Boston Trek Days 2 & 3

We got up that 2nd morning and like I said, put the soggy sleeping bags in big plastic bags.  We attempted breakfast by boiling water...some kind of cooked oats, I believe, although the kids preferred the muffins provided.  We packed up our damp belongings and loaded up the handcarts again.

Luckily we didn't have to bring elephants with us.

We started out walking with our handcarts, knowing we'd have off-and-on sprinkles and sometimes rain throughout the day.  Sometimes the sun broke through the clouds.  In the afternoon, it did actually rain on us...hard!  We walked maybe an hour in the pouring rain.  Ugh.

Blessings throughout the trip were obvious, in hindsight.

NO THUNDERSTORMS.  Even though it poured on us for much of the first night, there was NO thunder, and NO lightning.  That would have moved the experience to a different level of discomfort!  We would have had to all get up at 2 or 3 in the morning, and move all of our stuff, drenched and miserable in the process.  We had NONE of that :)

Tug-of-War between "families"

BREAKS in WEATHER at the RIGHT TIMES.  There were activities planned mid-day, including laying out blankets in a big field to make our lunches.  Lunch was followed by an hour of pioneer-type games!  These included tug-of-war, stick games, and relay races.  Those blocks of time were perfect, and the kids had a rejuvenating lunch and good time playing.

PIONEER BABY.  One of the "Ma's and Pa's" in the group brought their 5-month old baby! Yes, she is braver than I am, but that was really a highlight for some of these youth.  It was especially sweet to watch some of the teen aged boys with this little baby.  They just loved her.

Little 5-month-old baby time--so sweet!

SQUARE DANCING.  The evening activities included square dancing, and again--NO rain!  It was a perfect activity to get all the kids involved and moving and laughing.  A good time was had by all.

2ND NIGHT.  It was almost comical to watch the adults "set up camp" that 2nd night.  Everybody prepared for the worst, thinking we might get the rain we had previously, on the 2nd night too.  More tarps appeared.  Lots of duct tape came out.  People were doing all they could to avoid the pooling water and waterfalls on the kids this time, if it was going to rain so much on us again!  The blessing the 2nd night: NO RAIN. :)

Here is our camp, from across the pond, that last day.  (Tents belonged to the staff: photographers, food organizers, camp doctor, etc.)

CROSSING THE RIVER (well, tiny stream).  This was a cool part.  They told the story of the Martin handcart company who left a little late in the fall and unfortunately ran into early winter weather, a snowstorm in October.  The people were out of food, were not prepared for the cold, exhausted and starving in the snow.  On November 4, 1856, they came to the Sweetwater River, 100 feet across with big ice chunks floating in it.  The people were so disheartened by that river that some of them sat down and cried.

Somehow word got back to Brigham Young, who had already arrived in Salt Lake City.  He asked the other pioneers, who were settled, somewhat, after having been there for months already, to go to the stranded pioneers and help them.

Many people in Salt Lake left that very day, backtracking on the trail they had come in on, so they knew it well enough.  Others gathered supplies and left within the next couple of days.  They got to the river and saw the people struggling on the other side.

A handful of men, most younger (early 20s maybe), got into the icy water up to their waists and chests, went across and started carrying people to the other side.  Over and over again they did this.  They helped the handcart company through this overwhelming obstacle.

APPLYING IT TO OUR CHALLENGES TODAY.  We tried to apply these pioneer lessons to our lives today.  I told the kids in our "family," that they would never be asked to walk for 4 months in the snow.  It just was not going to happen.  But we ARE asked to do hard things in our lives.  There is sickness, death, abuse, addiction, divorce, and unemployment.  Sometimes our own lives seem daunting, and sometimes we have friends going through really rough times.  The Lord gives us good, supportive people to help us during our trials.  And sometimes, we can be there for others, helping them through their trials.

Going through a Trek experience like this, I told them, shows us in a small way, that we can do hard things.  We CAN do things that are not pleasant.  We can also help OTHER people, who are going through hard things.  With the Lord's help, we have it in us.

Here is a small "river crossing" that we had on the last day.  It's really just a tiny stream, and the youth had the option of being helped across, or not. (There was a bridge right next to this crossing, and if they didn't want to be carried they could just walk across the bridge.)

I can't include all the details, really, that people went through during "Trek."  I will say, that I have a new respect for the leaders who plan events like this: they have to have a thousand details squared away, and expect the unexpected.  Keeping that many kids safe and relatively happy...there are lots of opinions and ideas to take into account!  Food, lodging, supplies, getting permits and permission to walk on both public and private lands with handcarts in 1800's costumes.  Camping overnight on private farmland.

I came away from this weekend thoroughly exhausted!  But I also felt like this experience, for the youth, is invaluable.  They form bonds and build confidence, in a unique setting and circumstance, with people they come to know and trust.  Hopefully they also felt the spirit of the Lord's love at different moments throughout.  I know I did.  I was very grateful that Frank and I were able to go.