Members and Non-members Work Together to Harvest Pomegranates

    A non-member friend  who lives in the foothills had planted  24 acres pomegranates on his farm.  Soon after, he had a heart attack and was unable to care for it.  Mark Wilcox and Cliff Kerr stepped in and took care of it for two years.  When the first crop was ready to harvest there was no way it could be done by two people.  So they reached out to members of the ward, and to all their non-member friends who have an interest in fruit production.

  Here are a few pictures of the event.  Left: Sister Gonzalez enjoys picking the fruit and did an excellent job. Below left:  Brother Kerr introduces the Elders from our area and gets them started.  Center: Showing the sister missionaries how to measure a pomegranate for size. Right:  Ardell Gillingwater chats with the orchard owner.  Below light:  Mark Wilcox helps unload picked fruit. 

 

   This was an all-day project.  For lunch the 35 volunteers had a meal of hamburgers and hotdogs cooked by non-member Alvin Soto. He works as a custodian at Tokay High School and outdoor cooking is one of his many talents.

      Dave Gillingwater had plenty to do during the day, but his favorite thing is to talk about emergency preparedness, which is his specialty.  He cornered the sister missionaries and showed them his emergency kit which can take care of a stranded and injured person for three days, and is contained in a lunch bag.  Below are some of the items he showed.

     Top Row:  A good supply (40) of quarters, list of  emergency phone numbers, a blanket for warmth, a fire lighter and flashlight among other things.  Bottom Row: multiple knife, can of soup (the tape on the can can be used to open it, as well as tape on bandages if necessary,) a roll of toilet paper condensed to a small flat pack, and emergency sun screen.  

    This picture shows the lunch bag open.  On the left are two MRE's (meals ready to eat--beef stew.) Some (but not all) of the other things in the pack: mosquito repellent, plastic spoons, band aids and first aid kit, matches, sewing kit, buttons, magnifying glass which can also be used to start fires, razer blade, compass, and three snack bars.

    The pictures on the right show the small bag which is all packed.  Two bottles of water reside in the lid area. Dave suggests that each family have one of these and keep it in their car at all times.