Pioneer Trek - Day 3

      In the 4 days that we were on Trek, Day 3 was hands down the one that produced the most surprises for me.  The first surprise began the night before at bedtime with an amazing thunder and lightening storm.  The whole sky lit up, followed by roaring thunder that continued all night.  It was too cool!  Not too long after I went to bed the rain started.  I thought that the loud volume of the storm would have kept me up but I was so tired it had more of a lulling effect on me and I slept like a baby.  Most people I talked to the next morning did too.  The next surprise came around 6:30 a.m. with a phone call from base camp.  One of our young women had been having severe kidney pains during the night and had been taken to the Emergency Department.  Thankfully she was able to receive the help she needed, which required surgery, but everything was able to turn out okay for her.

      In the morning there was still some moisture in the air so we gave everyone plenty of time to take down camp and get breakfast completed before we moved out.  Once we got on the trail the rain had mostly stopped and we only had one more short run in with it before blue sky appeared for good. 

      What happened at lunchtime was the biggest surprise and by far the most emotional event on the trek for me.  I will never forget the emotions I felt at what took place.  In order to give this story justice I have to lay the foundation leading up to it.  When planning the Trek I felt very strongly about giving a handful of families baby dolls.  I wanted the dolls to be as realistic as possible and I was a bit worried about them being a joke so I tried to pick families that I felt could pull it off.  I also hand picked two families whose baby would die along the trail.  Once again, I didn't want this hardship to turn cheesy so I put a lot of thought into which family this hardship would fall upon.  On the morning of the first day I approached Sister Barbic, one of our Ma's, and told her I had assigned her family a baby and that on the third day her baby was going to be buried.  I asked if that was okay and she said, "as long as it's not today" that would be just fine.  I lowered my brows and asked what she meant and she told me that 9 years ago today (the 1st day of Trek) she and her husband had lost their newborn baby.  After hearing her heartbreaking story I assured her that we could pass on this, but she said it would be alright.

      When Friday came along she decided lunchtime would be the time to break the news about the baby to her family.  This is when the floodgates of emotions began for me.  I remember her approaching me with the doll in her arms and I looked at her and said, are you ready?  She nodded her head and then I saw tears starting to fall down her cheeks.  My heart broke!  I started crying too and while hugging her I once again told her to forget about the idea.  She said it'd be okay so I told her to go around the corner and that I would get her family.  As I was walking up to their handcart I noticed that her husband had seen our embrace and he obviously saw me with tears so with a somber tone he asked in more of a statement kind of way then a question, "Is our baby dying?"  Oh my goodness, I lost it even more.  I told him I understood the situation, I tried to tell her we didn't need to do this, and he said, "she's a strong woman!"  He called his family in and said there was a family emergency and that they all needed to go find Ma.  The reality of the situation, even though it was only mock, was too real!  Sister Barbic told the kids that their baby didn't survive the journey and told them her own personal story about their loss.  A couple of the boys took turns digging out a grave and then they all poured handfuls of dirt until the baby was covered.  I bawled the entire time and for about an hour afterward too.  The last thing I ever wanted was to ask them to relive such a heartbreaking experience, but she put my mind at ease and said that it was good for her.  Never in my wildest dreams when I planned this activity did I think it would have the impact it did, I only hoped it would!  I sincerely appreciate the Barbic's and their willingness to open their hearts up so freely.   Through this experience I am reminded how precious life is and how each moment counts.

      After making it over that hump, the rest of the day was fabulous as well in it's own right.  Our activity station was a ton of fun!  We had Archery, Sling Shots and Axe Throwing.  The Pony Express came before dinner and then we had a great fireside.  The real fun began at our Hoedown once darkness fell.  It was so rewarding to see everyone, adults and youth, having such a fantastic time!  I really couldn't have asked for a better ending to a wonderful day.