Kessiah had the opportunity to go on a 4 day pioneer trek reenactment
with the youth from our church. Ryan went as a photographer (which was
nice because I had access to a lot of pictures!).
The
first day they were put into families and had to carry their gear from
"Nauvoo" to "Iowa City" where they were able to purchase supplies and
put their handcarts together. They got some rain that first afternoon
which caused them to trek in the mud...from what I hear that was tough!
There was a lot of walking and some time for fun activities...including stick pulls and archery.
There
was a part of the trek when they pulled all the men and boys away to go
with the "Mormon Battalion" and the women and girls were left to pull
the handcarts up some steep areas.
I
took the kids to go and meet them...we were so excited to greet them at
the end of their journey. I got tears in my eyes when I spotted
Kessiah, I was so proud of her and her ability to accomplish a hard
thing. The lessons she learned will serve her well for the rest of her
life.
She came back saying that she wasn't going to be as picky about food anymore! She even ate raisins while she was out!
It
was an incredible experience as they trudged through rain, mud, and
sunshine. It was very unusual for us to get rain this time of
year...and although the mud was tough it did help keep the temperatures
down. Over the 3 1/2 day experience they went just over 40 miles.
Here is what Kessiah said about the experience on Facebook.
"Yesterday
I came back from trek.....honestly, one of the most challenging things
spiritually and physically I've done. 42 miles of trekking with people I
was put to be with as a family and to push a hand cart with, and going
over hills and slipping through mud and rain. I think I learned so much
over those four days though. We depend on our family to help and even us
out, through things like support, kindness, and yes, even the stupid
jokes to get us to continue forward and d
istract
from blisters and bruises. We have so much in this age like cars and
hot running water that we don't realize how much of a sacrifice those
pioneers made to get to salt lake. We complain about not liking raisins
and other little foods we don't really like to eat....pioneers didn't
have that option (I really felt like I didn't either). I saw how much
teamwork was put into the women's pull....lots of cooperation and
endurance and finally the gratitude and relief when the angels came and
helped and pushed our hand carts over that enormous hill. We all take it
for granted, and honestly this trek opened my eyes to that. I'm so glad
I was able to go, and I feel so blessed for the family I got put with
because it wasn't an accident. I hope that my siblings will have as good
of a outcome with it as I did, because it was just awesome."
The
experience made me reflect a lot on my pioneer ancestry and all they
went through to create a strong foundation for me. I cried when I
thought about the women's pull the trekkers did and am so grateful for
the angels that went to help them. I am grateful for the angels that
helped the pioneers cross the plains many years ago...and for the angels
that help me every day.
