Mormon Pioneer Handcart Trek: Day 4

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It was supposed to be a calm night, but we woke up at 5am to light rain. We figured the rain had passed, but nope!  It ended up being a bit of a soggy morning. Just goes to show that when you THINK you are through a rough patch (even in life) there are always surprises just around the corner, testing our character. But we didn’t let it dampen our spirits, it was a great day to be a pioneer.  {If you missed, here are Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3 of the trek}

mormon pioneer wagon train

We packed up our soggy stuff, and threw it all in the back of our trusty handcart.

pioneers in the rain

garbage bags

 

duke fam

I captured this adorable picture of Pa Duke, and look who photo-bombed, our very own son! Love both of their smiles in this;)

Pa Duke and son

porter fam

 

parking the wagons

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We just had to push it a short distance, unload all our stuff for later, then we ceremoniously pushed our empty handcart about a mile away. We parked them next to each other, then enjoyed a beautiful vista before us. The rain had stopped, but the sun was still hidden by the clouds, and it was a perfect chilly temperature–so odd for Texas in June! We listened to several speakers share their thoughts of perserverance and their love of the Savior, and tied up this trek with a lovely bow. The theme of the day was “JOY” which I always love, and it was all about having JOY in the JOURNEY of life, no matter our circumstances or trials.
morning fireside talk

 

 Looking at the above picture, it’s hard to tell, but off in the distance about a half a mile, we could see two giraffe’s walking around on the wildlife side of the acreage we trekked on. Too bad we didn’t pass them on our journey.

We sang some songs, and it was so chilly, one of my daughters just couldn’t warm up!

singing

As we walked back to camp, we knew that parents would be waiting there to pick up all the kids. I was emotional that it was all over, but felt uplifted for all that transpired. We sang, “Come, Come, Yes Saints” as we walked to “the finish line.”

 We were greeted at the end, with a simulation of the arrival of the Mormon Pioneers into the Salt Lake City Valley, with well wishers (parents) waving white handkerchiefs. Our journey was through. At least that journey.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA I squeezed all my children goodbye, and I hope they know how much my heart grew from loving them those 4 days, and that I will continue to care. I’m so grateful for the blessings in my life, the blessing of pioneer heritage, who fought for their faith, and risked their lives and their livelihood for religious freedom.  I’m grateful for a Father in Heaven who I know watches over all of us through our struggles, and allows us to experience the trials of life so that we can grow. It can’t be easy for Him, just as it wasn’t easy for Him to send down His Son to teach us, only to be ridiculed and eventually died for his cause. I’m grateful to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where I’ve been blessed to understand the Plan of Salvation for all of us, that we will have ROUGH patches in life, but truly make us stronger on the other side. That we have the opportunity to return to Him to live with our Father in Heaven, and our older brother Jesus Christ someday.

I hope that if nothing else, our kids for the week, and my own children, can learn that great lesson in life.

pioneer reenactment

 

 

handcarts in the field

Thanks for allowing me to share this pioneer journey with you!

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