The Journey

The Journey

It was time to begin our 1300-mile trek from Nauvoo, Illinois, to the Salt Lake Valley, Utah. I would miss our home in Nauvoo, but we hoped to escape persecution, and to enjoy religious freedom. Like other pioneer families, we loaded our wagon with bags of flour, dried fruit and meat, blankets, and clothes. We secured the wagon to our two oxen. Dad, Mom, Jack, Scott, and I prayed to God for protection. Although we were starting our journey in the early spring, we would later be traveling in the treacherous winter conditions of 1847. Would my family survive?

The first couple of months were uneventful. However, there eventually was a shortage of food due to delays from poor weather conditions. One day, Jack and I search the fields for anything edible. As we searched, we heard a rattling noise, followed by more and more rattling. “What’s that sound, Kaya?” Jack whispered.

Out of nowhere, a rattlesnake leaped toward us, but we dodged the strike just in time! More and more snakes slithered around us.

“What should we do?!” I asked nervously.

“Let’s see who can jump over the most snakes!”

“Okay!” We hopped over the rattlesnakes one by one, then we raced back to our tent.

Mom said a prayer to God asking him to help us find food. Jack miraculously found two stale biscuits in his pocket. We warmed the rock-hard biscuits in a pot over the fire. When we opened the lid, two large, delicious loaves of bread appeared. God had blessed us, yet again.

Winter soon approached. Snow started to fall on the ground, and the temperature dropped precipitously. We walked up a steep mountain, with Scott sleeping in the wagon. As we trudged the snow, we heard a chilling plunge.

“Help!” screamed Scott. I turned in horror as Scott drop down the mountain into the ice cold river.

“Kaya, you can’t swim!” Mom reminded me, but it was too late. I had already jumped into the deep, cold river and prayed for the ability to swim. Wow, I was swimming! I searched left to right and top to bottom. I did not see Scott anywhere. I started to panic. I then had a feeling that I should swim deeper, so I took a breath and dived in again. This time, I saw Scott, who was unconscious. I immediately grabbed him as quick as I could and swam up to the shore. I was freezing and felt like giving up, but I still swam with all the energy left in me to save my four year-old brother. Scott and I were pulled out of the water, and I was unresponsive for 5 whole days.

Scott remained sick for several weeks; he also suffered from frostbite on his feet. Meanwhile, one of the two oxen had unexpectedly collapsed. Dad tried to help the ox stand, but it was no use. The ox’s legs were hurt badly. The ox groaned each time he attempted unsuccessfully to walk. Mom knelt down on the cold snowy ground and prayed fervently, asking God to help the ox walk. As she finished her prayer, the rest of our family also prayed. The ox finally stood up firmly and began to walk. We were all so grateful that God had answered our prayers.

To lighten up the wagon for the oxen, we all took turns carrying Scott on our backs.  My back became very sore as the days passed by, I felt like I was carrying a 200 pound gorilla, even though Scott only weighed about 30 pounds. Our shoes had worn out long ago, but we kept walking on our blistered and swollen feet.

Winter was coming to an end, and Scott began to get better, but he still could not walk. Flowers began to bloom, and the snow melted. Our trek was almost over. After a few more days of long walking, we finally arrived at the beautiful Salt Lake Valley 536 days after we started our trek!  Although I was reluctant to go on the journey at first, I am thankful for this difficult journey. My faith in God was strengthened after our prayers were repeatedly answered. I learned that if you have faith in God, anything is possible.