Moroni's Quest (part II) - Me and a bunch of modern day Abinadi's

Moroni's Quest was almost two months ago!!!  I can hardly believe it.    It seems crazy to me to think that this event took a year of preparation, and then ....it was done.     I have kinda felt lost without it, and I miss having the motivation that this event gave me to study the Book of Mormon.    I also miss getting to focus on these awesome youth that we got to share this experience with.    

Luckily, I was able to get my hands on a few pictures (taken by one of the official photographers) to remind me of some of the awesome moments!  

This was a picture of most of our tribe as we were assembling our travois.   We had known these kids for about an hour by this point, and I was still hoping and praying that they'd like me!  haha

I LOVE this shot!   We spent a lot of time walking that first day, and it provided a lot of opportunity for us to get to know our tribe a bit better.

   I can honestly say that visiting with nine teenagers while walking towards old chief is very VERY different then taking my four kids under the age of 9 hiking in Waterton.     I mean, not a single one of them uttered the words, "Are we there yet?"   ;)

This picture makes me smile, because the photograph captured John's and my tribe, but then behind us you can see my sister Jewel and her husbands tribe.   Cool!

I'm not too sure what it is we are analyzing here, but this young man was one of our tribe members, and I just loved him.  

  One minute he'd have me (and the entire tribe) laughing hysterically, and the next he'd do or say something that had us all feeling the spirit!  When it was time for the reenactment of the Savior's visit, and as we all waited and observed this amazing moment, I kept looking at him and he was absolutely overcome with emotion!  You could just tell that the spirit was touching him and it was like that for all of our tribe.    I'll never forget that.

Oh and this picture belongs here in my online journal, just because of it's sheer hideousness.  

  Yup, I must be crazy to post such an unflattering photo of myself, yet there is something that I kinda like about it.    I must have been telling a really really funny story at the time.    

Wish I could remember it?

Here is a shot that shows the aftermath of one of the many battles we were a part of.    Usually, after one of these battles I would sit in the tall grass, and look around to observe the youth.    It always amazed me every time to see such a large group of youth in such a beautiful setting as this.    I felt so lucky just to get to be a small part of it. 

It was so neat to get to interact with these people (that I normally would never have any reason to ever even speak to really) and to see how strong they all really are.   I remember on the last night together, each ward gathered together for a testimony meeting, and as I sat and listened to the youth in our ward bear their testimonies, I was just so thankful that I got to be there to hear it.    It was absolutely inspiring, and I literally felt as though I was sitting among a bunch of modern day ABINADI'S,  the way they were all testifying of what they knew.   

Such a cool thing, and definitely an experience I'll never forget!