Blessed, Honored Pioneers

Pete and I had the opportunity of going on a Pioneer Trek with our ward right before we moved out. We were called as members of the medical committee and I got to do a lot of the planning beforehand to prepare to make it a safe and spiritual experience for all the youth going.

When it got time to go, we had just begun telling people that I was pregnant and we got a lot of advice and cautions about me attending trek. I began to worry that perhaps going was unsafe for the baby, although I had felt all along that I would be fine. After much deliberation, prayer and worry, I felt a lot of peace about going and so I decided to stick with my plan.

That ward has the most incredible youth and the most inspiring people. Pete and I thoroughly enjoyed being on the trek and getting to interact with our ward members. It made leaving even harder, but we know it was the right thing to do. We will always look back at our time in that ward and the people we learned so much from. Pete and I both look up to so many of the awesome individuals in that ward and I think it was the perfect situation for us to learn from those people how to be better servants of the Lord. Their examples will always stick with me, no matter where life takes us.

Alright, enough with the serious stuff. Here are some fun pics from the trek:

Starting out at Independence Rock

Pete trekkin' it with Sister Cummings and the Bishop. The Bishop is one knowledgeable guy. He told us some amazing stories about different pioneers--some of them Pete's ancestors!

This character needed a lot of treatment since he came on trek already having infected blisters from basketball. Needless to say, Pete spent quite a bit of time with Benji.

One of my favorite parts of trek was watching the silent river crossing. It was a small reminder of the trials the pioneers faced before making it to Zion.

 

I told Pete when I took this picture that I was going to show everyone and tell them this is all he did on trek. In reality, however, Pete spent nearly every moment doctoring people up and encouraging the kids to keep going.

The last day was pretty windy, so after having trekked in the hot sun all day himself, Pete went around administering saline solution as people arrived in camp.

I could not stop laughing at Pete's hair on the last day. I am not sure how it got that way.

Despite our worries about going, I am so glad that I went. I got sick on the last day, but all in all it was a wonderful experience and we took so much away from the powerful spiritual experiences that we were able to have by attending the trek and reflecting more on our pioneer ancestors and all they sacrificed for their beliefs.