by ElderBerry 85 Replies latest jw experiences
"The elders don’t know what to do they keep asking the branch but only get directions to lovingly take care of the refugees."
The elders should threaten to stop sending congregational donations to the Branch, and use them to lovingly take care of the refugees instead.
Many of us have small homes anyway. A friend says they opined on putting a sister in the spare basement room next to her husband. Hanky panky would not ensue there; I never saw any man who is as clueless as he: never noticing boobs, legs butts, flirting. But it will happen by chance or design. That is one way to pay "rent".
I have yet to see any monies flow back to the trenches.
Like Baalamsass said
Make sure you have a full tank of gas and if possible a couple of jerry cans full as well that you can take to extend your journey.
water and food for 2 weeks if you have to shelter in place
$2000 in cash if you can’t get to your bank and the power is down
as far as following the directions of the elders, many of them can’t organize their own lives properly so I wouldn’t take their advice.
Follow your local government disaster leaders. They are actually trained in how to keep people safe
Hoser - I also would NEVER rely on elders for that kind of practical advice. Most are 100% clueless 90% of the time.
Another Watchtower dream is that the "brothers will check on me and grandma". Nope. No phones. No one wandering around- except criminals. Once evacuated, and the looters start, entire neighborhoods are sealed by law enforcement, and National Guard. I doubt few people want to argue with National Guardsmen sitting behind a 50 cal machine gun on top of a Humvee. We had a few at intersections entering the neighborhood, no sightseeing, or visiting. If you leave a sealed area you might not get back in. Options: Leave or sit tight.
PS: Always keep extra BBQ coals on hand. As your freezer starts to defrost without power, you can have daily BBQs of defrosting meat. :)
HOSER & THOMAS MORE:
You are probably wise not to ask elders for practical advice, especially now.. I hear they are appointing very young guys in their twenties! 🤣
At least back when I was in the Witness religion the elders were full grown adult men - middle age or older.. Even if one wasn’t exactly a genius, he at least had practical knowledge of living in the world.. What does a twenty something know?
I agree with a lot of the advice on here. I was watching a YouTube prepper (not a ridiculous one) but a sensible middle aged man with good advice. One thing he said is that in some cases you should shelter in place. He said never take to the road unless you absolutely know that where you are going is better than where you are. Otherwise, you would just be a glorified refugee.
Much of what has been said here is good. However I would like to add a couple of more points.
Firstly you can't prepare for every kind of natural disaster or emergency. So don't bother. Luckily, the area were you are living now, most likely has only one kind risk. You might live in a earthquake zone, an area prone to flooding or fire, so just focus and plan for that.
Secondly, understanding whether your disaster is a local event or a regional one, should influence your decision to go or stay. So gather reliable intel ... not hearsay.
Finally, 95% of all people leave things too late. Its far better to evacuate over nothing (and laugh about it after), than being trapped with everyone else. Remember, if you have to see the danger with your own eyes before you do something ... then you'll probably die along with your family.
Hoser, I noticed you mentioned having $2000 in cash on hand, in case of emergency. I recently saw on the news that 47% of Americans couldn’t come up with $400 if they had an emergency. I’m sure many witnesses fit that category. I personally wouldn’t want to keep that much cash in my house, but that’s just me.
Like Baalamsass said
Make sure you have a full tank of gas and if possible a couple of jerry cans full as well that you can take to extend your journey.
water and food for 2 weeks if you have to shelter in place
$2000 in cash if you can’t get to your bank and the power is down
as far as following the directions of the elders, many of them can’t organize their own lives properly so I wouldn’t take their advice.
Follow your local government disaster leaders. They are actually trained in how to keep people safe
This is the question “should you go to one of their camps or shelters?
I guess it depends on the situation.
At the moment all congregations are given directions to meet at the KH as first port of call, second RV point is arranged in event of KH not an option.
Its usually a retail park or something where each group meets with their group overseer and his assistant.
then depending on the situation maybe follow government advice if it’s available like a shelter or something or if not an option the nearest congregations that are available are told to offer shelter and support.
what if it’s such a large area that is affected and huge numbers lost their homes and in need of aid? Then go further afield asking congregations to take in JWs who are in need.
they always push the scripture to work good towards all but especially those related in the faith
The 'Go Bags"! oh I can't even tell you how damn ridiculous my jw is about his 'go bag'. He was traveling for a bit a few years back and didn't go anywhere without it . He even wanted to get me one, cause at heart he is a nice guy. However, if you saw my pantry you would stifle a giggle as did I. I am a gardener, canner, dehydrator, herbalist and so forth. I have enough to last me through a catastrophe and then some. His 'go bag'? has some weird brick type food, I think 2 bottles of water, maybe some bandaids, and not much of real help if you ask me. I even offered a few things he might need.
I wonder at the carrying cash advice. A few years ago a local gas station lost power and the clerks were not able to give change for cash because they could not count 'up' and give change. If you have never worked in a restaurant to count up quickly you would do this- if the bill was 13.80 and the customer gave a 20.00 you would say, "and .20 makes 14.00 and 6.00 makes 20.00. Or actually count the six dollars, 15, 16, 17 and so forth. I know lots of kids who cannot grasp what I am telling them even when using real cash and change to show them. Not trying to say they are dumb or anything, just a different world. They can run circles around me with computer issues or social media.
