What is Trek? The church has established an amazing experience where they take the youth on a mock pioneer trek and give them hardly any food. They have them sleep on the ground and dress like pioneers. They attempt to give the youth a taste of what the pioneers went through as they trekked thousands of miles in horrible conditions to attain religious freedom. The early Mormons were heavily persecuted and they sought to go to a land that they could worship without persecution. They wanted to build a temple that would not be torn down by angry mobs. And going to Zion in Utah was the way to do that. They buried family along the way, they starved, they battled many sicknesses, and they endured so many unbearable things because of their testimony in the Gospel and to receive Temple blessings.
I had heard many things of the Trek
experience before. When I moved to Arizona when I was 16 years old
our first Sunday in our new ward was right after the youth returned
from their Trek experience. I remember them looking exhausted and
one boy saying, “I lost like 20 pounds.” I had never heard of
Trek before so sitting and listening as the new girl was fascinating.
My brothers and step siblings went on Trek and I saw their pictures
and heard their experiences. I never was able to go on Trek as a
youth. But at 30 years old Tom and I were asked to be a Ma and Pa on
Trek. During Trek they group the youth into different pioneer
families for the trip. We had a family of 10 kids and then we were
their Ma and Pa. This was four days for us...June 18th- 21st. We
had a few training's and learned that we were in charge of keeping
our Trek kids uplifted and to help them feel the spirit. On top of
trying our best to take care of their physical needs and feed them
when we were able. There was other things to prepare for as
well....Family Name, Family Banners, Family Cheer, make a flour baby,
make sure we have dutch ovens, cooking utensils, etc, etc. That was
fun and kind of a bit of work gathering all of that on top of making
sure we had pioneer type clothes to wear for our adventure. 2 sets
of clothing for 4 days of dirt and sweat.
So I never forget:
Family Name: Stripling Starits
Our banner said: Stripling Starits
Warrior Family.
Family Cheer: Trek Trek Baby.
Our cheer came from the Ma and Pa skit
that Tommy and I had to do to introduce ourselves to everyone
involved in Trek. Using the beats of Ice Ice Baby we came up with a
a little Trek Rap:
“Alright stop your handcart and
listen
The Starits are back with a brand new
invention
This apron grabs a hold of me tightly
Flow like a Pioneer daily and nightly
If there was a problem, Yo will solve
it
Check out the hook, while this Pa
revolves it
Trek Trek Baby”
So since Tom and I pioneer rapped that
to introduce ourselves. The ending “Trek Trek Baby” became our
Family Cheer. It was a lot of fun.
Family Motto: We are young, strong,
full of faith, and ridiculously good looking. :)
Tommy: Papa T
Erika: Mama Star
On the first day after all the Ma's and
Pa's introduced themselves we were told who would be in our Trek
Family. And we were given: Trace, Shayla, Tyler, Grant, Kaprial,
Elise, Jonathan, Gage, Tate, Keely, and our flour baby “Leroy
Bob.:-)
*Trace Jenkins: He was our “Big
Brother.” 19 years old and reminded us of a surfer dude. He had
many catch phrases that he said throughout the entire Trek. “KaChow”
“ReptheNat” “Righteous” He was entertaining and was a very
hard worker pulling the handcart.
*Shayla Hyde: She was our “Big Sister”
at 20 years old. She was in our ward until she graduated. She was
so strong and helped pull the handcart like a beast. She was my best
friend for the four days of Trek and I was thankful to have her
there. Her mom who was a Trek photographer often came and hugged her
and me and snuck me little chocolates. Although I was too tired to
eat them. I loved it!
*Tate Palmer: He is from our ward too.
An amazing kid of 17 years old. Hard worker and always stepping up
to do tasks and help. He cooked, filled up water, cleaned, etc. The
other kids loved his sense of humor. He leaves for a mission in
August and will be an amazing missionary. Very fun, but also very
spiritual.
*Elise Jensen: She is from our ward and
I have her in young women's. She just turned 15. She is a gentle,
quiet spirit. It was nice having her calming presence. And she
never complains. No matter what. She helped push the handcart or
hold the baby.
*Keely Yeager: She was 18. Very petite
and soft spoken. Enjoyed her special spirit. She was worried about
things like wild animals and germs while we were eating and it was
very endearing. She wanted to help and participate in as much as she
could. She hopes to serve a mission and will be a great missionary.
She pulled, pushed, and held the baby.
*Kaprial Ireland: She was 14. She
seemed quiet at first, but as the days passed you could see that she
had a pretty strong fire behind her. And she had a quiet sense of
humor as well. If you weren't paying attention you would miss just
how funny she was. She did not complain and helped push the cart or
hold the baby.
*Grant Marsh: He was 16 years old and
home schooled. He talked quite a bit and could be pretty funny. His
humor was dry and dark. He worked hard, but also struggled. But he
didn't complain and kept pressing forward. He pulled the handcart
and held the baby.
*Jonathan Thomason: He was 14. He was
not a member of the church but came with his friend Gage. He
reminded me of my brother Jeffrey. He was happy and bubbly. Very
confident and could work hard. He did everything we asked of him.
*Gage Clark: He was 14 and our little
small fry. He has knee problems and didn't push, pull, or hold the
baby much. He was always in the dirt and looking for critters. He told great stories about his ancestors and seemed
like a good kid with a pretty solid testimony.
*Tyler Blake: He was 17. He was tall,
strong and a hard worker. When he struggled he remembered his
ancestor, a great grandpa who trekked 3 times in real life and he
knew he could make it on youth trek no matter how hard it felt. He
was a gentle kid with a strong testimony. He was a hard worker and
just a sweet person.
*Leroy Bob: We had to make a baby out of
flour and the kids named him Leroy. His head kind of bobbed around
and so since he had a bobble head his middle name become “Bob.”
He was a quiet, easy baby that never cried, but always wanted held.
:)
DAY 1:
After the Ma's and Pa's introduced
themselves and we found out who our families were, we met by our
wagon. We played a name game where we had the opportunity to learn
each other's names and then we played the orange game. After each
game or activity we had to “process.” Process time is where we
would talk about the activity and how it related to the gospel or
something spiritual. The orange we received for the orange roll game
was then the only food we were given all day until 11:00 PM when we
would finally arrive at camp and receive a cup of broth and a roll.
This day consisted of walking, walking,
walking, and walking while pulling our handcarts along. We talked
along the trail, sang songs, and prayed as we went.
The women's pull was this day and it
was treacherous. Brother Proctor who was in charge of Trek said in
the 7 Treks that he had been a part of that it was the hardest
women's pull he had ever seen. It was steep and full of rocks and it
felt like we were climbing a mountain and it was extremely difficult
and exhausting pulling the handcarts up.
Each family of women helped each other
get the carts up. We were red faced, sweating, straining, falling,
crying, and breathing hard as we banded together as strong women and
helped pull all 18 carts up the mountain without any help from the
men. They stood around us watching with their hats on their hearts
and tears in their eyes. I climbed up and down the mountain three
times, helping three carts make it to the top. It was one of the
hardest things I've ever had to do. I could not look at the faces of
the young men and men watching me because I could feel that if I saw
into their worried faces that I would cry. I felt the spirit very
strong as we stood together as women and helped one another
accomplish an almost impossible task.
Afterwards when I found Tommy and he
came and hugged me and held me we were both over come with emotion
and tears filled our eyes. It was one of the hardest things either
of us had to do. He said it was so hard to watch me and the other
women struggle so much and not be able to help. It was definitely a
very raw and emotional part of Trek. The leaders talked to us
afterwards about how the women were angels to one another and that it
was amazing how we worked together and helped each other do what we
did. They also related to how the men felt to how our Heavenly
Father must have felt when he had to let Jesus suffer alone on the
cross for a time and He could not help. How difficult that must have
been for him. The women's pull was an amazing moment of Trek and one
I will never forget.
After the women's pull we began to
continue our Trek. It became dark and we faced the longest, hardest
part of the Trail. As a family we worked together in the dark guided
by just the light of the moon as we climbed mountainous terrain. We
were exhausted, cold, hungry, weak, nauseous, but we continued on
smiling as much as possible. I had to say many personal prayers at
this time as I truly felt like I had nothing left so many times. I
had such an amazing group of youth with me though. Even though they
were miserable they continued to press forward and kept a positive
attitude along the way. At a break I noticed another Ma and Pa
attempting to comfort a boy who was frustrated and crying and did not
want to go any further. I glanced at my family and they were smiling
and joking. They truly were inspiring and proved that we can do hard
things and remain positive, especially with prayer. I know that
Heavenly Father strengthened all of the families on that trail as we
accomplished some of the hardest things many of us have ever had to
endure physically in our lives. It was so hard that our spirits
truly were broken, but that humbled all of us and allowed for the
spirit to penetrate the hearts of everyone on the Trail. We arrived
to camp around 11:00 PM and had the most delicious cup of broth and
roll that ever existed. We rolled out our sleeping bags on the cold,
hard ground and froze in our sleeping bags until morning. As I lay
shivering I thought of the pioneer women who had their babies and
small children on the trail and how they must have shivered together
night after night. I thought of my own babies and how incredibly
difficult that would have been. Tears filled my eyes as I shivered
and attempted to fall into a restless, cold sleep for the night.
DAY 2:
We were given a little oatmeal for
breakfast. Also we were told that our baby was too cold in the night
and died. We talked to our Trek kids and discussed how the pioneers
traveled this Trek for religious freedom and for temple blessings and
how important it was that they endured what we did the day before,
for months on end because of their testimonies. Then we announced
that our baby died. I told them to think of all of the pioneer
families who lost their loved ones along the trail and how terribly
hard that had to be. I began to cry as I told them how awful that
would have been and how I could not imagine having to bury my own
babies along the trail. Tommy was also overcome with emotion as he
reminded them how they had each took turns holding the baby and that
it was hard that we would have to bury him. Then we went and buried
Leroy in the ground. It was definitely a sober feeling.
Afterward we had a group meeting and
The Hardesty's related their story of losing their three year old
daughter and their spiritual experiences with that heartbreaking
trial in their lives. The spirit was very strong.
Then we began our Trek again and a
couple hours later we made it to Main Camp! We were able to actually
set up a camp with a make shift shelter made of tarp and make it a
place to call home for the next two days and nights. We were given a
little more food for lunch and then a little more for dinner. As the
Trek went on we were fed a little better and more each meal. Keely
said that she was glad they did it like that because if they had
always fed us super well we would not have appreciated each bite of
food we received. And it was true. We were sooo thankful for each
meal and for how it just kept getting better and better each time.
This day was filled with fun pioneer
games and then a fun fireside at night. Our family was in charge of
a skit and it was the best skit of the night. We did one of those
“Short” people skits and made jokes about the buckets we had to
put our stuff in and how they were horrible and you couldn't open
them and about the Trek thus far. It was soo funny and had everyone
laughing.
DAY 3:
This day was filled with 9 Life Skill
games and after each one we had to sit as a family and process them
and discuss how they related to the gospel and it helped bring the
spirit. It was a lot of fun and then the rest of the afternoon our
family was able to talk, bond, and share stories of our ancestors.
It was this day that I began to feel a strong love for each of the
kids in my Trek family. We were told in our Ma and Pa meetings
before Trek that we would grow to love our Trek family and it was
hard to believe that we could after just 4 days. But it became true.
I love each of those kids and even now as I think of them my heart
is filled to burst and tears fill my eyes. That night we had a
testimony fireside and it was so wonderful hearing the testimonies of
so many youth. Then afterwards we met as a Trek family and those who
didn't bear their testimony with the big group were encouraged to
bear them to just our family. Trace became very emotional as he bore
his. All of them said great things. I remember getting very choked
up as I told them that I was skeptical that it was going to happen
but that I did really love them and that I had a strong testimony of
the gospel and pleaded with them to always stay close to the gospel.
Tommy bore his testimony and was overcome with the spirit and emotion
and he literally cried throughout his entire testimony. He had every
one of the kids' eyes filled with tears. I remember that he shared
that he went to Australia and did many amazing things, but going to
see the Perth Temple is what made him the absolute happiest. He also
told them not to take the easy way out but to always choose the
harder right. He had me crying the entire testimony. The spirit was
so strong and it was amazing.
Then we ended the night talking,
laughing, joking and eating biscuits that Tate cooked around the
camping stove. It was a wonderful night.
DAY 4: We woke and ate breakfast. We
cleaned up camp and loaded up our wagon for the last part of our
journey on the trail. We continued to talk, sing, and laugh and act
as a family. It was the hottest day of the entire Trek as we walked
and walked and walked the last leg of our journey. I was super tired
and hot and exhausted. But soon enough we arrived to Zion's camp and
the youth's families were lined up on either side of us and cheered
us on as we arrived to our final destination. It was such an
emotional, happy feeling. Tears came to mine and Tommy's eyes as
loving family members cheered us all on. We were all being welcomed
home after a long, hard journey. It gave me a glimpse of how it
might be after our journey here on earth is finished. After we've
fulfilled our difficult task on earth and we return to Heaven to find
that all of our deceased family and friends have been cheering us on
and they will greet us along with our Heavenly Father and Jesus
Christ once our life's test is finished. How wonderful will that be.
Trek was such an amazing experience. I
ended with blisters, bruises, aches, pains, and felt so miserable but
I am SOOO thankful for the opportunity I had to go. It was amazing.
The spirit was strong. The youth are incredible. Heavenly Father
loves each of us so much.
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| Our Trek Famly |
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| Our Trek Family Banner |
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| Our Trek Family's Handcart |
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| Our "Ma and Pa" Intro Skit |
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Trek Trek Baby Rap
Mic Drop
We had the BEST family!
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