Youth Pioner Trek

This summer our oldest, Rachel, went to Wyoming and pulled and pushed a handcart 26+ miles in a dress. I know, you are probably thinking, what in the world? Every 4 years the youth ages 14-18 can participate in a reenactment of Mormon pioneers crossing the plains. They spend months physically and spiritually preparing for this "Trek."

There is a movie we love to watch called 17 Miracles. It tells the story of some of the pioneers that crossed the plains in search of religious freedom. As the title indicates it shows at least 17 of the miracles these people faced along with the tragedies. Here is a link to the movie trailer, http://www.17miracles.com/ We have a copy we can lend out if you are interested or you are welcome to come to our home and watch it with us. We feel so blessed to live in a country that allows freedom of religion.

Rachel said: "It was certainly a once in a lifetime experience. I came home exhausted, filthy, and burnt to a crisp. But I absolutely loved it. I made so many new friends and strengthened other friendships. I felt the hardships and sufferings of those pioneers who came before me, trudging through an almost unbearable journey, just so I could be here.These people gave up everything for the gospel, and some gave the ultimate price of their lives. It definitely made me realize what's really important in life."

Neighborhood food drive.

We had a neighborhood food drive. Our hope was to collect food and other needs items for the community food bank. So many people are suffering from the floods in Colorado. We just felt so blessed to live in a neighborhood that did not suffer any damage from the floods and wanted to do something to help. We were so impressed with the response from those in our neighborhood. They were so kind and generous; we were able to collect 240 pounds of food and other items. We loved being able to meet most of our neighbors and love living in our neighborhood.