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Keep on Trek’n
Liberty youth find strength, faith and friendships on Trek
Norma King, Media Director (Rush Creek Ward)
Clad in straw hats, suspenders and long skirts, 160 Liberty Stake youth pushed and pulled handcarts on their own pioneer journey this summer.
Trek, held June 3-6 near Far West, MO, required the youth to leave their cell phones and the comforts of home and trek across hills, sleep in tents (sometimes on uneven, sloped ground), make new friends, and find out they were stronger than they thought.
“I thought it was gonna be really, like, gross, and really hard work, and I thought it would be—I’m not gonna lie—a little annoying, because it would be really rough, you know,” said Aubryn Stadler, Rush Creek Ward.
“But it was a lot more fun. Because we did a lot more stuff and the unity was just really great and my family was really great. I just met so many people that I probably would have never talked to before. That was really one of my favorite parts,” said Aubryn.
Cache McMurtrey, Liberty Ward, also expected it to be very hard work and laboring all day. “I thought it would be physical work, but not spiritual. It was way more spiritual than I thought. It was majority spiritual.”
“It definitely exceeded my expectations. I never realized how much I could do when I, like, had a goal in mind,” said Cache.
It was awkward at first being put into a “family” of people he didn’t know for the Trek journey, said Dawson Nessen, Kellybrook Ward.
“Other than that, we just clicked instantly, and we’re all on the same boat. We’re all doing Trek. We have to push this cart together. So we just quickly got comfortable with each other, and there were no awkward conversations, no pauses, nothing. It was just like, we’re all friends, and everything went so smoothly,” said Dawson.
Trek with the youth of the Liberty Stake was a memory they won’t forget, said Stake President Matt Russell and Heidi Russell, who were Ma and Pa to a “family” of ten youth.
“We watched these incredible youth do really hard things. As they trekked through mud and pushed and pulled handcarts they grew closer together as friends,” they said. “The youth depended on one another to move their handcarts on the trail. Each member in the company contributed in his or her own personal way. We grew to love and cherish each member of our company.”
The Liberty Stake youth, divided into 14 families and four pioneer companies, traveled 3-4 miles a day for three days. They climbed hills, endured summer heat, crossed a river, and—thanks to a rainstorm during the night—pushed their handcarts through mud and later up a muddy slip-n-slide hill. There was also a “women’s pull” where the young women hauled their carts up solo after the young men had received their mission calls and “left” for their missions.
“I kind of wanted to go and help them, but we can’t move, we have to sit in silence and watch them,” said Simon Walker, Rush Creek Ward. “I think it was just cool that they did that, it made it feel more real.”
The youth missed air conditioning, indoor bathrooms and regular showers, and some of them struggled at first.
“There were kids that didn’t want to be there, and I can understand that,” said Natalie Wright, Doniphan Ward, who chaired the Trek committee with her husband Ben.
Things changed over the course of those three days. “By the time Friday night rolled around and they had danced and they experienced a lot of things and built real unity with their families, a lot of youth were saying they didn’t want to go home,” said Sister Wright.
It had been eight years since Liberty Stake youth had participated in a Trek experience in Oklahoma. The Wrights were called in October 2025, and their committee of nine others began planning in earnest in January. Fortunately, the Far West Stake shared their insights from their own Trek in 2025 as well as loaning the handcarts.
“I am stronger than I thought I was beforehand, I can just do more,” said Aubryn Stadler. “It taught me that I need to be more confident in myself, and that I can do more things that I didn’t think I could do.”
Everybody had a common goal – for the youth to have a good experience and feel the spirit.
“We planned and planned and planned for this, but really it was Heavenly Father who made it the way He wanted it to be,” said Sister Wright.
Brother Wright said the planning committee emulated D&C 123:17 as they planned and prepared for Trek. In his words: “Do all within your power to put forth effort and then stand back and watch Heavenly Father’s hand be revealed.”
The Wrights saw miracles – the looks on the faces of the youth, the joy, the peace, their happiness, their contentment, and the powerful testimonies shared by youth around the campfire on Friday night.
Bria Walker, Rush Creek Ward, said that the testimony meeting helped her understand that, while life was hard for the pioneers, “Our life is also hard, just in a different way. It just matters what we do with it, how we react.”
Her brother Hyrum said working together with others during Trek helped him learn that he needs to let others help him and “take some stuff off my shoulders.”
“I am stronger than I thought I was beforehand, I can just do more,” said Aubryn Stadler. “It taught me that I need to be more confident in myself, and that I can do more things that I didn’t think I could do.”
“The experience really solidified the idea of the refiner’s fire, that through the hard things we become better and closer to the Lord,” said Natalie Christensen, North Brook Park Ward, who with her husband Jared served as a Ma and Pa.
“When things were really tough the Lord would send tender mercies like some cloud cover, the Trail Boss (President) Brody Perschon to lead us through hard situations, meals meticulously planned for us, water and bathroom stations when we needed them, an impromptu duet from Jared (Christensen) on the harmonica and Isaac Ames on the ukulele, tender devotionals that fed our souls, sweet conversations with friends, letters from home, or a tarp that blew out from one girls’ tent during the rainstorm and shielded inches of water from soaking another girls’ tent on the other side of camp. Those are the moments that kept us going and reminded us that God was watching over us.”
Another Pa, Kurt Nielsen, Kellybrook Ward, said a common theme his family of youth discussed during Trek was that “Just because we’re not physically pushing handcarts through terrible weather, doesn’t mean that our trials aren’t difficult.”
“Our youth are facing extreme difficulties, and getting to hear about their faith and courage during their experiences helped us understand that they are pioneers in their own right. We have amazing youth, who are going to do incredible things.”
Serving with the Youth at Trek
Randi Sue Adams, Stake Young Women's Counselor (Hodge Park Ward)
Serving on the Trek committee and overseeing activities like Water Day, the Trading Post, dancing, and the Pioneer Carnival was such a rewarding experience. Overall, everything ran very smoothly thanks to the incredible preparation and teamwork of our volunteers (thank you Stake YW ladies and their incredible husbands!!) and youth.
If we were to make a few changes next time, we would adjust how tickets were distributed, schedule more dancing from the beginning, and replace the sack races and egg-and-spoon races with activities like tug-of-war, volleyball, and axe throwing, which the youth especially enjoyed. Water Day was a huge success, with favorites including the hair washing station, Nine Square, water fights, and the opportunity to relax in the shade. Looking back, I think the youth left Trek with stronger friendships, deeper testimonies, and a greater appreciation for the faith, sacrifice, and endurance of our pioneer ancestors.
We as a presidency helped every day. Youth were able to earn tickets to buy items at the “Wagon Wheel Trading Post.” They could buy water guns, snacks, soda, Walk with Him bookmarks, pocket knives, flashlights, fans, and sleeping eye masks (which sold out the first night we were there—all boys purchased them!).
Bishop Ransom and Brother Aiono were the door bouncers at the Wagon Wheel. They kept the line under control and had discussions with the youth as they waited. It was a very long line every time our Wagon Wheel opened. It was a huge success of Trek.