COMPANY PULL!!!!!
The sound of the Trail Boss' voice still resonates in my head and in my heart. Little did everyone know that this 500 lbs. plus cart would signify so much more in our lives than we ever imagined. As we pulled out of the big field where everyone congregrated early that morning the events of the previews days came flodding in to my head.
It was several weeks back that our ward was invited to attend a Trek meeting for the youth and their parents to "find out" what Trek was all about. After a short video and presentation we were told that a few parents from all over the stake would be called as a Ma and Pa and each couple would receive a number of teens to be in their families. I remember a deep overwhelming desire come over me to be one of the Mas on this Trek. Followed by the fearful question, "will I be able to walk that much?" "am I even in shape to walk all the much? or take care of 12-14 teens all at once?" "will Matt be willing to go along with this?" Then I thought to my self, "I better keep this desire to myself, I don't want to bring too much attention to myself or ruin this moment in case we don't get asked, or do get asked, what if it's too hard? I'll just say a little prayer in my heart and leave it at that."
Several weeks passed, I had forgotten about my special little moment in the RS room when the phone rang and brother Bailey was calling from the Stake extending a calling to me and my husband to be a Ma and Pa for the upcoming Pioneer Trek. I nearly dropped the phone, all the feelings came flodding back in to my heart of that very afternoon in the RS room. I don't think he had finished asking me the question before I gave him an absolute YES! I then told him however, that I'd like for him to extend the calling to Matt himself. I wanted him to give him all the details out of fear that I might ruin it for him and freak him out and he might not be as excited as me! I believe at some point Bailey called Matt and spoke to him over the phone, but it wasn't until we were at a wedding in the temple that Bro. Bailey once again approached Matt to get a final answer. This time inside the temple....yeah, no way he would say no. Our conversation was simply that he was "cornered" in the temple and didn't have the heart to say no! hahaha...I was thrilled!
The clothing, shoes, mental and physical preparation began and continued well in to a week or two before trek. Angie and I hit the gym every day a few weeks leading up to the big day. Ma's and Pa's would attend several trainings with the Stake and the other Ma's and Pa's to go over expectations and duties. All seemed a bit overwhelming but we felt that we'd have the Lord's help along the way and with our Stake leaders we could not fail. I remember several people saying to each other (including us), "what have you gotten us in to?" in a joking manner. I think I felt that way many times through out the trainings, especially when they announced that no showers would be taken AND that no food would be given out the first day, only water and that the only meal of that day would be broth and a roll after walking all day about 10-12 miles while pushing a 500lbs. cart. I remember eyes rolling to the back of people's heads at the first Ma/Pa meeting after those statements, it was quite a site. I simply chose to ignore that fact and kept listening to the meeting. I think MY eyes rolled back when Melody explained that a "makeup removal" station would be set up for when kids arrived to have their makeup removed. I said, "a what?" I was now the one saying to myself, "what the heck did I get myself in to?" Nevertheless, we pushed forward, I was hoping in my head that the kids and others around would not notice my skin and lack of makeup, that they would be so incredibly tired to even care. What ever, those were my fears, others worried about the walking or eating...not me!
The sound of the Trail Boss' voice still resonates in my head and in my heart. Little did everyone know that this 500 lbs. plus cart would signify so much more in our lives than we ever imagined. As we pulled out of the big field where everyone congregrated early that morning the events of the previews days came flodding in to my head.
It was several weeks back that our ward was invited to attend a Trek meeting for the youth and their parents to "find out" what Trek was all about. After a short video and presentation we were told that a few parents from all over the stake would be called as a Ma and Pa and each couple would receive a number of teens to be in their families. I remember a deep overwhelming desire come over me to be one of the Mas on this Trek. Followed by the fearful question, "will I be able to walk that much?" "am I even in shape to walk all the much? or take care of 12-14 teens all at once?" "will Matt be willing to go along with this?" Then I thought to my self, "I better keep this desire to myself, I don't want to bring too much attention to myself or ruin this moment in case we don't get asked, or do get asked, what if it's too hard? I'll just say a little prayer in my heart and leave it at that."
Several weeks passed, I had forgotten about my special little moment in the RS room when the phone rang and brother Bailey was calling from the Stake extending a calling to me and my husband to be a Ma and Pa for the upcoming Pioneer Trek. I nearly dropped the phone, all the feelings came flodding back in to my heart of that very afternoon in the RS room. I don't think he had finished asking me the question before I gave him an absolute YES! I then told him however, that I'd like for him to extend the calling to Matt himself. I wanted him to give him all the details out of fear that I might ruin it for him and freak him out and he might not be as excited as me! I believe at some point Bailey called Matt and spoke to him over the phone, but it wasn't until we were at a wedding in the temple that Bro. Bailey once again approached Matt to get a final answer. This time inside the temple....yeah, no way he would say no. Our conversation was simply that he was "cornered" in the temple and didn't have the heart to say no! hahaha...I was thrilled!
The clothing, shoes, mental and physical preparation began and continued well in to a week or two before trek. Angie and I hit the gym every day a few weeks leading up to the big day. Ma's and Pa's would attend several trainings with the Stake and the other Ma's and Pa's to go over expectations and duties. All seemed a bit overwhelming but we felt that we'd have the Lord's help along the way and with our Stake leaders we could not fail. I remember several people saying to each other (including us), "what have you gotten us in to?" in a joking manner. I think I felt that way many times through out the trainings, especially when they announced that no showers would be taken AND that no food would be given out the first day, only water and that the only meal of that day would be broth and a roll after walking all day about 10-12 miles while pushing a 500lbs. cart. I remember eyes rolling to the back of people's heads at the first Ma/Pa meeting after those statements, it was quite a site. I simply chose to ignore that fact and kept listening to the meeting. I think MY eyes rolled back when Melody explained that a "makeup removal" station would be set up for when kids arrived to have their makeup removed. I said, "a what?" I was now the one saying to myself, "what the heck did I get myself in to?" Nevertheless, we pushed forward, I was hoping in my head that the kids and others around would not notice my skin and lack of makeup, that they would be so incredibly tired to even care. What ever, those were my fears, others worried about the walking or eating...not me!
Everything came full circle that very morning of Wednesday July 22nd 2009 when we'd meet up with the rest of the Ma's and Pa's and now the kids would be there along with their gear and personalities. Putting on the clothing that morning was an event in and of itself because after many trips to the thrift store to find the right dress, hat, suspenders, all the sewing to make adjustments, everything had now finally come together.
We were a bit embarrassed to say the least to leave our house that morning (luckily we were leaving at 5:45am with not many neighbors awake)to meet up with Melody and Jill and do the drive together. What a relief it was to see them both fully dressed in their little matching dresses and bonetts,that made me feel more at ease. I remember feeling more worried about the fact that I was not going to be able to wear makeup than the amount of walking we'd be doing that day, the lack of food or rest. However, since I'm trying to accept the journey I am going to ignore the fact that I look terrible in this picture for the sake of the story.With a hearty breakfast in our belly's (made by Angie) and our bonetts and hats on we set off to that remote location in Pennsylvania to find out what this entire journey was about. Everyone arrived in full dress, the leaders, authoritarian-like, guiding everyone as to where we should go and what we should do. Matt and I were given our assignments, which was to direct kids from the "shake-down" area to the loading area. Yes, a "shake-down" area where all sorts of goodies were confiscated. Ipods, candy, toothpaste, mouthwash, wallets, makeup bags etc, you name it they kept it! Once everyone was assembled in the big field the big boss man called everyone to order and introduced all the Ma's and Pa's. We introduced ourselves with a song. A SONG! Matt and I are kind of shy people, we had to sing a song in front of all these kids. This is how it went.
(To the We will, we will Rock you song)
(Clap, clap, knee, clap, clap knee, etc.)
Baby we are fun,
Baby we are young,
We're the family you want,
Davis is our name!
~~~~~~
Cuz we will, we will walk you (clap clap clap)
We will, we will Rock you! (clap clap clap)
Yeah, okay, so it wasn't a full song, but it was our song. The other Ma's and Pa's were so incredibly creative it was so cute to watch. Once our intros were done we were given a set of colored bandanas, making it easier for our families to be found. Then our children were disbursed to each family. We had an amazing family, two of whose faces I had seen in my mind, one I knew well, the other I didn't know but knew I wanted him to be part of our family, for what reason I don't know. I was so happy to see my unspoken wish come true. Amazing what the Lord does for you when you want something. I knew I wanted two of these fine souls in our family and He granted me my wish. Our kids were all lovely young men and women. I "delivered" 6 boys and 6 girls, I'm so strong! hahaha. We had Joseph, Joe, Zack, Kenney, Whitney, Kevin, Suzanne, Ashley, Adrianna, Sam, Nicole and Emma. I will discuss "our" family more in detail later.
After introductions and putting our family cheer together and picking a family name we'd be known for (they chose to be known as the "Davis Family" other families had the "rubber duckies family"go figure@) each family would then assemble their cart following very specific directions. Once the carts were assembled the most important of all the instructions would be that we were NOT ALLOWED under ANY circumstances to let the cart move BACKWARDS. This should NEVER happen or the wheels would come off the cart. That's not something you want to do while you have a fully loaded cart. The carts were loaded after being assembled and each family was directed to take a 1/2 cup drink of some green-gatorade-drink-like drink and take a picture and be ready to go.
The Trail Boss was introduced earlier, he was strong, had authority, wore a hat and held a walking stick, with a powerful voice he yelled, "company pull!" and off we went.
The sound of my feet on the pavement along with my breathing filled my ears as it brought me back to where I was just a few minutes before having taken that small mental detour to where our journey began. I looked around and we were all walking fast and the words of Mike Wheeler (our historical narrator) now took center stage again helping me drift away to the sound of his voice where he said this would be a journey. "We can make it what we want, it can be a walking journey, or a life changing journey. The pioneers were taken to a journey where many lost their lives, where they fought for what they believed in and stood firmly on their belief; strong enough to walk the plains to save their faith. This journey we were embarking on was yes, a voluntary journey, yet a journey non-the-less, to perhaps have more appreciation for our pioneer ancestors or to perhaps have the experience for ourselves." "We were blessed" he said, "to live in an era where things were different, however, our testimony's would still have to be gained the same way with our very own personal experiences and with our very own personal journeys."
The pavement now louder and my breathing getting heavier as the kids felt strong and eager to leave took those carts with lots of energy, they seemed to almost be running. I woke myself right up from my day-dream-state to the loud sounding voice of....
STOP......PUDDLE....DITCH...WATCH THAT WHEEL!!!
