Trekin'

On Saturday Tyler and I were blessed to help out with the activities portion of our stake's youth Pioneer Trek. In all honesty, neither of us were very stoked to be going. There were many conversations about why we didn't want to go, and how silly the whole thing was...but as soon as we got there and watched the kids pull in to camp after a long night and morning of pulling their hand carts, we were quickly humbled. 

On our way up to Heber, Saturday morning

There were 10 different stations that lasted 20 minutes each: 

PIONEER RING

 (Have you ever seen those rings that are made out of a nail? I guess they do them in Nauvoo. They had some sort of contraption that bent the nails into a ring, and each kid got to make their own.)

SHOE KICK

HATCHET THROWING 

POTATO SACK RACES  

STICK PULL 

TUG-O-WAR

ROPE MAKING

WATERMELON EATING / SEED SPITTING

HAIR WASHING

PHOTOBOOTH

(The stake made this incredible back drop for the camp grounds (pictured below). I think it was to keep the kids away from and cover old cattle corrals that were in the camp that they would be staying at for the next two nights. The stake wanted a photo of each family, so they each got their photo taken at this station!)

Two families were at each station, and as they rotated, each went a separate way (clockwise or counter-clockwise) so that all the families were able to interact with each other. Even though they were exhausted from pulling, all of the youth seemed to be in great spirits and enjoy each station.

Tyler and I were over the "Stick Pull" station. (Have you ever played the Joseph Smith stick pull game? You sit facing each other and place your feet against each other, toe to toe. You each grab on to the stick, one person's hands on the inside and one person's on the outside. When someone says "PULL!" you pull as hard as you can on the stick, trying to pull the other person up off the ground or the stick away from their hands.) As soon as we began to interact with the youth, our attitudes quickly changed and we had a wonderful time. On the first round of families, we found that 20 minutes was a long time for just stick pull competitions. Luckily, Tyler had the bright idea to introduce Indian Leg Wrestling. The kids LOVED it, and it was hilarious! The girls were even able to participate if they had leggings or bloomers on under their skirts. I was amazed at some of those girls, and a few of the Ma's! They had tree-trunks for legs, seriously! I need to start doing more squats and lunges apparently! ;) It was a blast to watch the youth challenge each other and their leaders to these two competitions of strength. Tyler and I were cheering and screaming so loud and so much, our throats were raw by the end of the afternoon. It was so worth it. :)

We are so grateful for the opportunity that we had to serve these amazing kids and for the afternoon we got to spend with them! I am humbled and amazed to see all the work that is put into the trek and embarrassed for being such a grump about my simple assignment. We live in a great ward and stake, and are so grateful for the gospel and for our very own ancestor pioneers!!