TREK---MY EXPERIENCE

Hi, guys, this is C, and I know I haven't posted in awhile....

I had the opportunity this week, this Mon-Wednesday, to participate in Pioneer Trek. June 17-19 2013. Went with my stake. We went up in Wyoming, kind of by Evanston.


18 miles. Pushing or pulling a handcart the whole way. I am proud to say that I was either pushing or pulling every single step.

Enough about that, let's jump to the spiritual side of it.

Trek was a beautiful, spiritual, faith-strengthening experience for me. I absolutely loved it!

Trek helped me to see just how much the pioneers went through, all though none of us will completely understand all of the sacrifices that they made. I am so grateful for my faithful progenitors, who came across the plains, with so much blind faith, all for the amazing gospel of Christ.

We had testimony meeting by wards on Tuesday night. I felt the Spirit soooo strong, I was shaking. I don't know if I've ever felt the Spirit so strong before, it was a wonderful experience. I stood up to bare my testimony, and, unknowingly, spoke for minutes and minutes on end. I was so full of the Spirit, and full of so much love and appreciation for the pioneers, the Lord our God, and his Beloved Son, even our Savior, Jesus Christ, that I just kept speaking.

Out in Wyoming, on the trail, the veil is so thin. You really feel like you are connecting with those pioneers who came before you, and sacrificed just about everything they had.

In prepping for trek, I read a book, 764 pages, called Fire of the Covenant, by Gerald N. Lund. It was an amazing book, it made trek so much more valuable. Check it out if you get the chance, it's amazing.

I also saw Ephraim's Rescue, which is a new movie about the pioneer's journey to Utah, as well as parts of 17 Miracles in Young Women's the day before we left for trek. This also helped to mold my experience on trek this week.

On Tuesday morning, the 2nd out of the 3 days we were there, we had the opportunity to do the Women's Pull. For those of you who haven't had the opportunity to go on trek yet, or don't know what the Women's Pull is--it's a great opportunity in where the women alone get to pull their handcarts up a long hill, and the men stand at the top of the hill watching. It represents the women who came across the plains by themselves, because their husbands were either on a mission, called at war, or dead. It's a tribute to those men, and also a faithful admiration of the wonderful women.
You take your handcart up the hill with the women in your family. It was me, my 1 trek sister, and my trek ma. We were the 2nd handcart up to the top, and I remember recalling a part of 17 Miracles, and Ephraim's Rescue, 2 wonderful trek movies, that says "if you have any strength left at all, go back and help the others". I felt like I should go back down the hill and help other loads of women coming back up, so I did. It was an amazing experience. I'll never forget it.

I know that this is the only true church on the earth, and that Joseph Smith was able to restore it. I am so grateful to our father in heaven for sending his amazing son to atone for us all. I hope to serve a mission someday, and share this amazing gospel with others. I am glad that I have great friends, that I was able to attend a full year of seminary, and that I have a great family. The gospel is true. Up on trek, I was able to participate in some missionary work, as well as witness the power of the priesthood, which is very powerful. I also witnessed many mini-miracles, which I decided to dub "trek miracles". God lives. He knows each of us by name and loves every last one of us equally.

I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to go on trek. For those of you who haven't gone, and may have the opportunity to this summer, I strongly urge you to go. Trek was EASILY one of the top 10 best things I've ever done in my life. It was truly a beautiful experience. Go. On. Trek.


NEONGIRL