called to serve the youth

So Mark and I have had our fair share of good times with the youth in our ward lately!! Mark was just out in Yucaipa (my girl's camp stomping grounds) and went on a 4 day pioneer trek wearing pioneer clothes, pulling 400 lb. handcarts up steep hills and acting out Mormon battalion scenes from the day... Although he came back smelling like a homeless person and looking like a dirt rag, he had the best time! It was hard work, he said, but so worth every moment seeing everyone work together and gain a true and deep appreciation for our heritage.... well, mine only since his never left the homeland. :) He can officially say he was the first Mormon Dunning pioneer to travel 16 miles to Zion (or Riley Farm in Yucaipa, CA). Since he will not blog about this (I've begged, withheld food, etc.) I'm forced to do it on my own (I even told him that albeit small, Ian Silverthorne has even blogged, so he wouldn't be alone. Sorry, Ian not even that got him to do it!)... So, here goes! Loading up the handcarts, everyone had to put all their belongings for the trek in a 5 gallon bucket. Everything had to fit in that (except sleeping bag), but Mark managed to squeeze in some soap and shampoo, but never got the chance to use it....

There were about 250 people that went on this - it's organized into companies and families. Within their "families" there was a "Ma" and "Pa" and everyone else was a brother or sister. Because Mark's main responsibility was with the food and allover support, he wasn't assigned a family, but got adopted into the Wright Family in Yellow Company as a Big Brother. On one of their toughest hill climbs, one of their sisters (a youth) got run over by the wheel of the cart! She was hurt pretty bad and had to be on crutches the remainder of the time, so Mark's Big Brother support was a sorely needed. Mark said that you literally had to "put your shoulder to the wheel" just like the song and use your strength to manually rotate the wheels up steep hills. It took 15-20 people to pull each handcart and back in the pioneer days there were only about 4 people per handcart... This is what the campgrounds look like... Mark slept out under the stars every night. Even one night he caught 4 boys smoking pot about 15 yards away from where he was sleeping... can you believe that?? They had to call the boys' parents to come and pick them up at 2 in the morning... so sad. Mark's Wright Family (he's in front with the blue shirt and big hat...) Our Ladera Ranch Ward Mark and his new friends.... And, this is me enjoying a 2 day trip to the lake with the youth on a Superactivity!! I forgot my camera, if anyone can believe that! It was so hectic getting ready for this leaving Rowan for 2 days and organizing all that needed to be done for him... I was a serious stress case beforehand and ran out the door 15 minutes late without the camera! So, these pictures were courtesy of Alyssa Grossen.. Thanks, Alyssa!

This was a fun "thingy" (banana boat, water rocket, weenie boat... whatever it's called) but it was super fun to ride and really took a team effort to stay on! Although the boys thought it was funny to try and switch places while riding it... that was fun to watch... garage sale across the lake!

I'm seriously so far removed from the teenager's world. I didn't think I was until I spent this trip with them... Girl's camp was one thing but being around the teenage boys too? A hilarious and eye opening experience... A few things I learned on the trip:

1. Disney Channel is the newest and coolest TV out there for teens. A made-for-TV movie by Disney Channel called "High School Musical" is the latest craze. They even host parties at their house to watch it! (over and over again...)

2. Harry Potter and Twilight are the hottest books to read right now (the fact that I'm reading Twilight was a big hit with them... "Oh, Sister Dunning it's so cool you're reading it!"

3. Laffy Taffy jokes are always a good time... for example, "What to you call a guy with a PhD in spices?" Dr. Pepper (ha ha:)

4. Wearing a one piece is cool, but putting your bikini bottoms over the onepiece makes it a new fashion statement!

5. Tubing is the coolest thing to do when boating... forget wakeboarding or skiing (it was pulling teeth getting these kids to wakeboard!) All they wanted to do was go on the tubes! Pretty funny to watch actually because bodies just flew when they'd hit some choppy water - yard sale.

It was a fun time! I wakeboarded my little heart out, even waterskiied, which I haven't done in years... it was super fun... I couldn't believe how hard it was though, doing that uses more muscles than any other recreational sport I've done, I think. I'm so sore today.... but really enjoyed it. I'll definitely sleep good tonight! I did sleep last night, but had to rise early today to run 8 miles with Suzanne... wasn't too sure I'd make it through the day, but after a lot of hanging around and relaxing, I'm doing pretty good! but my poor muscles... literally all of them hurt.