Five of the seven of us got to go on our stake trek in mid-July! We have been preparing for this since the winter time with devotionals, researching ancestors to trek for, making equipment and clothes for trek, playing pioneer games and more. Dave and Mel went as a Pa & Ma and the other kids went as the youth trekkers. We used our trailer for our ward and loaded up and headed to south of Evanston to Deseret Land and Livestock Ranch to meet up with our stake. This land was set apart for trekking as one of its purposes. We got organized, divided up into families, had a starting devotional and headed off. We had three companies, all under the direction of our stake presidency and about ten families in each company, so about 30 handcarts in all. We all had a different color of bandana depending on the company. We were the blue, Lucy and Cal were green and Emma was red. We introduced ourselves to and talked to our family and gave them a little treat or hand out each day with a quote. We gave them pioneer chapsticks, gum, a sticker with the youth theme and root beer barrels and a button with Trek 2023 and a handcart on it. We discussed the quotes some days and tied them into our day on the trail. The first day the terrain was decent and we walked in a lot of grass. There were tons of wildflowers all over and it was still way green thanks to all of the rain, so it was beautiful! I pressed some flowers in my journal. That first day, we walked about 9 miles. We stopped frequently for water breaks, for our daily out house stops, and had lunch on the trail most days. The first couple of days we talked to our families mostly to get to know them. We had some awesome kids - hard working ranchers, some who live on farms, athletes who have won state titles or play all of the sports year round. They were work horses and pushed themselves hard and had great attitudes. It was fun to see the hope of Israel. I asked them all their purposes of coming on trek. Our kids ended up really liking their families too and their Mas and Pas. It was so fun to see everyone come together. We got to our campsite in the early evening, and were in a marsh area. It was a beautiful night! We set up camp first and got organized, then had a devotional. These devotionals always included inspired music, pioneer story, and a quote from one of the prophets or apostles. They were always so spiritual. The kids were excited about the hamburgers, we played games at the camp as a stake, and then broke apart and had family time. We talked about ideas for our flag that donned our hand cart. As we were brainstorming ideas, the kids were bringing up lots of things that had to do with blue since that was our company color. Then the following story from church history came to mind:
In the fall of 1857, the nineteen-year-old Joseph F. Smith was returning from his mission in Hawaii, and in California he joined a wagon train. It was a volatile time for the Saints. Johnston’s Army was marching towards Utah, and many had bitter feelings towards the Church. One evening several hoodlums rode into camp, cursing and threatening to hurt every Mormon they could find. Most in the wagon train ran and hid in the brush. But Joseph F. thought to himself: “Shall I run from these fellows? Why should I fear them?” With that, he walked up to one of the intruders who, with pistol in hand, demanded, “Are you a Mormon?” Joseph F. Smith responded, “Yes siree; dyed in the wool; true blue, through and through.” At that, the hoodlum grasped his hand and said, “Well you are the [blankety-blank] pleasantest man I ever met! Shake hands, young fellow. I am glad to see a man that stands up for his convictions” (See Gospel Doctrine, 518).
I suggested True Blue and it stuck and the kids loved it. They drew blue mountains which represented strength and pointing towards heaven. Then we drew a sun for the Son of God. We signed our names around and it turned out fun. A few times we chanted or encouraged each other with "True blue, through and through!" Then we played some games with bandanas that were pioneer games. We laughed a lot and had fun. Next it was time for ward time. We had a little devotional together and then some played card games, some went to bed, some patched up blisters. We camped with our wards. I loved how we had mixes of family time, ward time and stake time. It was the perfect combo. At the end of each night, a gal from our stake played "Be Still My Soul" on the trumpet at 10 p.m., which was lights out time.
Thursday, we woke up to the sound of "Let Zion in Her Beauty Rise". We broke camp always first, then we had our devotional and ate breakfast. Then we were off for our day. We trekked and had some not so easy terrain but most of the people did really well. It was fun to talk to other members of our stake on the trail. Some in our family and the families in our companies liked to sing. I cracked up that they were singing Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls and Smash Mouth, all the bands I grew up loving and listening to. We belted out lots of Disney songs too which was fun. We also talked about the pioneer ancestors we were trekking for. When we reached our campsite, which we all felt didn't take very long, we set up camp, had our devotional, ate dinner and then had a barn dance. It was all dusty and not much brush there, but we were up on a hill so we had a great view of the Uintahs. It got pretty dusty with everyone out stomping around. Many were avoiding it, but once I got the kids out of the tents, they really enjoyed it. Only Cal participated out of our kids but at least the girls came out to watch. They learned Johnny O and some square dancing songs. I loved seeing everyone smiling and having fun. I see how much value dancing and music had for the pioneers to help keep their spirits up.
Friday, we were back to trekking. We had some steep hills to climb and descend. Our family mentioned even though we just met each other, it felt like they had known each other for a long time. We met in a large meadow and the men all received "mission calls". They talked about how many times the women and children were alone because the men did go on missions, Mormon Battalion, got sick or passed away. Then we had our women's pull. We combined with another family as we only had two girls and one tough cookie just had knee surgery. The other girls were big and strong so that was nice, but it was hard. It was a one mile steep journey. It wasn't easy and many in the other families were passing out or getting heat exhaustion. I kept our girls going by encouraging them, reminding them we can do hard things through Christ, and told them about Heber C. Kimball and Brigham Young as they were called to serve missions and leave their wives and children behind. As they left, they were so sick they could barely move and their families were sick too. I'm sure they didn't know if they'd see each other again. They stood up in the wagon, and shouted "Hurrah for Israel!" There were so many times things would come to mind that was inspiration from heaven. As we reached the top, some sing songs and then the boys and men all had their hats off and it was quiet with reverence. It was such a sweet moment. Then we had another devotional and lunch and the sick were attended to and we had some family time. We were back on the trail again ready trek all together again. We didn't have much longer to go until we got to camp. We camped in a big open area. We played games as a stake by company. We had baseball, hoop and stick, horse shoes, relay race, more dancing, and there was always four square out, which was a hit. We had lots of ward time too and jump roped, did the stick pull and the kids (and some adults) especially loved the bucket game. For the bucket game, you had to hold hands and try to get the others in the circle to knock over the bucket or let go of each others hands. If you were the last standing, you won. It was super fun and loved how much laughter and love there was. It was refreshing to see a bunch of kids without electronics socializing and just having fun the good old fashioned way. We had a Porter Rockwell presentation after that and Pony Express delivery after that where all the kids got letters from home. It was fun to write the letters to our three kids. I'm so proud of them. We had testimony meeting that night, as a stake. They asked a dozen kids to share their testimonies. The air was filled with the spirit of these valiant youth sharing what they knew to be true. Then we broke apart for ward time. We retired over to a quiet area away from the rest of camp and made a circle with our buckets. It was sunset time and a beautiful night. We went around in the circle and everyone had the opportunity to share. I am so thankful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the difference it has made in my life and the lives of my family members. It is everything! To hear 35 youth and the accompanying adults all tell what they felt was powerful!
Saturday was our final day. We woke up and went through the same routine. Today there were shenanigans like spray bottle fights and whip cracking (the Randolph/Woodruff kids really enjoyed this). Our family talked a lot and joked around, they were such great kids. I asked them what they thought their ancestors purposes were for crossing the plains and there was a consensus that it was their faith in Christ that drove them to keep walking when they felt they couldn't go on. It wasn't an easy trek. Many said it was very hard for them. Our pioneer ancestors had to do hard things. We have to do hard things in our days. It is our faith in Christ that keeps us moving day after day to our promised land. As we reached the staging area, we had people cheering for us and clapping. I thought that is what it might feel like to cross through the veil. We made it! We have a whole team cheering us along, including our pioneer ancestors, waiting for us on the other side. Dave trekked for all the pioneers who never made it. Melanie trekked for Jane Selina Evans. Emma trekked for Emma Farrar. Callahan trekked for Gudmund Gudmunsen, and Lucy trekked for Elizabeth Coffin Rawson. We said goodbyes to our families. Cal and another of his family members dumped their water cooler all over their Pa, that was hilarious. We had a final devotional and there were lots of tears shed. What a beautiful experience. I am so thankful for our pioneers of old who inspire me so much throughout my life and pioneers today, these youth who are having to encounter some things those before haven't had to navigate. They are the"Hope of Israel, Zion's Army, Children of the Promised Day"!
A couple weeks after, the kids got to speak about their experiences with trek. Here's what the kids said.
Lucy: "At first, I wasn't sure about trek, but by the end, trek was a fun experience for me and I can't wait to go again. An experience from trek that was meaningful to me was our ward's testimony meeting because of how many of us that attended trek and because of the many testimonies that I got to hear. It helped me to feel closer to Jesus and I have tried to be more committed to Jesus. Another experience meaningful to me was the women's pull. I could just feel the struggles and pains that the pioneer women felt when they were on their own on the palins. Overall, trek helped me feel closer to Jesus and has really encouraged me to try harder. I know that Jesus and Heavenly Father live and love everyone and I know that this is the true Church and Jesus helps us everyday.
Cal: "Not gonna lie, trek was pretty easy compared to what the Pilgrims did. Could you impagine the pain they went through but how much faith they had from it? We had to go through a lot but they had to go through a lot more. They were hungry, cold and wanted to quit but kept going." Callahan talked about the women's pull and how that inspired him. He said it was miraculous to see the women, happy that they had made it all the way after the boys had been called on "missions". He talked about his testimony in the Savior being strenghtened because of trek and testified the Savior lives and helps us in our hard times.
(We all laughed when Cal used the term "pilgrims" on accident instead of pioneers. We still give him a hard time.)
Emma: I have to be honest, I really didn't want to go on trek, but my parents made me. But I am really glad I did. The pioneers were Christ-like in their sacrifice and would do anything for the Lord. Their faith inspired me. It wasn't easy, and lots of times it was hard. But just like them, through Christ I can do hard things.
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