TREK

T-Thoughts-I thought I was crazy for being there, and actually I was. I thought the kids we were given were the BEST in the stake! I thought of the pioneer woman who were pregnant-at all different stages-some a few weeks or months all the way to the ones who were ready to deliver. HOW was that possible? And then to have the babies be born in such harsh conditions in which most of them died and so did the women. Whew! Overwhelming to think about!

R-Relationships-First my relationship with "pa." Two nights before trek Brandon was given a blessing. One thing I remembered in the blessing was that he would have a heightened sense to see what needed to be done. And he was extremely blessed with that! Brandon was such a great leader to me and our kids! I have a tendency to lead in those kinds of situations, it is my personality, but he took the reigns and was amazing! I felt so incredibly blessed that he was mine! After hiking the first night we were all so exhausted and it was SO hot! The location of our tent provided not even the slightest breeze. I was feeling claustrophobic in our tiny tent and kept asking Brandon is he was sure I wasn't going to suffocate and die that night. A little dramatic I know but we were delirious. He fanned me with the Anniversary card he bought me until I fell asleep. Men don't get any more amazing than him!

E-Experiences-This is where I will mention that we have the most incredible youth in our stake and I believe Brandon and I were blessed with 7 of the BEST of the BEST! We had 3 girls and 4 boys. We experienced minor hardships but their attitudes were amazing! Half way through the second day I hit my wall of sheer exhaustion and a little dehydrated. I had to make a difficult but necessary choice to take the truck ride to base camp and leave my family to push and pull the rest of the way with "pa". They were amazing! Didn't complain and were sincerely concerned for me when we met up again. We also experienced the men leaving to march with the Mormon Battalion. Which meant the ladies did the pushing and pulling of the handcart. That was NO easy task! Brandon told me that as soon as they released the men to go find their families, all of our boys including him, took off running until they found us. Brandon said he felt very emotional at that time thinking that that was probably exactly how it was when those men were released. Although their women and families might have been days away they still probably ran.

K-Knowledge-I gained a greater knowledge and appreciation for our ancestors who struggled with things we can't even imagine so we have the freedom and opportunity to worship our God and Savior. We have the fullness of the gospel on this earth still because of the sacrifices they were willing to make for us. And I wonder what kind of legacy our generation will leave behind. I am so grateful for their faith!

(we were not allowed to bring cameras and will not receive our photos until the last Sunday in June so you will have to wait until then to see what we look like with no showers for 3 days)