GOTCHER "FLEE BAG"?      DFO 386  14/1/76
--Are You Prepared for Any Emergency?

         1. AFTER SEEING THAT PICTURE LAST NIGHT ("TOWERING INFERNO") I thought, "We ought to have some kind of preparation in case we had an emergency in our Home. We should all have an escape case packed--a 'flee bag'"! What if there was a sudden emergency & you suddenly had to just grab a few things--what would you take?
         2. Our first thought was the IRREPLACEABLES: Number One, your passports, birth certificates, bank books--anything that would be difficult to replace & which you might need right away, especially if you were fleeing from one country to another.
         3. Second are the barest essential necessities: A little battery-operated short-wave radio so you can get the news, & some kind of clock with alarm. A tape recorder is also one of the almost indispensable items, for necessity & amusement.
         4. There are also certain BOOKS which are absolutely vitally essential. For most people all you'd need is a Bible, your MO Letters, a mapbook, & a dictionary of the local language. A small Concordance & a Home Medical Book would also be handy.
         5. YOU SHOULD ALSO ALWAYS HAVE ON HAND A LITTLE NEGOTIABLE MONEY of some kind--if possible enough to transport every member of your Home out of the country, & some landing money for when you get there. Your flee fund can be in the cash of your local country, but it's a good idea to have your landing money in Dollars, Traveller's Checks, American Express Checks, etc.
         6. So what you want is just a little flee fund & a landing fund, or at least sufficient funds to survive on where you are for a few days, weeks or even months, just in case some kind of emergency arose where you would be cut off from your support.
         7. BESIDES THIS MOST IMPORTANT BRIEFCASE, you can easily carry another case of the most essential clothing: Fresh socks, underwear, shirts, pants--some things that will keep you looking halfway decent & respectable where you land! You could go for months with just three changes, or even two!--& it's very important to carry drip-dry clothes that you don't have to iron.
         8. So pack your flee bag! And the thing you have to think of is not, "Well now, what might I need?"--But, "What can I not do without?"--That should be your rule when you're packing your flee bag--only things you cannot do without!
         9. It might also be a good idea to have a secondary flee bag packed or prepared to pack if you had a little more time, that either you could carry with you or have somebody send to you afterward. If you keep a list of what needs to go in that, you can just glance at it at the last moment & pile everything in!
         10. FIRES, EARTHQUAKES, WARS & OTHER DISASTERS ARE THINGS WE NEED TO BE PREPARED FOR!--So to have some kind of an escape practice is good for almost any type of disaster. The first thing you should do is grab your flee bag & throw it out the window.--Then run throw the electrical switch, cut off the lights, shut off the gas & water, then run for the yard or garden or open fields, taking your flee bag with you!
         11. (Maria: You can also sometimes have some things assigned to each one that belong to the group as a whole--one person can be responsible for getting one thing & another person another, like band instruments, office equipment, etc.) Yes, & we ought to have some kind of a food survival kit fixed up that we could live on.--Be prepared with food & your flee bag!
         12. A CITY is the most DANGEROUS place to be in ANY kind of a disaster, including war! So the thing to do is flee to the mountains! You'd be very thankful if you had your little flee bag packed then, wouldn't you?--And some survival food! You would be wise to explore some routes nearby, the country roads, & foot trails heading for the hills!
         13. THANK THE LORD NONE OF THESE THINGS HAVE EVER HAPPENED TO US, but I think it's certainly better to have this preparation & not need it, than to need it & not have it!--Our outfit are supposed to always be Gypsies!
         14. So I believe it pays to think about these things & be prepared--not to worry about them or think too much about them, but just be prepared so that if the time should come, you're ready!
         15. The Lord knows what's best & we know that "except the Lord keep the house, the watchman watcheth but in vain"! (Ps.127:1) So Lord, it's only You that can take care of us & keep us. But we know that in many cases in Your Word Thy servants escaped by various ruses & by being prepared to go quickly.
         16. So You expect us to use WISDOM & to do our best to give You all the cooperation we can to escape by using whatever means necessary--& to be prepared for it!--Is your flee bag ready?