Ma and Pa trek

Andrey and I are the Ma and Pa for our trek this summer with our youth. We went on a trek with just the leaders a few weeks ago, to get to know the area a little better and know how to work the handcarts a little more.
We woke up early and sent our kids with my mom, and drove up Parleys to the location. We had a great devotional and then went to our handcarts, 8 people to each one. We had on our Pioneer get-up and started walking. The service Missionaries told us to follow the trail by follwing the fence all the way for about 2.5 miles until we saw a barn and the latrines.
We started our hike which was the hardest thing ever.
We had to keep stopping and rotate our positions. We did no see how the youth would make this hike. It was crazy with the boulders, bushes, and dips all over the place.
We finally, after a few hours (when we should have been heading back home) reached the top of this mountain and saw nothing but more and more hills and mountains. No barn.
We had a teaching moment as one of the women found a tic on the outside of my dress in my buttocks area. Everyone had to crowd around to see what a tic looked like (yeah, not my most favorite moment).
After the men and women freaked out a bit and checked themselves for tics, we sent one of our men to find help and the barn. Wow, we really did feel like the pioneers, minus negative temperatures and snow.
They were amazing to have so much faith to endure, many leaving their loved ones for dead, and having no food, warm clothes, etc. They still continued on to Zion.
When we finally (after making up our own trail) reached the latrines and were eating, a great respect and love for the Pinoeers filled my heart.
Our youth are so lucky to have this opportunity to go on this trek.
After we found the real trail (which was so much easier) we discussed the day. We are having the youth walk for someone that walked to Salt Lake in 1856. I think this experience will help strengthen their testimonies and help them understand that they are, right now, going through their own kind of faith walk and trek. There are so many horrible things going on in the world around us, but we need to continue to follow our loveing Prophet, President Monson, and conitnue "walking, singing, and pressing forward." I am excited for the end of June when we go on the actual trek. I am so grateful for all those that have made this activity possible for us.