In January 2022, approximately 150 Latter-day Saint youth and leaders will be participating in trek. They’ll be wearing the standard bonnets, bandannas, and wide-brimmed hats and pulling the usual handcarts. But the location of this trek perhaps isn’t what first comes to mind: it’s a 5,000-acre Church-owned farm in Argentina.
“We are very happy and anxious preparing for this,” San Nicolás Argentina Stake President Alejandro L. Mazzeo told Church News. “We want not only to prepare everything that is related to the clothing [and handcarts], but as well the spiritual part of the preparation so they can enjoy the activity.”
For the past 10 years, Latter-day Saint youth and their friends have participated in trek on the Kilgruman Farm in Córdoba, Argentina. The idea for utilizing the site in such a manner came from Blaine and Ann Flinders from Kaysville, Utah, after being called to serve as farm missionaries to Argentina in 2010.
According to Church News, “The Flinders developed a trek system, located material for and built handcarts, and helped translate pioneer stories into Spanish. For many years, they trained stake leaders in Argentina how to carry out a trek.” They also worked with stakes and districts in Mexico and Peru to organize trek in those locations.
This coming trek will be the first for the Pergamino Argentina Stake and the fifth for the San Nicolás Argentina Stake. President Mazzeo anticipates that the trek will strengthen the youth and help them feel a part of their Church history.
Read more about what trek has meant to Argentinian Latter-day Saints at Church News.
