Showing posts with label foraging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label foraging. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

GUEST POST - Does The Bible Say Anything About Storing Food


daymond-duck
By Daymond Duck


Prophecy Plus Ministries


While teaching on Bible prophecy I often point out that Jesus mentioned that famine is one of the signs of the Beginning of Sorrows (Matt. 24:1-8). This usually leads into a discussion of the rise in food prices and the impact that natural disasters are having on food supplies. It is about this time that I am asked if it is okay to store food. Some people seem to have the impression that storing food is a sin, or at the very least, it demonstrates a lack of faith. This is a good reason to ask, “Does the Bible say anything about storing food?” Yes! It does.

In Genesis chapter six, God told Noah to build an Ark, board it, get his family to board it, put animals on it (verses 14-20), “And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them. Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he” (Gen. 6:21-22). Simply put, God intended to send a great natural disaster upon the earth (the Flood) so He commanded Noah to gather a variety of food and store it on the Ark for him, his family and the animals. Could God have spoken food into existence anytime Noah or the animals needed it? Of course, He could. But He didn’t. He commanded Noah to gather food and store it. Did God provide for Noah? Of course! He provided food for Noah to gather and plenty of time for him to gather it.


For those who may wonder if Noah sinned by obeying God and doing this, Paul said, “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith” (Heb. 11:7). Noah was obeying God and acting by faith when he built that Ark and put food on it.


In Genesis chapter forty-one, Pharaoh dreamed about seven fat cows and seven lean cows. He had a second dream about seven fat ears of corn and seven thin ears of corn. When he got around to asking Joseph to interpret his dream Joseph said, “What God is about to do he showeth unto Pharaoh. Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt. And there shall arise after them seven years of famine’ (Gen. 41:28-30). This is a second story about God planning to send a natural disaster upon the earth. And to make that everyone understands that it was God would send this natural disaster the Holy Spirit said, “And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass” (Gen. 41:32).


Did God provide for His people? Yes! God blessed Egypt with bountiful harvests and more food than they needed for seven years. And Joseph said, “Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land perish not through the famine” (Gen. 41:34-36). Pharaoh believed this was a good thing to do; he put Joseph in charge, and the food that God’s man stockpiled became a blessing to others and saved the lives of many.


It is important to understand that God often provides for His people before they have a need. He provided the seven fat years before He sent the seven lean years. He provided extra manna on the day before the Sabbath so the Jews could collect and store food to consume on the Sabbath (Ex. 16:5). He provided triple crops in the sixth year so the Jews could store plenty to eat while they let the land rest during the seventh year (Lev. 25:20-21). He even considers the ant wise because it stores food for the winter during the summer (Prov. 6:6-11; 30:24-25).


Natural disasters are increasing in frequency and intensity. This is a major sign that the end of the age is near. The good news is that the Rapture will be before Jesus breaks the third seal in the Book of Revelation that leads to worldwide famine (Rev. 6:5-6). The bad news is that no one knows the day or the hour of the Rapture or how far Christians will go into the natural disasters and famine before God removes His Church. When it comes to something like food it is better to be over prepared than under prepared. If we wind up not needing it, we won’t have any problems finding people who do. If the Rapture happens and we haven’t used it, that’s great. Others will benefit from it.


Monday, September 19, 2011

Coming Food Shortage

Hello All,

As many of you know I have been warning people for several years now about a coming food shortage. This year I have tried to ramp up my information and warned people about the 3rd-4th quarter 2011 and 1st-2nd quarter 2012.

Well here is some videos that I want to share with you...









Do You Know?

ray-book-3d-medWhat is the best food storage system that is truly affordable? Page 87

Not much money? What is the best "getting started" handgun one can purchase? Page 93

Do you know what it means to be a "Grey Man" and then become one? Page 128

The dollar has died, the "new normal" is here. Do you know what to expect? page 171

Do you know that one of the most common house plants in the nation is also completely eddible? Page 199

In this book the author, Ray Gano, takes examples from history as well as from a Christian biblical standpoint showing what you can do to prepare. Is your family prepared to Survive The Coming Storm?

If you live in the US, ($20.00) please use the following link - http://tinyurl.com/STCS-US-ORDER

If you live outside the US, ($25.00) please use the following link - International Orders Click Here

If you wish to pay by check, let me know so I can hold it for you. For those of you who wish to do that, here is our mailing address...

PROPHEZINE
PMB #230
651 S. Walnut Ave. Ste. D
New Braunfels, TX 78130-5764

Please make checks to PROPHEZINE.

Pray that God uses this book for His glory and that it will really do well and make the best seller list.

In His Service,

Ray & Tracye Gano
Prophezine






Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Are You Tempting God?

tempting-godFor the past 5-6 years I have been writing about what I am calling "The Coming Storm."

Well the storm is now coming towards us and is upon our horizon.
What is interesting is that both heathen and Christian both see hard times coming.

We know from scripture that times are not going to get better, they are going to get worse.

2 Timothy 3:1  This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

God's Word has warned us that cataclysmic events will be taking place. War, famine, pestilence and natural disasters.

Have we had these types of events before? Yes we have, but not at the levels we have seen in recent days.

One does not have to be a believer to understand that hard times are coming. The air is so "thick" with this knowledge that you can cut it with a butter knife.

Over the years I have gotten many, many emails and it is interesting, I see two types of Christian.
First there is the Christian that says You do not have faith - God will protect us - He saved Israel with manna, He will do the same for us - Your just an alarmist, chicken little, sky is falling, you need to rely on God.

The second group of folks are those who see the writing on the wall and are doing something about it. They are making physical preparations knowing that hard times are coming.

For those of you who do not know, you can count me in the second group of people.

It is my hope to share with you from scripture why we need to be preparing and why I believe it is our duty as Christians to do so.

Proverbs 22:3  A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.
Proverbs 6:6  Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
Proverbs 30:25  The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;

We see example after example where God's people were warned in advance and then prepared themselves and their families.

We see Noah being warned of the rain and floods. He was told to build an ark. He was obedient and God spared his family. Please note that God did not drop an ark out of sky. It took Noah 120 years to build it. All the while he was warning / preaching to the people.

Noah prepared, the storm came, he and his family were sparred. Now God did not just "whisk" them away, they went through the storm in the ark that God told them to prepare and build.

We also see Joseph who was warned that a terrible famine was coming. He was given seven years to prepare.

Now, did Joseph lack faith? Do we view him today as an alarmist? Chicken little? Doom and gloomer?

No we don't in fact he is held in high regard because he acted on the warnings God gave and made proper preparations. Not only did Joseph save Egypt, he saved Israel and many other of the surrounding countries as well those who might have starved to death.

We see Lot and his family, they were warned of impending destruction. Now they did not have time to prepare, in fact they were told to leave now.

In fact Lot went to some of his family and they did not listen to him about the coming destruction.

Genesis 19:13 - 14  For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it. 14  And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.

Like many out there, people are not listening. They see what is happening right before their eyes, but like the ostrich, they put their heads in the sand. Because of this, they and their families will become victims of the coming storm.

Genesis 19:15-17  And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.
16  And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.
17  And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.

We see here even in Lot a certain reluctance, but he still was a righteous man and acted upon God's warning.

We as Christians are called to be aware and to foresee coming dangers and prepare for them in advance while we still have time.

Even the animals know to store up for the winter and hard times. But it is our free will that allows us to see the coming storm and do nothing about it.

Like with Noah, Joseph and Lot, God gives His warning and he expects His people to act on these warnings.

Matthew 24:7  For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
Luke 21:10 -11  Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: 11  And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

Friends, often people think that Christ is describing the tribulation, he is not. These things must come to pass prior. We know this by what is given of the very same account from the book of Mark.

Mark 13:7-8  And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet. 8  For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

These things are just the beginnings of sorrows. We are warned, it is here in black and white, perilous times are coming and in fact are here. Things are going to get worse not better.

Those of us who are bible believing Christians see the writing on the wall. Like Noah, Joseph, Lot and others in scripture, we need to be obedient and act on these warnings.

Folks, I am not the only one out there saying this. The holy spirit is moving in the church. This very same warning is coming from small town churches, pastors being sensitive to the spirit and preaching this from the pulpit. Solid brethren who blog on the internet, same message of warning. I just attended the Future Congress Conference, I had many people come up to me, people I have never known and who have never read my website say almost the exact same thing that I have been preaching for the past 6 years. They see the coming storm and as God's people, we need to prepare.

Even if these people did not raise up a warning, we still see it on TV, in the newspapers, on the internet. As I have stated before, even the heathen sees the warnings and the air is so thick you can cut it with a butter knife.

God is warning His people and we must act.

Look at what we have facing us…

- Earthquakes in CA
- Floods in the mid-west
- Hurricanes
- Bird flu - pandemics - illness & disease
- Financial collapse / Bank Holiday - Bank Day
- Manmade disasters / terrorist attacks
- Wars, revolutions, riots, crime, social unrest

We are sitting upon the cusp of the perfect storm, one that will effect just about everyone in the world.

How can you not see this and sit and do nothing?

Men of God, how can you sit idly by and allow your families health and welfare to be put in danger. 

Do you know that if you are doing nothing you are worse than the infidel?

1 Timothy 5:8  But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

Some of our parents, our grandparents and specially our great grand parents always kept food and provisions on hand. In fact it was very common to have at least a year's worth on hand. It wasn't till the dawn of the super market and mega store that we have neglected our duties to being good stewards in this area of providing for our family.

Folks like it or not it is prudent of us to at least have 30 days worth of food and critical commodities / necessities on hand to fulfill the needs of our families. And this is the bare minimum.

It is the enemy who has made being a good steward something that is wrong in today's world.

Scripture says…


Isaiah 5:20  Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

Today people who are good stewards are hoarders, survivalists, extremists, domestic terrorists, and the list of negatives goes on.
tempting-god 
Are You Tempting God?

Matthew 4:6-7  And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
7  Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

We can see clearly that by putting yourself in a dangerous situation and then expecting God to protect or rescue you is tempting God.

Now if it is God's Will and we have been called to put our lives in this situation, then that is a completely different matter.  The outcome in most cases is dying a martyrs death or paying the highest price for the sake of the gospel.

We have been given warnings, we see the writing on the wall, the Holy Spirit is speaking through many the same message all over the land. That message is for God's people to prepare for hard times ahead while we still have the time and ability to do so.

I strongly believe that by refusing to make preparations when God has given advance warnings is not only tempting God by ignoring God‘s warnings, but being disobedient to Him and denying the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Friend, if this is you, you are living a very dangerous life and putting not only yourself, but your families in harm's way due to the consequences of sin and disobedience to God.

God has given us plenty of advance warning. Just in the scriptures alone from Matthew, Luke and Mark alone that I have shared with you should give us heed for concern.

So with all that is going on in the world, the air so thick we can cut it with a knife, shouldn't we be taking God seriously and prepare for these dangers that lie ahead?

Joseph and Noah prepared and saved their families, are we better than them?

Look at it this way.

We have…

- Home owners insurance just in case our home is in danger or destroyed
- Auto insurance in case are car is damaged in a wreck or destroyed
- Health insurance in case we get sick or have a serious illness
- Renters insurance to protect and replace items that might be lost due to fire, theft or other damage

Why do we then shun, put down, disregard, having any sort of food and provision insurance so that our families health and welfare is provided for in times of disaster or upheaval?

You do believe in God's Word don't you?

You take it as absolute truth don't you?

You believe that we are living in the last days don't you?

Then wars, pestilence, natural disasters and the like are coming and in fact are here now.

You see perilous times right here, right now don't you?

Folks, no matter what you believe regarding the rapture and the timing of the rapture we are where we are. No one man has the all seeing all knowing crystal ball telling us exactly when the rapture will take place.

Don't believe me, look at Harold Camping. This was his third time at dating the rapture and guess what, we are still here. He was wrong.

We are told in God's word to trust in the Lord and not lean on our own understanding.

Listen, I stand on the imminent return of our Lord Jesus Christ. But I submit myself to Him and His Word.

We are told in scripture that only God knows the day and the hour

Matthew 24:36  But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
Mark 13:32  But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.

So I strongly believe that those who state that we do not have to worry because God is going to rapture us out are in fact tempting God. They are putting themselves and their families in un-needed danger, in turn they are sinning against God.

Now I know by now I am really upsetting people, getting the "he is a pharasee" "being legalistic", " how dare he judge me" thing going on.
 

Well I am just the messenger folks. What you need to do is ask yourself are you truly submitting to 

God's Word or are you just "cherry picking" what you want to hear and believe?

Lean not on our own understanding, lean only on God's Word.

Proverbs 22:3  A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.

Right there in black and white.

Are you a prudent / wise obedient person or are you a simple / fool disobedient person?

We know the signs, we see what is happening right before our eyes, it is our duty as Christians being obedient to Him to prepare for hard times.  This is a fact in light of God's  Word.

You know what you and your family need. We must be acting on God's council and make preparations for the Coming Storm now, before the storm hits.

Friend, IT IS the act of faith to take God's Word and then act on these warnings so that you and your family can "Survive The Coming Storm."

It IS NOT the act of faith to be tempting God.

It takes God's power working in us and knowing God Word to act on something that we do not know when will hit.

Hebrews 11:1  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Not Only You and Your Family - But Others

Christ tells us in Luke 19:13 to "Occupy Till He Returns"

1 Peter 3:15 tells us…
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

Not only should we be making preparations for the health and welfare of ourselves and our family, but we need to also be making preparations to offer charity and help others if we are called upon to do so.

Now am I saying that we need to turn our garage into a soup kitchen?

No, I am not.

But think that if we are able to assist a family in need and help them get over a rough time, don't you think that we will also have the opportunity to share the gospel?

See not only will we be able to share the gospel, we will be able to share the gospel with credibility because we did heed God's warnings when others did not. We saw the writing on the wall with others ignored it.

Now again, I am not talking soup kitchens or anything like that.
But what I am talking about is when the holy spirit moves you to reach out to a family or individual and be of assistance. This is an example of "always be ready."

Scripture says…

Ephesians 4:28  Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

Where To Start?

One of the best places to start is to find a place where you can store your supplies. See if you have a place for your pantry, it is a lot easier to start.

Next you need to determine what sort of events and situations could possibly effect you and your family.

For example, if you live in California, then you need to be concerned with earthquakes. So prepare.

If you live in Kansas you need to be concerned with tornados.

Knowing and identifying these situations will help you better determine and prepare what you need to do and what supplies / critical commodities you will need to have on hand.

One of the best places to start is by educating yourself. There is a lot of great information out there. You can utilize your local library, the internet as well as people in your church who have been preparing.

Now you can't prepare for every event, even the US Army has the saying "adapt and overcome."

Also, do not buy into the hype that Hollywood has sold us all these years.

No there will not be some massive "zombie attack."

Nor will the world melt down into a mad max nuclear apocalyptic word. Take a look at Japan today. We do not see mutant biker gangs roaming the roads of Tokyo do we?

What I believe that we need to be preparing for is an economic downfall of the US dollar. In turn this will affect many people and in fact it will impact many countries.

There are people out there that say that this will bring on the reign of the antichrist. Could this be true? I could very well come about that way. But again we do not have an all seeing crystal ball. 
What this could do is bring about another dictator like we saw in WWII and the death of over 6 million Jews and thousands of Christians.

What we need to do is stop leaning upon our own understanding and lean upon God's Word. 
God's Word tells us to prepare, so we need to be obedient to Him.

Proverbs 22:3  A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.

Finally, it does not matter what we have been concerned with. Our job is to do the best that we can do with what God has given us stewardship over. We have a brain to think with and two hands to work with. He has provided for us the tools we need to do the right thing according to 
His Word.

What we need to do now is to act and stop making excuses while we still have time.

The one thing that will come out of all of this is that you will have a certain peace of mind knowing that you have done all.. and when that evil day comes… you will be able to stand.

Ephesians 6:13  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

ray-gano


By Ray Gano







 

Survive The Coming Storm By Ray Gano
stcs-3d-book-med 
Insane spending by past and current administrations has led us into staggering debt. Paying back the loans and interest gathered in the attempt to spend our way out of that debt has become impossible.

The demise of the dollar is looming, poised to die in flaming downward spiral. When it hits bottom, this nation will fall into chaos like she has never seen before, plunging into third -world status. Food, gas, and most everything else will become drastically more expensive, coupled with a rise in crime. The "New Normal" for our nation will be upon us as these changes take place.

Hollywood has painted an apocalyptic world, filled with mutant "Mad Max" biker gangs and zombies as this nation's future.

What is sad is that the masses have bought into this false idea.
In this book the author, Ray Gano, takes examples from history as well as from a Christian biblical standpoint showing what you can do to prepare. Is your family prepared to Survive The Coming Storm.

The cost is $20.00 each with shipping and handling included in the price.

If you live outside the US, the cost is $25.00 each, shipping and handling also included..

I will be more than happy to add a something special in the book when I sign it, just let me know in the comments with the order, or email me what you would like me to sign.


Also, consider purchasing two so that you have one to give away as a gift or if you know someone who would benefit from the book.


If you live in the US, ($20.00) please use the following link - http://tinyurl.com/STCS-US-ORDER


If you live outside the US, ($25.00) please use the following link - International Orders Click Here


If you wish to pay by check, let me know so I can hold it for you. For those of you who wish to do that, here is our mailing address...


PROPHEZINE

PMB #230
651 S. Walnut Ave. Ste. D
New Braunfels, TX 78130-5764

Please make checks to PROPHEZINE.


Pray that God uses this book for His glory and that it will really do well and make the best seller list.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

US Dollar Decline

On April 18 Standard & Poor Ratings Services downgraded the US long term as well as short term sovereign debt from "Stable" to "negative."

Those at the S&P are sending a message to the administration to clean up the fiscal mess or they will downgrade US sovereign debt even more.

The effects of this downgrade are quiet visible this morning in the news we are reading these days.

Basically stated, America's financial empire is on it's last leg.

There are several indicators that I keep an eye on to tell me when things are "volatile" and to prepare for "Bank Day" or a Bank Holiday. One of those is the US Dollar Index which is currently sitting at 74.01.

dollar-index-04-25-11

As you can see the dollar has been declining very steadily now since the beginning of the new year in Jan 11.

If it goes below 70 and holds, there is a very good chance that it will not recover.

The dollar index gives us an idea of the "strength" of our currency.

I am one who looks at historical trends. As you can see by this chart the dollar has been slipping steadily now 1-2 points per month.

If the trends hold, we can be looking at a dollar index of approx 68 by Oct 2011.

What does this all mean?

Historically two of the darkest moments on Wall Street took place in Oct.

Black Monday, 28 October 1929 – a day in the Wall Street Crash of 1929, which also saw major stock market upheaval.

Black Monday, 19 October 1987 – the largest one-day percentage decline in recorded stock market history.

Other countries that have fallen to a financial demise have also taken place in Dec. The one that sticks out in my mind the most is Argentina who fell to hyperinflation in Dec of 2001. Which, they are still suffering in a hyperinflated economy with an indigent rate of 25%(unable to earn enough to literally feed themselves) and some of the highest crime rates in the world.

Just over the weekend Silver rose 8% where it opened this morning at $48.63. In 1980 the actual London high was $49.45 and here in the US it hit $50.00.

I believe that there is a very good chance we will see silver go beyond the $50.00 mark before the beginning of summer vacation.

Now a couple of things could happen because of this. People will sell their silver and the prices will drop, or people will purchase silver thinking it will go even higher, thus driving the price up even more.

doomed-dollarI believe we will see a mix of both with the second option being the outcome. I say this because in the 1980s the US Dollar was not in trouble to the point of defaulting like it is today. So silver and gold will continue to climb up and will do so until the dollar is stabilized. But for that to happen the US will have to default on her loans which means a whole other set of events will then take place before there is any stabilization. But needless to say, I believe silver will continue to rise through all of this.

So why am I writing this?

To give you an early warning that I believe that the roller coaster is getting ready to speed up eventually bringing about a bank holiday aka BANK DAY.

When the bank holiday or BANK DAY hits, chaos will ensue. This is a historical fact. If you have not stored up AT A MINIMUM of 30 days worth of supplies, now is the time to do it and do it fast. If anything you are building a "hedge" against food inflation. In other words, buy now while prices are still low.

I would also advise having some extra cash on hand. The banks will be closed, ATMs, Credit /Debit cards will not work and odds are people will not take checks. Cash will be king, but you will need a lot of it to purchase items because hyperinflation will begin to ensue.

We are already seeing prices for food literally go up weekly. Right now it is only by fractions of a cent to a full cent. In the weeks to come we will see this jump from going up cents, to going up in dollars.

This is the beginning stages of hyperinflation and when hyperinflation takes hold, the dollar will lose value literally over night.

You will see major activity take place on Wall Street. Trading will be stopped multiple times per day to slow the trading. Eventually this will spill over to main street and this is when the chaos will begin and the store shelves will go empty.

People will lose faith in the US Dollar and will try to buy anything and everything knowing that the dollar is going belly up.

This is when we will see people's savings go up in flames. Yes the "money" will still be there, but to buy anything, you will need more of it.

An example is looking at gas prices today vs. three months ago. Three months ago $30.00 would fill your tank. Today due to rising gas prices that same $30.00 will only put in about a quarter to one third a tank. Today's average cost to fill the tank is about $50 - $75.

It takes more dollars to fill the tank, in other words your dollar is losing buying power due to inflation.

This is what will happen to people's savings accounts, thier buying power will be eroded away. That is unless they put the money in some other form to preserve their wealth like silver, gold, jewlery, or some other form of tangible asset.

The rubber is meeting the road and we are running out of time. People have the choice to be part of the fray or not. They do this by preparing for this coming storm now while one still has time and the dollar still will buy a decent amount of goods.

Because when BANK DAY takes place, chaos will ensue and "herd" mentality will take hold. The best place to be is home and not part of "the herd" knowing that you prepared your ark for the storm that is eventually going to hit.

ray-gano

By Ray Gano

Friday, March 18, 2011

The Effects of Japan's Earthquake


effects-of-japanFirst and foremost I want to clearly state that I AM NOT A PROPHET, nor am I a son of a Prophet. I am a Watchman on the wall trying to sound the alarm. I am also a student of bible prophecy as well as history.
King Solomon, the wisest man ever to live stated the following…
Ecc 1:9  The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
What he is saying here is that man is destined to repeat his history if he does not learn from it.
What is taking place in Japan is horrible and my heart goes go out to the Japanese people as well as our military men and women serving in Japan at this moment.
If you are not up on the latest, a second nuclear reactor has exploded, officials have stated that there is meltdown taking place, and to top all of this off the Shinmoedake volcano in southern Japan has erupted.
But that is not all, Officials of the Tokyo Electric Power Company said that due to the cut in water supply, cooling system of the third reactor at the Fukushima nuclear power plant is overheating and is at the risk of exploding.
But there is something taking place right now that is upsetting. Christians are coming out and making claims that Japan is being punished and the wrath of God is against them.
Folks, bad things happen to good people. Who are we to make claims on behalf of God? Japan has sinners just like the US has sinners.
All of us are sinners in need of a savior.
Soon after the surrender of Japan was accomplished and the U.S. occupation commenced, MacArthur reached out to U.S. churches and Bible publishing companies for assistance.
maccarthurHe requested thousands of Christian missionaries and millions of Bibles for Japan.
"After Japan surrendered in 1945, General Douglas MacArthur became Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in charge of rebuilding the Japanese government."
"To a visiting group of evangelicals, MacArthur said: 'Japan is a spiritual vacuum. If you do not fill it with Christianity, it will be filled with Communism. Send me 1,000 missionaries.' He asked U.S. missionary societies to send 'Bibles, Bibles and more Bibles.'
"Can you imagine a U.S. president or American general asking for missionaries as a part of our foreign aid program?"
"MacArthur knew that a spiritual vacuum resides inside  of every person."
"Without Christ, a life will be filled with something else. That something else can be very destructive and cruel, as the world experienced in the struggle against Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany." 1
We're seeing the same kind of cruelty today in the terrorism of Islamic fascism, but that is another story.
What the world needs now is Jesus Christ. The US church has failed their mission. Do you know that there are more missionaries coming home, than  being sent out.
No longer are churches sending out the gospel, they are more worried about their best life now and being purpose driven than they are in being diligent to God's Word and His ordinances. The primary being Matthew 28:19-20
Mat 28:19  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Mat 28:20  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
See in every dark cloud there is a silver lining.
90% of the pastors today are dropping the ball. They have sold out to the social gospel, greed and popularity. They worry more about fannies in seats to fill their coffers than doing what is right in the eyes of God.
So where is the silver lining?
Us.
I have been watching the horizon. More and more "laypeople" are feeling the burning in their bones. They feel the need to prepare and be ready to take a stand, to boldly go out and share the gospel.
Home churches are on the rise, bible studies after work hours, the small bible preaching and teaching churches are seeing attendance slowly grow.
The remnant is stirring.
What is taking place in Japan today is going to have global consequences.
Japan's Radiation Coming To America
japan-4Already NOAA is keeping an eye on the radiation that the jet stream is moving towards the western hemisphere. In approximately 36 hours this radiation will be hitting the US, Central and South America.
Now radiation from Japan's nuclear plants is unlikely to be in any harmful amounts. I say this due to the distance traveled, being absorbed by the ocean, absorbed in the atmosphere, a lot of variables are playing out with the radiation.
The distance between Tokyo, Japan and Los Angeles, California is 5,478 miles. That in and of itself gives the radiation quiet some space to dissipate.
Now I am not saying the radiation will go away, what I am pointing out is that it will be spread out, dissipated, thinned out. That great  distance between Japan and the US will cause the radiation to be nominal at the most.
So to be honest, I do not have huge concerns about the radiation. But expect the tree huggers and Greenpeace to have a fit.
Japan' Economic Aftershock
What does concern me is the economic impact that Japan's disasters will have on the US.
Here are some quick high points…
- 3,400+ buildings were destroyed
- Japanese oil refineries were damaged and shut down
- Miles upon miles of roads and bridges were destroyed
- The Japanese economy will grind to a halt
In fact many of the economists are calling this a "black swan" event. A “Black Swan” event is something random and totally unpredictable that has a critical effect on the global economy. The Wall Street speculators, economists, and bean counters did not see this coming.
What has happened is a massive wrench has been thrown into works and there is a very good chance that things will grind to a halt.
Why?
Because the economy of Japan is the third largest in the world after the United States and the People's Republic of China.  But they are ahead of Germany, which is sitting at 4th strongest. This is of course according to the International Monetary Fund.
But how Japan really impacts us here in the US is that they buy a lot of our debt. In fact China is the first in foreign countries that purchase our debt, and Japan is second.
Here is what people need to think about really hard, and be ready to adapt to really fast.
With Japan's economy grinding to a halt, they will no longer purchase US debt. In fact  the financial pundits out there are already worried that with Japan needing a mass infusion of money to help recover, they will start selling off US debt.
What Will This Do To The US?
hyperinflation-photoIf Japan starts dumping US debt, expect the Feds to turn up the printing presses and flood the market with dollars and start QE3 sooner than expected.
Because Japan is dumping US debt,  other countries holding U.S. Treasuries may also sell in fear of an all-out U.S. bond price drop.
Holders of US debt have been losing money due to the fact that the US dollar has dropped in  value.  Couple with a massive sell off by Japan, prices fall, we may see a global selling panic with everyone getting out of the US  business as fast as they can.
Folks, this is something that many countries in the world have been waiting for and calling for.
China, Russia, many Middle East countries have been calling to dump the US dollar as the global reserve.
The effects in Japan taking place today, may be that catalyst that starts the serious demise of the dollar and here down fall.
In fact if we see Japan begin to dump US debt and other countries follow suit, we will have 7 days to personally react.  By that time the meltdown that takes place on wall street will hit main street and the common man will wake up to this fact and chaos will follow.
What will ensue is herd mentality, panic, empty store shelves, riots. Eventually banks will close, ATM turned off, Credit Cards stop working. It will be a cash only US for about 7 days or until the money system comes back on line.
When that takes place the US that we once knew will probably not be in existence anymore.
Welcome to the New Normal
Our country will probably be thrown into a great depression followed by massive hyperinflation.
This has happened to Argentina, Zimbabwe, Bolivia and it is taking place today in Greece with Spain on her heals.
If you have not built you and your families ark, you will feel the full brunt of the coming storm.
If you have built an ark for you and your family, you will be given the luxury of something very precious…time.
It is that time that will allow you to step away from the herd, make wise and rational decisions, and not be forced to accept what the herd follows.
You will not have to fight for the loaf of bread, the can of beans, the bag of rice.
You have secured your families welfare and security, you will not have to worry about the riots in front of banks, in front of city hall, capitols, etc.
Because you have done all that you could to prepare, because you have built your ark, your family will be able to weather the storm a lot better than many others.
And when the storm clears, you will then be able to be a comfort to others by sharing the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to a world that will be greatly hurting and looking for answers that only God and His Word can provide.
If you have not built your ark, it is still not to late. Main Street has not woken up, but your time is slipping away.
If you have not read my article "11 Things You Need To Get Now" then read it. It is a good primer to help you build your ark.
You can read that article at - http://tinyurl.com/11-things-you-need2-get-now
We have a chance to make a difference in this country and in the world, but we must be ready and prepared to share the hope that is within us.
The storm is coming and it may be here quicker than expected due to the "black swan" event that has taken place in Japan.
What you need to do is secure at least 30 days of food, water, a means to protect yourself and get yourself several KJV bibles. I personally like the Thompson Chain Reference. You will need the tried, put through the fire KJV. If you want to make it through the storm's floods, then cleave to His Word that has been saving people for over 400 years, the King James Version, the Authorized Word of God for the English speaking people.
Now if you think I am crazy, some right wing nut case, some fundamental bible believer or something like that, let me ask you this…
"When the storm comes bringing with her floods and herd mentality,  how long can you and your family tread water?"
The storm is coming, there is no doubt.
Are you ready?
If I can help with any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. You can contact me at ray.gano@prophezine.com

ray-gano-dir

By Ray Gano
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Endnotes
1 - http://amerisrael.typepad.com/my_weblog/2011/03/general-douglas-macarthur-japan-and-bible-burning-in-afghanistan.html

Sunday, February 13, 2011

How Would You Handle The "Brass Horde"


During the age of the Mongol Empire, the Mongol armies spread across Eastern Europe and Russia raping, pillaging and basically leaving whatever was left as a waste land. These invaders were come to be known as "The Golden Horde."

Fast forward today and we remember the LA Riots, New Orleans looting, I even experienced it myself during the 1989 San Francisco earthquake. During all the confusion and the aftermath instantly after the quake, masses started stealing from the shops who's windows were broken and all within an arm's reach.  It got so bad that in some areas a "shoot to kill" order was issued. The earthquake struck at approximately 5:00PM, that night turned into hell on earth in some parts of the San Francisco bay area.

The horde was released.

In the prepper community we see " the Golden Horde" as a loosely organized mass of urban refugees streaming out of the cities in search of food and shelter after a natural disaster or social / financial collapse. Like locus, this mindless mass could possibly overwhelm local defenses,  "raping and pillaging" the country suburban area and stripping it of many of its resources while destroying everything in its path.

Now this sounds bad and is a situation that would most likely take place in the movies, but in real life a situation like this does not happen… in most cases.

But to be honest I am not worried about a mindless mass of people. These people are hungry  and pretty much are acting on instinct. They are not going to be very well organized, and lack really any true leadership. Some may be armed, but not willing to really "take a bullet" when it comes down to the rubber meeting the road. 

It is the group's "mass" that gives the "horde" its power. 

Aggressively confront then divide the mass and it will quickly give up and move on to another "easier" target.

But who I am worried about are the bugged out  Rambo wanna-be's traveling in their RVs who's idea of preparedness is cases of ammo, Spam & Budweiser. 

Let me introduce to you...The Brass Horde. 

The Brass Hordes are small groups of people, probably all deer hunting buddies who go out and play paint ball on the weekends and call it survival training. Now, nothing against deer hunting and paintball, I am a hunter as well; can't say I have played paintball though. Now airsoft wars are fun, but I am digressing here.

What these folks have neglected for maintaining good health and welfare, they have made up by being obnoxiously well armed. Thing is when the Spam and Budweiser runs out,  they will turn to what they love most their guns and ammo.

These are the groups I worry about.

Here is a very interesting story, one that is real world. The author who goes by the handle "BigBear" painted a very realistic picture. 

After reading this, I want to ask you, how would you REALLY handle this situation?  

I would like for you to hear your "end to the story" comments, so please post them below. 

The Brass Horde 

The Brass Horde at least tried to prepare.  They had a plan to leave the city, some supplies and a large stockpile of weapons. Their intent was to relocate to a remote site as a group and hunt for food. The small group is made up of family and close friends occupying the trailers used to escape the city. Unfortunately their resources are limited and unwisely thought out.

At first they have good luck taking a deer and several rabbits for a stew, all looks good. But after a week or so their water rations are getting low and their expensive filter systems are useless on the frozen lake. They are able to melt some water over the fire pit and on propane stoves but this consumes critical resources. Most of their daily man hours are spent collecting and transporting ice blocks to melt for water. The meat is running low, they are exhausted.

The Horde elders decide that a couple of the women should visit a nearby cabin and ask to fill their water jugs. The established local, not wanting to seem rude, invites the ladies into the warm cabin...the aroma of fresh baked bread fills the air. Warm cinnamon rolls and hot coffee are served over light conversation next to the wood stove. The ladies fill their water jugs from the solar powered well, thanked the local and reluctantly venture back out into the cold, it was the first time they had truly been warm since leaving the city.

That evening the women huddled around the fire telling the others of their days experience. A strong north wind brought frigid temperatures and a heavy snow started around sundown...the Horde retired to their campers to weather the night.

Then the propane runs out!

The temperatures quickly plunge after the heater went out in the far north trailer of the circled compound. The father whose survival skills were honed by many hours watching the discovery channel, decided to start a small wood fire in the oven to keep him and his wife warm. The ensuing inferno consumed two of their trailers and damaged the other six as over 10,000 rounds of ammo cooked off in the conflagration.

In the blinding snow the elders huddled for warmth around the smoldering ruins of their grand scheme...they knew what had to be done. After arming themselves and securing the women folk in the remaining heated camper, the horde took off for the neighbors cabin. The howling winds of the blizzard masked their plunder as they made off with six twenty pound bottles of propane, a chainsaw and five gallons of gas. The blowing snow filled their tracks as they retreated back to the compound confident in their escape.

Unbeknown to the Brass Horde the local had witnessed the entire thing from the warmth of the bedroom after being alerted by his growling dogs. Shouldering his gun he realized that confrontation was dangerous against eight heavily armed men and there was a good change he would die if shooting started. The local also realized that this was the first of many visits by the armed bandits who, made confident by their guns, would steal what they failed to store through proper preparation.

So he….. started baking cookies.

"Good morning, I have fresh cookies and hot coffee" shouted the local from his truck as he pulled into the Horde's compound. "You all look like you could use a treat on this cold morning" he continued. The men leerily looked at each other assuming that the local man had not yet discovered the robbery and was just being a good neighbor. The local waved and yelled "God Bless You" as he drove away. Over their snacks and wicked strong coffee the Horde laughed at how easy a target this cookie baking fairy would be...

Looking through the rifle scope from his vantage point in on the hill he saw no movement...the last one fell several hours ago.

Later that evening the local man returned to the compound, collected the bodies and placed them neatly in the largest trailer. Gathering the stolen items plus the Hordes guns and abundant ammunition for barter he proceeded to pour gas in each of the remaining campers then burned everything to the ground. Cyanide in the coffee and cookies.

A heavy snow that night covered over the remains and the evident "mass suicide" was not discovered until later that springs. It was chalked up to collapse related hysteria...no further investigation.

My Own Thoughts


How would you have handled the group and the situation?

Remember there are no police that are going to come to the rescue.

What would you have done differently?


Now this one struck me hard. Why? Because I am a God fearing Christian who has submitted his life to the Lord.

Several verses in the Bible that come to my mind is...

1 Timothy 5:8(KJV)  But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.


Exodus 22:2 (KJV)  If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him.

What Do I Believe?

In the simplest terms, a believer is absolutely justified in the use of deadly force if faced with a grave threat to him or his own family or members of his own church (his extended family). Not to do so is a violation of both Jewish and Christian's reverence for life.

Deadly force does not mean that the results necessarily ends in death. It may be simply the presentation of the weapon that provides the necessary deterrent against violence on the part of the offender.

Christianity is not pacifism. There are pacifists who are Christians, but a clear reading of Scripture doesn't imply pacifism at all. We seek peace and pursue it; we earnestly prefer to avoid violence, but we don't stick our heads in the sand. We live in a world where violence is commonplace; it's been that way since the fall.

Violent people have absolutely no restraint on their behavior; a believer needs to be at least as aggressive in defending himself and others. Whatever it takes. If you have to shoot someone and drop them to the ground, that's most unfortunate, but you didn't ask to be attacked. 


Please go to the "COMMENTS" section and tell me what you thought and how you would handle it.

Finally, do you have a pit in your stomach like I did after I read that?

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Home Dehydrated Food Shelf Life

Many people know that I am a huge fan of dehydrating. There are so many benefits and the shelf life is amazing. In fact, lets take a look at the four major factors that will affect the shelf life of your home dehydrated foods.

   1. Temperature
   2. Moisture
   3. Oxygen
   4. Light


Temperature

Temperature affects storage time the most. The cooler the better. Most official guideline statistics for shelf life are based on ‘room temperature’, or 70 degrees F (21 C).

Each drop of 10 degrees F (5.5 C) will double the shelf life! That is pretty significant.

60 F instead of 70 F will double a 1 yr storage to 2 yrs, which may simply be the difference between storing your food upstairs in the pantry or downstairs in the basement (assuming you have a basement).

Likewise, when foods are stored in warmer temperatures, you will lose shelf life at the same proportion. 80 F instead of 70 F will halve the storage life. This fact may be more of a concern for those that don’t have a basement to conveniently store food in a cool environment.

One thing that I miss, having moved from the Northeast US to California more than a decade ago, is having a basement. Many homes here are built on slabs, where outdoor temperatures don’t freeze to extremes like other parts of the country (where deep foundations are required, and thus a basement). Without a basement, use your common sense and simply beware of storing food in places where temperatures will be higher than normal.
 
Moisture

The process of dehydrating removes most of the moisture from foods while retaining much of the nutritional value and flavor. It is a great method to preserve your harvested fruits and vegetables for later consumption off-season.

Fruits will typically contain about 75 percent moisture when fresh, and should be dehydrated to a 20 percent moisture level, the point at which they become leathery and pliable. Apparently, it is OK for fruits to be dried to this ‘pliable’ level rather than a lower ‘brittle’ moisture level because the natural sugars and acids in fruit act as an added preservative.

Vegetables must be dehydrated to a moisture level around 5 percent, the point at which they become crisp and brittle, and will break if bent.
 
Oxygen

Oxygen will interact with, and break down fats and proteins resulting in poor flavor and eventual spoilage. Fruits and vegetables only have small amounts of fat and protein but will still oxidize over a period of time when stored in an environment containing oxygen. Oxygen absorbers are commonly used inside long term food storage containers.
 
Light

Photons from light will also eventually break down fats and proteins as well as vitamins in the food, resulting in poor flavor and possibly eventual spoilage.

Dehydrated Fruit and Vegetable Shelf Life


‘Shelf Life’, when referring to survival food storage, is typically defined as the maximum amount of food storage time whereby the food will not spoil and still contribute to keeping you alive. Shelf Life, when referring to grocery store and typical food packaging labels, is defined as the length of time that the food will still taste its best and retain most all of its nutritional value, usually far before actual spoilage. Having said that, shelf life is a subjective thing, and may fall somewhere in between the two extremes.

Generally speaking, home dried fruits will have a shelf life of about 6 months to 1 year, if stored in glass mason jars and in a dark, dry, and cool environment (the cooler, the better).

The shelf life of home dried vegetables vary depending on the vegetable itself, but some say it is about half that of home dehydrated fruit. I believe it’s safe to say that it will generally be between 6 months to 1 year. Some claim storage life success of several years, but again, storage conditions will change storage life by either increasing, or even decreasing if stored poorly.

Store-bought dehydrated fruits and vegetables processed specifically for long term storage will be prepared, dried, and packaged in processes that bring moisture content down to as low as 3 percent, and will store much, much longer (I’ve seen claims of 25 years in #10 cans if stored properly).

My opinion and experience with home-dehydrated storage and shelf life is that 6 months to 1 year has been fine for me because the following growing season I am growing all new foods. So as long as they last during the off-season, which is quite simple to achieve, then I’m personally okay with that (some of my long term food storage supplies are not home dried, but professionally manufactured). As long as I am able to grow my own food each year, our home dehydration method works just fine.

Vacuum Sealing, Mason Jar, or Zip Lock Bag

In my opinion it is debatable whether vacuum sealing home-dehydrated food will add significant shelf life in most practical situations. Common sense tells me that it will definitely add some storage time, but I’m not so sure how significant that will be assuming we’re talking about foods that are already dehydrated, and are being stored in normal conditions (cool, dark, dry – mason jar), and will be replenished during the following growing season.

Granted that opening and closing a mason jar lid to remove some of the product when needed, will reintroduce fresh air and oxygen into the jar. However, so long as the air in the room isn’t laden with moisture, it would seem not to be such a big concern. If you live in a very humid environment, I can see an advantage though. Some vacuum sealers also have an attachment for mason jars to remove the air. Vacuum sealing in vacuum seal bags will definitely save space too.

Having said all that, I just don’t think it is a huge difference to vacuum seal versus using a mason jar when we’re talking about foods that will only last a year or so anyway… (although some claim to get several years from home dehydrated fruits and vegetables when stored well).

I believe that Zip Lock Bags are a fine alternative too. They take up less space than jars. I am a little leery about the effectiveness of the seal when compared to a mason jar with the nice lid. Quite often I have experienced these bags not holding a nice seal, even after ‘burping’ the bags quite efficiently.

I personally like the mason jars because I can easily see the foods inside while on the shelf, and they are convenient and easy to handle and use. Again, since I’m only dealing with shelf life requirements of 1 year maximum for my home grown foods, I don’t feel a need to use vacuum sealed bags. Don’t get me wrong, we love to use vacuum sealed bags on other items around the homestead, like on some of our other storage items such as 5 pound bags of flour – for convenience – although storing in 5 gallon buckets with Mylar is even better for longer term storage. We’ll save all that for another post some other time

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Ray Drinks Skanky Water & Lives! WATCH NOW













Survival 4 Christians - New Video
Ray Drinks Skanky Water & Lives! WATCH NOW

New Survival 4 Christians video to our Ramping Up Fast series. In this series I am going to give you tips, products and How To's so that you can ramp up your preparations quickly by getting the bare essentials.
The key is once we have the bare essentials in place, we can then start building on that foundation.
Today I am going to talk about Ramping up on water and introduce to you the Berkey Sport Water Bottle, The WaterBOB, 55 Gallon Drums water storage systems. 
I would love to hear what you think, please leave questions and comments below. 
ALSO, please rate our blog by giving it 5 stars.



 Get your Berkey Sports Filter bottle at Survivor Mall

Survivor Mall




Water Bob

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

CITY FORAGING - Edible Begonias?



By Ray Gano
Yep the world's most common houseplant is edible. They are also one of the most common bedding plant for three reasons…
1 They look great.
2. They like shade
3. Deer don’t like to eat them
4. The most important thing, most city folk don’t even know that they are edible. 
So if you are walking around your neighborhood and "inventorying" what your city has to offer, you will probably see Begonias in abundance.
That is why I have decided to list it as one of those plants you need to identify and mark down on your local map or GPS waypoint.
Now what is interesting is that in those fancier grocery stores it is becoming "Haute Couture" to have flower pedals in your soup, salad and dressing up the plate. Often times those pedals they are eating are none other than Begonias.
Now something you can do, is plant the wax begonia, which is the most common in your yard. For those of you who live in an apartment, these plants thrive in pots and containers.  People will admire them but very few if any will know that they are part of this week's dinner menu.
There are at least 15 types of begonia that are edible…
B. annulata (aka B. hatacoa),
B. auriculata,
B. barbata,
B. gracilis,
B. grandis var evansiana (sparingly due to its medical uses),
B. hernandioides,
B. malabarica,
B. mannii,
B. picta,
B. palmata,
B. plebeja (stems peeled, sap is used to make a drink),
B. Semperflorens, 
B. rex and B. roxburghii (cooked),
B. fimbristipula is used to make a tea. (1)
Begonias are a common part of meal time in countries from Mexico,  India and Brazil.  Basically wherever they grow they have been a food source to people in the know.
So welcome to the club of being in the know.
Begonias have been found to be a  good source for vitamin C, often consumed by the pirates of the Caribbean to prevent scurvy. Well, I threw in the pirate stuff because they are native to Central and South America. They are also native to Japan, India, Indonesia, Burma in fact most of Asia all the way to  South Africa.  Pretty much where there is a semi humid environment along with warm weather, you will find begonias.
In Japan they are eaten like you would steamed spinach, throw them in a pot, add some salt, pepper and water and you have a side dish.
In Indonesia  they are used to make a sauce for meat and fish because of their "tart" taste. They are also used to make salads from China to Brazil.
Pretty much any time you would make greens cooked or raw, you can substitute those for begonias.
Now I have to say that Begonias contain oxalic acid, which can make them rather tart at times.
In high concentrations, oxalic acid is a dangerous poison, but such immediately toxic levels are not found in foodstuffs but rather in  the industrial arena. It is found in some bleaches, some anti-rust products, and some metal cleaners, among other things. As I have mentioned, it is also a naturally occurring component of plants, like begonias and other dark-green leafy foods. (2)
Also because they are ground cover, you need to make sure that where you forage from is not treated with pesticides and sprays. And as with any edible plant, make sure that you have clearly identified the plant. When in doubt, don’t eat it.
Thing is that Begonias have been harvested and eaten for at least 1,400 years where I understand that China has the earliest records using begonia grandis. (pictured here) There it was used as an herbal medicine, an astringent to clean wounds, reduce swelling and to treat a number of diseases.
A great website to visit and learn more about Begonias is: http://www.begonias.org.

Endnotes