Trek Registration

Registration is closed for this event. If you need to register and missed the deadline please contact your Stake Young Mens' or Woung Womens' President.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B8Hx1UIAc_KLeGtGUmpwaHFaMGc/edit?usp=sharing
We are still lacking Trek registrations for some of our adult participants. The medical staff has requested registrations from all adults who participate in any way (Stake YM/YW leaders, medical staff, Ma's and Pa's, Company Commanders). If you have not yet completed a form, please do so as soon as possible. The list below shows all adults for whom we have Trek registration forms (short of the approximately 96 forms we should have).

To complete a form:

1. Save the attached form to your computer desktop.

2. Open the form. The password is Trek0713.

3. Complete all form fields using a pdf reader (the free Adobe Reader, available at http://get.adobe.com/reader/, is a good choice)

4. Participating individuals sign the form by typing in their name and the date. 

5. If the participant is under 18, the parent/guardian must also type in his/her name and the date.

6. Attach the completed form and, if you have one, an electronic photo of the registering participant to an e-mail and send it to pioneertrek2013@gmail.com

Youth that want to go and have not registered may still do so but please do it very soon. We need to know how many people to plan for.

Trek Prep Devotional - Kristina Sutherland

I tried to think of something fantastic to say- but there's nothing coming. 

I want to keep it simple: I think it's important to remember that we're doing this for the children (young men and women), and that as husband and wife couples we owe them organization, preparedness, safety awareness, and most especially the Spirit. We will easily benefit because we wish to serve them, and in turn God. That alone brings God to be bound to bless us. I don't think most of us are too focused on personal blessings- but we can share lessons learned with our children when we get together in July. 

Telling them stories, and sharing experiences in simple basic fashions allow them to think, process, and work out principles and ideas in their own minds. 

I thank God for this opportunity- and feel that based on all of our devotional sharing we can bring a great love and vigor to Trek 2013. 

My husband and I do have pioneer stories I could share- but right now I cannot think straight because I've been teaching young children all day. My students have complicated to severe disabilities and constrains  so life is hard for them, and as a result I am tired because I'm trying to do what I can. Sweet is the work (isn't that the saying?)  :) 

I know this- God has given us this wonderful opportunity to be a part of his restored church, and for that we can sing and shout and thank our Lord in Heaven. Much like the pioneers we are thinking so much of at this time- we can gather each night, after a long day of trekking, and dance, sing, and praise God. 

Brothers and Sisters- I have been feeling that way lately. While I might not look like much, I have become what I am because of God. His grace is enough for me- and so I can sing and shout and praise His name. 

I am a modern pioneer. I have had to "burry my loved ones in the ice" and leave them behind. My husband and I have fought to be a part of this gospel. My husband especially sacrificed all to be with God- his family, all of his belongings, money, and health. He has received such rejection that he had no place to lay his head. I can honestly state that my husband has put his life up for the taking many times for God's gospel-and he would do it again...all for God. Whether it was in Colorado, Peru, or Bellingham. Like other pioneers who ran from town to town, and city to city, my husband has been persecuted, beaten, spat upon, and threatened with his life. It's frightening to be aware of the intense hatred and evil that fills some souls on this earth. 

Ultimately- We are all pioneers on our Trek back to God. It doesn't matter what our Trek looks like- we just need to keep the destination in mind and in our sights. 

I was lucky to be born into a family where my mother and father also fought like my husband -to be members of the church. They had to run, turn, or escape from the Evils of this earth. I thank God they are alive- and lived to have me and bring me into the world the way they did. We fought as a family to be members of God's true gospel- and I have relished every bit- I can honestly say after everything. Like the pioneers, we have been too aware of the Evils that can roam this earth. I know we are not alone in those experiences. 

I think God wants us to think about our Trek and realize that after everything- evil, lovely, heavenly, and treacherous-  we can and must rise above, pick up our cart, and keep walking. I thank God for the ways He has kept my feet going when I could no longer desire to walk. 

I think the reason why Trek is so powerful is that it physically puts us back into a time and place- and we can remember, think, and ponder about what it teaches us- how it can change us through God's grace. 

I feel a deep and peaceful love for all of you, and I anticipate a life-changing experience with the kiddos this July. 

Take care, and may God bless you continually with joy and peace. 

Best Regards, 

Kristina Sutherland 

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1997/04/pioneers-all?lang=eng

Trek Prep Devotional - Richard & Leslie Pollock

One of my favorite pioneer stories.  The Lord really does answer our prayers...............and you never really know what to expect, but it will always be exactly what you need!  You will have to copy and paste the link.

http://www.thepuravida.com/magazine/PuraVida_Vol8_no1.pdf

Richard and Leslie Pollock

Trek Prep Devotional - James & Emily Campbell

As I sit here in the aftermath of the bridge on I-5 collapsing, I stop and think about the challenges that come into our lives. I ask myself, what can be learned from the trials we must pass through? How can we help those in need?

I was reading a talk by David A. Bednar given during the October 2009 General Conference titled "More Diligent and Concerned at Home" where he said "...what we know is not always reflected in what we do." 

My family grew up in southern Idaho in the aftermath of the Teton Dam breaking and flooding the towns of Rexburg, Idaho Falls, and other communities along the Snake River. The biggest message they shared with me was that they learned the true value of service.

Sometimes I catch myself thinking about me and my problems when I know the solution and peace will be found looking outside myself and helping others. I know this, but it seems that it is just as Elder Bednar said, what I know is not always reflected in what I do. 
 
This opportunity to go to trek gives us another way to change our habits to be more in line with what Christ expects of us. We will be given opportunities to look beyond our needs and help others. As we take advantage of these opportunities, we will be blessed, and we will be the means of bringing additional blessings to others.
 
James and Emily Campbell

Trek Prep Devotional - Bishop Keyes

“Unto the Rising Generation” by Elder Neil A. Maxwell- Ensign Apr. 1985

We have long heard, and believed, that the Lord has reserved special spirits to come forth in the last days of the last dispensation. The Church’s rising generation of young men and women are a part of that vanguard. Reserved by the Lord for this time, they must now be preserved by parents and prepared for their special moment in human history! They have been held back to come forth at this time, but now they need to be pushed forward to meet their rendezvous.

Youth are not unlike prospective converts. There are those critical moments when their souls begin to tilt—toward the Lord or away from Him. These moments of decision cannot always be created, but when they occur, they must not be wasted. More often than not, these moments will occur in quiet and reverent conversation with parents, grandparents, a bishop, an adult leader, or a righteous peer.

Real shepherds will sense that a moment of significance is at hand because real shepherds care for, feed, and watch over the flock constantly:

“And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord.” (Jer. 23:4.)

In fact, did not Jesus counsel Peter to feed His “lambs” as well as his “sheep”? (John 21:15–16.)

There is no human condition in which the unconditional love of a true shepherd is wasted.

Besides, life is not lineal, it is experiential. Clocks and calendars are merely a convenience. We must do more both to create and use such soul-shaping experiences in the lives of our youth.

Thus, as you deploy your precious manpower and woman power, please remember this special generation of destiny! We plead that in the allocation of your precious time and talent, you be generous with the rising generation. We plead for youth and leaders who are portable preachments and walking sermons!

Trek Prep Devotional - Heidi & Jeremy Buker

As Jeremy and I  pondered what kind of devotional to write, I kept thinking about my many pioneer ancestors.  I called my maternal grandfather and asked him to tell me about family that crossed the plains.  He told me about his great grandfather (my great great great grandfather) Benjamin Bennett.

His family is from Conis Key Wales.  His wife's father John Jones had had a vision of men that came from a foreign country.  They would preach on the streets and when John and his family heard them, he would know it was the true gospel of Jesus Christ being taught.  He told is daughter Catherine and her husband Benjamin about his dream/vision.

One day, Benjamin was walking home and saw two men preaching in the street.  They talked about something called the Book of Mormon.  Benjamin came home and told his father in law.  John and Benjamin went back to hear the men teach.  John knew these were the men he had seen in his vision.

The men were Brigham Young and Heber C Kimball.  My great grandfather, his wife and her father were all baptized.  As soon as they could scrape up enough money, Benjamin and Catherine and their youngest daughter Elizabeth, got on a ship in Liverpool and moved to New York. By this time, John had passed away and the main body of the saints had already left for Utah.

They followed along the pioneer trail.  My great great great grandmother, Catherine, died along the way in Wyoming.  She was buried there.  Benjamin and his daughter Elizabeth continued on and settled down in Utah with the main body of the saints.

I love this story.  So many people were being prepared by the spirit to receive the restoration of the gospel at that time.  My own ancestor John Jones was among one of those who was in tune enough to be open to the promptings of the spirit and happy to accept the truth.  I'm always impressed by those who were willing to give up all to do God's will.  We have this opportunity as a Ma and Pa couple to share spiritual experiences and hopefully inspire our "children".  It is my hope that this TREK will be remembered as a milestone in the lives of not only the youth, but to everyone involved.
 
-Heidi and Jeremy Buker 

Trek Prep Devotional - Murray & Sandra Taylor

Here are some quotes from Elder Neil L. Anderson's October's conference talk that help me as I face trials.

By definition, trials will be trying. There may be anguish, confusion, sleepless nights, and pillows wet with tears. But our trials need not be spiritually fatal. They need not take us from our covenants or from the household of God.

"Remember, … it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."Helaman 5:12

How do you remain "steadfast and immovable" during a trial of faith? You immerse yourself in the very things that helped build your core of faith: you exercise faith in Christ, you pray, you ponder the scriptures, you repent, you keep the commandments, and you serve others.

When faced with a trial of faith—whatever you do, you don’t step away from the Church! Distancing yourself from the kingdom of God during a trial of faith is like leaving the safety of a secure storm cellar just as the tornado comes into view.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson explained what he learned from a personal trial: "Though I suffered then, as I look back now, I am grateful that there was not a quick solution to my problem. The fact that I was forced to turn to God for help almost daily over an extended period of years taught me truly how to pray and get answers to prayer and taught me in a very practical way to have faith in God. I came to know my Savior and my Heavenly Father in a way and to a degree that might not have happened otherwise or that might have taken me much longer to achieve. … I learned to trust in the Lord with all my heart. I learned to walk with Him day by day." D. Todd Christofferson, "Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread" (Church Educational System fireside, Jan. 9, 2011),lds.org/broadcasts.