The Pioneer Trek ( warning very long post)

wow what a week.... I just got back from a pioneer trek. I am so amazed and inspired by what the pioneers accomplished and what they went through in order to get to zion. So for the trek we went up to Martins Cove in Wyoming. We went with my cousins home school group called liberty Girls. there were about 200 of us in total and we were divided into companies. my families company was the yellow group my uncle troy was our group leader and I was the medical volunteer as I had just passed my CNA test and apparently that qualified me to be in charge in case of emergency lol. my aunt and my cousins and i had been sewing for months to get all of our pioneer clothes done. I am also proud to say that I made my first quilt by myself I did all of the sewing and its not a masterpiece but I am still really proud of it. Its a patch work quilt and cutting all of those squares out was awful but I am so grateful that my aunt has been willing to teach me how to sew. So we finally had everything ready and packed and then found out that it didnt all fit into one car... so we decided to take both the mazda cx9 and the mazda 3. we were a little bit late getting going and were pressing the speed limit getting there as we were driving on the free way a driver in a van next to us fell asleep and drifted into our lane and then into the median hitting the fence that was there and that woke him up luckily neither the driver nor anyone else was hurt but we definitely had guardian angels with us. so we got to orientation right as it was beginning and they showed us a video about what the pioneers who came through martins cove had to go through and of course my aunt and I are bawling at just how sad and amazing the pioneers were. so we went to get put all of our stuff in the handcarts. their were ten people to a hand cart which meant that a family of three was going to be sharing it with us. We met the Reeds who were a very nice couple and had their six year old son with them. The wind was blowing like crazy and getting everything on the handcart was a job but we finally did it and started our three mile trek to the campsite. I ended up pushing the covered wagon that was holding all of the children under eight which included my 2 year old and my 6 year old cousin. we also did a womens pull up the steepest hill of the trail. we all got together and were asked to imagine if our dads our husbands or our brothers had died and we had to make it on our own on the trail how we could have done it. we sang god be with you until we meet again as we said goodbye to the men and watched them walk up the hill we then went back to our handcarts to pull them up my oldest cousins went to help another hand cart who only had one woman pulling it. and my aunt and i pulled the handcart with the 2 year old and the six year old in it. the men all lined up the hill and stood silently watching us as we struggled and fought to keep control of it. I looked up to see most of the men crying including my uncle. We did finally make it up the hill but went right back down to help the other handcarts when every one had gotten up the hill my aunt and my cousins and i joined held hands as we walked back up to my uncle and the symbolism and that amazing spirt that was there I cant even begin to describe. We walked three miles and finally got to the campsite it was cold and windy and just awful weather. Andria my two year old cousin was freezing and my aunt was worried about her getting hypothermia so i took her along with me as I went to do what I had been told to do and check on everyone else to make sure there were no cases of hypothermia or anything else that needed medical attention. we finally got the tent up and ate some dinner and then went to bed since we were all so exhausted from the drive and the walk and the stress of getting there. The next day we woke up and ate breakfast then packed up our handcart with lunch water and my medical bag and started the five mile hike to martins cove. the group ahead of use was an hour and half late getting started so it pushed us back a bit but we were all fine with that it meant we could walk a little slower =) When we did finally get to martins cove they asked us to walk it without handcarts and to walk it silently out of respect for what the pioneers had suffered there and for those that had died there. we were walking on sacred ground. I loved how very peaceful it was there wasnt any thought of being tired or hot or wanting to stop. there was such a strong spirt there. we were truly walking on holy and sacred ground. Once we had walked all the way through martins cove we had lunch and then started our five mile journey back to camp. We would pass by bathrooms and those who needed to stop would stop while the rest continued on well alexa needed to go but no one else on our handcart needed to so I was asked to stay behind and look after her and try and catch up to the cart when we could. So as Alexa and I were walking back to our handcart we were about to walk up the hill when we saw a handcart being pulled by a grown man a little boy and a little girl was pushing. they were having a hard time making it up the hill. Alexa looked at me and said we should help we went and started to push the man being suprised at the fact that it was getting easier looked back to see us and we got up to hill. when we got to the top he told alexa that god had sent angels to help him get up the hill and thanked us for helping him. I have never seen alexa so happy and I have never been more proud of her for being willing to help. we did eventually get back to our cart and join the rest of the family. that night we had a special delivery from the "pony express" and we all recieved letters I even recieved a letter from my aunts mom telling me how glad she was to have me be a part of their family. we all sang pioneer songs around the campfire that night and told stories about where we were from. we had gotten so many questions about who I was and having to explain that I was their niece was becoming complicated so we ended up just telling everyone that I was troys niece who was like a daughter to them. the next day we broke camp and took down the tents and got everything packed up for the three mile trek back to the vistors center we were all wind blown and sun burned and exhausted but we made it back to the vistors center and as we pulled into the hand cart area the lyrics to the song the spirt of god were going through my mind and thought of how profound it must have been after walking and pulling a handcart a thousand miles to finally stop in salt lake and sing praises to the lord. we got everything into the car and started on home as soon as we got home we showered and went to bed exhausted but happy. our trek was amazing and spirtual and I learned so much about myself. I would never have been able to walk that far seven months ago when i first moved in with my aunt and uncle but now I am proud to say that I walked the entire trek.

o savior stay this night with me behold tis eventide

I attend an institute class called doctrines of the hymns. Music has always been a huge part of my life since the whole reason that I danced was to express what I thought the music was saying to me. Music has been what has gotten me through the hardest times in my life. Tonight we were talking about comfort and how heavenly father never leaves you alone. My teacher asked us to think of a song that helps us when we are in our darkest moments. Through the past year and a half I have had to learn some very hard lessons and I cant count the hours I spent on my knees crying and talking to god about what was going on. But on the darkest nights and when I felt the most hopeless and that I couldnt possibly bear any more pain or heartache or sorrow the following hymn was the only thing that could make the feeling going away

Abide with me; 'tis eventide.
The day is past and gone;
The shadows of the evening fall;
The night is coming on.
Within my heart a welcome guest,
Within my home abide.

[Chorus]
O Savior, stay this night with me;
Behold, 'tis eventide.
O Savior, stay this night with me;
Behold, 'tis eventide.

Abide with me; 'tis eventide.
Thy walk today with me
Has made my heart within me burn,
As I communed with thee.
Thy earnest words have filled my soul
And kept me near thy side.

Abide with me; 'tis eventide,
And lone will be the night
If I cannot commune with thee
Nor find in thee my light.
The darkness of the world, I fear,
Would in my home abide.


Now my lessons and sorrows and hurts are different but I still gain so much comfort especially from the words o savior stay this night with me behold tis even tide o savior stay this night with me. I cant count how many times I felt the presence of my savior on those dark nights where I didnt think I could handle things anymore. I am so thankful that I can ask for that comfort and that our savior is loving and cares for each of us so much that he would comfort me even when its nothing compared to what he had to go through. I am so grateful for those institute, relief society and sunday school lessons where you feel the spirt so strongly that you dont know whether to cry or be overjoyed or both. I am so grateful that I have an amazing institute teacher who is willing to take what he learns with his work from the mormon tabernacle choir and share with others. I am thankful.

I am 20 years old!

I turned 20! I am officially no longer a teenager. So this birthday was a fantastic one I had so much fun. Because it was memorial day sara, troy and I decided to celebrate it early since we had a couple of BBQ's we were invited too. So on Friday all of the "grown ups" (meaning sara and troy and I) had a Farscape marathon. And since no one has any idea of what Farscape is. Its a sci fi show that troy got me into and now am addicted too. yes I know I am a geek lol. My cousins also gave me some gifts that they had gotten me they had each drawn me a picture and written me a letter it was very sweet and cute. my aunt and uncle got me a tempurpedic mattress which is absolute heaven and I have no idea how I slept without one before. They also got me a CTR ring thats pink and glittery its really cute, and an itunes card. Sunday I celebrated my birthday with my Grandparents and my aunt I went over and had dinner with them after church and I got a book on money management and some really cute clothes. My aunt gave me a gift card to the movies and I have plans with her to go and see the new twilight movie eclipse. saras parents came over on monday and gave my a birthday card with 20 dollars in it. and saras sister gave me another itunes card so all in all I made out pretty well for my birthday. =) I was also woken up on monday by my two best friends calling and singing happy birthday too me. Bryce called me at six in the morning just to sing happy birthday and to let me pretend to be annoyed at him for waking me up early. Then about an hour later Jill called and sang Happy Birthday very loudly and off key but I loved it. I have some truly amazing friends =)

Its my sister michaelas (though I hear she is going by Claire now) Birthday today so Happy 12th Birthday!

My brother also graduated this last week unfortunately I was not able to attend but I am so very proud of him for making it through high school and not tripping on the stage. Congratulations Adam!

So right now I am looking for another summer job, getting ready to go on the trek and staying busy with my calling in the church. Life is finally in order and moving forward and I couldnt be happier