Well, they are off! The youth from the Farmington(NM), Bloomfield (NM), Kirtland(NM)and Durango (CO) stakes all left bright and early this morning for a 4 day Pioneer Handcart Trek near Montrose, Colorado. All adorned in their pioneer clothing. They will be hiking approximately 25 miles over some pretty rough terrain, pulling (and pushing--for "some must push and some must pull") their belongings in hancarts as they go. They will be physically tried as they hike in temperatures in the 90's in full pioneer attire (long skirts, pantaloons, bonnets, aprons, etc.--for the girls). They will be divided up into "families", with a Ma and Pa overseeing each family, and several families will travel together in a company. They will hike,sing pioneer songs, play pioneer games, square dance, share stories of their pioneer ancestors and eat pioneer type meals. And hopefully along the way their appreciation for those who have gone before them will pass through their minds and their hearts. Hopefully each will feel that we, too, are pioneers in our trek through life.
Paul went on a similar trek 4 years ago and had an amazing experience. Hopefully, Julia will be similarly touched by the experience, along with the 450+ youth and adults who join her on this pioneer journey. I wish I could have gone along this morning to see them all gather and begin their journey. May the Lord watch over them and bless them with safety and a greater understanding of who they are and where they are from and where they are heading. "Pioneer children sang as they walked and walked and walked and walked....and walked".
Picture 1: Julia
Picture 2: Julia and her friend, Heidi
Picture 3: The youth of our ward who went on the trek
5 comments:
Oh my! They look so good! I am really jealous that they didn't start doing the pioneer treks until after I left young womens. I would have loved that. I hope she has a good time!
Love
Liz
Looks like a good outfit - good job mom! I'd love to hear what you ended up making for it.
And I think Julia needs to put an update on the blog when they get back so we can all know how it went.
Our kids took off is nice weather for Alaska, but the one of the leaders had prayed for weather that would be an example of what the pioneers experienced and the night after the kids took off, a surprise weather front from Siberia moved into the state and they had WEATHER. Then one afternoon they needed clear weather for an activity and they prayed for it to clear up and it did, but they didn't pray for the wind to stop and it didn't. It was really a fantastic spiritual week for the kids.
The girls that were moms were given weighted dolls to carry as babies and every so often they would stop and dig a grave and bury one of the babies and I guess that was REALLY hard on the girls. The leaders just put so much effort into making it as authentic as they could and the kids learned so much about themselves and about their heirtage. It was really great.
I hope Julia gets lots out of it too. LOVE YOU, Charlotte
I think it will we a wonderful experience. It was a hard life for pioneers: no cars or electricity.
Giovanni
Julia - YOU'RE HOT! - Paul
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