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Below is just an excerpt.
From July 13-16, 2011, approximately 250 members from the Deer Valley Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Glendale, Arizona participated in a spiritual and physical trek near Clint’s Well, Arizona, to honor our pioneer ancestors.
Tuesday
The trek officially started Tuesday night when the youth brought their buckets and sleeping bags to the church for an official shake down. Their buckets had to be checked for contraband. No modern conveniences like makeup, perfume, candy, electronics, etc, were allowed. At this time we also received a bracelet upon which we wrote the name of our pioneer ancestor who we were trekking for. This activity really allowed us to look into our own family and research the hardships and joys the pioneers had. The bracelet will help us keep them in our thoughts throughout the next several days.
Wednesday-Believe
Church members, dressed as pioneers, arrived at the Stake Center at the crack of dawn. Many commented that they had not seen this time of day since May!!! However, everyone was in good spirits and checked out each other’s pioneer clothing. Everyone looked great and very authentic.
President Weathersby even mentioned what an awesome sight it was to look out in the congregation and see 250 people sitting there
dressed as their pioneer ancestors. He encouraged us to open our ears, our minds and our hearts on this trek and we will, without a doubt, come closer to the Savior. With President Weathersby’s counsel in our minds, we then boarded buses by wards and headed to the mountains. It seemed a rather short trip, and since we didn’t have I-pods to listen to and play with, we were given an authentic pioneer button game to help pass the time.
Once arriving at the main staging area, it didn’t take long for us to be organized into families. The ma’s and pa’s introduced themselves first with a song, skit or chant. This really got everyone excited because they all seemed like they would be so much fun. Each youth was then placed in a family with other youth from the stake. This brought about mixed emotions because many people wanted to stay with people they knew from their own ward, other people were excited to meet new people. “It was really awkward at first, and I was scared,” one young woman said, “but everyone was really friendly.” Next was family time so we could get to know our families. We participated in an activity with an orange which helped us see that Heavenly Father can pick us out of a crowd and how individually we are all different. We would need this knowledge as we came to know our families and realize we all have different strengths and weaknesses, but we all must work together. After our discussion, it was time to pack the cart and make our family flag. There were some very creative names for families and artistic designs on the flags.
Trekkers were asked to place their
personal items in five gallon buckets with lids that would also be used as camp stools. Many decorated the bucket to fit their personalities. There was duct tape of every color, pictures taped to them and drawings of all kinds. Some people even got very elaborate with a cushion on the bucket lid to sit on. Each of these buckets, along with sleeping bags and other family supplies had to be placed in the handcarts. Tarps were then folded over the cart to hold everything in. Packing the cart proved easy for some and more difficult for others. Some had to take everything out and repack several times. Eventually each family figured out how best to balance their cart. They had good discussions about where to put the water and supplies they may need to get to along the way. This was the first of many discussions about teamwork and communication. As soon as everyone in a company (consisting of 3-4 carts) was packed and ready, they lined up to get ready to go. At this time they were told a story about the pioneers living in Missouri. At one time they were pulling resources together to use for their journey, but people pulled out and didn’t follow through with promises they had made, so before they left, they met in the temple and signed a contract saying they would finish the trek together, they would help each other, and they were committed to each other. Before we set off on our trek, we signed a book committing ourselves to being ALL IN and helping each other out whenever necessary. We were quite a sight heading down a dirt road for a day’s trek of about 10 miles.
The saints encountered many trials along the trail. It was stop and go at first until everyone got the hang of pulling the carts. Everyone seemed to be having a good time getting to know each other. Some families were even singing songs as they walked. Some wagons had a few problems with items falling out which caused the company to have to stop until it got repacked. “I did eventually learn how to properly pack a handcart,” commented one youth.
We even came upon a truck stuck in the mud. Some of the men tied a rope to it and along with a horse and some boys, they pulled it out. This was just one of many trials we met along the way. We were told a story of a lost child and a rabid squirrel that chewed sleeves off shirts. We also happened upon simulations of a snake bite victim and a bear attack victim. The saints were asked to get some of these people to Camp Knotgunnadye. They had to figure out how to transport them to the medical facility, but they didn’t know how far away it was. Many just wanted to carry them, but that didn’t last long. One pioneer said, “Why don’t we do what they do in Hawaii to carry the pigs at the luau. They use two poles and a tarp. She then looked at the victim and said, “No offense, I wasn’t comparing you to a pig…” It was the best idea, though. They had to work together as a company and use poles and tarps from different wagons The stretcher got the victims where they needed to be and after a priesthood blessing, they
were fine.
Another trial that each member had to encounter was the mob in Missouri. As they passed a sign saying they were entering Missouri, the mob called them names and told them to go home. They didn’t want no “stinkin’ Mormons” in their area. The youth held their own and told the mob they would pray for them. Unfortunately, the mob did not like this, and as ordered by Major General Samuel Lucas of the Missouri State Militia (a.k.a. Dana Edwards), they were instructed to take anything from these people. Buckets, sleeping bags and even some food was taken and left on the side of the road as they continued their journey. One man (Alexander McRae, bodyguard of Joseph Smith), was even arrested and jailed. It was very late when the saints got into camp that night. They started to organize a rescue party to go back for the taken items and try to reason with the mob for the man jailed (Brother McCrery); however, camp was so far away from where the mob simulation occurred, it was decided that the items would just be brought back to the families instead. However, it was a great sight to see kids volunteering to go back even though they knew it was going to be a long walk and they were very tired.
Each family unloaded their cart and set up camp with boys on one side and girls on the other. In some families, the boys set up the sleeping quarters for the girls while the girls made dinner. In other families they all worked together on both. They made dinner of soup and rolls. There was a short fireside about pioneers and the stories of their sacrifices, thus, tying together all the simulations from the day and then sleep came quickly for most.
To continue reading about Thursday, Friday, and Saturday you will find the entire document HERE.
