Over the weekend I had the opportunity to participate in an interesting youth conference. Our normal youth conferences are like any other church conferences for their youth of 12 to 18 year olds: attending uplifting workshops and dances at a rented college for the weekend. This year was a very different experience.

To help our youth in Baldwin County remember the ancestry of our forefathers, we went on a pioneer trek. For three days we pushed and pulled authentically built handcarts from the 1850’s for twenty miles. We were only allowed one 10-gallon bucket and a backpack for all our belongings, which included period dress of the day. We ate food of the times, made friends with the Indians at a pow-wow and came across a big fat coiled rattlesnake, ready to strike. We experienced "persecution" from the local people and then our men were "called off to war" to fight in the Mexican/American War so that the women had to push the handcarts in a rain storm up a steep hill for a mile without any help. Each "family" with a handcart was given a "baby" to take care of and one had to be buried as it had died over the course of the trip, which really did happen so long ago. We entertained ourselves without television, X-boxes, mp3 players and cell phones.

It was amazing what this group of teenagers did. They pulled together their courage and fortitude to finish what they had started. They slept on the ground for two nights in tents and ate food they were unaccustomed to eating. They helped each other in times of distress and played together when we stopped to take a break. One night a band including a fiddler, a bass player, banjo and guitars played music for us until way past sun down.

The lessons learned along the way were poignant and never to be forgotten: Our life’s journey can be long but singing your way through makes it much easier. Beware of snakes in your life to snare and deceive you. Everything can’t be fun but what is really important in life is worth doing. Grumbling about doing your work only makes it harder to accomplish. Sadness is a part of life but with the support of family and friends we can get through it. Entertainment doesn’t always come from an electronic device. No matter how tired and exhausted you are listening to good music will lift your spirits and help you sleep better. Endure to the end in good works, you will never regret it.

So as we embark in another week of high gas prices, bad presidential candidates, and long work days, remember what our forefathers did so long ago: press on and never give up on ourselves.

Loxley resident Valerie J. Steimle is the author of two books, “Home Is Where The Heart Is, A look at strengthening the American Family,” and her latest book, “Home Is Where The Learning Is” (www.amazon.com/gp/product/1403379637). Contact her at valeriesteimle@yahoo.com or visit her website at www.stengthenyourhome.com.