Well, it seems the blog is falling by the wayside, but we
had an amazing experience last week that I wanted to write about before all of
the emotions of it wear off. It is quite
long so I don’t expect you to read it all.
It is mostly for us, anyway.
Greg is the Young Men’s President in our ward so he spends
half of his summer with the youth. This
summer for Youth Conference the stake arranged a Pioneer Trek near Mt. Pisgah,
one of the way stations for the pioneers as they traveled west. Greg had always planned to go, but then they
needed more chaperones and wanted a married couple from each ward. I was pretty nervous about it because I knew
it would be physically grueling, but I was willing to give it a try. I did not want to be the weak link. I wanted to be a strength for our group of
youth, not a liability. I started
praying daily that I would be strong and be a help to them. Greg and I also started walking together
every night (except Sundays) after the kids were in bed. I
also did some things to help prepare me more spiritually. I thought we might need that kind of
strength, too.
Last Tuesday it began.
We had all the belongings we needed for three days, including bedding,
shoved into our 3.5 gallon buckets. I
guess that was lesson number one. We
rely so much on unneccesary stuff. We
can ask ourselves what is really important?
I think it was difficult for just about everyone to fit everything in
their bucket. There were a lot of broken
lids J
Our first day, Tuesday, would be prove to be a grueling day. We ended up hiking 13-14 miles that day. We had a group of 11 youth, and Greg and
I. We had a handcart that we had to fit
all of our stuff in that we had to pull.
They strongly encouraged all the adult leaders to really let the youth
lead and to not pull the handcart. That
was really hard. I think I have a rescue
complex. I always want to help and “save”
others. Our youth were amazing, though,
and we got a great start. Maybe too
great a start. For those who think Iowa
is flat prairie, you have not walked where we walked. There was hill after rolling hill, after
rolling hill. At about the 3rd
mile, everyone started asking how close we were to the end point and we started
to walk significantly slower. The heat
was thick and we had all emptied our water bottles. There was one boy, in
particular, who was really having problems.
He had asthma and was having a hard time breathing. We finally had to stop for him. He felt like he couldn’t go on so we had to
call for someone to come pick him up. He
decided it was too tough and went home.
We also had a girl sprain her ankle and was limping along. Some of our kids really rose to the need we
were in. One boy helped push the
handcart almost the whole day. He really
carried us all that day. Everyone
helped, but he really carried us all.
Thankfully, we didn’t have any complainers, and we made it to our
camping spot. We were all ready to drop,
but then we had to cook our dinner and set up camp. We were all grateful to fall into bed that
night.
Wednesday we awoke to Thunderstorms and had to break camp in
the rain. We got out of camp later than
we thought and the temperatures went above 90 degrees that day. Wednesday also brought surprises. The boys were to stay at camp and do a
service project while the girls pulled the handcart themselves. This was an overwhelming thought. The boys would then have to walk or run to
catch up with us. This was a very
emotional day. Everyone was so tired
from the day before. Many of the girls
were nursing sunburns and blisters. One
sweet girl had a huge blister on her heel that had popped. It took me two good sized band-aids to cover
it. She could barely get her shoes on it
hurt so much. With the help of some of
the other leaders we found some things that helped her and she limped along. We had relied so much on the strong boys in
our group the day before. I was scared
too. I felt like I would really have to
be strong this day. I missed Greg’s
quiet strength right from the start, but the girls and I did it! They were awesome and amazing! I pulled a lot that day, but was so thankful
to be helping. On the way, the girl who
sprained her ankle, asked if she could have a blessing. We were able to find some male leaders who
were able to help. It was a beautiful
thing being in that setting and listening to this blessing being given. In the blessing they told this girl angels
were with us, and I could really feel that throughout the day. We were doing this trek to help us feel
gratitude for the pioneers who traveled this way so long ago. They appreciated our recognition of their
sacrifice and I could feel them helping us along. It was beautiful. Shortly after the blessing this girl with the
sprained ankle was able to ride a horse for a while to help her ankle (she
would walk with us again after lunch).
The remaining girls and I were able to pull about 5 miles until the
boys, and Greg, caught up with us. One
of the best moments for me was seeing them come into view. We were further ahead than a lot of groups so
our boys had a lot of ground to make up.
Our boys were some of the first we saw and Greg was the first male
leader to catch up to us. I was so proud
and happy to see them, especially Greg.
They really had to push themselves to catch up, but they knew we would
need them so they pushed themselves. I
don’t always realize how much I rely on Greg.
He is such a source of steadiness and strength in my life. I am so grateful for him!
We all ate lunch together and began our last leg of the
journey. Another surprise was in
store. We were stopped with only about a
mile to go. We could see Mt. Pisgah up
on the hill. We were told to pull our
handcart off the side of the road. We
would be having a river crossing! We
couldn’t bring the handcart across because they had rented them and didn’t want
anything to happen to them so we just had to bring ourselves across. I actually thought this surprise was a great
blessing. Everyone was dragging by this
point. It was fun and refreshing to be
in the water. Nevermind that we got all
muddy and would be wet the rest of the way.
The current was pretty strong so you had to be careful with your balance
and push a little to get across. Most of
the boys dunked themselves and floated a little way and then would get their
feet under them again. I was carrying my
shoes and another girls shoes so I didn’t go all the way under, but the water
still came up to my chest. Some of the
shorter girls were really in deep. Once
we got to the other side we had to climb up a steep, muddy bank and walk
through a bunch of weeds (hopefully avoiding the poison ivy and ticks) to get
back to our handcart. We were all wet,
but we had a smile on our face and we knew we were going to make it now! Our group was the first to cross the river so
we knew we would be first to camp. We
were so excited to be nearing the end and to have stuck it out! As we rolled into beautiful Mt. Pisgah we
sang “Come, come, ye Saints”. No one was
there waiting and cheering us on, but we felt joy! It was overwhelming. We did it!
We made it. We did something
really hard and we helped each other do it.
We all just sat down on the grass and rested. Then we got to cheer as others came into
camp. As the kids began to get up and
move around a bit, Greg and I had some time to be together and talk. I am so grateful I got to share this
experience with him. It is an amazing
thing to see your spouse do something really hard. It is almost like you remember why you love
them so much and your heart is so full of love.
I felt so proud of him. He was so strong! He was so great with the youth. He is so much more patient with youth than
many others. He is able to step back and
let them lead even if it means they make mistakes. He is there for help and support, but really
tries to help them learn leadership. He
is kind and capable. He is fun and
adventurous. I only get glimpses of him
in this role, it was amazing to see the full picture. I am blessed to be on this life journey with
him.
We were also so proud of our group of youth. They were amazing! They helped each other and waited for each
other. They pushed through pain and
discomfort and kept moving forward. They
are capable and strong. We loved sharing
the journey with them as well. It gives
me great hope for the future to be around such capable, strong youth.
Our love for and appreciation for the pioneers was
increased. This journey was difficult
for us and it was only two days. We had
great shoes, sunscreen and an endless supply of water and Gatorade. If someone was sick or in pain they could be
picked up in a car and rest for a while.
There were a lot of people who didn’t make it the whole way, even some of
the adult leaders. Our pioneers pushed
forward day after day, through sickness and even the loss of loved ones. Their strength really paved the way for the
strength of the church today. They were
willing to give up so much for their faith.
It was a great blessing to remember them.
An experience like this really puts your life in
perspective. All of the things you
normally think of as so important drop to the wayside and your focus becomes keen and clear. Our lives are filled with so much that doesn’t
matter and it seems that is the challenge of our day, to rise above the busyness
and clutter of life and focus on the two most important things, our faith and
our family. It was almost painful and
depressing to return home to the same old life, when I felt so different. It is a challenge to be aware of and one I am
not sure how to overcome just yet.
Greg and I were also reminded of how much we both love to be
outside. It cleanses the soul and brings
you closer to the Lord. We live in this
amazing world and the Lord created it for us.
He could have set up any environment for us to learn and grow and he
made this one. Its beauty can take your
breath away. So many times we would rise
to the top of the hill and I would look out
and just feel loved. The view was
clear and spectacular. I even thought it
was a great metaphor for life. On the
downward slope of pulling a hand cart you feel like you have to almost run so
you aren’t run over by it. It helps to
have people pulling on the back to slow you down, but you still clip
along. Then the uphill you have to focus on each step in front of
you or you get discouraged and overwhelmed at how much hill there is to climb. Then when you get to the top you get this
amazing view that takes your breath away and you realize that the climb was
worth it and then it starts all over again.
I think of life like that. We are
always running or pushing, but sometimes we get these amazing views that make
all of the running and pushing worth it.
This was an amazing experience for Greg and I. Adam’s experience was a little different and
I will have to write about that another day.
If your ward is ever looking for volunteers to go on a pioneer trek with
the youth, sign up and start walking.
The Lord really answered my prayers and I had an amazing experience.
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| We have hardly any pictures. We were way too focused. Greg did capture this picture of Adam coming into camp the first day. Obviously we didn't have to dress like pioneers. Adam pulled his handcart almost the whole first day. He even pulled it part of the day by himself. His group really struggled. We were so proud of him for pushing through! |
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Here is a picture of my bucket. This is what we had to fit everything into. |
