Rylee got the opportunity to participate in a youth activity in our stake this summer. The purpose of TREK is to get the kids WAY outside of their comfort zone, away from modern comforts, and to reinact the pioneer's journey to the west.
For three days, the kids worked together, in small families, to push, pull and walk along side their handcarts on a 40 mile trek.
Some of the most special parts of the trip for Rylee were:
The Womens Pull: The group got to reinact the experience that the pioneers had when the men were all called away with Brigham Young. The men left the women and children behind, along with all of their belongings, to go serve with the militia. This left the women to lead the group up and over a HUGE mountain, moving handcarts that weighed about 750 lbs. each. Rylee led her little sisters in pushing and pulling to get their carts up the hill. She mentioned that there were times that she knew that they had help from above in meeting this challenge. Another cool part of this challenge was having the men and boys watching the girls' strength from up on top of the hill. The men talked about how impressed they were with the determination and strength that the girls had, and how they found a new respect for the young ladies that they knew.
Singing in the Dark: On the first night of the trek, the group had to walk about 12 miles to their first camp sight. This meant hiking in the pouring rain, well after dark. With no lights and no stars to light their way, they just had to follow the ruts from the carts that had gone before. Rylee said that everyone was exhausted by about 11 pm. And they still had miles to go. She said it got so quiet. She could hear people grunting and breathing heavy to move the carts and not much else. Then, one girl in the back of the handcart company started to sing. From one voice, the chorus grew as the kids sang hymns while they walked until the wee hours of the morning. They all talked about learning a new appreciation for the power and influence of good music to encourage and strengthen them. And how different the music was than what they were usually listening to.
Providing for her family: Each family got to take provisions with them to feed the whole family for the challenge. Each family got two live chickens to take on the trek. And within their families they had to decide which person would be responsible for killing, cleaning, plucking and preparing the chickens. The plan originally was that her brothers would take care of this responsibility, but the boys "chickened out" when it came time to kill the chicken both times. So Rylee stepped up and took care of business. She talked about how hard it was to kill the chicken, but how much she needed to take care of her group. And how hungry they were.
Rylee has said several times that this challenge was one of the best things that has ever happened to her. It was neat to see a tired, humble, dirty girl come home from this trip. And I have really noticed a difference in her level of appreciation for even the smallest of things since that time. I am so proud of her for facing the challenge!
We'll post some pictures in a few days.
For three days, the kids worked together, in small families, to push, pull and walk along side their handcarts on a 40 mile trek.
Some of the most special parts of the trip for Rylee were:
The Womens Pull: The group got to reinact the experience that the pioneers had when the men were all called away with Brigham Young. The men left the women and children behind, along with all of their belongings, to go serve with the militia. This left the women to lead the group up and over a HUGE mountain, moving handcarts that weighed about 750 lbs. each. Rylee led her little sisters in pushing and pulling to get their carts up the hill. She mentioned that there were times that she knew that they had help from above in meeting this challenge. Another cool part of this challenge was having the men and boys watching the girls' strength from up on top of the hill. The men talked about how impressed they were with the determination and strength that the girls had, and how they found a new respect for the young ladies that they knew.
Singing in the Dark: On the first night of the trek, the group had to walk about 12 miles to their first camp sight. This meant hiking in the pouring rain, well after dark. With no lights and no stars to light their way, they just had to follow the ruts from the carts that had gone before. Rylee said that everyone was exhausted by about 11 pm. And they still had miles to go. She said it got so quiet. She could hear people grunting and breathing heavy to move the carts and not much else. Then, one girl in the back of the handcart company started to sing. From one voice, the chorus grew as the kids sang hymns while they walked until the wee hours of the morning. They all talked about learning a new appreciation for the power and influence of good music to encourage and strengthen them. And how different the music was than what they were usually listening to.
Providing for her family: Each family got to take provisions with them to feed the whole family for the challenge. Each family got two live chickens to take on the trek. And within their families they had to decide which person would be responsible for killing, cleaning, plucking and preparing the chickens. The plan originally was that her brothers would take care of this responsibility, but the boys "chickened out" when it came time to kill the chicken both times. So Rylee stepped up and took care of business. She talked about how hard it was to kill the chicken, but how much she needed to take care of her group. And how hungry they were.
Rylee has said several times that this challenge was one of the best things that has ever happened to her. It was neat to see a tired, humble, dirty girl come home from this trip. And I have really noticed a difference in her level of appreciation for even the smallest of things since that time. I am so proud of her for facing the challenge!
We'll post some pictures in a few days.
