My Oh My, Where Has the time Gone?

          Wow it has been a while, I'm sorry.  Well a few weeks ago I went on Trek for Youth Conference, it was amazing!!! It was just our little ward, it was nice it was a time I was able to get to know the youth in my ward.  We were able to go to Martin's Cove, where the pioneers actually walked on the plains, it was really neat to be where the pioneers walked. Gordon B. Hinkley once talked about Martin's Cove and he said it was Hollowed Ground, I believe that to be true. The spirit is so strong there. If you ever have the opportunity to visit Martin's Cove anytime, it doesn't have to be on trek or Youth Conference, it could be with your family or Friends or even by your self, I would tell you to snatch up that opportunity, it will be an experience you will never forget, it will be a Testimony Strengthening experience.
            It was really important for me to go on this trek because I had been on a trek 4 years earlier when I was twelve years old and I didn't do so well. I wasn't able to finish the Trek, what happened was that I wasn't prepared and I got a lot of blisters on my feet the first day and so the second day the leaders asked if I would like to stay at camp with the cooks, well to a twelve year old who didn't know a lot of people who were on the trek & who was in a little bit of pain, that sounded like a pretty nice idea, so of course I stayed behind the rest of the trek. So I missed out on the womens pull and the sweet water crossing. I've always regretted the choice I made to stay behind, that is why it was really important for me to go on this trek. I am so grateful I was able to get a second chance.
          Well there was a purpose for telling you all of that, I am setting up my story (which is true). On the first day we walked 6 miles to our camp and when we saw our camp we thought we would finish the day with a last hurrah, so we did a very dumb thing and we started running with our Handcart (not good), well there was a gate we had to go through to reach camp, as we got close I could tell we were going to ram into the gate so I tried to pull back on the handcart handle so we could stop (So the set up was Me and an other girl were in the middle, inside of the bars, and the two boys were pulling on the bars outside of it, here's a picture of what I'm trying to tell you, so the two in the middle would be me and the other girl then the two on the outside would be the two boys) 

Well the boys let go of the handcart because they were going to run into barbwire, and I tried to pull back to stop, well... needless to say we hit the gate post, the bar handle jammed into my stomach from trying to stop it by pulling it, well I pulled it right into my stomach, from hitting the post the whole handle from the handcart snapped right of, so from the speed we had, to the abrupt stop and from me hitting into the handle I found my self on the ground and everything which was in the handcart which consisted of 5 five gallon buckets and our 5 gallon water jug, falling on top of me. AAAHHHH, right? We were the second one to enter camp and so there were five handcarts behind us and they all saw our accident, how embarrassing.  At first I just sat on the ground, shocked. I couldn't believe what just happened, "did we really just run with a handcart and run into the post and brake the handcart" that is what was going through my head, then I realized I was the only one on the ground and everyone was looking at me and asking if I was ok, the YM's president told everyone to give me some room and he helped me up, his wife grabbed my waist to balance me and helped me walk a little ways to get some air. She asked me if I could walk and she asked how my stomach was, I then realized the pain I felt in my stomach from where the handle bar hit me and I noticed I couldn't breath very easy, I then started to cry a little bit. I found that I could walk a little, I then saw my brother come to my rescue, he grabbed my arm and pulled it through his and let me lean on him as we walked into camp. There wasn't a better way I could have entered camp than to walk with my brother by my side.

He escorted me to a bench so I could sit and catch my breath and collect my thoughts, he then left to help his trek family get safely into camp, what good Young Man he is:) As I sat on the bench going over everything that just happened, some of the Young Women came over to see how I was and the nurse came and gave me some Ibuprofen to help with the pain, they were all so good to me. The next morning I was a little bit sore but I knew I would be ok if I just had faith. After breakfast I asked some one in the bishopric who happened to be my Trek Dad, if I could get a priesthood Blessing. He went and got the Bishop and the other counselor in the bishopric, and then we (The Bishop his two counselors and my trek mom and me) went into a tent which was empty and they gave me a Priesthood blessing, it was a very special experience getting a Priesthood Blessing on Trek, I was grateful that we ran into that post so I could have that experience, I know that sounds weird... oh well. As I went through the second day they wouldn't let me pull the handcart for most of the day, I felt so bad not helping, I did not like that feeling, so when the day was half way over they let me push behind the cart:) Yea!!!! The second day was the longest day we walked 16 miles at about 1:00 pm we were at Martins cove like the actual cove, it was a very spiritual being in the cove. When we got out of the cove we were going to head back to camp, and there was a girl who was going to go back to camp with the cooks on a ranger thing, my trek mom asked me if I wanted to go back with them so I didn't have to walk all that way, sounds familiar? Yeah I've heard that before, and I did not want to make that choice again, so I told her I was fine and I wanted to finish with everyone. I then realized why we had that accident and why I was the one that fell on the ground injured, I think that Satan was trying his hardest to keep me from finishing the trek, and I was not about to let him win!!!! It was a good day, on our way back to camp we did the Womens Pull, wow what an experience!!! It was an experience I wouldn't give up. I think the part about the womens pull that affected me the most was when we had to say good bye to the Young Men which consisted of my Dear Brother Chris, I started crying as he turned and walked up that steep hill, my thoughts went to those pioneer women who had to say good bye to their brothers, Fathers, and Husbands, who would be gone for months and even years, as I thought of this I started to cry harder. I will always look back on that experience to help me get through hard things.

The thierd day we walked six miles. We returned to the visitors center to return our Handcarts. On our way to the visitors we stopped at Sweet water and did the river crossing, that was a real neat experience. There were some missionaries there and told us some stories about the sweet water crossing, and then we all went over to a place where we could cross the water, I got a little nervous because I am so tall and heavy and I didn't want any of the YM to carry me across but the missionaries just told us that it is really important to have that experience being carried or to carry across the water. While I stood there trying to decide what to do my wonderful brother came over to me and asked me if he could carry me across, I was so grateful to him. So we were the second ones to go across, it was a very spiritual experience, and I am so grateful I didn't give in and not do the water crossing.

That was my trek experiences, and I wouldn't give them up for anything:) I am so grateful I was able to go on trek and I was able to finish the journey!!! 

(I hope everything made sense)

Here are some pictures, I don't have a whole lot but I will get some more soon:)

                                                 Me on the bench after the accident:)

                       My cousin Hannah and I, and in the back you can see the wooden post we hit

                                                                  Us Being Silly

My cousin Hannah Me and the Allie (the girl who was in the accident with me, she was in my Family she was my trek daughter:)

        This is my personal Fav. Chris and our Cousin Austin sitting by Sweet water river

                                        Hannah and Allie climbing down Independance Rock

       Hannah Me Allie, and Emi (who I have grown close to, she was my YCL partner for girls camp)

                                                   Our last night, it was a beautiful sunset

      As you can see I got a bad sunburn and I even put sunscrean on every day!!! And there were girls that didn't put sunscrean on at all and they didn't even get red, ahahaha.

                        Chris me and Hannah, in the car excited to go home and take a shower:)

Thats it for now, but more are to come, I am hoping to get some pictures, of the Sweet Water Crossing and the womens pull:) I love you all!!! Thanks for reading my blog!!!!!!!!