Trek 2008

I put together a DVD for the kids in my trek family. I brought my old beat up little camera and had it in my pocket so the picture quality is terrible. I really just wanted to go and experience it without taking tons of pictures. Kind of sad now but it was nice to not be so distracted then. That is always a dilemma isn't it? The Stake had people all along the trail just to take photos and video so I am sure the DVD from them will be great. So anyway this one is something to remember our own family by.

We did not know anyone in our family and had not met them before we were assigned right there at the start of the trek. We loved these kids and leaders right off the bat. There was so much love and support during the whole experience.

I did not capture any photos of the difficulty of the womens pull or rocky ridge because I was pulling too. It is hard to describe the emotions felt working so hard and being so tired and knowing that what you are experiencing is nothing compared to what the saints had to endure. Rocky Ridge was a very emotional/spiritual experience for me. I had read so many stories in preparation for the trek. My heart overflowed with love and admiration for those people who really did Rocky Ridge. So many died, women pulled their sick husbands, carried their babies, and then buried them, they were starving, they were freezing, many did not have shoes and lost their toes or feet. They left their comfortable lives in England and other places to come to Zion. They were on a ship for 6 weeks and then a train before they started with their handcarts. I was in awe of one women who came with her five children alone because her husband died in England and it was their goal as a family to come to Zion. She did not give up on their dream. She carried her four year old son across a frozen river and they were caught up in the current, people watching yelled to her to let go of her son and save herself. She never let go of him and made it to the other side. she climbed out of the river and raised her hand to the square and testified of the power of Jesus Christ. They all survived barely. There are so many stories. Their names and stories kept going through my mind during our climb. The winds were blowing so hard that we couldn't even hear each others words of encouragement while climbing the steepest part. It was kind of nice because I was just so caught up in my moment there on the hill. The tears just kept flowing. It was a moment I will never forget, very humbling, very inspiring. It has been nice to remember all I that I felt there on the trail. It already has been something that I can look back on and gain strength from in my daily life.