Snow Hike with the Youth

Armando took the youth in our ward hiking to Donut Falls last weekend and they had a blast. This is a video that the president of the Young Women sent to me. Armando is working hard to teach the young men to be responsible and, of course, he is always finding a way to have fun with them too!

I Don't Want to Forget: There are Angels Among Us

Our group of less than 200 was the first of the 6,000 permitted to traverse Rocky Ridge in the summer of 2015. 

*This is the third of a series of posts about things I never want to forget from my days on the trail, Summer 2015. 

Our final day included climbing over Rocky Ridge, a portion of the trail over several miles that has jagged pieces of rock protruding from it. In the conditions we were in, it was noticeably harder than the normal trail, but nothing compared to the stories told of the pioneers in the Willie Company who crossed this portion of the trail on their death beds, starving and freezing in two feet of snow and a howling wind that brought temperatures well below zero. They had nothing to protect them and little strength.

When we got to the monument at Rocky Ridge, we waited at the top of the hill and watched as our friend (President Charles DeGraffenried), the great, great, great grandson of Jens Nielson reenacted the story of his ancestors' struggle over this portion of the trail. The story goes that Jens was a wealthy and strong 6' 2" Danish farmer who converted to the gospel in Denmark and sold all he had and gave everything to the church except for enough to get a handcart and 15 pounds of provisions for each member of his family to make it to Zion. By the time he got to Rocky Ridge with the Willie Handcart Company, he was starving. He had given much of his little daily provision to his family members to keep them alive. He was very frozen and could walk no more. He begged his 4'11" wife Elsie to leave him in the snow to die and to go on and try to save her own life. She responded that she could not leave him and commanded him to get in the cart and she would pull him. And that she did. The reenactment in terms of height and strength was very close as President DeGraffenried's is a tall and strong man and his wife is short and petite. As we sat and watched as a small Sister DeGraffenried tried to pull her tall husband in the cart up a steep hill in such rocky terrain, I could only imagine the struggle the original pioneers must have had. And then suddenly 3 young girls began walking down the trail to meet up with the cart and silently joined to help push the cart over the ridge. A voice of one of the leaders spoke out at this point and described that in some histories, the pioneers tell of unseen help pushing the carts along when they felt they couldn't any longer. Some say perhaps they were the spirits of unborn children helping their parents along the way.

After the reenactment, strong testimonies were born by those who participated. I remember particularly Sister DeGraffenried testifying of the help of angels in our lives when we are going through tough times. She said, "...We glorify these pioneers, as well should we, but you guys are going through some hard trials...and I want you to know he will bless you just as much as he blessed Jens and Elsie [Nielson]. He will send angels to your aid when you need it as you are trying to do the things the Lord wants you to do."

I have felt these angels when the trail has gotten rocky in my life. Some of them have been friends here on earth that have lightened my load. And I know that unseen angels have also been present to help me when I most needed it. I am grateful to know that we are not alone in this journey of life and that Heavenly Father sends angels to help us along our way. I believe to that there are "Angels Among Us sent from somewhere up above." And I cry every time I hear this song.

Angels Among Us 

Alabama

I was walkin' home from school
On a cold winter day,
Took a short cut through the woods
And I lost my way.
It was gettin' late, and I was scared and alone.
But then a kind old man took my hand, and led me home.
Mama couldn't see him,
But he was standing there,
And I knew in my heart
He was the answer to my prayer.

Oh, I believe there are Angels Among Us,
Sent down to us from somewhere up above.
They come to you and me in our darkest hours
To show us how to live
To teach us how to give
To guide us with a light of love.

When life held troubled times
And had me down on my knees
There's always been someone
To come along and comfort me
A kind word from a stranger
To lend a helping hand
A phone call from a friend
Just to say I understand
Now ain't it kind of funny
At the dark end of the road
Someone lights the way with just a single ray of hope.

Oh, I believe there are Angels Among Us,
Sent down to us from somewhere up above.
They come to you and me in our darkest hours
To show us how to live
To teach us how to give
To guide us with a light of love.

They wear so many faces,
Show up in the strangest places
And grace us with their mercy in our time of need.

Oh, I believe there are Angels Among Us,
Sent down to us from somewhere up above.
They come to you and me in our darkest hours
To show us how to live
To teach us how to give
To guide us with a light of love.

To guide us with a light of love.

I Don't Want to Forget: I Can Do Hard Things

Long before the horizon was painted pink by the rising sun, our flashlight lit what the full moon could not. It was time to begin our final day . .  at 3:30 a.m.

*This is the second of a series of posts about things I never want to forget from my days on the trail, Summer 2015. 

The title may be a little deceiving. Let me expound. I can do hard things. But not without God's help. Even before I went on this trek, I knew that I could do hard things, but I was reminded again just as it says in Matthew 19:26 "...with God all things are possible."

The first two days of our trek had consisted of a couple of 6 mile hikes. We did a lot of stopping and learning and talking along the way and even crossed a little river in the rain, but each day ended somewhat early with games, dancing, and a warm cup of Ramen or hot chocolate. Ramen? Yes. It was Armando's idea and surprisingly, the majority of the kids in our "family" chose that over hot cocoa. And I digressed. Ramen has nothing to do with hard things. In short, our first couple of days were comparatively easy. 

At the end of the second day, we were informed by the trek leaders that we would need to have the youth up and taking down camp by 4:30 a.m. in order to load the buses and be transported to our starting point an hour away. The day that awaited us was going to be a long one and if we didn't start early, we wouldn't make it before sunset. That meant that Armando and I would need to get up by about 3:30 a.m. in order to be ready ourselves to help the youth get moving. 

If any of you know me, you know that getting up before 6 a.m. is not my favorite thing to do. So 3:30 a.m. was really stretching it.We had a little motivational fireside chat with our family (as most sipped their Ramen) and off to bed we went. But not before praying. And we prayed hard. 

When the 3:30 a.m. alarm sounded I was wide awake and had this energy that just surged through my body. It wasn't a physical energy as much as an emotional energy that I was so ready to just conquer this day. I just felt like singing from the rooftops. And I knew that this was a small miracle that God had worked in me for the benefit of His children that He loves. "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." (Ether 12:27)

And it turns out I would need every last drop of that energy for what we would face that day. It all began when our bus driver took a wrong turn and we began our trekking two hours later than planned. 

I Don't Want to Forget: The Background Story

*This is a first of a series of posts about things I never want to forget from my days on the trail, Summer 2015. 

"During 1856, five handcart companies of nearly 1,900 people traveled from Iowa City, Iowa to Salt Lake City, Utah. The first three companies arrived safely with limited problems. Less than 27 of the 816 members of those companies died during the journey of over 1,300 miles." (1)

However, the final two companies didn't have such a fortunate journey. They got a late start and had lots of troubles with handcarts that were made with wood that was too green. They were traveling too slow and their leaders realized that the original rations would not get them to their destination. Since it was still warm and they had not experienced any real signs of winter, at the final crossing of the Platte River in Wyoming, their captain decided to have them reduce their 17 pounds of personal belongings down to 10 pounds. Of course, any heavy clothing and heavy blankets were the first things to go. And they were ordered to burn what was left behind so that no one would be tempted to return and savage through the items and sneak them onto their carts. Within a few short days they were facing a terrible winter storm with little to protect them from the elements. And that was only the beginning of their struggles. 

Many stories of their suffering and hardship have been recorded. Since I was raised near where they crossed in Wyoming, I grew up hearing the stories of these pioneers. As a youth, I got to participate in a Handcart Trek along the same trail. Unfortunately, I was not prepared enough at that time to really come away with profound lessons that perhaps I could have. But, in June 2015, Armando and I had the opportunity to travel the miles where these pioneers suffered the most. We were asked to be "Ma and Pa" for a group of 10 youth from our neighborhood who would make this trek through difficult terrain. We walked where they walked and learned of their stories of courage and faith. And from that experience there are some lessons learned that I never want to forget. I'm finally writing them down mixed with a few photos from the trip that I hold close to my heart. 

Rays of sunlight bath the face of the Rattle Snake Range just around the bend from Martin's Cove, Wyoming. It is here where the pioneers sought refuge from the horrific conditions they faced in the early winter of 1856. 

1. (Remember The Willie and Martin Handcart Companies and their rescuers - past and present, Riverton, Wyoming Stake,

The Whole Planet & The Temple

When we returned from Honduras, Marcela had the assignment from her teacher to write a book about what she did while she was there. So, being the visual person that I am, I gave her a folder of pictures to choose from, we printed the ones she wanted to share and she wrote captions for the photos to tell the story of her trip to Honduras. One of these days I'm going to scan it because it's the most precious thing I've ever read. Hilarious and heartwarming all at the same time. The picture below was one of the last she included. It's a view from a hill on one extreme of the city where the LDS Temple is being built right now. Her caption read: I saw the whole planet!
As always, the temple is absolutely gorgeous.

I look forward to the day when we go to visit and we can attend the temple while we're there.

A Play on Words

*Just a disclaimer - This is a little comical skit that Armando wrote up for our Church Christmas Party from The Book of Mormon. It was written and presented in Spanish as the play on words is in Spanish.

This is just my summary. Lehi tells Nephi he has had a dream and that Nephi and his brothers must return to Jerusalem for the plates of brass (called planchas in Spanish). That word is important. You'll see why later.
After an unsuccesful attempt at obtaining the planchas in Jerusalem, Nephi's rebellious older brothers are angry with him . . .

and they resort to beating him . . .

An angel appears and tells Laman and Lemuel to stop.

In the meantime, Sariah, the boys' mother complains to her husband that he is crazy and should have never sent her boys away - they are lost forever and it is his fault!

Meanwhile Nephi has success in Jerusalem. Laban (the evil man that had the plates) is drunk and Nephi is able to get the plates from him.

Nephi is a hero . . . he returns with the goods . . .

"Las Planchas" - the joke is "planchas" in Spanish is the word they use for the golden plates but also means "iron" as in the tool you use to iron your clothing. So the irony of it all is that after all of the trouble Nephi went through in being valiant and obtaining the sacred and cherished "planchas" he doesn't come back with the golden plates, but two irons.