Heading Into The Busy Season :)

Hi Elder Penrod,

How was your week? Did you get to deliver a lesson this week? How is the ward?

Things have definitely picked up over the last week. Curtis is now deep into the wrestling season. He has had duals and tournaments the last two weeks. He won his match for the dual. which was cool. And he almost won his first match but ended up going 1 win and 3 losses (he also had a bad ref for the last match and his coach said he should have had that match as well).

I have started the singing performances for Relief Society Activities and nearby Care Centers. It was a little bit of a surprise to nave our 1st care center visit and start singing and one of the residents had tears streaming down. her cheeks and they continued through all the singing. We later started having conversations with the residents

after the singing and came to find out she was alone here in Utah. She is from Ohio and has some relatives there but there is no one here with her in Utah. I came to appreciate the reasons that we go out and sing. It is not just about going and singing for these residents but to connect with them and give them a sense of being seen. I learned a lot from that experience.

I also read a really cool story in the news this week. A group of cliff jumpers were down in Moab having the time of their lives. The first couple of jumpers came down without a hitch. Then it was the last friend's turn and he jumped fine but they believe there was a sort of microburst that caused his parachute to catch and he collided into the steep cliffs that surrounded the area that they were jumping in. He slammed into the cliff and started falling to the ground but his parachute caught in a crack in the steep cliff side. Rescue workers arrived in a helicopter but were unable to land anywhere near the accident but noticed that a rescue below had commenced. Apparently the other cliff divers found a group of people who were getting ready for a mountain biking excursion just below the accident.

One of the mountain bikers was actually an avid climber, not only that, she was skilled in crack climbing which is more specialized and a different set of skills. She leapt into action without hesitating and began to scale the cliff

side. Many just watched as she made her way up and anchored the jumper to herself and then descended the cliff with him. Now for the lesson. This is very similar to our own situations. We jump into this world and whether it is our own choices or the choices and challenges of life, we all end up in dire predicaments at times in our lives. We cannot get down on our own. It takes someone with the skills and the unwavering selfless sacrifice to pull us away and carry us to safety. can help us to safety. Christ is our expert climber, he is familiar with the situation we are in and is the only one that

I hope that you are having a good week and I am excited to see you and hear how your week was. I love you tons!

Love,

Mom