Every four years our church youth has the amazing opportunity to attend reenact the "Pioneer Trek" into the Salt Lake Valley. It is for youth ages 14-18 as well as "Ma's and Pa's" from each ward. Each stake does things a little differently, our stake chose to provide amazing meals throughout the trek. (I've heard many stakes use the "hard tak" and dried fruit, etc trying to make it as authentic as possible.) Out Stake also chose real families from their genealogy that actually made the trek to portray. (Michael lost more than 1/2 of his family, including his Ma and Pa...)
Hearing about it made for a very emotional experience. The youth that explained it to me were also very emotional telling me about the actors along the trail. (Young children without parents or only one parent stood beside makeshift graves, weeping over them, etc)
I borrowed the following pictures from friends who were "Ma's and Pa's" on the trek.
I picked up Michael from the church, he and his friends were both exhausted and spiritually uplifted.
What an amazing experience they must have had! It was both a grueling but very powerful experience they will never forget.
