Pioneer Trek

Last weekend we went on a pioneer trek with our stake young men and young women which numbered about 250.  Rick & I were a Ma & Pa to a company of 10 youth.  We traveled 17 miles over two days pushing a handcart through the Texas Prairie.  True to Texas weather we encountered quite a few surprises.  The first night a huge wind storm came through and blew over several tents.  We could not stop the screaming girls down until after 3 a.m.  We shuffled girls into other tents and prayed that it won't rain also.  I crawled into my tent and got about 2 hours of sleep before my internal seminary clock woke me up.  We started the day a little weary but I was determined to make the best of the situation.  We were at the back of the line- 4th from the end.  It's really dusty back there!  Over the course of the trail we encountered several activities and experiences to help the youth gain a greater appreciation for what our pioneer ancestors did for us.  We recieved a baby to care for and our boys left us for a few hours to join the Mormon Battalion.  The girls were left to pull the cart down a big hill (which put me in the stream because my girls let go) and then up a big hill.  The boys sat in silence at the top of the hill as we struggled to get it up.  Later in the day I reminded the boys to thank the women in their lives that do so much for them.  We saw graves dug to bury loved ones, ran into to people who tried to lead us down the wrong path and ran out of water.   Our company captain (the bishop)  got heat stroke and had to ride in the wagon.  It was a rough couple of days and I am still tired but my faith has been strengthened and I have an enormous appreciation for my shower and my bed.  (oh, and advil and gatorade!)  Ben was not in our family but we still got to see him.  He was truly in his element and would have been a great pioneer.   Me- not so much.  We had a testimony meeting at the end which was wonderful.  I love to hear the kids speak and most of all to know that maybe some of it sunk in!  I hope we get to do this again in four years with Kaeli & Josh.