We visited with the Pastor at his house with his family that included his wife and two children. Other than that, I’m not going to publish any other identifying factors for the Pastor for obvious reasons.
It turned out that the Pastor had struggled with the thought to own a gun for protection because he knew that it would be pointless to own a firearm without the will the use it if necessary. It was also apparent that, all on his own, this Pastor had arrived to the conclusion that times are going to be tough and if he wanted to be around to provide security for his family, or for others that he felt some sort of responsibility for, then he needs to get prepared.
I made sure that the Pastor understood that “brandishing” a firearm at a would be threat often only escalate the threat and I assured myself that the Pastor fully intended to protect his family by any means necessary. His words were to the effect,…..”I wholeheartedly believe in God and our place beside him in heaven. I would like my family to get there naturally and cannot bear the thought of them being victims because of my indecision. I will use a gun if need be.” Okay, fair enough.
After talking and showing the Pastor a couple of handguns, rifles and a shotgun, he settled on the plan to buy a .357 magnum revolver (so he can also shoot .38 Special) and a 12 gauge shotgun. We talked about the need for adequate instruction not only for him but for his family. I think he’ll most likely also buy a .22 LR rifle primarily for the training aspect but to also be able to employ another firearm during any collapse, and as well as the obvious small animal hunting capability.
While neither myself nor the Pastor are of the Mormon faith, we discussed the Mormon religion and their noted preparedness, especially stocking food. The Pastor war gammed with us about the establishment of a food pantry within his church to provide for church members who cannot provide for themselves, as well as stocking supplies and material such as cots, blankets, water, candles, battery and lanterns, etc. Boy, his church started sounding like a Bug Out location to me.
The ability to leverage many people’s efforts in any catastrophic situation is huge, but the price is being able to care for these people’s basic need as well,….food, water, shelter and security. With a church group serving as the core of a survival group, basic morals and beliefs, which may be a problem in an ad-hoc group, should not be nearly as large of a problem.
I also talked to the Pastor about having a plan in depth,…or PACE planning (Primary, Alternate, Contingency and Emergency), meaning having contingencies. Contingencies for safe sites,…for food storage,…for security and for route of movement and escape. I said he could set the example for his flock by having his own stock of emergency supplies at his home,…..food, water, medical items and survival equipment. And not to necessary advertise it. This would pay off if he could not get to the church for any reason, or if the church location ceased being a safe site.
We talked about having an alternative site to go to if things in the city became too unsafe. The Pastor mentioned that he had conducted a church camp for children at a Boy Scout camp about 4 hours away by car. The location ended up measuring about 170 driving miles away. Close enough to use as a follow on Bug Out site, especially if you could go half way or more by vehicle. But the Pastor did not know what supplied the water at the camp, although there is a pond close by so natural water, basically a necessity for a long term Bug Out Site, was possible. So we discussed the Pastor finding out more about the camp including who owned it and/or could be possible having the same idea for a Bug Out site.
I told the Pastor that the idea of offering some basic CPR and medical training to his church, through the church, may be something he should consider. Canning classes would also be something to be considered.
I committed to being a source for the Pastor for information and when he bought his survival firearms, to provide him with some basic training. Other than that I left him with some survival and preparedness sites listed on a notebook for him to research and read on his own, as well as the names/authors of a couple books to read.
If this country is destined to come out of a major collapse and re-build to any degree, good men and woman, with a strong moral foundation and belief system is necessary. I knew that survival prepping is becoming more and more mainstream, but to be able to assist an obvious good man who is looking out for others really made my week.
