"To learn that they can do things that are hard"

My oldest daughter, Amanda, went on a pioneer reenactment this week.  Her cousins, Megan and Jeremy Vogel were going and invited her to go along.  At first she was not crazy about the idea of spending days on the trail in a dress, but she eventually decided that she wanted to go. 

I was grateful that she would be able to go and get a small taste of what so many of her 4th and 5th great grandparents went through as they crossed the plains.  I have told her many of our family stories and we watched the movie, 17 Miracles, the night before.

Everything that she took with her had to be able to fit into a 5 gallon bucket (except for a sleeping bag) and she had to carve her own wooden spoon.  They weren't allowed to bring anything the pioneers wouldn't have had.  For example, they could take a tooth brush, but not toothpaste, they brought a pie tin to eat from, etc.

Amanda, prepared for Trek, in her pioneer outfit and her 5 gallon bucket.  They were not able to bring anything the pioneers didn't have, except for tennis shoes, sunglasses, sunscreen and a camelback for water.

On Wednesday, 13 June, at 7:00am, all the 165 kids who here going on Trek met at the church in Mesquite, Nevada.  The kids were told that it was going to be hard, but at the end, they were going to be glad that they had done it.  At about 7:30am they were driven to the trailhead in the mountains east of Mesquite.

Megan and Jeremy Vogel, Amanda's cousins, and Amanda before leaving on Trek - Mesquite, NV

A small portion of the 165 kids leaving on Trek 2012 - Mesquite, NV

The kids were all broken up into families, with a Ma and Pa, and about 8-10 children.  They were specifically grouped so they would not be with family members, so Amanda saw her cousins occasionally, but was not in a family with them.  Amanda's family had eight kids with five girls and three boys.  They all took turns pushing the handcart, and each family took turns in their place in the line.

There were several kids who were amazed that Amanda came from California, by choice, to participate in such a grueling experience.

The first day they traveled eleven miles before stopping and camping for the night.  Amanda said they had broth and rolls for dinner that night and it was the best broth they had ever tasted.  They slept on the ground in their sleeping bags, in their clothes, and Amanda said she had never seen so many stars.  

For breakfast they had oatmeal, which she didn't like, but ate anyway, because that was all there was.  They had dried fruits as well.  Other mornings they had a "seed-looking thing" for breakfast, which she liked as much as the oatmeal.

There were "casualties", as some of the kids went home early for a variety of reasons, and one of the girls in Amanda's family got stuck between a tree and the handcart wheel and her foot was run over.  She was taken down to the doctor to get x-rays before being cleared to come back and finish the Trek.  It helped them to see what it was like for the pioneers to lose family members along the way.

The second day, they travelled ten miles.  Each day they stopped frequently for water and rest.  They played games the pioneers would have played and one night they had dancing and music.  

There last two days they traveled about six miles each.  On Friday, a Pony Express rider rode into the camp with letters from their families that we had written to them prior to when they had left.  I wrote to Amanda about her ancestors and what they experienced and why, and we told her how proud we were of her and how glad we were that she had an opportunity to experience this.

There was a photographer who went along with the group, and next month there is a reunion where everyone gets together again and gets a copy of the photos.  We will not be driving back to Nevada for that, so the Vogels will get a copy for us.  

On Saturday, 16 June, the Trek returned to the valley.  They had traveled 33 miles in four days.  When we saw the first heads pop up above the bluff, I, of course, started crying!  It was very emotional for me.  I imagine what it must have been like for the pioneers to have traveled so far, with so much hardship, so crest that last hill and see the valley below.  Knowing that they made it!  Later, Amanda told me, "I know you were all feeling spiritual, but we were just so happy to have a popcicle!"

This sign was on a house in Bunkerville, Nevada along the route that the handcarts would take as they entered the town.

These were the first heads we saw as they crested the bluff and came down the trail towards the town.

Making their way down the trail.

It was difficult to see where each of our individual kids were, so I just kept snapping photos.  I happened to get Amanda in this one.  To the right of all the people, there is a woman in a yellow shirt and blue shorts.  Just to her right is Amanda pushing the handcart.

Amanda pushing the handcart as it came into Bunkerville, Nevada.  I almost didn't see Amanda, as she was hidden behind the very tall boy next to her.

Amanda at the end of the trek.  Hot, dirty and tired, but happy!

Megan and Jeremy Vogel and Amanda at the end of Trek.

We gathered up their supplies and headed back to Mesquite for them to take well-earned showers.  This morning, Stephanie Vogel sent us a scan of the front page of the Mesquite newspaper.  Amanda made the front page!!

Amanda made the front page of the Mesquite Citizen Journal - 6/20/2012

There was a reporter that went along on the trip and wrote about it in two parts for the Mesquite Citizen Journal - Part 1 and Part 2.  There are a lot more details in the stories than I got from Amanda. I am glad that I got that perspective as well.

In the letter I wrote to her, I expressed to her about how I feel about what she was experiencing:

You have a strong pioneer ancestry, and you have many family members before you who had to do this too, and I hope that it helps you feel closer to them.  John Macfarlane, Charles Penrose, Agnes Gray, Louise Lusty, Hector Macquarrie, Ann Chatterley, to name a few.  

Ann is my favorite!  She was an amazing woman!  She came across the plains, in wagons her father had built, with her family when she was fourteen years old, like you.  The were in the John Brown Company.  She talked about the herds of buffalo "as far as the eye could reach".  She told of her fear of the Indians, and how wagons were stationed in a circle and how men stood guard, changing shifts during the night.  On the plains she learned how to make buckskin from deer hides, and she learned which herbs were best for food and healing the sick.  

I want you to know and understand how important a trek this was for them!  They had such a strong testimony of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ that they left their homes and family, everything that they knew and loved, and crossed the ocean and the plains.  They believed so strongly that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God that they sacrificed their comforts, and in some cases, their families as they made their way across the plains.  Many died on this trek, but they had a strong testimony of the higher purpose they were following.  They had a testimony of eternal families and they knew that though they lost family members along the way, they would all be together again.  They sealed their testimonies on the trails the forged across the plains and mountains they crossed.  These grandparents of yours are looking down on you right now, knowing that you are learning to more greatly appreciate the sacrifices they made so that you could have the gospel in your life.  You will know them when you see them again!  What a wonderful blessing!

Amanda says that she will not do this again, but that she is glad that she went.  She had a good time and we were so glad to see her home!

She learned, in a different way than she ever has before, that she can do things that are hard.