The Bitter and the Sweet

Monday July 31, Elder Call and Elder Theler went golfing at Purple Sage this morning. They sure had a fun time, and it was good to have a golf club in hand again once more. If you pack golf clubs for your mission you have to use them at least one time.

The golf course in Evanston

We drove up to Fish Haven, Idaho by Bear Lake to visit Sister Call's brother and sister-in-law, Anna and Richard Sabin. They have a beautiful summer home up on the hills overlooking Bear Lake. They have a beautiful deck overlooking the lake. While we were there a dear walked by outside their door. They bought this home last summer and moved from Layton, they also have a winter home in Hurricane, Utah. We visited with them for a few hours and it was just nice to relax and enjoy the view of the Lake.

Sister Call, Richard and Anna Sabin, at their home in Fish Haven, Idaho, Bear Lake in back ground.

Sister Call enjoying the swing at Richard and Anna Sabin home.

On the way back to the ranch we had to stop for the famous raspberry shakes by Bear Lake. Of course Elder Call is a plainest and prefers good old vanilla. We ran into Elder and Sister Wilson there also and had fun visiting with them.

FHE was Brother and Sister Richins. He is a seminary teacher in Evanston. We dove into the scriptures for the night and had a great discussion on Why we are here serving this mission and why are we having youth come and pull handcarts. We were challenged to find someone special this last week of trekking the needs you and only you, and read a lot of scriptures of the blessings promised us for serving. " Are you here for the trek, or is the trek here for you?"

The Richins taught us a new game called,"liar's dice." He taught us a game last year called. "30 down."

The Richins, we had a wonderful family night with them.

Tuesday August 1, the start of our last month on this mission. The normal port-a-john cleaning day, minus a few that we have put away for the season. We cleaned up the freeway again, it is amazing how many people leave trash all over the exit to the ranch. It is a never ending chore of picking up the garbage left on the freeway. Elder Call had many handcarts to repair from our biggest week of trek last week. We had to check out trail 14 for this week to see how it is with water crossings and how chewed up it is with the cows being in our camp grounds.

A Stake last week had something about buffalo's, so they put this buffalo on the back of a water buffalo.

The Andersons and Wilson's got stranded on their side-by-side and Elder Call's phone was the only one they were able to reach so he went to rescue them. With how dusty these trails are sometimes they get bogged down, even after cleaning the air filters. The missionaries went to Taggerts for dinner, to celebrate a night out before our season comes to an end. Elder Call got back after they had left, but we took off and they only had to wait about 15 minutes for us to get there.

The peacocks at Taggerts.

Wednesday August 2, Bountiful South Stake came today and this is the ninth week of treks, and our last trek of this mission. We are on trail 14 with Elder and Sister Ekins, they are second year missionaries from Hinckley, Utah and we have not been trekking with them before. It was so much fun to have this last trek of the season with them. They have 112  youth and 13 handcarts and 176 people total. There are 8 wards and by the last night all 8 bishops and all of the Stake Presidency were here. Trail 14 is one of the longer trails almost 30 miles and a lot of it is on dusty roads. The couple in charge is Mike and Maralee Esplin, and the trail boss is Marve Magalie, he is from Hawaii and the football coach at Davis High School. There theme is, "Choose to Believe." This is taken from April 2015 Conference Talk by Elder L. Whitney Clayton, and October 2015 talk by Elder Neil L Andersen, "Faith Is Not by Chance, but by Choice."

The Call's and the Ekin's we trekked with them this week.

Signs on the back of the hand carts this week. They had fun sayings.

Sister Call ready to start trekking with them,

Elder Call ready to start trekking.

The weather was overcast and we had a few drops of rain and it was perfect for them to be able to have there lunch stop and play 3 hours of games on the trail. They had a couple who were excellent musicians and they played a acoustic guitar and acoustic violin that was connected to a speaker and was able to be heard all over the game area. One group picked up a cow skull and put it on their flag poll and they named it, "Norman the Mormon." Most of the time he had sun glasses on top of it, and he was with us for the whole trek.

Trekking by the dam in this beautiful area of the ranch.

Emma Hayes, this is her cart with,"Norman the Mormon."

We were on the trail for camp by 5:45 and into camp at 7:45. It was a long day with over 9 miles to walk, but they were very happy with it, and the kitchen crew had dinner all ready for the youth when they arrived. They all slept under tarps.

Emily and Ryan Miller, they played for 3 hours while the kids played games.

Corn hole game

Hatchet throwing 

Cherry pit spitting, you have to spit it into a pie plate.

Tug of war

Stick pulling

Hula hoop race, getting it around the circle the fastest.

Blocks of wood/ one person has to step from one board to another/ then the others run around to the end/ holds the board again for the one to step on it again/ down to the finish line.

Circle game called "Keates"

Sign held up by support staff when the trekkers came into came the first night.

Thursday August 3, we took Marv the trail boss a walking stick that Elder Wilson had made. He had forgotten his walking stick and on Wednesday had used a PVC pole.

Sister Call, Marv the trail boss, Elder Call

Elder Ekins, waiting to leave to trek, catching a little bit of shade before we take off,

Sister Esplin while talking to her, we found out that she worked with Elder Theler at Franklin Covey years ago, they worked together for 3 years. Elder Theler was the CFO and she was the financial manager. We told Theler's about her at preparation meeting, and they were camping close to our camp, so the Theler's came over to visit. What a delightful experience for Marlee. She was so touched that they took the time to come and visit her and catch up on times from years ago. It was one tender mercy for her.

Sister Theler, Sister Maralee Esplin, Elder Theler, he worked with Maralee years ago, a sweet reunion.

We had Lucky Packer, the hoedown caller, for the fourth time this season. He can sure get the kids out dancing and for the last time we danced with other kids and not with each other. What a fun night of dancing.

The kids enjoying dancing at the end of the hoedown.

Boot scootin boogie.

Friday August 4, we had an early morning of picking up President Margetts at the gate. His mother is the Tabernacle Choir Organist and his daughter came home from her mission to Finland yesterday. She came up with them. She had jet lag and we got a cute picture of her asleep on a cot before the woman's pull.

Catherine Margetts catching some sleep before the woman's pull, she got home from her mission to Finland yesterday.

Before the woman's pull the Millers played their guitar and violin again and oh what a spirit it brought into camp. We had kneeling prayer and then the men took off from camp for the woman's pull. The Stake Young Woman's president spoke before the girls took off. They had really heavy carts with all their gear and the ones on the back could not see over the back of the carts. They were troopers as they pulled with 5 or 6 on a cart. The Millers were playing on the trail before the girls got to the boys who were all silent and holding white handkerchiefs. Seeing these every week we never get tired of participating in them and seeing how it touches their lives. The woman know they can do hard things and the young men want to help and see these girls struggle to get the carts up the hill. Elder Ekins heard one girl say as she finished, "I have never felt so fulfilled."

The Stake gathered for their meeting before the woman's pull. the Millers playing before we leave.

Some of the handcarts coming up the hill of the woman's pull.

One cart coming up the hill on the Woman's pull.

The Miller's playing at the top of the woman's pull.

The men waving handkerchiefs at the top of the Woman's Pull.

President Anderson kneeling in Prayer at the top of the Woman's Pull before the Woman come up the hill.

                                                                                       

The Ekins walking in together to camp for the last trek of the season.

The evening activity when they got into camp was called project Liahona and some of the kids thought they were doing a barn raising. They were building the Nauvoo Temple. This took quite a few hours to do since they had to wait for the wind to die down. They got the walls up and they white washed it and the youth did all the labor on it. They even painted the windows and about 9:15 they put the cupola on top with the Millers playing, "The Spirit of God." The Bishops all had lit lanterns and they all gathered their youth from their wards and they shared with them their "Choose to Believe," moment. This was about 15 minutes and then they gathered in front of the Temple and Sister Anderson the Stake President's wife asked the question, Why did the Pioneers do this? They did this because they knew Jesus Christ was their Savior. They finished the Temple because they wanted to make covenants, and relationships last forever. The Stake President encouraged the youth to go to the temple to get their recommend and to visit with their bishops who love and care about them. The temple is also a place of peace, hope, love,
This temple was beautiful up on a perfect little hill with the full moon behind it. They had spot lights on it. The end to a perfect day and something these youth will remember is building that temple and having their bishops talk to them this last night of trek.

Putting up the outside walls on the Temple.

Elder Call helping a little bit on the Temple, some of the youth were having a hard time with the drills.

White washing the temple pieces.

Painting the windows for the Temple

A beautiful sunset tonight as the Temple was being build.

A full moon over the temple, almost done.

Putting the cupola on the top.

Finished Temple with the Bishop's meeting with their wards, surrounding the Temple.

You never know whose lives will be touched on trek and we had the privilege of finding out that an EMT's life was touched. The first two days he wondered what he was doing on this trek, he was doing nothing. I told him that was good, if the youth are prepared with walking and having good shoes then there is little to do, and hardly any blisters. He was so board on Thursday that he even walked part of the day. Today we were talking to him and he said that this day was the most spiritual day of his life. He shared a few things that happened. Wed night a girl came into the medical tent and her feet were very dirty and covered with blisters. She was embarrassed to have her feet washed. This EMT said who washed feet? Meaning Christ. He bandaged her feet and said come back tomorrow and we will check them. She came back the next and they were almost all healed. He asked her what she did and she said she prayed.

Another experience that happened was a young man had torn his achilles tendon on high adventure camp two weeks earlier. He was walking and hurting a lot. The medical people told him he would have to ride in a support truck, they gave him a really powerful blessing and this EMT said the Spirit was so strong in that tent it was tangible. His family said no we will carry him.  
Then to have this beautiful Temple built by these youth on this perfect night, and see the unity of this stake. This trek will forever change him.

Saturday August 5, the stake had their solo time and their testimony meeting this morning and didn't leave camp until 10:45. They had lots of pictures taken today by the temple before the contractors took it down. Elder Call and I walked out together for part of the way and the Ekins walked into camp yesterday together for both of our last times. The last 500 yards Sister Ekins walked out from staging and we four walked into camp. Our last trek for both of us. Marv drove the side by side in.
     They had pizza and the buses came at 2:00. We were the last group out, but kind of floated back to the missionary village, enjoying this wonderful Stake and the friendships we made with these great people to work with. Then it was the normal cleaning of trucks, side by sides and water buffalo's.

Sister Call and Julie Doherty, such good friends we became on this trek.

Calls, President and Sister Anderson, Ekins.

Sister Call, Bob the best EMT, Sister Ekins

Elder Ekins, by their sign at staging

Mike and Maralee Esplin, Sister and Elder Call, they did a great job in planning this trek, we loved working with them.

Ekins, Pres Margetts, Calls, giving a thumbs up on a wonderful last week of trekking.

Welcoming us all back into staging.

Water Bottles and Journal from Bountiful South Stake Trek
                                                                                   

We went into Evanston for dinner, since we have just two more Saturdays before this mission is over. We sure have enjoyed being with them this week.

Sunday August 6, our last Fast Sunday in Evanston. Sister Barton shared her testimony and she represented all 4 of us missionary couples so well. I remember our first Fast Meeting in Evanston and we were with them also and she shared her testimony and talked about how cold it is here, with them being from Mesa, Arizona it is really cold in Evanston.
     We had a nice meal like all Sunday's here we eat together and later in the day the Howards, Thelers and us set out by their trailer and had snow cones and just enjoyed talking for about an hour. We packed up the ATV's and other things we want to take home so we can leave early tomorrow for Spanish Fork,