Josh--The Trekker

Our ward, for the youth, is doing a re-enactment of the pioneer trek, pulling handcarts. I have said for years, that I was lucky enough to have that "once-in-a-lifetime" experience. It was something I always wanted to do, but it was so hard that I don't think I ever want to do another one. It was a spiritual experience, too, but I wasn't prepared for how physically hard it was. We were living in South Carolina at the time, so we battled not only heat, but worse yet, the humidity! Josh is a little nervous about going, and I am a little nervous about how well he will endure. I am sure he will endure is better without me on the trail with him. I hope that he will gain a greater appreciation for the what the early Saints went through for their faith, and that his faith and testimony will be strengthened because of this trek experience. Each youth is to "remember"(that's the theme of this trek) an name of an ancestor. Josh chose Francis Gilley, his fifth great-grandfather. We won't see Josh until Sat., so consider this the before pictures, I am sure he won't be as clean in the after pictures. But he will be a stronger young man and he will have proven to himself that he can do difficult things, with the Lord's help.

Josh with Daniel Owen.
Seth Larsen with Josh.

Matthew Morton, Josh and Cordigan Summers.What good looking pioneer boys, huh?

So, Saturday arrived, even though I thought it did slowly, and the Trek was coming to an end. We had a ward picnic in Placerville to welcome the Trekkers home. What a great idea! The Primary children made posters with me to hold up and welcome the pioneers home. Here is one of the first handcarts arriving:

Here is Josh's handcart arriving. They older kids asked him to jump inside and they basically run up to the "finish line". Josh said this was the only time he rode in the cart.

The banner Jessi and I made to welcome them home:

Another handcart arriving!

Video of Josh's trek family arriving"



There were a few tears shed by all as we were so glad to see our Josh! He was a little overwhelmed by the experience. We were so proud of him and that he had "endured" so well this experience. We were told by many leaders what a great job he did. Josh said the hardest thing was the experience of having his character in his family get sick and die and he couldn't talk, couldn't help push the handcart, but still walk with along with his family. He said he was touched by the spirit when they had a dedication right before they crossed the river, which was flowing very quickly. All in all, he had a great time and was glad he went.


Josh with the Cooks-the amazing, energy filled, do whatever the they are asked to do, with a smile of their faces, Cooks! (He is Josh's Deacon amazing leader.) The ward had a Subway picnic for all of us, yummy! By then, Josh and all the trekkers just wanted to go home a take a long shower! So we headed home, and I had a load of laundry to start.