Melissa and youth of our ward in paper about Trek

Clermont Co. youth re-enact pioneer trek
By Rachel Murdock • clermont@communitypress.com • June 28, 2010

As they reach a small footbridge, it is clear the cart is too wide to fit both wheels onto the bridge, so some of the youth steady one wheel on the bridge, while others hold the opposite wheel in the air as they hike through the muddy creek bed.

This group of teen members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons, many of whom meet with congregations in Union Township and Montgomery, may look as though they belong in a scene of 160 years ago, but are actually current high school students from the east side of Cincinnati. Their model handcart trek was staged at Caesar Creek State Park near Wilmington, Ohio, June 17 to June 19.

These teens, hailing from the Anderson Township, Union Township, Milford, Loveland, Sycamore Township, Wilmington and Georgetown areas, gave up cell phones, computers, shorts and swimming for a weekend of learning about and appreciating their religious ancestors and heritage, said youth leader Jan VandeMerwe.

From 1847 to 1869, thousands of Mormon pioneers were expelled from the United States and made the journey to the Salt Lake Valley in current Utah. About 70,000 traveled in wagons, but to save on the cost of expensive wagons and livestock, about 3,000 of these pioneers made the journey on foot, pushing small handcarts. Each person was allowed to carry only 17 pounds of personal belongings.

These modern teens recreated this experience, making a difficult trek of their own as they carried sparse personal belongings and hauled handcarts through challenging terrain, VandeMerwe said.

Kathleen Pearson, another adult leader on the trek, said the teens stopped regularly to view vignettes where other church members recreated pioneer figures and shared what life was like for them on the trail. They mentioned burning buffalo chips for fuel, living on rations of 2 cups of flour a day - and when times were difficult, less - losing family members to illness and finding romance.

"We have this trek to help the youth understand and appreciate the sacrifices of those early members, as well as build their own faith and courage," Pearson said.

The teens cooked and ate food similar to what the pioneers would have had, she said, such as stew made of water and root vegetables, simple biscuits, beef jerky and fruit leather.

The most significant thing about trek for Gil Marchant, 18, of Milford, is an appreciation for the importance and significance of family.

"When it comes right down to it, in the biggest trials and tribulations you have in life, your family are the ones who are always there for you," Marchant said. "They're the ones who will always be there to back you up."

Madeline Vance, 16, of Loveland agreed. "The most challenging thing would be to stay mentally positive, even though we were working so hard pushing a huge handcart, but I was able to do that because my family was singing the whole time and really working together."

This bonding with her trek family as they worked together was the best part of trek, Vance said.

Matthew Benson, 15, of Sycamore, said he gained an appreciation for how difficult the journey must have been for pioneers. "It was really nice to be able to go and see what our ancestors went through. We just gave stuff up for two or three days; they gave it up forever. We just went for few days in the forest; they went all the way across the United States."

Several of the teens were surprised by how physically demanding the journey was. Melissa Bingham, 16, of Batavia said, "It was literally, physically tough. I didn't think it was going to be as tough as it was,"

To get through the challenging tasks, Bingham said her family would sing songs, and talk about our lives "back home," their schools and their favorite foods.

"I learned to take advantage of the things I have and not be so materialistic. Being on trek makes you very grateful for everything you have. I am really grateful I don't have to go an trek every day, like they did." she said.

To see the article and a picture of Melissa go to the link below.

http://communitypress.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/C2/20100628/NEWS/6280339/