2017 Trek - Day 2 - June 7

Theme: Humility/The journey to Zion (Life’s Challenges)

Good morning! Today we will wake up and prepare a simple meal using 4 ounces of flour per person. The Martin Handcart Company ultimately were rationed to a mere 4 ounces a day per adult as they faced devastating cold and snow and their supplies ran short. We are only asking our youth to see how much that amount of flour is for breakfast, not the full day.  It is our hope that this event feels real to them-seeing, feeling, and eating a portion-knowing how much of a struggle that must have been to survive on so little for a whole day.

On the trail, we will stop several times to rest and learn about the humility of Levi Savage, the unique journey to Zion of George Harrison, and miracles that fed the pioneers on their journey.

The last trail event of the day will be a re-enactment of the story of Jens and Elsie Neilson. Elsie refused to leave her husband and pulled him up Rocky Ridge in their handcart alone during a blizzard. This powerful event was re-enacted in 2013 by Glendon and Stacy Berrett. This year it will be done by Lisa Singer and her husband Paul Fife and offers a very real visual of the difficulty and sacrifice of these pioneers.

 

  Today we will hike about 8 miles to a camp up on a large mesa with Pinon trees and a beautiful view. The families will have a lot to talk about with the journey stories they have heard, and the experiences of pushing through a longer, and more difficult trail than the day before. 

 

Today we focus again on humility and how it can provides access to grace that helps power us along on our journey to Zion. We focus on that journey, and how life’s challenges mold us and help us. Challenges can place us on paths we never expected, but having a soft heart, and embracing the lessons from these trials, can help us feel God’s love for us more fully.

Tonight we will have special guest speakers come to talk to our families in smaller groups, rotating to tell their unique modern paths to Zion. These speakers hope to let our youth know that it’s okay that they’re not perfect right now, that they should try each day and know that every experience they go through can be to their benefit.

Things you can do today:

• Pray for our youth and stake members on Trek; specifically asking for all to be touched spiritually by the events of the day.
• Read about Levi Savage, or watch the movie “17 Miracles”; https://familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/2885955  and https://deseretbook.com/p/17-miracles-t-c-christensen-78028?variant_id=20753-blu-ray
• Learn about George Harrison https://history.lds.org/overlandtravel/pioneers/19052/george-harrison
• Learn more about Jens and Elsie Neilson and other pioneers in this talk by M. Russell Ballard.

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1996/10/faith-in-every-footstep?lang=eng

• Watch the re-enactment from 2013 when Stacy Berrett pulled her husband Glendon. The experience was powerful in many ways, including their knowledge that they were helped by angels unseen.
  
  
• Write down your thoughts about how Elsie pulled her husband up Rocky Ridge only to find their only son Neils and Bodil Mortensen had died.
• Write your thoughts on any of these or other pioneer stories and share with a family member or write in your journal.

• Parents of Trekkers: expect your youth to speak about these powerful stories. Ask them how it made them feel. Write your own journey to Zion to share with them when they return.