UTAH COUNTY, Utah — When you get a group of kids together, the discussion can get fascinating, to state the least.
On Monday afternoon, almost a lots kids ages 11 to 14 collected at a park structure in Highland, excitedly talking, joking, and laughing. Some made sounds and whistled; others created ridiculous rhymes that made the entire group break out in laughes.
They became part of a Young Men’s group with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Reid Freeman, 13, Daymion Wood, 12, Tanner Knighton, 12, Wyatt Brouwer, 12, Spencer Eaves, 11, and Owen Rawlins, 12, sat on top of a picnic table on one side, dealing with Blaine Robertson, 14, Thomas Eaves, 14, Spencer Brown, 14, Max Roos, 15, and Aaron Brouwer, 14.
They have a lot to speak about after their weekend outdoor camping journey in the High Uintas Wilderness. The enjoyable was blended with personal development, learning more about service, and speaking about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
“We had a bunch of like devotionals about being like one heart and one mind,” Brown said.
A Young Men’s group is stating a dog rescue they made last weekend (KSL TELEVISION)
On the last day, a dad and kid approached their camping area after making the rounds to other camping sites.
“‘My dog is injured,’” Spencer Eaves said, recounting what the father told them. “We were eating breakfast, and he’s like, ‘Can you people help us?’”
It ended up that the family dog, Otis, would not leave the camping tent. The daddy and kid recognized Otis hurt his paws on the 4.25-mile walking up to Island Lake. After camping over night, Otis wouldn’t have the ability to trek pull back.
“It was a big dog,” Brown remembered when he saw Otis and the poor puppy’s condition.
The kids instantly wished to help.
“I’m like, how can just these two people carry this big dog down?” Wyatt asked.
With the help of an adult, the kids gathered 2 fallen logs.
“Then another camp gave us a tarp, and some and some zip ties. And we just put the zip ties around the logs, and put it through the holes,” Spencer Eaves explained.
They packed the huge boy onto the tarpaulin. They said he was acting anxious initially, and plainly in discomfort. But after the group started, Otis calmed down. The kids started the more than four-mile trek to the trailhead, taking turns bring the makeshift stretcher.
Jeff Eaves, daddy of the 2 Eaves kids and Young Men’s Adviser, explained simply how challenging the walking was for the group.
“We all have heavy backpacks. We’re also trying to carry this dog. We’re going up super steep hills. So, super rocky, and you’re trying to go side-by-side on this single path trail, and so you’re a lot of times you’re off the path,” he explained. “We had logs that were covering the path that we had to go underneath, with other logs that we had to go over.”
The kids were tired and lacked water– utilizing water filters to gather more from a stream.
Part of the group had actually treked ahead, Eaves explained, and after reaching the trailhead, they reversed and treked back to help the remainder of the kids bring Otis down. They wouldn’t quit.
Using tarpaulin and zip ties around 2 logs, the group took turns bring Otis (Courtesy: Jeff Eaves)
“What was going through my mind? I got to do this. These people are in need,” Wyatt said. “There’s a lot of us, but you got to take turns. Other people were tired. I was tired.”
Jeff said they had actually simply spoken about how service isn’t constantly simple or practical on their outdoor camping journey.
“They didn’t stop. They just kept going,” he said. “They never complained. They worked as a team, and it was just awesome.”
They lastly made it down, everybody relieved, worn out, and prepared to consume and head home.
“We got down, I’m like, ‘Yes, we’re done! We can go get more food!’” Roos said.
Roos said the entire experience joined them and reinforced their bonds.
“You just feel really good inside,” he said.
Proving that when you get a group of kids together, they can come together and dominate.
“When the call for help came, I was so proud of these boys that they were willing to just jump in. They didn’t hesitate,” Jeff said.
“If you have the chance, you got to help and serve,” Wyatt said.
“When somebody asks you to help, you help. And not try to make excuses,” Brown said. “And it’s going to be hard. You just have to push through it. You have to believe you can.”
Otis’ owner says he is recuperating and doing far better. He said this was a yearly father-son journey they’d taken every year with Otis for the previous 4 or 5 years with no problems.
He was taken by surprise that Otis was hurt and revealed his appreciation to the group of kids who brought Otis down.
