is asked, “If I
have to leave my home, where will I go?”
perhaps the greater question will also be
asked, “If I have to leave my earthly home,
where will I go?” God has a place prepared
for us. Not just a place in heaven after we
die, but also a place here on earth, even
Zion: a place of Holiness that He will sanc-
tify and cleanse to make it worthy of HIS
PRESENCE. Are we willing to prepare our
lives to be there? We need to make the
proper spiritual preparation for ourselves,
our families and our friends. We cannot let
our physical preparations take precedence
over our spiritual preparations. One is infi-
nitely more valueable and important. As we
put the Lord first, we will become like HIM
and will be a reflection of HIM. His love will
radiate out from our very beings, and our
neighbors will be drawn to HIM.
When Jesus walked the earth, He told His
disciples that the foxes had holes, and the
birds of the air had nests, but the son of man
had not where to lay his head. He wasn’t
trying to say that he had no place to sleep.
He was trying to explain that HIS true home
did not yet exist on earth. HIS Kingdom was
not yet established, and HIS righteousness
was not yet in the hearts of men. Let us
work with our Master in preparing a place
where He CAN lay His head. Let us pre-
pare for HIS true home that exists only in
HIS PRESENCE by preparing our hearts and
homes. ■
Canning Activities
Neighborhood group members met at Lunch
Partners on Tuesday, May 8th and canned 60
quarts of carrots. Kudos!! The committee
headed by Esther Goodrich plans on
continuing this effort throughout the
summer as NGZ member gardens produce
comes available. Anyone that would like to
share in this effort or who might have good
recipes to share for canning please notify
Esther at [email protected].
Urban Farm Outing
Members of the NGZ took a field trip in
April to see and learn about urban farming.
The Gardening Committee, headed by Dawn
Hoover and Lois Romer, had a very informative
and lovely display at the Emergency Fair and
we want to thank them whole-heartedly for
their hard work in preparing the display which
helped to make the fair a great success. If
anyone needs suggestions for your gardening
this summer, please contact Dawn or Lois.
Resource Team Spotlights
3
Sanitation Tips
Simple short-term items to have on hand
in case of a temporary loss of water and
water pressure would be a camping
port-a-potty or a commode that could be
kept in a garage or outbuilding. These can
be lined with waste bags and kitty litter
can be added to waste to help control
odor. Bags with a gel that breaks down
waste are available through several differ-
ent emergency providers and at Walmart.
Make sure to have plenty of hand sanitizer
and disinfectants on hand to maintain
good sanitary procedures in your home.
Suggestions for long-term sanitary needs
will be offered at upcoming events.
COMING EVENTS
• The next All-Groups Sunday Meeting will be in June. The date will be
announced.
• The next Preparedness Fair is planned for August 25th at the Gathering
place from 9am-2pm. More valuable information and various mini-classes
will be offered on water storage, sanitation, food storage/preservation,
gardening, first-aid etc.
• Bug-Out Bash: October date to be announced! This will be a chance to
test our preparation skills and use our 94-hour packs in a camp-out setting
for 24 hours. We look forward to some fun, learning, and spiritual sharing.
This activity could be a great time to get to know the people from your
neighborhood groups better and to discuss what you may have to share
with each other in the event of an emergency situation.
Want Ads: If anyone would know of or be willing to donate the following items
for emergency preparedness projects please notify Venus Phillips at venusmp@
live.com. Needed: cardboard egg cartons and drier lint to make fire starters,
pressure canners or ball canning jars and lids, food grade buckets with lids.
Canning recipes are always welcome as well. We also would like to know who
has chain saws available to help with cutting and storing fuel for next winter.
10. Did anyone bring a couple of umbrellas?9. Hey, there are more than two flies in here. Did anyone remember to pack the fly swatters?8. Wasn’t someone supposed to put two shovels on board?7. Help! I need some Pepto for the elephants, QUICK!6. OK, who’s the wise-guy who brought the mosquitoes on board?5. Don’t make me pull this ark over and come back there!4. No Ham, you cannot eat the Pig!3. And whatever you do, DO NOT pull this plug out.2. If only we had remembered the fishing poles.
And the number one thing
overheard on the Ark is...
1. Are we there yet?
We’ll be on the web soon! Find us at:www.prepare4zion.org
To join the NGZ, contact Janice at: [email protected]
Neighborhood Groups of Zion Newsletter • May / June 2012
Preparation Humor:
10 Top Things Overhead on Noah’s Ark:
NEIGHBORHOOD GROUPSOFZionZion