Fellow Patriots,
Welcome to the Patriot Express Newsletter (PENL) Edition #93. Good to have you back with us again. Thanks for stopping by. Grab a bagel and your favorite beverage, kick back and enjoy your time with us. We are honored to have you reading this weeks PENL.
What an amazing week it has been since we last met here. I was on the road all last weekend to Waynesville, NC, Dillard, GA, Asheville/Fairview, NC, Crossville, TN and on to Huntsville, AL. I love meeting with Patriot sisters and brothers and all the new ones as well. Just when I thought my friends list couldn't get more amazing it does. Every Patriot has a story and I love hearing them. Thanks to everyone for giving me your time to hear about the HFS Preparedness mission. I'm truly blessed. Thank you.
If you are a guest or newcomer to the HFS journey, please check out this link for additional information offered through HFS. https://www.hopeforsurvival.com/post/guest-and-newcomers-information-page
One note for website users. I didn't realize it but several folks did not realize you can find folders set up on the blog page where all posted articles are filed in the folders. Example the PENL is filed under the Patriot Express News Letter folder. You can also find information and checklist for folks with disabilities and for children. There is also a recipe folder. Simply look for the word "more" near the top right and click down on the arrow. The folders will appear. Hope this helps out. Sorry for any past confusion.
Thursday Zoom Rallies – We are quickly moving through January and the Zoom Rally series Rally #38 continues. I appreciate everyone who attended and participated in conversation on the topics covered. We continue moving forward on group building in multiple states and regions. We also discussed the current Federal Posture on EMP preparedness. If you wish to attend a Zoom Rally monitor the website for each weekly notification for the upcoming meeting.
Communications: You can now follow HFS social media on the following outlets:
Facebook – Hope for Survival
YouTube Channel – Hope for Survival
MeWe: - //mewe.com/p/hopeforsurvival2
Connect and give me a shout. Share with family and friends.
Moving along …
We must make this brief public announcement to protect the innocent.
Ding, Ding, Ding....Attention HFS readers..... Opinions shared in this newsletter are just that, opinions, and nothing more. Read at your own risk. The owner and author of this site is not responsible for hurt feelings or thin-skinned readers. I do my best to show restraint and respect to the best extent possible. I take as many precautions as possible and try to remain as nonpolitical as possible, however, there are times when I just can't help but point certain things out. Occasionally I use words only Patriots recognize and understand. It's not personal against any non-Patriot. It's just the truth. Sometimes we must pull up our spenders and suck it up. Just saying. Stay the course, read what you want, and avoid the rest. Avoid fear porn as much as possible and the day will be okay. When all else fails… Keep the faith and always have Hope.
As HFS continues to grow, I believe it's important to remind everyone respect and honor is important to the HFS family and mission. We welcome everyone aboard and hope you find a comfortable place to hang around and learn preparedness. I know you will find the HFS family offers some amazing people. With multiple platforms (Zoom, Signal, and Comment section in articles) to interact with other HFS members, I remind everyone to treat one another with respect. We all come from different backgrounds, ages, experiences, and desires. Disrespecting, demeaning or intimidating comments will not be tolerated on any account.
Let’s move along and get to some thoughts...
Thoughts for the week –
This weeks thoughts may seem to bounce around a bit but I want to get all this information out to you in this newsletter. Thanks for your understanding.
HFS started the next level of the HFS mission shortly ago by starting to locate and start developing Preparedness groups. HFS has trained many preparers in the basics of preparedness and now groups, with the hope of sewing preparedness seeds in their local groups and expand to their community. This is an ongoing effort and will continue to take time to get groups identified and started and continue to nurture and support them from afar while group members grow and bond to have strong preparedness groups. Once groups are established, my goal is to then bridge groups together through Mutual Aid Agreements and Communications. This is a live growing project at this time with start up groups in KY, TN, AL, NC, and GA, with others waiting for support. Please pray for vision, time, and safety as I move forward in this effort.
Lets move along...
I was fortunate to be able to fit several stops in to last weekends road trip. It started off with a great visit to Carolina Readiness Supply and time with Ms. Jan and Mr. Bill. As always the visits are informative and I learn a lot from these great Patriots. One of the neat parts of visiting CRS is all the folks passing through the store. Many of these fine folks end up visiting Hope for Survival and become friends to the HFS mission and I consider them my friends. As I have shared with others, Waynesville, NC has become the hub to the HFS mission.
I was able to travel to CRS, in Waynesville, with two fellow Patriots and close friends of mine from my East TN community who wanted to check out CRS and meet a few of the Thursday Zoom Patriot family members. It was great having them along and letting them see why spending time with HFS Patriots is always exciting and a feeling of being with extended family.
We left CRS to go to lunch with some of the HFS Waynesville group. This included meeting a few new Patriots and what a fun time it was for me. Aside from wonderful people, the level of experience and skills these folks bring to the group is off the charts. The luncheon included a few original HFS folks who started this journey with me from the start. My neighborhood friends had the chance to meet some of the fine folks in the group and discuss preparedness as well. We departed going separate ways as I had another stop that evening in Dillard, GA with the Franklin NC/Rabin County Group for dinner.
In the Franklin/Rabin Group meeting we discussed leadership, accountability, focus, and laying the foundation as a group to know the status of all members preparedness levels. Balancing the boat was the example used. Until all group members are fairly equal in basic preparedness resources the boat will not be level. It is hard to focus on building the walls until the foundation is put down and is solid. We discussed laying out the objectives tasking individuals to fill out the PACE communication information, then at the next meeting completing the group PACE plan. The same goes with other tasks handed out. Review them then identify the next task that will be due at the next meeting. I'm thrilled to share that two of the members of this group passed their Ham radio technician level testing and obtained their license. This group now has four Ham radio operators. The group has set up their next training meeting in the near future.
On Saturday morning I traveled through the snowy mountains of TN and NC to reach the Asheville, NC area. The beautiful pines draped in show made for an enjoyable trip. I was specifically in Fairview, NC to meet a new group of Patriots who felt like family instantly. But first let me tell you about the fantastic roast beef and swiss sandwich I enjoyed from the Deli at Troyer's Country Amish Blatz. It was toasted on pumpernickel bread and it was the best. If you are ever in the Fairview area please go try a tasty sandwich from the deli. A+ is putting it mild. The owner of the store was equally kind.
The group meeting went great and time expired before we knew it. I laid out the HFS mission, goals, and explained the group concept for building preparedness communities. This group of Patriots brought loads of skill and experience to the table. Medical, management, veterans, educators, animals, farming and so forth. I look forward to working with this group in the near future so I can have time with them again. It seems every place I visit the Patriots are like family and I hate to leave. There is something about being around other Patriots who love talking about our great nation. America. One of the Patriots shared some exciting news about a new product coming online soon that I know many of you will be excited to hear about. He has agreed to be a guest on a Thursday Zoom call in the near future to talk about this new product. I'm excited.
I returned home on Saturday evening to update HFS email, add new members to the data base, and pack for my trip through Crossville and on to Huntsville to connect with Ms. Lucy. If I haven't said so recently, I owe a big thanks to Ms. Lucy for her willingness to share me with HFS and the hours I spend keeping this mission moving forward. I'm grateful for her understanding.
I journeyed up to Crossville, TN to spend about five hours with Festus and Mrs Festus on their farm. I first must tell you how awesome the homemade chicken salad was that Mrs. Festus put on the table for lunch. It was outstanding. Can you tell I like food? The three of us gathered around the table to discuss behind the scene things taking place with HFS and plans for the next six months. Festus has been working on a side tasker on communications and equipment for me and he updated me on it. There is no simple solution for this need so it will have to be a geographic fix in some areas. More to come.
It had been about a month since I was in Huntsville, AL, our other home away from home where our work is based out of. It was good to see Ms. Lucy and get caught up on life and family. She keeps the ship moving forward for us while I do HFS stuff.
The good news in Huntsville is I have a HFS Group training class and meeting coming up Saturday to train on the group concept and then work on assigning folks to the right group. I do believe when we are done we will have two to three new Huntsville groups moving forward. One of the issues the Huntsville group faces is available repeaters if using Ham radio. Another issue is working around the city environment and the spread of the land between preparers. This is why it is important finding the right group assignments when possible. Mass groups can work and train together as long as the world situation allows it. I look forward to working with this group. Huntsville is where it all started at for me with teaching preparedness and launching HFS a couple of years ago.
This coming Sunday I will be in Shelbyville, TN starting a new group of Patriot families on the preparedness journey. Many are already preparers in some form or fashion. What makes this so special is it is being headed by a long time HFS Patriot sister and now her children are on the preparedness journey and the daughter spearheaded this training event for her community. I know many parents are struggling to get their children to prepare and its a tough one to not only understand but rough for them to deal with. I'm so happy for this particular family and a prayer answered. I say to all parents desiring to have their children aboard, never give up.
So, that was my journey over the past week.
Lets move along .....
Now let me address a question that was posed early this morning on the HFS Signal group messenger. The question was posed about better protecting sliding glass doors.
When it comes to sliding glass doors you are facing four vulnerable areas. Ground level. The sliding glass door frame. The glass itself, and the lock on the door. Lets look at these four areas.
Ground level sliding glass doors are vulnerable because they are a big target of opportunity. A good burglar can get through the doors in less than a minute using a jack and crow bar. They simply lift the frame out of the placement and they are in. Many homes are fenced or located in such a way the burglar has sufficient time and opportunity to gain entry without detection. So your first objective is to slow or deter the opportunity to the sliding doors. Possibly a gate that locks on the deck or approach path. Maybe you have a deck to enter before the doors are available. If possible lock the gate on the stairs to the entry point.
The sliding frame the glass doors slide and rest on. Go to the hardware store and purchase several three inch screws to drill down through the frame to lock the frame to the foundation of the house. This could be in to brick and mortar. Make sure this is done on the inside of the frame where the person can't access the screws. This will secure the sliding frame to the house structure.
The glass is a major vulnerability to the sliding doors. Glass is easily broken and creates a mess. You can place one way window tint on the glass to create a film that will cause the glass to break in a single piece. This also creates a one way viewing from the inside out. They person will have to guess no one is home. This is where a yappy dog comes in handy. If you don't have a dog buy a barking Rex alarm dog and place near the window. A German shepherd will bark for roughly one minute before an alarm sounds loud. The barking Rex covers a fairly large width as well to cover the patio when someone enters it. Early warning. The problem with glass is it is easily penetrated using a razor and plunger. You simply place the plunger against the glass near the locking handle and cut around the glass to remove that section of glass and then reach through and unlock the door. If you have a strong enough internet signal consider obtaining a Simpli-Safe security system. With the system comes window sensors as well as glass break sensors. So in addition to the hardware suggested one can add alarms to boost the security.
The locking mechanism. You should consider obtaining a second locking device to place on the inside. This can be one of several options. A locking bar is good but can be removed if the glass is cut. It is a delay. You can buy different options. The level of the lock may be determined by the age of the occupants and if this is one of your main exists in the event of a fire or emergency. Here's a couple of locking methods to consider.
An addition one could include to the above suggestions is a security camera mounted above to monitor and provide immediate motion detection to the area.
The more levels of security-in-depth you can provide the more hardened you become and a deterrent to those wishing to enter without authorization. Hardening a sliding glass door, window, or even a door can often interfere with the nice cosmetics in place. It is give and take to providing proper protection to the home. In areas with minimal cosmetics and traffic we often use a large cabinet to block the window.
Lets move along ....
How many of you read this far and wondered why I haven't mentioned the event in Washington D.C. on Wednesday? The changing of the guard per se. The Inauguration of the next President. Well, to be honest, I have distanced myself from the events of Washington D.C. the past few weeks and maybe longer. Yes it is very important to me. Extremely for that matter. But I can't change the outcome and must now adjust to any impact a new administration will have on my life. Laws. Tax code changes. How will it impact my future retirement? How would Covid-19 lockdowns impact me? Immigration. Changes to the National Defense Authorization Act or NDAA? Banking laws? Mandatory Vaccinations? The list goes on and on. From my perspective, the best thing I can do is continue preparing and adjust my plans according to changes in Washington D.C. Remember, cause and impact. What is the cause or event and how does it impact me and my family? How about yours? I am at peace with events because I turned my head north and focused on my faith vs things I have no ability to change at this point. I hope you can find peace and move along focusing on preparing you and your family better.
Moving along.....
Lastly, during my miles of travel last weekend over the three days, I had a lot of quiet time to think, give thanks to the amazing people opening doors, and reflect, as I often do. I will tell you God has laid it on my heart to continue forward with a sense of urgency to prepare as many people and families as possible. There was no time line provided, nor a reason. Just a sense of urgency to do this mission. It was a very powerful message and I was completely humbled and attentive to the message. This makes sense to me as I have shared with you that over the past month God has sent many wonderful people to HFS and they each are loaded with skills to help others. Growing preparedness communities is the task, and together, I know we can deliver. I will keep planting the seeds and planting groups as long as people are available to be part of a group in any location. I can go in person to start and help support a group or do so virtually. Amen to that.
I think I have loaded you down with this weeks thoughts so we should probably move along. I hope the information has offered you something to consider. If you have questions simply ask me and I will share my thoughts.
Okay, lets move along to the news…
Preparedness News –
1. From Samantha Biggers - Survival and Knowledge for Uncertain Times - How To Make Hummus Powder the Cheap and Easy Way - Survival and Knowledge For Uncertain Times (samanthabiggers.com) - And you get great health benefits from Hummus when included in your diet.
2. From Di-Anne Seebregts - The Homesteading Hippy - 21 Safety Tips When Working With Bees * The Homesteading Hippy - I'm reading more and more preparers are joining this popular hobby to include in their preparedness plans.
3. From Old World Garden Farms - Easy, Homemade Multigrain Bread Recipe - Old World Garden Farms - Does anyone object to warm fresh bread? Under any scenario? That is what I thought. Add some awesome home canned jam to it. Maybe some hot coffee or a glass of milk and a good night of sleep is awaiting.
4. From Green Thumb Gardner - Best Soil Mix For Container Gardening | Green Thumb Gardener (gardenerthumb.com) - Growing season isn't to far ahead. Is your soil ready? One of the biggest lessons I learned when I started gardening was the importance of good soil.
5. From Modern Refugee - The Organic Prepper - A Prepper's Guide to Wheat Berries: - The Organic Prepper - Another great source for food supplement.
6. From Steve Nubie - Urban Survival Site - How To Turn A Car Battery Into A Power Bank | Urban Survival Site - One can never have enough battery capability. Another simple step to secure additional power capability.
Other News –
1. From Virgilio Marin - Natural News - US enemies may be planning EMP attack as civil unrest hounds Capitol – NaturalNews.com - This is an ongoing issue, not just during the inauguration and current events.
2. From Sally Zelikovsky - American Thinker - It's Time for Republicans to Stop Lamenting and Start Moving Forward - American Thinker - Festus and I have had this discussion for several years. Either change the current Republican Party or else move on to a third party and stop supporting this spineless waffling political party. A party represents the people who vote in the party and support the ideology. It is not the party who has leaders announcing those within the party as being radical criminals who supports the same voice as the outgoing President.
3. From Tyler Durden - Zero Hedge - Everything's Fine, There's Absolutely Nothing To See Here | ZeroHedge - The 46th President is in power. The election is over folks. Time to move on. Focus on your five mile radius and your preparedness. There will be more to come, but not from behind. It is ahead.
4. From Peak Prosperity - PM Daily Market Commentary - 01/19/2021 | Peak Prosperity - Follow the Gold and Silver prices daily. Precious metals are a great asset to include in your financial folder.
Drum roll...........
That's all my Patriot brothers and sisters. Stay alert and strong.
You survived another edition of the PENL. Thanks for your time to read the PENL and hanging out with us for a while. We all have different desires in news and what we read at different points in our day. Hopefully HFS has provided information to stimulate your thinking and the realities around us. It is important for you to keep your feet and minds grounded as the world continues towards an unknown destination.
Keep the emails flowing. I thoroughly enjoy reading your stories and hearing what preparedness projects you are working on. Reaching the objective in our effort is rewarding. Go bring new friends and help spread the word on Preparedness. Visit the HFS YouTube page and check out the numerous preparedness videos. Subscribe and hit like. It’s a minimal price to pay for free information.
Prayers - Please keep our great nation, our elected leaders, military and first responders in your thoughts and prayers. We pray for good health and wisdom in this new year. Please pray for our leadership to find answers and guidance to the problems facing our great nation. Please pray for the former President and his family. May your faith remain strong and answers to the unknown provided. God is good and may our prayers blanket and protect you and your situation. May peace be cast upon us and protect us each day through the unknown path ahead. I pray for each, and every one of our Patriots. May we pray for all the blessings and things in life to be thankful about and continued hope for revival around the world. We must continually pray for the unsaved, our family and friends who live each day without the protection for eternal life and salvation. Amen.
Keep charging and have a safe week. Don’t allow the events around us to create fear in your life. Stay focused and don't chase rabbits. Build your own self-reliance and focus on hope. We are a blessed nation and we must continue to be great people.
Blessings,
Bravo Echo Out,
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