Heritage Gateways

Wendy Westergard Journals

May 25, 1997

Location: Ash Hollow (Lewellen) - 633 miles left, Nebraska - Location: 41:19:53N 102:08:36W (south side of the river. So named from a grove of timber growing on it. It occupies a space of about fifteen to twenty acres, and is surrounded by high bluffs.)

Summary: Incredible rainy day.

Journal entry: It rained last night. Elizabeth Proud and I shared a tent. We woke up in the morning dry. Everyone else in the authentic camp woke up wet. We were lucky. By the end of church our stuff was soaked. The rain had not let up all night and continued to rain all day. My stuff is soaked. Also because someone pulled all of my stuff out of the tent and left it sitting outside on the ground. Oh well.

I'm sleeping in the Proud's van. I'm tall so I am very crunched. Thank goodness. I used my space blanket that night to keep warm or I would have frozen all night and it would have been the longest night ever. I got my space blanket in the middle of the night. I accidentally woke up the rooster as I was getting out of the wagon. I have no idea what time it was but the rooster started to crow and then it woke up the rest of roosters. I felt bad for everyone who couldn't sleep through them. I usually can.

Amy, Cyndi, Elizabeth and I sang in the talent show tonight. We sang Spider's Web. They had requested us to sing in the talent show. I don't know why they think they were talented. They only thing I have a talent is is not worrying about what other people think. I don't care about making a spectacle of myself....as long as I'm not on the stage. Singing in front of everyone staring at me, made me really nervous. I hope we did a good job. People said we did.

I took a shower today for the first time in 5 days. It felt heavenly. I can't believe I went to church in clothes that I'd been wearing for 5 days, hadn't taken a shower for 5 days, or brushed my hair in 5 days. Luckily everyone else that was on the trail was in the same boat. It was gross. I can now say I've been to church in a variety of ways. Church was in a metal shed behind a race track. One thing for sure is by the end of the trek I will be able to say that I've been to church in almost every imaginable place. It just goes to show that church is the same everywhere whether or not you are in a chapel or not the spirit is the same.