As the first day began, we were all excited, dressed as pioneers and ready to embark on our journey. At first it was about keeping clean and working as a family and being nice. As the day wore on, the excitement was still there but I began to ask myself why the saints willingly took these arduous journeys. People died, they sustained injuries and the trip was just plain hard even in mild weather. Difficult conditions would have compounded the strain, naturally. We saw a few cars stop on the road and take some photos, and I don't know if they were family members or just strangers stopping to see what we were up to. We did not see anyone outside of our group for the rest of the trek.
Ma and Pa teams were asked to prepare pioneer stories to share at devotional stops. We prepared and had stories of our ancestors as well as documented handcart pioneer families. I was constantly pondering how their experience was similar, and yet very different than ours. Many of us had very nice hiking boots, a doctor on hand with what ever we needed, angels who provided us with food each morning and along the trail. We were encouraged along the way by a very energetic brother who made sure we were keeping hydrated and having fun. He carried a megaphone. He was not a still small voice, yet his message was heard and felt by all.
We learned to appreciate porta-potties (although I kept trying to "flush") and looked forward to seeing them around the bend. However, when we had to pee, we had no problem using a tree (or bush or even tall grass). I really enjoyed using our indoor plumbing again. We were being brave souls our first night and opted to sleep out under the stars without any tarp over us, after all, tarps are for whimps. Wrong. Tarps are for the smart ones who remembered the warning about "dew". The dew that settled in left puddles of water on anything it touched. I can now see why, before Noah, the earth's plants grew just fine with "dew". It was heavy dew. My sleeping bag was wet, my feet were wet, my pillow was wet except for where my head lay. The next night, we built the most amazing lean-to which covered everything. Ahhh, dry sleeping bag!
After the first day of trekking we were all tired and hot. The kids needed to swim, so I went down to the river and watched a hundred or more kids splash about, jump off boulders, swim, float, cool off and enjoy the company of fellow trekkers. It was great! For dinner we had chili which even the most picky of eaters devoured, saying it was the best chili ever. They were hungry kids! I loved being able to go to the mess truck and get a bucket of food for our meals that day! We enjoyed biscuits and gravy for breakfast, cooked in dutch ovens. That is some good camping food! We took bread, peanut butter, jelly, cookies and chips for our lunch picnic. At our lunch break, we did a human tug-of-war with no ropes. We locked arms and pulled. Our teams strategized on the best linking method and took first place in girls and finals with boys. Our kids had a competitive streak!
During one of the breaks, we stopped in a beautiful pasture and the Pony Express Rider arrived with letters from home. Each of the kids got a letter, read it, then wrote in their journals. We found out that one of the brothers who had come from Grove Ward to participate as an "unfriendly" indian was in an ATV accident and they thought he had broken his back. He asked for a blessing and was given one. He was picked up by ambulance and taken in for x-rays and CT scans. Not one bone was broken even though he could not move his legs or feel sensation. What a blessing for him and his family to have a miracle performed on his behalf. Everyone knelt in prayer together to combine our faith to pray for his recovery. His name had been included on the OKC temple prayer roll that night as well. I am so thankful for the priesthood power and for the power of prayer.
The second day was overcast and drizzling which was great because it kept us just damp enough to stay cool, not enough to soak us. The girls were separated from the boys for a short time as the men went to find buffalo. We had to pull the handcarts for a time without help from our men. The girls also had a chance to see what role service played in making it across the plains. Some handcarts only had 2-3 women. The girls noticed and left our family to go help. As leaders, we knew this would happen but we were told not to ask the girls to help the others. They needed to notice it and act on their feelings. Two of our girls left our handcart to help. Good for them! We were psyched up for the pull. We encouraged one another saying "We can do HARD THINGS!" When it came time for us to pull our cart up the muddy slippery incline, the men had returned and came to help. Some of our brothers lent a hand but we did make it up for the most part on our own. This was valuable for the girls to realize how strong they really were.
My testimony was strengthened as I thought of Zions Camp and the work it did in making the brothers work together in love and cooperation and to rid themselves of pride and contention. This kind of exertion, working together to survive and being led through the "wilderness" by our church leaders is a testimony building experience like no other.
I am so glad I was able to attend and watch our youth have this intense growing experience. So, why did the saints endure this with faith. They knew the Gospel was true. Why do we let our youth stretch themselves and have this experience, so they too can have the kind of faith and testimony that will be required in these latter days.
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