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Howdy, friends. I am a 57-year-old, pint-sized, handicapped, widowed prepper. My awakening happened in 2011, when Congress voted yet again to raise the debt ceiling. I had desperately hoped that our elected leaders would do the right thing and get our government spending under control. When they didn’t, it dawned on me that they probably never would (was I right?) and that our nation was on a collision course with disaster. I started asking God to show me how to get off this runaway train before it goes over the cliff. Well, friends, there is no getting off. Not only that, I have since learned that there are other threats, like EMP and cyber attack, that could dramatically change our way of life in the blink of an eye. Fortunately, there is much that can be done to lessen the damage on a personal level for myself and maybe a handful of loved ones.

For me, the first step in prepping was deciding that my primary goal is not physical survival but remaining faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ in all I say and do, regardless of the circumstances. If I don’t survive the troubles that are coming, that’s okay. Death means leaving this troubled world behind and being with Him forever. “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Phil. 1:21)

After establishing my top priority, my second step was to recognize that no one can do everything but everyone can do something. I have physical, financial, and relational limitations, but I have learned to do what I can do and to trust God to take care of the rest as He sees fit. I also recognize that there are some scenarios for which it is pointless for me to prepare. For instance, if a crisis requires fleeing to the woods to live, I’m dead. With my handicap, I would not be able to survive out there. I might as well stay at home and die at home. Swing low, sweet chariot.

My Circumstances

I have been confined to a wheelchair for almost 30 years due to a neurological deficit, but I am healthy overall and was able to work as a teacher for several years. I live alone in an accessible two bedroom, ranch-style home with a metal roof. My 30something-year-old son, my only child, lives across the road from me with his two large dogs and seven chickens. He is an unmarried ex-military outdoorsman with law enforcement training. He is also a prepper. We live in a northern state on a main highway more than a few miles from the nearest small town, 60 miles from the nearest city of 40,000+ people, and at least 150 miles from the nearest city with 500,000+. I get Social Security benefits, and my son has a job. The mortgage on my house and several acres is my only debt. He inherited his 40 acres from my late husband’s family. His little house needs a lot of work; the acreage includes about 20 acres of farm land, two small ponds, and a woodlot. Many of our neighbors are retired.

Preparations

There are several things that I have been able to do over the past three years to prepare for the numerous threats that we are all facing. Although there are inadequacies in my preps, it is the best I can do for now. I am trusting the Lord for the rest, and I’m not losing sleep over it. Whatever I have done has put me ahead of where I was and where most people still are.

WATER: I have a rain barrel now that can be used during the warm weather months, along with several large tubs that can be set out when it is raining. I have six large water cans filled with water, which we refresh periodically. I have a generator that we will use for pumping water when the grid is down. We will use it for that one main purpose and little else. That way we can get by with running it for just a short period every few days, filling every available container, which will make our 20 gallons of stored gasoline last much longer. We refresh the gasoline, too. There are many ways to make a limited amount of water go a long way through double usage. For example, water used for cooking can be cooled and then consumed by humans or animals, providing a little nutrition with the hydration. Also, water used for washing clothes, dishes, and bodies can be used to flush the toilet.

FOOD: Little by little I have increased my supply of stored food. I follow the first-in-first-out rule with store-bought canned goods, and I keep a close eye on best-by dates. I have a fair supply of wheat, beans, rice, flour, and sugar along with about 30 #10 cans of dehydrated foods. About a year ago my Mennonite friends blessed me with 135 pints of their home-canned foods. This year they are replenishing what I have used. This is a perfect example of how God can provide in unexpected ways. Those wonderful sisters in the Lord knew I couldn’t can for myself, so they shared some of theirs. I do have a small raised-bed garden around my back patio that provides me with some fresh vegetables each summer, plus it’s an enjoyable outdoor activity. I have several books on gardening and country living, and I have basic garden tools, which will be used by others here when living and working together become a necessity.

HEALTH: Tucked away in a bedroom, I have stored quite a few medical supplies—several OTC drugs, some Rx drugs, lots of alcohol, peroxide, bandages, gloves and masks, a minor surgical kit, blood pressure cuff, hot water bottle, a bed pan, and more. I have five books on medical care, including The Doctors Book of Home Remedies and Where There Is No Doctor. I have watched some YouTube videos by the Patriot Nurse and several others on childbirth. I also have plenty of dish soap, laundry detergent, bar soap, hand sanitizer, Wet Wipes, toothpaste, shampoo, et cetera. (I prefer to be both well fed and clean, thank you.) Also, then, there are the comforting extras, like hand lotion, baby powder, and lip balm. For our emotional health, anyone’s complaining and hand-wringing will be countered with thanksgiving and praise to God for providing for our needs. I have learned that speaking negatively about my circumstances only intensifies negative emotions and makes hardships even more difficult to bear. Speaking positively lightens the mood and therefore the load. Putting on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness (Isaiah 61:3) really does make a difference. “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine:” (Proverbs 17:22a)

HEAT: My main source of heat during the long, cold winters here is a natural gas furnace. I also have a wood stove and use it as much as I can. My garden cart doubles as a wood wagon in the winter. I fill it with firewood in the carport, pull it into the great room, and park it next to the stove. It’s a lot of work in a wheelchair, but it’s doable. My son also carries wood in for me when he stops by, which is often. Guests love it when I have a fire burning for them to cozy up to. The wood stove will be used for cooking when the grid is down; I cook on it occasionally even now. I also have a small grill and several bags of charcoal for cooking outdoors as well as a campfire grate and a solar oven for summer cooking.

LIGHTS: There are two oil lamps sitting out and ready to use at any time, and I have three more lamps and lanterns in storage, along with 10 large bottles of oil, spare chimneys, and extra wicks. I have lost count of the candles. Needless to say, I also have a good supply of matches. There are four battery-powered tap lights in strategic locations for emergency use, not to mention flashlights and extra batteries.

REFRIGERATION: Without the grid, forget the fridge. Think pioneering. Two of the best natural-cooling agents are water and earth. If it were feasible for me to put a tub of water in a hole in the ground to keep food cool, I would. Instead, my approach during a long-term power outage will be to either: a) cook only enough for one meal at a time, whenever possible, or b) if the need for cooling food is unavoidable, I’d put it in a sealed container, place it in a camping cooler that is half-filled with water, and then eat it with the next meal.

LAUNDRY: If we have to do laundry by hand, I have three large plastic tubs and two smaller galvanized tubs that can be used for washing regular loads of clothes and several basins for frequently washed small items, like undies and hankies. I have a wash board, a breathing washer, three drying racks (one in use on a regular basis), a retractable clothesline, and a bunch of clothes pins. Most people today wash their clothes too often. Go ask your grandma how many days she wore her clothes as a child before they were considered “dirty”. My late husband used to joke that he wore his jeans until they could stand up in the corner by themselves.

COMMUNICATIONS: I have a hand-cranked radio for getting information and a set of two-way radios for my son to use. It’s not much, but it’s better than nothing.

MONEY: I have several hundred dollars in small bills and coins in the house. Awhile back I invested $2,000 in pre-1965 silver coins and hid them in an unusual but convenient location. I have a few items for barter, such as bar soap, feminine products, and baby supplies. The only substantial skill I could market, post-TEOTWAWKI, would be as a teacher for the neighborhood children, which include four boys, as far as I know. Then again, we could also provide basic medical care to the neighbors, using my supplies and maybe sell or barter some hand-crocheted hats and scarves, which are essential here is “Freezerville”. (Hmm . . . I think I’d better stock up on yarn.)

LIBRARY: I have The Little House series of books, the Foxfire series, the Encyclopedia of Country Living, and many others, including books on root cellaring, wood burning, and latrine building.

GUNS: I have none. Did someone just say “sitting duck”? Don’t worry; my son is well armed. Besides, when I envision the combination of my poor hand-eye coordination and the high anxiety of a life-and-death scenario, I think I would probably accidentally shoot myself in the leg before I could even raise a handgun to aim it at an intruder. I have focused on the beans and Band-aids of prepping, while my son has focused on the bullets. My #1 weapon is prayer. I have asked God to put angels of protection around my house when needed. He can do that, you know.

GROUP: My son and I are a team of two. We occasionally talk cautiously with relatives, neighbors, and friends about world events and being prepared. Only three get it; one is my elderly father, who is in a nursing home. Most seem unconcerned and/or too preoccupied with their lifestyle. We know we will need more people here when things get rough, and there will be plenty of volunteers to come and live with me. I anticipate “Guess who’s coming to dinner!” times 100. The selection process will be brisk and brutal but necessary. Most candidates will never be allowed to set foot through the door. Loved ones, like my sister (a nurse), will need my help as much as I will need theirs, so I have prepared for company, beginning with my dad who will be brought home from the nursing facility, if at all possible. I have enough beds and bedding to sleep four other people, comfortably, and more than that uncomfortably. I have two bucket commodes and a camping potty, if we need them. I have a “House Rules” list ready for them, plus a chore list and several packages of heirloom seeds for them to plant in the little field behind my house. Only God knows who’s coming and when, but my plan is to be a benevolent dictator and hope they don’t mutiny. If I can make it clear to them the need for the structure, teamwork, and frugality that I will insist on, then they will cooperate. If not, my son can keep them in line just by showing them his 50 cal.

DEFENSE: There are materials here for blackening the windows and blockading the doors. There are knives, hammers, and garden tools for group members stronger than I to use as weapons. There is also my son’s arsenal, although no one but he will have had any prior training. I have zip ties for handcuffs and handkerchiefs for blindfolds and gags. I’m serious! We will work with whatever we have. If God will enable us to hogtie an intruder or two, we will then share the Gospel with them before deciding their fate.

ACTIVITIES: Once the chores are done, we can unwind and relax with table games, cards, puzzles, singing, reading, and aerobics. I plan to have a Book Club once our group is complete. They can choose from anything I have here—fiction or nonfiction, humorous or serious—and then share what they have read with the rest of us, but I will strongly encourage them to read the survival books first. The fortunate few who are allowed to stay here will face a steep learning curve. I also have extra Bibles and plan to have a regular devotion time.

MISCELLANEOUS: There are other things that I have done to be better prepared. Regarding possessions, I have a small water filter, a non-electric food dehydrator, cast iron cookware, tarps of various sizes, sandbags, a roll of black plastic, duct tape, ropes, a camping shower, LOTS of toilet paper, and more. Hey, there’s more to prepping than just stuff; there’s lifestyle. I disconnected cable TV about three years ago, I stopped listening to recorded music a while back, and I have now stopped watching movies on DVD. Is it quiet around here? You bet! However, this is the way our ancestors lived, and they built this country. It’s amazing what you can learn to live without when you set your mind to it. We don’t need to be sitting passively while others entertain us with movies, concerts, sports, and the like. We need to be learning, doing, creating, and producing as a way of life.

Perspective

Am I ready for any crisis that comes my way? No. Should I be worried about it? No, again. Anxiety doesn’t help; action does. No one can do everything, but everyone can do something, and I’ve done a lot of “something” over the past three years. It is vital to maintain a calm, steady demeanor, both before and after our world does a somersault. The changes that are coming will be devastating and will cause a lot of panic, depression, and suicide. I have already experienced loss and adversity and, with God’s help, have persevered. In case you’re wondering, I became handicapped at age 27 due to a medical mistake and I became widowed at 39 due to cancer. I know what it’s like to lose, grieve, and start over. Accepting a new “normal” can be done. Oh, I’ve had my times of self-pity and depression, and it felt AWFUL! It produced nothing good; it just drained the life out of me. People occasionally ask me how I have managed to maintain a strong faith in God and a positive attitude through all of my trials; I tell them, “I don’t like the alternative.” The admonition to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5) can be applied to emotions as well. It is a choice, my friends. When the going gets tough, we can handle it like warriors or like nincompoops. Which will you choose?

My conversion to become a “born again&rdqu o; prepper started in the summer of 2011, when I was settling down to bed and surfing the net with my iPad. Performing some calculations on the national debt, as a Certified Public Accountant, I understood one thing– all the money in the world from every country wouldn’t or couldn’t be enough to even make a dent in its reduction, let alone a complete pay off. At that time, I had even calculated that approximately 18% of the Gross National Product (GDP) was used to pay just the interest on the national debt… just the interest! Then I did another calculation and came to terms that the Federal Reserve Rate, at that time, was just about 1%, which essentially means that the interest on money that our government borrowed is at that interest rate to pay back. Finally, the whopper came in performing the above calculation, but instead of the 1%, I substituted it for the normal Federal Reserve Rate, in normal economic times, which is leveled off at approximately 6%. That calculation, with a 6% federal reserve interest rate, concluded that it would require 77% of GDP be consumed to pay the interest on the national debt; that, again, is merely the interest. I knew at that juncture that “We The People” were enslaved beyond turning back of indebtedness of a benevolent government that the world economies couldn’t even afford, let alone the American people. This, without some safeguards on a governmental embodiment gone wild, will cause severe cataclysmic economic hardship, such as printing money to cause super inflation overnight.

So as a citizen of the glorious, wonderful State of Californication, I did some research on obtaining a gun. (An economic hardship of that magnitude will most likely bring down the walls of the Castle, ushering in evil to create chaos in the streets of America in some form of looting. Then, it will likely usher in the largest bandwidth of Martial Law– one that would make Adolph Hitler look like a Cub Scout in comparison– to quell freedoms of her citizens with more governmental decision making.) Well, to my dismay, you can’t own a firearm in the State of California, as almost every firearm sold in other states are illegal in the State of California. Other states are even barred from shipping firearms into this U.S. Constitution-abiding state. Yeah, right; I am being religiously facetious here. About that time, I started probing around the Internet to do research on good “gun states”– states that do not tread on the 2nd Amendment. (As a sidebar, whoola, James Wesley, Rawles book How to Survive the End of the World As We Know It graced my hands, through mail order.) After a fervent reading and re-reading (as I, of course, like to immerse myself into the study of topic threads), I purchased my first firearm. Psych! It was utterly stupid to hold a driver’s license from the State of California.

No more. I purchased a home just a four hour drive east of Orange County, California, where I was currently residing and driving my convertible Jaguar up and down the 405 freeway working for the “man”– ME! I immediately obtained a Nevada’s driver’s license, claimed my home state as Nevada, and purchased two AR-15 assault rifles manufactured by Colt. Now for you military veterans, you must understand that I only ever owned a B.B. gun as a child and didn’t have a clue on gun ownership. However, I purchased two five-hundred round batches of ammunition as any good prepper would do, and I obtained tactical training in targets, moving targets, positional shooting, obstacle course shooting, and night shooting. I learned a very important lesson in the art of gun cleaning– your guns need oil, just as your Orange County blonde girlfriend needs money. (It’s just a joke, if anyone is offended.)

This leads me into my next topic– more due diligence in the understanding of the need to prepare for this catastrophe. The fancy sports car was the first to go and then the condo on the beach. (I exchanged it for a five bedroom home in Nevada, and I had some change left over for prepping.) Lastly, the financial drain of a “Blonde Bimbo” (as some females have called her) went. Actually, I didn’t even have to break up with her. Once the sports car and condo left my possession, she automatically drifted off into a new relationship with a new found financier, who provides that fancy, dancy lifestyle. It’s not me! At this point, I am a full-time, “born again” prepper. As in the story of Animal Farm, or from the Old Testament of Belshazzar, “I saw the writing on the wall.”

Back in Nevada, I purchased a year’s worth of freeze-dried foods in #10 cans from The Ready Store. I got over 75 cans in all, containing everything from freeze-dried fruits and vegetables, powdered milk, and nuts and oats to grains and full meals, such as beef stroganoff and spaghetti dinners. I also got butter, white and brown sugars, and MRE’s, which are all stored in a newly hollowed out portion of my stairwell. Then, months went by. After more research, the gadgets started to arrive through mail order from gun shows and discrete purchases; these included things like flashlights for my AR-15, night vision scopes, thermal/night vision binoculars, the inferred light bulbs James speaks of in his book (in which you can turn your outside lights on and no one can see any difference, but your night vision can see your yard lit up like daylight), an assortment of all types of batteries galore with rechargeable kits, bulbs, solar panels to charge a DC car battery, stock of car batteries, electronic components such as resistors, capacitors, inductors, coils, soldering irons, circuit boards, and more.

As the time passed on, I started reading more and purchasing all under a new budget just for prepping. For instance, it took me four months of budget to purchase the full army surgical bag complete with an Operating Room capability for up to four surgeries, medical supplies, dental supplies, hand sanitizer, gloves, masks, tyvek suites, et cetera, et cetera. The most important was the training. Learning C.P.R. for the first time was a humbling experience, and I realized how unprepared I was in life not even to come to the aid of another in a crisis. How selfish was that? I now have four community college classes completed in microbiology, general biology, human anatomy, and physiology, which the later course was taught with a real “human cadaver” to dissect and understand how it all works. It’s great knowledge to now have for an emergency situation.

As an electrical engineering undergrad, I set up an entire electrical/electronics shop to repair and upgrade any electronics, even the Apple things, which need special tools to unlock their potential and of course voiding any warranty at that moment. I am now the amateur Radio calls sign KB2—. The three dashes are left off my complete call-sign, for concerns of anonymity. I have purchased a Kenwood “rig” of TS590SG and setup myriad configuration of antenna around the home. In which I can reach the far reaches of the world talking to other Hams in Siberia, Russia, or in the next county over. James Rawles once illustrated to have a parcel map of your neighborhood and write the names of the neighbors on them. However, I did that for frequencies, in all States and counties as a compilation of all military, police and rescue, maritime, air traffic control, Ham Radio, Racing, and weather stations are printed off and stored in a safe, fireproof location. (Your guns needs a safe of their own, but an additional Fat boy gun safe will store your family documents, non-paper money, neighborhood parcels, frequency listings, and much more.) I did not mention it, but receiving and transmitting Morse code in five-words a minute speeds is extremely fun. No more do I go out for $200 dinners with girls that I didn’t even want to spend time with anyhow, and no more am I purchasing “bling” to impress people that are not going where I am going in life and really don’t care about me anyway. So much for the corporate status; an outfit of camos and a discussion on prepping at the shooting range suits me just fine.

With more years and more due diligence in knowledge accumulation, I added a well stocked library in the home with all the essentials of medical surgery (Emergency War Surgery is an excellent read), gardening, seed planting (I found out the difference between heirloom seed and generic hybrid seed; wow, start experimenting with heirloom seed now), tactical training (such as the Navy SEAL handbook and SAS from the British Special Forces, a well stocked Christian genre of books on marriage, God, faith, finances, and of course James Rawles’ fictional books which really demonstrated how to use all your prepping stocks in a grid down, or world crisis, approach. I must add, a great read is In Pursuit of the Free Pass by John Howard, which illustrates the ideologies of the Liberal agenda as a battle plan to overtake America’s Christian foundation and turn it into a rewritten liberal existence. (Church and State is a big part of the book. Please read it.) Furthermore, as a man of God now, and of three college degrees, I really understand the value of learning and having good knowledge. Not only do I have the U.S. Constitution in hardback book form but also an authentic copy of the Declaration of Independence, along with the Bill of Rights, Emancipation Proclamation (written by Abraham Lincoln), and the Federalist Papers, laminated and plastered on the walls in the library.

The Ten Commandments are the cornerstone of the entire library! I can’t live with moral relativism any longer, where everyone does right in their own eyes! It’s best to keep it simple, with one creed that ALL follow and uphold, which equates to “One Nation Under God, Indivisible, with Liberty and Justice For All”. We are a divided nation, today, and it’s only going to get worse with this liberal leftist agenda being forced into mainstream and freedoms eroding minute by minute. God’s word has never changed, not even in Heaven (when we get there), so why do we need a “new doctrine” from a heathen populous who are going to Hell anyway?

I’m still continuing the prepping as a few more quarters tick by. (As an accountant, I tend to keep track of time in quarters of years.) Then I am continuing on through this journey of divorcing the “worldly statuses”, right up to the past few years, when I purchased many, many more firearms– a 12 gauge shotgun, 45 ACP handgun, .22 handgun, 9 mm handgun, .50 cal BMG sniper rifle, and 308 long range rifle with sniper scope. I still have the two AR-15 assault rifles and almost 20,000 rounds of ammunition stored in an undisclosed location. I have a compound bow and cross bows for silence. I even obtained those tax stamps for a full automatic conversion of the AR-15 and stamps for suppressors. (Yes, I used to call them silencers, but they do make some noise.) I acquired these all within an eight month waiting time period, as the BATF illustrates they are backed-up (though I am not sure if that government agency is being entirely truthful or not). It’s better to have those items in the hands of law-abiding, Constitution-believing contrivance, than with the militarized police force located in a city near you that will eventually have the Final Solution for you to adhere to for their financial collapse.

I then went through the study and purchased equipment, such as camouflage, ghilly suites, boots, gloves, backpacks, tents, and tarps. My bug out bag is packed and ready to go at a moments notice. I even keep ten magazines stocked with 30 rounds each of 5.56mm ammunition for the assault riffles. I have all this because I stay out of the first non-Constitutional-abiding state– California. I also purchased body armor to wear everyday, even to work as an accountant, and the more resilient ceramic plates, which I use on weekends when I go out and train with other professionals in tactics and maneuvers. I even have essentials, such as Tyvec, chemical/biological, and radiation-resistant military suits with gas masks. Even still, to train in all of that heavy equipment in order to become comfortable is the key to withstanding a governmental mishap (whether foreign or domestic).

Within the past year, I have been married to the love of my life. It just so happens she is a foreigner from a communist country– the Peoples Republic of China. Being a mixed race family is all the more better with the understanding of each other and the difference in the cultures. She is all into being a wife and a mother, which is something I have not EVER found in this feminized American culture. (A special note to you, women: my mother and grandmothers never needed women’s rights. A person taught to sue the establishment to be equal to something they never can be [another man] is destroying the home of the brave. Let’s face it; I am not even equal to other men and I am a man, so how are women supposed to be?) I thank God for my China Doll. We are into target shooting, learning, praying, and stockpiling. I must admit, I would have never found my soul-mate if it hadn’t been for this prepper movement. I might still be out with the bimbos! Luckily, we both are in love with each other and with prepping and living in a well-stocked home of beans, bullets, and band-aids, with looking to brighter days ahead knowing we have the peace of mind to not become part of the problem in a crisis but become part of the solution through preparing. We hope to see you all in the American Redoubt, as our next move will be to an undisclosed location west of the Rockies. God Bless!

“In the year of our Lord of 1776, the most famous year in all of world history, in which an entire nation was birthed on the precepts that God alone doles out human rights and that men and women are to safeguard that precept even against tyranny confiscating the right to protect our nation’s freedoms.”