Who knows you prep?

[SimplyDawn]

At the risk of looking like a nutter, aside from the folks on CF, no one other than my husband and children know I prep. My family is supportive of this, since my husband and adult son have concerns about the future. Adult daughter is off in rainbow land and not too concerned.

Ideally, I would love to have a close circle of trusted local friends who were also preppers, that knew some important homesteading skills. If things did get bad, the idea of having a circle of competent people who we could work with would be fantastic. For now, I've yet to meet anyone who admits to prepping, and the one local group I found on line who preps, are more militant, anti-government survivalists...and I'm not ready to head down that road, just yet.

So, what say you? Have a group of preppers you work with and can rely on, or are you doing this solo?

 

[faroukfarouk]

At the risk of looking like a nutter, aside from the folks on CF, no one other than my husband and children know I prep. My family is supportive of this, since my husband and adult son have concerns about the future. Adult daughter is off in rainbow land and not too concerned.

Ideally, I would love to have a close circle of trusted local friends who were also preppers, that knew some important homesteading skills. If things did get bad, the idea of having a circle of competent people who we could work with would be fantastic. For now, I've yet to meet anyone who admits to prepping, and the one local group I found on line who preps, are more militant, anti-government survivalists...and I'm not ready to head down that road, just yet.

So, what say you? Have a group of preppers you work with and can rely on, or are you doing this solo?

It's good to remember that stocks of food - even in tins - have a date on them, 2 or 3 years ahead. It's easy to forget the dates if they have been on the shelf for a while.

From an eschatological point of point of view, in Acts 16.33 the Lord Jesus said: "In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer: I have overcome the world."

 

[SavedByGrace3]

My wife and I roll the cart around the supermarket every week. We sometimes notice the contents of other peoples carts. We know who is prepping... or at least we suspect. Who else would by 4, ten pound bags of rice on sale for 5.50 each... besides us that is. And those 20 pound bags of pinto bean that nobody seems to buy. I am sneaking out with 2 of them.... and I cannot help but notice the old black guy is too. And a lot of people seem to be setting up chickens around the area. Eggs are high, but I am not sure that is the reason.
I suspect a lot more people prep than we might think. The number accepted and put out by the press is a three million. I think it could easily be twice or three times that number. I have also notice that most preppers are Christians or at least religious. I do not think that is a mistake. I firmly believe God is telling people to be responsible. I did not say prep. I said be responsible to your family and loved ones. Today people are not having faith in God so much as they are having faith in the power company, the water company, and wal-mart. What would they do if these things vanished? What did our ancestors do 200 years ago? God did not drop food out of heaven or spout a spring from a rock back then. Yet for some reason many just assume He is going to do this for us? Why? Has that ever happened in the last 2000 years? No. There are no records of Christians walking in mass out of famines, bombed cities, earthquake zones, or tsunami areas. It just has not happened. It is therefore presumptuous to think that He will do it this time. Some think America is special. No so. America is on the fast track to judgment. The land is gagging because of the abominations that are being committed. It wants to spew us out. I believe God in His mercy has held it back. I think recent events have pushed it over the line. God is removing his protective hand because in response to His mercy men have sinned more and more and worse.
Today a single EMP event would send hundreds of millions of people back into 18th century... with no clue as to how to live. Tragic. We are on very thin ice and it will not take much to send us all into the cold icy water. For my children I want to be ready.

 

[SavedByGrace3]

At first we tried to keep our prepping a secret.. but it is difficult to get the word out without letting go the secret. We have been prepping for about 5 years. I do not hide it now. We live and work away from our home. We are close to retirement and we will be moving back to our home upstate as soon as possible. We may be a bit more secretive then.... few know where our home is. We have started to buy 50 pound bags of dent corn which can be ground and cooked into a variety of dishes. We are not doing this for ourselves, we are doing this for any poor soul who approaches our door, especially with children, and asks for food. I think the word tells us to have compassion. How can someone with love in their heart turn away these. Despite the fact they chose not to prep while the sun was up... we want to help them.
I sorrow in the fact that every bite of food I give outsiders I am taking out of my children's mouth. So I encourage people to prep... and am even pushy about it. Better I push you to prep now than you beg me for food at some point in the future.
I wrote a book a few years ago "A Christian Approach to Doomsday Prepping" where I give dozens of Biblical and logical reasons why every Christian should prep. I want people to exert a relatively small amount of effort to save their lives. A hundred bucks a month for a year and you will have most of what you need. The goal is not "survival." Your preps will not last forever. The goal is self sufficiency. A community of preppers is a good idea. That will be our goal. It may be difficult for loners.

 

[Mudinyeri]

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I'm prepared for almost any likely probability. Some of them may think of me as a "prepper." Others just know that I'm the guy they can count on when the chips are down. Still others suggest that they will show up on my doorstep if the feces hits the fan. My response is always the same, "Bring something of value." Of course, what they don't realize is that I probably won't be at my home in the city.

 

[SimplyDawn]

At first we tried to keep our prepping a secret.. but it is difficult to get the word out without letting go the secret. We have been prepping for about 5 years. I do not hide it now. We live and work away from our home. We are close to retirement and we will be moving back to our home upstate as soon as possible. We may be a bit more secretive then.... few know where our home is. We have started to buy 50 pound bags of dent corn which can be ground and cooked into a variety of dishes. We are not doing this for ourselves, we are doing this for any poor soul who approaches our door, especially with children, and asks for food. I think the word tells us to have compassion. How can someone with love in their heart turn away these. Despite the fact they chose not to prep while the sun was up... we want to help them.
I sorrow in the fact that every bite of food I give outsiders I am taking out of my children's mouth. So I encourage people to prep... and am even pushy about it. Better I push you to prep now than you beg me for food at some point in the future.
I wrote a book a few years ago "A Christian Approach to Doomsday Prepping" where I give dozens of Biblical and logical reasons why every Christian should prep. I want people to exert a relatively small amount of effort to save their lives. A hundred bucks a month for a year and you will have most of what you need. The goal is not "survival." Your preps will not last forever. The goal is self sufficiency. A community of preppers is a good idea. That will be our goal. It may be difficult for loners.

The underlined part of your missive, is where I'm/we're at; survival seems limiting and pessimistic. Self sufficiency is the key, I believe. Camp stoves and liquid fuel are great, but what happens when the fuel runs out....and it's going to run out. You mentioned EMP in another thread. That's the event that gives me the biggest concern. One minute it's 2016, and the next thing we're smack dab in the middle of 1800, and 60 days away from millions of peoples psychopharmaceuticals running out, followed everything getting "interesting", specially when people realize they are one their own.

 

[Mudinyeri]

@SimplyDawn I'm not sure if you're suggesting that one forego something like camp stoves and liquid fuel in the interest of self-sufficiency or not, but I'll chime in with some basic advice.

First, a few of my bona fides: I grew up on a subsistence farm. I have done disaster preparedness training and consulting for large corporations and government entities as well as individuals and families for nearly two decades. I'm also the author of The Union Creek Journal which combines a fictional story with functional information on long-term survival/sufficiency.

With that out of the way, preparations for survival or self-sufficiency should be done in layers. A camp stove and liquid fuel are convenient and sustainable for a relatively defined period of time - more convenient, in most cases, than a wood-fired cook stove, for example.

Good preparedness would include plans and preparations for emergencies (immediate), disasters (short-term to mid-term) and cataclysmic events (long-term survival/sufficiency).

 

[SavedByGrace3]

The underlined part of your missive, is where I'm/we're at; survival seems limiting and pessimistic. Self sufficiency is the key, I believe. Camp stoves and liquid fuel are great, but what happens when the fuel runs out....and it's going to run out. You mentioned EMP in another thread. That's the event that gives me the biggest concern. One minute it's 2016, and the next thing we're smack dab in the middle of 1800, and 60 days away from millions of peoples psychopharmaceuticals running out, followed everything getting "interesting", specially when people realize they are one their own.

I would also submit that it would be easier to achieve self sufficiency within a group of like minded families than alone. We all have different skills we excel in. Getting back to a "civilized" mode of life would almost surely require that we bond with other like minded souls. Of course making those connections now would be better than trying to do so under forced emergency conditions when there will be so much fear, doubt, and paranoia.
Just thoughts.

 

[SavedByGrace3]

.... millions of peoples psychopharmaceuticals running out, followed everything getting "interesting", specially when people realize they are one their own.

Yes... a third of the population doped up on meds and existing as fluff-headed liberals will suddenly come out of their med induced comas and revert to realist conservatives. What a shock that will be to the already upside down rolling downhill hysteria.

 

[Mudinyeri]

Yes... a third of the population doped up on meds and existing as fluff-headed liberals will suddenly come out of their med induced comas and revert to realist conservatives. What a shock that will be to the already upside down rolling downhill hysteria.

They will be like sheep, herded into huddled masses and sheared for their wool.