Health & Fitness
"We Can Do Hard Things" - Pioneer Trek Story #2
One of our adult volunteers shares all the hard things that her family on the trek went through and learned.
This post was written by Michelle McNearney. She is a resident of Santee and helped with the pioneer trek, along with her husband Kevin, by being a "ma" and "pa" to one of the families of teenagers who went on the trek.
So much excitement and anticipation for this last weekend’s “trek”! There were a few youth who were a bit hesitant about going, wondering if it would be worth their time. The fact that they had to wear period clothing was a big challenge as well. Some forced by their parents, others wanting the adventure, we set out for a two-day experience that would change each of our lives forever.
My husband and I prepared ourselves prayerfully as Ma and Pa. We studied the lives of the pioneers we were to represent, knowing their joys and struggles on their journey. We prepared activities to bond our family members and learned about each of the individual youth we would be blessed to have as a part of our family.
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We were Ma and Pa Bunker and with us on our journey were 3 young men and 4 young women who we came to love as our own. It is interesting what responsibility does for the love of another. We instantly came to appreciate these young people and the lives that they come from. We understood the importance of strengthening their testimony of their Savior, Jesus Christ, and were determined to help in this development.
Bonding we did – when our family was asked to sacrifice our meager lunches for a family we did not know- who had no food, they generously gave; when our youngest baby, born to us on the trek, passed just a day or two later, tears were shed; when one of our daughters feet suffered, a brother stayed back to walk with her; when our son was taken by bandits, we offered all we had to have him back; and when the women were told they needed to pull the handcarts unaided, the kindness and compassion of our tender men came out in emotion and love as they offered words of encouragement and support, never leaving our side.
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About mid-day on Saturday, we arrived at Fort Laramie to find letters written by friends and family offering words of encouragement. Oh, how they applied to our lives as well as our current situation,
“You may find that life is much like this trek: rocky, hopeless and at times, endless. For this reason you must stay close to the Lord and His love. Know that the Lord is there and no matter what He will heal you from the most insurmountable challenges in your life.”
The motto often heard throughout this trek was, “We Can Do Hard Things,” and hard things we did! We learned to love others, and we acknowledge that this love comes from our desire to be more like Jesus Christ. We have His gospel on the earth today because of the sacrifices of many who went forward with faith and endured. With gratitude to all who put endless hours of preparation and prayer into making this a journey never to be forgotten, and to our Father in Heaven who watched over us and intervened in Spirit, we will carry on as pioneers of today, steadfast and immovable; steady and sure!
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