This Trek was a hand cart re-creation. If you know your Mormon History, then that is the only thing I need to say. For the uninitiated, two of the hand cart treks of the Mormon pioneers across the plains were met with serious hardship. People froze to death, and starved, and suffered physically beyond belief. Those who survived the ordeal were left with an powerful faith in Jesus Christ who saved them physically and spiritually through that trial.
As Mormons we develop a great feeling of gratitude for our pioneer heritage. Those who came before us truly paved the way for what we have now. I believe that is true for everyone, but as Mormons we have this specific history of the trek west and the experiences that occurred. We want to have the same spiritual strength that they had. Early pioneers were driven from their homes but most voluntarily left everything and walked hundreds of miles to a desert to start a new life where they could practice their religion in peace. We would like to have that conviction, and we want our kids to have it too, so we do Trek re-enactments.
This trek was at the end of last May in the desert in a place called Texas Canyon in south eastern Arizona. This is a desert man's desert. It is serious. It's rocky, sandy, and every plant has thorns. We would have the opportunity to bushwhack through about 15 miles of this rough terrain, and we got to do it in long sleeves shirts and pants, with the girls wearing dresses. The forecast for the days we were there was record heat. It turns out that you actually do get used to being out in 105 degree heat for the entire day, you just have to drink a lot of water.
The Trek started on a Thursday afternoon. All the adults met a bit early to get the hand carts situated and then we waited for the kids to arrive. All we were allowed to take had to fit in a 5 gallon bucket and it became apparent quickly which kids were prepared and which weren't. One of our kids showed up with 3 pair of shoes, 2 extra pair of pants, and a pair of shorts. Another came without a hat to speak of and with a bit of a different attitude. Then we had a foreign exchange student, Tess and a couple of boys with close roots to a rural ranching/farming family.
The first day was sort of a shakedown of how we were going to load the cart and pull it along. My wife and I quickly noticed that there are different kinds of kids. We had 4 boys and 4 girls. Two of the boys were awesome, they looked for ways to help out, and were always trying to help push or pull the cart. The other two boys would push when asked to for a while, but they tired quickly. The girls were all willing to push and pull, but 2 were entirely more capable of moving the cart.
The trek was full of challenges and we had to figure out how to overcome them together. Some were difficult but manageable. Like when we came to the first deep wash that each family could not pull the cart through by themselves. The different families had to help each other and then go back for the next family to get all of us through it.
During that time one of the boys had an epiphany about the pioneers. He was thinking about the story about the heros who carried people across the frozen stream and then died shortly afterward due to exposure because of their effort. The boy on our trek was considering them and thought "Why not me?" In other words why shouldn't I be able to perform heroic deeds. Why shouldn't I be able to do for others what they cannot do for themselves. He wanted to be a tool for God to use to further the work and realized that he could do that. Every time there was an obstacle requiring extra hands he was there at the front helping.
I was inspired by his testimony because of what it says about our God given potential. If we have desires to serve we are truly called to the work. And our efforts will be magnified through the power of Jesus Christ's Atonement. Why not me? I believe that is a question that we all can ask and answer for ourselves.
Another thing I learned on the trek was work is fun. When I was talking to the workers in my little family I asked them why they were doing so much more than the other people, and they said it is because "Work is fun." I believe them. They went about their work with an attitude that was infectious. They never were content to just walk along and they felt good while they were helping. They took pride in being strong. They wanted to do it, and they thought they could do it, whatever "it" was.
It was as though just thinking that they could do it made them able to do it. That is something that was profound to me as a parent of smaller children. When they think they can't do it they are 100% right. Life is difficult, and sometimes we are expected to do things that we've never done before. The kids who helped just did it. They didn't falter for a second. They just did it. Even when they couldn't do it, they did it.
For example there was a boy Elijah who was a little shorter than most of the other kids. He was a younger kid. On one of the deep ravines he was helping to push the carts. He was right in the front with Josh our rural raised kids. On this particular ravine, Josh and Elijah were doing what they always did which was give 100% effort at whatever they were doing. (great sentence jimmy) When the cart they were pushing started up this large ravine the front of it became very high off the ground. At this point, Elijah could only hang on to avoid getting trampled as his feet were off the ground. He could no longer push, but he had done his part, and he was just hanging there waiting for his feet to touch the ground again so he could keep pushing.
Some people thought that he was playing, but I knew that he was trying to stay close to the action because he wanted to work. It was interesting because sometimes he and Josh looked totally exhausted, and my wife would ask them to take a rest, and they would for about 20 seconds then they were back on the cart. The other two boys on the other hand were always asking if they could take a break. We had a rope tied to the front of the cart so that more people could pull and it was almost comical how when Josh and Elijah were on the rope it was taut and they were leaning forward pulling on it to help. When David and Kyle were on the rope it was loose and they were just holding it and walking. Those boys did not like work.
Another thing I learned or was reminded of is that God is the ideal parent. He teaches us in ways that are perfect. When we make mistakes we have consequences. They are not too harsh, nor too lenient. They are just what we need to learn. Sometimes we learn quickly, but usually I think we learn slow. On the trek, the kids in my family had to be satisfied with imperfection in parenting. Many times our cart was the last one to go because I was too concerned with packing perfectly. In retrospect I should have let go and had the kids do it. I also did a little bit too much lecturing to David and Kyle. I probably should have just let life teach them the lessons instead of pontificating all the time. It is also not good to point out peoples shortcomings especially when they probably already know what they are. But in life we have to be grateful for what we have in terms of parents, and teachers, and learn what we can. Sometimes the examples are good, and sometimes they are not so good. But either way we can learn from them.
Life is not a contest. There are times that it feels like it is, but it's not. In the end we can all receive the same reward. On the trek, sometimes I think I felt bad that I was always at the end of the line, but I didn't think I was there because our family was weak, I thought we were there so that if someone got into trouble we could help them along, and they wouldn't be left behind. The organizers of the trek thought we were a weak family so they gave us an extra girl. I know that might sound bad, like some sort of a joke, but this was an amazing girl.
The trek was on a ranch owned by a family named Smith. They have done many of these treks and they have a daughter who was trek age. So the weekend of the trek her mom and dad made her come be part of a family. The morning of the first full day of trekking we were told we had a new daughter. Kalee clearly did not want to be there at the beginning. I think she was put with our family because she was friends with Josh, but I took an immediate liking to her. She was a spunky girl who fought back against my teasing. I remember when she first showed up I could tell she had a baseball cap on under her bonnet, and so I started telling the other kids not to say anything about her baseball cap. I acted like she would be embarrassed by comments, and she started giving me dirty looks. It was a really good time.
Then I saw her pull the cart. She was an ANIMAL! Kalee was worth more in terms of work than both of slacker boys in our family. She and Tess (strong girl) pulled more than their fair share of the weight. The special thing about Kalee was that she had been on the trek before and therefore knew how difficult it was, but she was still doing it. It was inspiring to see a 14 year old girl who probably could have sat at home relaxing for the weekend, choose to go out in a full dress with bonnet and pull a cart through a rough desert in record heat. The other great thing about Kalee is that she knew she was strong. Kalee has been raised on a ranch and is therefore accustomed to work, and it showed. Like Josh and Elijah, she was not content to watch others work. In fact she got the most upset by the slacker boys behavior. I thought if I were one of those boys who were complaining about working while watching girls do the work I would be embarrassed. They weren't. They were content to watch others strain while they walked along next to the cart recovering from their efforts. If looks could kill, both of those boys would still be out in the desert. She had no time for mediocre efforts.
The most amazing single event of the trek was the largest ravine. The Smith family took us to a ravine that was literally impossible to push a cart up. Then Brother Smith instructed us to make two lines up the ravine with the strongest men at the bottom of the line. I have never been one of the strongest men in a group before, but this time I was an adult in a large group of teenagers, so I found myself at the bottom.
The basic premise is that a group of boys gets on a cart at the bottom of the ravine and pushes up the first 15-20 feet as fast as they can to the end of the monkey chain of men and boys awating them part way up the hill. When the cart gets to the bottom man, yells are issued forth and everyone on the chain starts running up the hill with the cart in tow. I was sure that I was not going to be able to do this but found myself being pulled up the mountain while pulling the man below me up with me. I didn't actually have to pull the cart up the mountain, I just had to hang on and keep my feet under me.
It was a sight to behold, all these people running up in a chain of arms going up this mountain. It was inspiring to see something impossible actually happening. I liken it to what God asks us to do. He doesn't require us to move mountains. He will move the mountains for us we just have to stay on our feet and push.
God asks us to do hard things, but he doesn't require that we be able to do them. We do what we can and ask for his assistance, and then through his power the hard things get accomplished. I was 100 % sure that I was not one of the strong ones on that Trek and yet there I was. It was exhausting but it got done.
I learned so much from the example of the kids there. All the girls were great, but some were stronger simply because they wanted to be. Same with the boys. Two were strong hard workers and two were not. My wife and I went home and started to plan how we were going to get our kids to work. We have goats that have to be milked now, and we have 14 hens a laying, and we have requirements with housework that our kids know they have to do, and it's working.
Last night, our second eldest son just went out and milked the Goat because that's what had to be done, and it was his responsibility. It was beautiful.
I was so inspired by the Kalee and Josh, both of whom were there totally voluntarily and both of whom worked harder than expected, simply because they saw what had to be done and the helped do it. They didn't complain about anything except to make subtle comments about the lazy boys. Nobody's perfect.
I want my kids to be strong like that. I want them to see where help is needed and instinctively go and help. I want my kids to realize that much of the doing is in the being willing and the trying. God will do the rest. We don't have to be perfect, we have to be willing.
I am also inspired by my wife who despite her trepidation went on this adventure and learned as much as I did, and is doing much more for our kids because of it. She is amazing, she is also expecting our 6th kid. It's exciting.
The Trek started on a Thursday afternoon. All the adults met a bit early to get the hand carts situated and then we waited for the kids to arrive. All we were allowed to take had to fit in a 5 gallon bucket and it became apparent quickly which kids were prepared and which weren't. One of our kids showed up with 3 pair of shoes, 2 extra pair of pants, and a pair of shorts. Another came without a hat to speak of and with a bit of a different attitude. Then we had a foreign exchange student, Tess and a couple of boys with close roots to a rural ranching/farming family.
The first day was sort of a shakedown of how we were going to load the cart and pull it along. My wife and I quickly noticed that there are different kinds of kids. We had 4 boys and 4 girls. Two of the boys were awesome, they looked for ways to help out, and were always trying to help push or pull the cart. The other two boys would push when asked to for a while, but they tired quickly. The girls were all willing to push and pull, but 2 were entirely more capable of moving the cart.
The trek was full of challenges and we had to figure out how to overcome them together. Some were difficult but manageable. Like when we came to the first deep wash that each family could not pull the cart through by themselves. The different families had to help each other and then go back for the next family to get all of us through it.
During that time one of the boys had an epiphany about the pioneers. He was thinking about the story about the heros who carried people across the frozen stream and then died shortly afterward due to exposure because of their effort. The boy on our trek was considering them and thought "Why not me?" In other words why shouldn't I be able to perform heroic deeds. Why shouldn't I be able to do for others what they cannot do for themselves. He wanted to be a tool for God to use to further the work and realized that he could do that. Every time there was an obstacle requiring extra hands he was there at the front helping.
I was inspired by his testimony because of what it says about our God given potential. If we have desires to serve we are truly called to the work. And our efforts will be magnified through the power of Jesus Christ's Atonement. Why not me? I believe that is a question that we all can ask and answer for ourselves.
Another thing I learned on the trek was work is fun. When I was talking to the workers in my little family I asked them why they were doing so much more than the other people, and they said it is because "Work is fun." I believe them. They went about their work with an attitude that was infectious. They never were content to just walk along and they felt good while they were helping. They took pride in being strong. They wanted to do it, and they thought they could do it, whatever "it" was.
It was as though just thinking that they could do it made them able to do it. That is something that was profound to me as a parent of smaller children. When they think they can't do it they are 100% right. Life is difficult, and sometimes we are expected to do things that we've never done before. The kids who helped just did it. They didn't falter for a second. They just did it. Even when they couldn't do it, they did it.
For example there was a boy Elijah who was a little shorter than most of the other kids. He was a younger kid. On one of the deep ravines he was helping to push the carts. He was right in the front with Josh our rural raised kids. On this particular ravine, Josh and Elijah were doing what they always did which was give 100% effort at whatever they were doing. (great sentence jimmy) When the cart they were pushing started up this large ravine the front of it became very high off the ground. At this point, Elijah could only hang on to avoid getting trampled as his feet were off the ground. He could no longer push, but he had done his part, and he was just hanging there waiting for his feet to touch the ground again so he could keep pushing.
Some people thought that he was playing, but I knew that he was trying to stay close to the action because he wanted to work. It was interesting because sometimes he and Josh looked totally exhausted, and my wife would ask them to take a rest, and they would for about 20 seconds then they were back on the cart. The other two boys on the other hand were always asking if they could take a break. We had a rope tied to the front of the cart so that more people could pull and it was almost comical how when Josh and Elijah were on the rope it was taut and they were leaning forward pulling on it to help. When David and Kyle were on the rope it was loose and they were just holding it and walking. Those boys did not like work.
Another thing I learned or was reminded of is that God is the ideal parent. He teaches us in ways that are perfect. When we make mistakes we have consequences. They are not too harsh, nor too lenient. They are just what we need to learn. Sometimes we learn quickly, but usually I think we learn slow. On the trek, the kids in my family had to be satisfied with imperfection in parenting. Many times our cart was the last one to go because I was too concerned with packing perfectly. In retrospect I should have let go and had the kids do it. I also did a little bit too much lecturing to David and Kyle. I probably should have just let life teach them the lessons instead of pontificating all the time. It is also not good to point out peoples shortcomings especially when they probably already know what they are. But in life we have to be grateful for what we have in terms of parents, and teachers, and learn what we can. Sometimes the examples are good, and sometimes they are not so good. But either way we can learn from them.
Life is not a contest. There are times that it feels like it is, but it's not. In the end we can all receive the same reward. On the trek, sometimes I think I felt bad that I was always at the end of the line, but I didn't think I was there because our family was weak, I thought we were there so that if someone got into trouble we could help them along, and they wouldn't be left behind. The organizers of the trek thought we were a weak family so they gave us an extra girl. I know that might sound bad, like some sort of a joke, but this was an amazing girl.
The trek was on a ranch owned by a family named Smith. They have done many of these treks and they have a daughter who was trek age. So the weekend of the trek her mom and dad made her come be part of a family. The morning of the first full day of trekking we were told we had a new daughter. Kalee clearly did not want to be there at the beginning. I think she was put with our family because she was friends with Josh, but I took an immediate liking to her. She was a spunky girl who fought back against my teasing. I remember when she first showed up I could tell she had a baseball cap on under her bonnet, and so I started telling the other kids not to say anything about her baseball cap. I acted like she would be embarrassed by comments, and she started giving me dirty looks. It was a really good time.
Then I saw her pull the cart. She was an ANIMAL! Kalee was worth more in terms of work than both of slacker boys in our family. She and Tess (strong girl) pulled more than their fair share of the weight. The special thing about Kalee was that she had been on the trek before and therefore knew how difficult it was, but she was still doing it. It was inspiring to see a 14 year old girl who probably could have sat at home relaxing for the weekend, choose to go out in a full dress with bonnet and pull a cart through a rough desert in record heat. The other great thing about Kalee is that she knew she was strong. Kalee has been raised on a ranch and is therefore accustomed to work, and it showed. Like Josh and Elijah, she was not content to watch others work. In fact she got the most upset by the slacker boys behavior. I thought if I were one of those boys who were complaining about working while watching girls do the work I would be embarrassed. They weren't. They were content to watch others strain while they walked along next to the cart recovering from their efforts. If looks could kill, both of those boys would still be out in the desert. She had no time for mediocre efforts.
The most amazing single event of the trek was the largest ravine. The Smith family took us to a ravine that was literally impossible to push a cart up. Then Brother Smith instructed us to make two lines up the ravine with the strongest men at the bottom of the line. I have never been one of the strongest men in a group before, but this time I was an adult in a large group of teenagers, so I found myself at the bottom.
The basic premise is that a group of boys gets on a cart at the bottom of the ravine and pushes up the first 15-20 feet as fast as they can to the end of the monkey chain of men and boys awating them part way up the hill. When the cart gets to the bottom man, yells are issued forth and everyone on the chain starts running up the hill with the cart in tow. I was sure that I was not going to be able to do this but found myself being pulled up the mountain while pulling the man below me up with me. I didn't actually have to pull the cart up the mountain, I just had to hang on and keep my feet under me.
It was a sight to behold, all these people running up in a chain of arms going up this mountain. It was inspiring to see something impossible actually happening. I liken it to what God asks us to do. He doesn't require us to move mountains. He will move the mountains for us we just have to stay on our feet and push.
God asks us to do hard things, but he doesn't require that we be able to do them. We do what we can and ask for his assistance, and then through his power the hard things get accomplished. I was 100 % sure that I was not one of the strong ones on that Trek and yet there I was. It was exhausting but it got done.
I learned so much from the example of the kids there. All the girls were great, but some were stronger simply because they wanted to be. Same with the boys. Two were strong hard workers and two were not. My wife and I went home and started to plan how we were going to get our kids to work. We have goats that have to be milked now, and we have 14 hens a laying, and we have requirements with housework that our kids know they have to do, and it's working.
Last night, our second eldest son just went out and milked the Goat because that's what had to be done, and it was his responsibility. It was beautiful.
I was so inspired by the Kalee and Josh, both of whom were there totally voluntarily and both of whom worked harder than expected, simply because they saw what had to be done and the helped do it. They didn't complain about anything except to make subtle comments about the lazy boys. Nobody's perfect.
I want my kids to be strong like that. I want them to see where help is needed and instinctively go and help. I want my kids to realize that much of the doing is in the being willing and the trying. God will do the rest. We don't have to be perfect, we have to be willing.
I am also inspired by my wife who despite her trepidation went on this adventure and learned as much as I did, and is doing much more for our kids because of it. She is amazing, she is also expecting our 6th kid. It's exciting.
