Learning from Trek

Day one hundred seventy-seven

I spent the last four days with the youth on a pioneer trek.  It was a great learning experience for me.  I have never planned activities for a pioneer trek or experienced the behind the scenes action that it takes to keep it going.  I came home tired, filthy, and with a new appreciation for all those that give of their time to bring these experiences to the youth.  Some things I learned:

Grace under pressure
The youth were divided into family units with a Ma & Pa.  I was fortunate to a have the opportunity to visit with some of these Ma's & Pa's along the trail.  They shared with me some of the teaching moments they had with their families.  Topics such as tithing, the adversity that can be found in how well we wait, and learning to adapt were brought up.  These parents took moments that could have gone in a negative direction filled with complaints and frustration and changed them into moments that helped the youth see these situation with a different perspective.  I was very impressed with the grace they showed under the pressure of the conditions.  Thank you for teaching me!

The importance of humor 
As with any huge undertaking there were some not-so-great moments on the trek too.  Accidents happen, unforeseen conditions come up, and illness strikes when you really could do without it, but through it all I saw the leaders who had planned this event work to overcome these things and do it with a smile and a laugh.  When I was feeling a little frustrated there was always someone there to bring a smile to my face and a good laugh.  I used that same technique with the youth when they were facing some of those not-so-great moments.  It is amazing how much a smile and a good laugh can help!

Service
I loved watching the participants help each other on the trek, especially the youth.  To see a young man voluntarily go over and help a young women get her bucket into the cart or to see a young woman  bring something to a young man was very touching.  My favorite service moment for myself was tying someone's shoes.  I have known this person for a good part of my life and he has a physical limitation that does not allow him to tie his shoes.  As long as I have known this person I had never thought about how a simple thing like tying his shoes could be such a problem.  When he asked me to tie his shoes it opened my eyes a little more and I appreciated the opportunity to help him out.  I would tie his shoes any day!

Love
There is something special about the family unit, even when it isn't your biological family.  The sense of responsibility the adults felt for their assigned families was amazing to watch, and the bond between the youth within these families was awesome.  Watching new friendships emerge from each little group was a real blessing and definitely helped bring the Spirit to the trek for me.  I would watch the families each morning as they had their devotionals and prayers and each night when they would talk about the day and have family prayer, it was one of the best things about trek to me.  My favorite love moment was when I was invited to stay and have family prayer with the Medina family.  There was definitely some love in that family and the hugs after prayer were great.  The highlight of your day is when Sister Medina gives you a kiss on the check and a great big hug!  What a great example of love she is to me.

All in all I would say that the Trek was a success.  There were more good moments than bad, which is always a good way to measure success.  It was my hope that the Trek would touch the lives of those that participated in a positive way, I think that happened, and it is my continued prayer that they will always cherish the things they learned on the Trek and use them to become great pioneers in their own lives.  

Thanks to all those that made the Trek a great experience for me, I will always remember it!