A Treking we will go.....

Elizabeth was given a blessing by Wilford Woodruff in which he promised that she and her children would reach the Salt Lake Valley alive.

After crossing the Atlantic Ocean and traveling further across their land of promise by steamboat and train, Elizabeth, Christopher (5), and Jane (1) began their handcart trek in Iowa City, Iowa.

Elizabeth was privileged to experience another miracle during her journey to Zion. She told the story of this miracle to her daughter, Jane, repeatedly throughout her life. As Jane (Panting Bell) grew older she told this story to her children and grandchildren:

As the Willie Company traveled along the plains, they had many trials which slowed them down considerably. Little Jane rode in the handcart and was very ill. Her mother didn’t dare to stop to take care of her as she pulled her handcart along. She would call to her son, Christopher, to ask if Jane was dead yet. When they reached Ft. Laramie, the expected provisions were not waiting, and they had to continue on with reduced food rations. On October 14, after another reduction was made in rations, Elizabeth went out to gather some buffalo chips to make a small fire to warm what little food was left for her children. She had on a long, full apron and had almost filled it with the Buffalo chips when a man came up to her suddenly (and seemingly out of nowhere) and inquired as to the circumstances of the company. Elizabeth told the man that most of them were starving and were in great need. He asked her to follow him, saying perhaps he could help a little. Shaking the buffalo chips from her apron, Elizabeth followed the man. They went over a small hill out of sight of the camp, where he led her to a cave where a lot of dried buffalo meat was hanging. Elizabeth told her granddaughter, June Cranney Monson, that there were shelves of books on one side of the cave that looked like the Book of Mormon gold plates. She said they looked as if they were sealed. The man loaded as much meat in Elizabeth’s apron as she could carry and told her to share with the other people. Then he led her out of the cave and to the top of a small hill and pointed out the camp below, cautioning her not to get lost. As Elizabeth turned back to the man to thank him after she had looked where he had pointed to the camp, he had disappeared. She looked for the cave and could not find any trace of it, but she still had the dried meat. She went back to camp and divided the meat out to the ones that were in the most need, no doubt saving lives.

Austin and I we called to be a MA and PA For our stake LDS Trek on July 20-22. Jane Panting, in the story above, is a direct descendant of me that came across in the Willie handcart company. I am excited right now about going, I think when I'm there I might be wondering why I was so excited. It's Going to HOT!! I don't think that there is a night that goes by in the winter or when it's raining that I don't think about those determined pioneers. They were out in that Freezing Wyoming weather, some with no shoes, burying there children along the way. It's very humbling to think about. Everything they had to go through to come to Zion.

Austin's mom has made us the best looking pioneer clothes for the trek. I just need to find us some shoes. We dress up like pioneers and pull a 400 lb handcart 10 miles a day :) then sleep under the stars on the ground at night.. The things we can bring have to fit in a 5 gallon bucket. We have ten children. We all have to work together. Well if it's not and exciting experience I'm sure it will be a spiritual one