Testimonies from Trek

The YM and YW went on trek last week, so a lot of youth bore their testimonies today about the experience. There were a few memorable thoughts: 

One idea was emphasized by several of the young men:

There was a point during trek where the girls had to pull the handcarts up a steep hill and the boys had to watch from the top, and not lend assistance in any way physically or verbally.

The lesson taught to the boys immediately prior to watching this happen was: As a man, never let your wife pull your handcart alone.  The boys found it extremely difficult to watch the women struggle to make the top of the rise alone.  They vowed to always be there to help in the future. The girls in turn commented that they had learned the importance and value of the priesthood in their lives during the trek experience.

My Laurel President, Kylee's, lesson came due to some added physical aches and pains that she experienced above and beyond what she had expected.  She was taught by the spirit that because of her suffering, she learned more than the others about the pioneer experience.  "You learned more than the others", was the answer to her questioning the Lord why she had so suffered when she felt she had prepared prior to trek for the physical rigors of the experience.

She also said that she kept thinking, "How did they do this? How did they do this? and that she had the idea that the pioneers are also watching us in our day and as they see the things that confront us in our lives, that they are in turn thinking "How do they do this?  How do they do this?"  That the appreciation and admiration goes both ways.

The last poignant point that I recall being made was that there were people at the front of the handcart pulling, and people in the back pushing, and that the people in the front could immediately tell when someone from the rear stopped pushing.  The point being that every person lifted the load somewhat, and that every person's effort was felt and was important to make the labor lighter for all.

Pretty significant lessons, I think.