Trek

This past wed through saturday we went on trek.  Bob and I were a ma and pa.  Parts of it were fun but also very difficult.  We first took a 6 hour bus ride to plymouth washington.  It was so so so hot.  There were barely any trees!  It was I think about 90 degrees and no shade.  I was also wearing a long sleeve dress, petticoat, pantaloons, and an apron.  It was really neat to see everyone in their pioneer clothing though.  There were moments on the trek when I actually felt like we were pioneers. I would say it was a good experience but if you asked me if I wanted to ever go again I would probably have to say no.  I loved spending time with my trek family and getting to know them but the trekking in the heat was just not fun.  I think I could even stand the fact that we were dirty and couldn't have toothpaste, deodorant, makeup, electronics (I really wish I could have had my camera and video camera), or snacks but the heat was the hardest part.  the whole thing was very spiritually uplifting and I always feel closer to the savior when i'm in the wilderness away from all the technology we have now.

This morning was so crazy for me.  I am surprised I made it through without having a breakdown.  First off because we didn't get back from trek until late it was 10:30 when we got the kids in bed.  So this morning I had to finish writing my talk (I worked on it on the bus ride).  I didn't even have time to read through it when I got a call and found out I would need to sub in a primary class.  So I quickly tried to prepare a lesson for that.  Then Bob left for choir so I felt stressed getting the kids to church by myself.  After we got there things seemed fine for about 30 min.  Bob when up with the choir to sing.  I was sitting in the pews to I could take care of the kids but right after the choir I was supposed to go up and give my talk.  That didn't really work out.  Penelope threw up (not spit up real nasty chunky smelly throw up) all over herself, me and the phew.  I just froze and didn't know what to do.   Bob was up singing so he couldn't help and I didn't have a burp cloth or new clothes or anything.  Luckily the guy sitting next to us was there.  He ran and got paper towels while I took Penelope to the bathroom.  I tried to get semi cleaned up while bob went ahead and gave his talk.  A sister in the ward came into the bathroom after me and offered to take Penelope.  I let her even though I knew she would cry the entire time.  Then I came back and gave my talk while covered in throw up.  I just quickly read my paper without barely even looking up or putting any emotion in it.  Bob took Penelope home and got new clothes for both me and her.  I was so stressed.  I just ended because time was up and I needed to go.  I said "I have more but I am going to end in the name of Jesus Christ Amen." I left Tucker to the people sitting next to us and tried to wash off my dress more.  I then went to Primary and tried to do that.  Bob came a few minutes in so I was able to change.  Once church was done I put the kids in bed and fell asleep on the couch.  

Ok, I know this is already a long post but I want to share my talk since I didn't finish it and because it talks more about trek.

I want to start by telling a true story from the pioneers called the The Miracle. 

Great was the concern of the pioneer company when little Annie was stricken.  … (I’m summarizing here for the blog)  A baby died so the mom and dad had to leave it in a bush they couldn’t burry him.  The mom was thinking about it later and felt she needed to go back.  The baby came back to life although others were certain the baby was previously dead.  It was very sad but it had a happy ending.

I know that many miracles happened when the pioneers crossed the plains,  I also know that many miracles still happen today.  This was one of the many stories we learned about while we did our many trek this past Wednesday to Saturday at the Bing camp in Plymouth Wa. 

When we first signed up for trek we didn’t really know what we were getting into and I think many of the kids felt the same way.  Although Bob and I stayed upbeat and positive as much as we could I could see the anguish in the children’s faces that first day when we walked 11 miles until well after midnight.  Only to feed them a cup of broth and a roll for dinner.  I could feel how upset one of my trek family daughters was at me the next morning when she asked if she could have an apple with her plain oatmeal and I told her that if she ate her apple now than she might not have anything to eat for lunch.  This was a very hard thing we asked the youth to do but it wasn’t a fraction of what the real pioneers went through. 

Because of trek I was able to connect with the pioneers in a way I never had before.  I don’t have any pioneer ancestors that I know about but while we were trekking I had plenty of time to think about what they went through.  I even had a specific girl who crossed the plains to trek in honor of.  I wore here name on a bracelet on my wrist and thought about her the entire time. 

I’ve thought before in my life that it would have been easier to live back then before we had much of the temptation and evil in the world that we do now.  I don’t think that anymore.  I believe that the pioneers had a completely different set of trials than we do now.  Now we can see evil and immodesty in the media everyday everywhere we look.  Although technology brings a lot of good it also brings a host of temptations that just didn’t exist while the pioneers were walking.  The pioneers suffered death and hunger I also think not being obedient was a huge temptation for them.  It is a huge thing they were asked to do when they were told that they were going to trek across the plains.  Many of them if not most of them probably didn’t want to go.  But even so they obeyed.  I am not sure If I would be able to do what the Lord commanded if I lived back then and was asked to do what they were.  But the good part about that is I am not being asked to do that.  The Lord knows what we can and can’t handle and he will not ask more than we can bear.  Maybe just like I probably couldn’t have done what the pioneers did they could not live with all of the temptation and evil that is in the world today.  I’m not sure which is harder I just know that our lives are so different it is hard to compare.  The story I read earlier had a happy ending but many of them did not. 

One thing I learned from the pioneers was how to endure.  Many of the pioneers had family members die but they had to continue.  They couldn’t stop and mourn they barely even had the time or means to bury their dead.  They just had to keep going or they would get left behind or not make it before the harsher weather set in.  They had to endure many things such as hunger, sickness and boredom.  The girl that I trekked in honor of was only 6 years old.  Her two younger brothers died.  Her making it to Salt Lake makes me think that I can endure also.

The trek scripture was Doctrine and Covenants 61 36-39 verse 36 says,

“and now, verily I say unto you, and what I say unto one I say unto all, be of good cheer, little children; for I am in your midst, and I have not forsaken you;”

be of good cheer.  Think about how much we can change our lives by just being of good cheer.  I could see a huge difference in the youth who were of good cheer and the ones who weren’t.  Some of the youth were happy they had fun and made the best of it.  Others were miserable.  They were going through about the same thing but some of them enjoyed it and others didn’t.  no matter what trial comes our way we still have the choice and control of if we are of good cheer or not.

The scripture also says ‘for I have not forsaken you’ Sometimes we forget this.  The Lord is always with us and all we have to do is ask.  There are actually blessings that the Lord wants to give us but they are contingent upon us asking.  Just yesterday at trek we were having a very spiritual but long testimony meeting.  It was going about an hour over what they had planned and I knew the busses were waiting for us.  We were sitting on the ground with nothing to lean back against in 90 degree weather.  I was doing ok for the first hour but after that I started to struggle.  I couldn’t feel the spirit anymore because I kept thinking about how hot and uncomfortable I was.  Then I remembered the scripture ‘for I am in your midst and I have not forsaken you’ and I just asked if there was anyway heavenly Father could make this better for me.  And the next second there was a nice breeze.  I know this might sound like a coincidence to some but I know that it was because of my prayer.

I know that this church is true and I know that the Lord is with us or can be with us through the Holy Ghost if we let him at all times.    I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.