The Trek

So, what do you get when you take 14 complete strangers (ages 14 and older), throw them into a "family" together and send them out on a 17 mile hand cart adventure in Northern Arizona?

Answer: A truly wonderful, spiritual, humbling, bonding, amazing (the list could go on for days) experience that will be cherished forever!

I know that it will sound totally crazy (and believe me, I should be an expert on crazy), but it truly was one of the most memorable experiences in my life, and something I will cherish always!

We started our trek on Wednesday afternoon as complete strangers with a Ma & Pa, a Big Brother, a Big Sister, 5 teenage brothers and 5 teenage sisters, and by the end we truly were a little pioneer family! We bonded almost instantly, and I am so grateful for that. In the months leading up to the Trek I often found myself worrying about the family that I would be placed with and whether or not I would know anyone in it. I don't know how many times I prayed to be placed in a family where I knew at least one other adult in the family, but at the same time I trusted in the Lord and knew that the leaders would be inspired to place me in the just the right family. Looking back I am so grateful to have not had that safety net of familiarity to fall back on, it truly was a blessing in disguise!

That first day we walked about 7 miles, and most of that walking was done in the dark. We learned a lot that night about what it takes to move a pioneer family from one place to the other. We learned how important it was to work as a team if we were ever going to make it to our destination. Without the contribution of every member of the family we would have been stranded there as the other families and companies pressed on to the campsite. We also learned that we won't always see the obstacles before us, but by trusting in the Lord and doing our best we could succeed at anything. The glow of the campfires were a welcome sight that night as we started approaching camp. We were all so hungry and tired that we ate a very quick meal and went to bed. It didn't really even matter all that much that we were in a very rocky meadow, it was almost midnight, and we were tired!

Stay tuned for more Trek adventures...