So.... Kate got lost on Pioneer day. I last saw her running to the park with a sibling and I ran to get something organized for dinner and when I went to locate her a very short time later she was gone. There was a large crowd of people and it was impossible to see one lost little person in the crowd. So I just kept circling and circling the area trying to find her. Slowly becoming PANICKED!!!!! And very heartbroken that I was going to have to miss my girlies marching in from the trek.
The whole group of people who went on the trek was going to march into the celebration, with us singing a pioneer song and waving the traditional white hanky at them. Be still my weepy soul. Doesn't that sound incredible? I gave my camera to my sweetie friend and left her in charge of taking pictures. I paused for a brief moment to cry and wave my white hanky and sing "Come Come Ye Saints" to the kids coming home from the trek and then I was off to find my baby again.
I finally enlisted help (couldn't find Corey in the crowd either) and just as my friend had it announced over the intercom I saw her sitting on the cement stairs in front of the building in the park. The outside world was silenced as she saw me and I saw her and it was so Savannah Smiles (Uhhh.... best movie in the PLANET!!!) where I said her name and she looked at me and in slow mow she ran happily to me and we hugged and she smiled not scared and if she could have talked better she would have asked if I was mad at her. Which I wasn't because I was so relieved to have found her and grateful to have a glimpse of the bigger picture and how important she is despite her wild child side.
Also those friends who follow my blog who were at the celebration were quite amused and knew EXACTLY whose "Kate" was missing. She has quite a reputation. Embarrassing.
Phew. So stressful. So sad to have not been able to enjoy my trekies coming home from trek but below are the pictures. They had a great, spiritual, challenging time. They told me interesting things all night long about their journey. How bad some of the meals were, how sunburned they were, how much they walked, how much they loved the families they were divided into, and how the girls had to pull the carts themselves while the boys watched. They said some of the boys said that was the hardest part of the trek. Watching the girls pull cart. I told Justine when you go to find your husband some day, I want you to ask them if the hardest part of the trek (assuming they went on one, which lots of youth are) was watching the girls pull the cart up the hill. If they don't think that was the hardest part of the trek then they aren't the boy for you. Don't you think that sounds like good logic? I do.
As they walked they also had station where people dressed up like pioneers told them real stories about some of the pioneers and things they went through.
I found it ironic that the next day in Sacrament meeting a youth shared one of the stories about a family who lost their son. The camp spent two days trying to find the boy but couldn't so they had to move forward. The dad decided to stay back on his horse and find his boy. The mom gave him a red blanket and said if you find him alive you can wave this blanket at me as you come back to the trek. If you find him dead you can bury him in it. For five days their was no word and the mom couldn't eat or sleep as she watched the horizon for her husband. Can you imagine how sick she must have been? Finally she saw her husband and the red blanket being waved and they were reunited. Happy day.
So grateful for the programs of the gospel that are helping me raise my children. Can you imagine how their lives have been impacted by this journey?
So grateful for the finding of lost children and the friends who love you and help you.
So amused that after I found Kate there proceeded to be about 10 more lost kids announced over the intercom, including a dog. It almost became a joke. Glad we could set the precedence.
1 comment:
Nancy said...Reminded me of when you got lost in Ohio at age 3. I have never prayed so hard! Looks like the girls had a great experience!
Mary said...lost Ryan in a Walgreen's 1x, he was hiding under the shopping carts, Collin was always glued to my side,too shy to move
Mary said...well make that 2x, he used to hide under the clothing racks in stores-he kept me hopping(still does)lol
Susan said...I remember when he use to do that! And it was probably much scarier in Denver than here. I wasn't worried about kidnapping, I was worried about her in the road.
Becca said...Jake told me that standing on the side not being able to talk and watching the girls put the handcart up the hill was really hard for him to watch.That made my heart melt knowing that my 12 year old son has compassion.
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