Caitlyn got to go on Pioneer Trek last week and I asked her to write about it. I love that she loved the experience and that she was willing to take time out of her precious summer to do this for me. Thanks Caitlyn!
In 1944, during World War II, there was a battle that had lasted for 64 days but is commonly unknown. “The Battle of Kohima” was fought by the Japanese against the British and Indian countries in order to terminate the road that British and Indian troops were supplied. During the battle, many Japanese, British and Indian people were killed. Today, a cemetery lies on the grounds of the battle where 1,420 soldiers are buried. This war cemetery has the famous inscription "When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us, And Say, For Your Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today".
About a week ago, I got to experience to go on trek with the rest of my stake. And while walking alongside the cart with my friends, I realized that this quote can be related to the pioneers who traveled over the plains to Utah Valley. Not only do I think that the pioneers struggled through the things that they did for their own benefit, but also for their future posterity to have a better life. I think it’s amazing that they suffered extreme hardships in marching over 1,300 miles of prairie, water, snow, desert, and mountains. While they were having going through a crazy life-changing experience, my group was as well..
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"It’s so hot. I can’t do this. I’m gonna smell so bad at the end of the week."
"I have no make-up on, how is what’s-his-face even going to talk to me? I look hideous."
"We’re all going to get blisters."
"There is NO way that I’m going in those port-o-potties."
"It can’t rain. My hair will get wet and it will go curly!"
“Have you ever been camping? Does Girl’s Camp count? No. Okay, than no.”
"Oh my gosh, Wyoming is so ugly."
"You aren’t even helping push the wagon. I’m doing all the work."
"I hate bugs and dirt."
"I miss my cell-phone."
"You’re expecting me to set up a tent? Shut up."
In the beginning of the trek, we were assigned to walk 10 miles. As my friend, Madison, and I reached the port-o-potties, we thought that we had reached the half way mark. “We already hiked 5 miles? What were the pioneers even complaining about, this isn’t so hard.” We asked a leader how many miles we had walked, and he told us that we had walked two. Thinking he was joking, we laughed for a good thirty seconds and sai,d “Good one.” He looked confused, and without saying anything, walked away. We nervously laughed then continued to ask the same question to another 50 people. Same answer. Then we screamed and fake cried.
Throughout the total of 3.5 days, we walked a total of 26 miles. The pioneers did that in 1 day. ONE. Do you know how stupid I felt when I found that out? Actually, the miles toward the last 2 days didn’t feel so long, probably because we didn’t complain. Instead, we sang every Disney song that ever existed, an occasional rap song, also our family theme song. Our family theme song, you might ask? It’s a song by the rapper, Lil Wayne. He is more than the voice of our generation; he speaks to all of us with creatively inspiring lyrics. Whenever i hear that song “All I Do is Win”, it lets me let go all my pains and my struggles. Thank you Lil Wayne, you’re a hero to us all. I about heard that chorus of the song around a million times, and the chorus is the only part of the song that you should listen to… ....
Anyway. My favorite part of trek would have to be the Women’s Pull. The Women’s Pull is when the girls have to push their cart up a steep, long hill while the men and boys just watch. It is an example of when the men would either pass away or leave to fight in war, and the women would have to push the handcart and fend for themselves. The morning of the Pull, we all got together as a stake and said our goodbyes to the men and boys. Before they left, I looked around, and away from everyone, I saw five boys kneeling in prayer. I could hear one of the boys telling Heavenly Father that they all adore the girls in their group very much and they asked Him to help them while they were pulling the cart. It was a sweet sign of appreciation to the girls from those boys, which I don’t think you usually see these days. (The girls and I all agreed that it was nice to not hear “Make me a sandwich, woman.”)
After they all had left, my friends and I said, “Well, this is going to be hard, considering that the boys have pulled the cart the whole time...” The Bishop’s wife told us, “Let’s all say a prayer, and ask angels to help us along the way.” I never really thought about angels, but I do believe that they were there. We all felt a sense of peace while climbing the hill, along with strength, while feeling physically exhausted. I think that the prayer helped, and through prayer, you can connect with people and with Heavenly Father in a very amazing way. He connects with us spirit to spirit, or with a feeling. A feeling of peace is more powerful than words could ever be. While pulling the cart up the “nation’s second hardest women’s pull hill,” I looked up at the crying men and boys and instantly had a new appreciation for them. It was as hard for them too, to watch us go through that, because it is their nature to help us out. (And vice-versa) After we reached the top of the reeeally long hill, it was nice seeing the boys and girls came together as one while no one acted like they were better than any other person. It was funny, because after that, while eating lunch, all the girls in my family would say “Go get us our food…I don’t know if you were watching, but I just pulled that handcart up that long hill and you just stood there; I’m exhausted.” They served us that day, AND pulled the car the rest of the way.
Speaking of my trek family, no offense to any other family, but my family was THE BEST. No, really. They were so funny and so much fun to be around. We all had withdrawals after trek because three hours after we got back home, we all hung out again…at my Ma and Pa’s house. You’d think that they’d get sick of us? But no, I don’t think so. My Ma and Pa are SO amazing also!! About every 2 hours, they would say “We really do have the best family…Have we ever told you guys how much we love you? And how amazing you are?” I admired their perfect personalities to connect with teenagers and for their ability to love each and every one of us so quickly. Not only did they teach us about the Pioneers, but they also taught us many life lessons too. They are great, fun, amazing people and I will always admire them. I can’t tell you how many times I lost my water bottle, and guess who would hunt it down every time? My Pa, Bro. Bland. I also appreciated his ability to listen to my stupid stories and want to genuinely know how I’m doing in my life. Same goes to Sis. Bland. I loved listening to her talk about her mission experiences and her thoughts about a lot of things. I don’t know how they did it, but they got me talking about things that I had been wanting to talk about for some time now…Words can’t even describe how grateful I am for the experience of being their daughter on Trek. And the depressing part is that the day after we got home from trek, our ward split. They aren’t even in my ward anymore! That blows.
I don’t have anything life-changing to say, but I believe that we can all be pioneers as well. We don’t have to go through the physical changes that our ancestors went through, but we can certainly go through mental changes. I’ve definitely developed a greater acknowledgement and thankfulness for the people that came before me and I can’t wait to see them in heaven and give them a great big hug.
