18 Sep., 2011
Hey mom/everyone!
well before i get i think that mail and dear elder are about the same because they just sit in the office forever!
so how is everything going? what else is new? well time does fly by but so so many things happen though!!! well you know how i was worried about being transferred. . . .well elder Hatton is now a trainer for elder Carvajal. he is from Guerrero. he is pretty cool but needs to do some adjusting to his companion (elder Hatton) like all missionaries need to learn. So i have a new companion also. His name is Elder Christenson. he is from Midville Utah. Funny thing is that his name is Jaron also!!!!! how cool is that. he will be going home in december also with elder Hatton. they started the mission together and now they are going to end together. so we have four missionaries in this barrio panamericano because there was so much success from the stake conference. in the stake conference there are usually 500 people, but at this one there was 200 investigators (or people that were invited) and 100 inactive members. so that was really cool to set a new record!!!
wow sounds like there has been a big change with the ward! how is that going?
ya you should definitely work with those two baptisms. it is really something special. in fact this week i think we will have four people baptized!!!! i have seen so so many miracles this week!!! it has been amazing! one of the guys that will get baptized is Omar. He is married to a member. He was really catholic and one time the elders passed by and gave him a book of mormon and he wanted to throw it away. he just started reading it recently with his family. he has one son that is 8. but elder Carrillo and i passed by once and read with him and i felt the spirit so strong. we also talked about prayer and sstuff. but later i passed by again with a different elder, elder Gressman. he doesnt have much time in the mission either so i was trying so hard to follow the spirit. elder gressman started teaching something that didnt have to do with his questions but it did in a way. but i started talking and i felt the spirit so so storng. when i finished talking he said that he understood at that point. we finished the lesson but elder hatton and elder Carvajal and i went by again and taught something and i felt the spirit so strong again. but i heard that he was thinking of changing religions after the one visit. so when we passed by we taught the restoration and i felt the spirit and asked if he would be baptized and now he is going to this saturday!!!! it was amazing and he recieved an answer of the book of mormon that night too.
one thing i have learned from elder hatton is that we can ask them to ask again about the book of mormon. like say i know that it is true but i want to have another answer to have a stronger tesimony. i dont know if i explained that well but it was amzing!!!
well i need to go. sorry but i havent sent anything home, but i will for sure SOON!!!!! oh for the independence day they dont do much but they do a GRITO! on the 15th at 12 they shout stuff like VIVA; VIVA MÉXICO! kind of like new years eve.
well i really need to go. i miss you all so so much. and i love you tons!!!
Elder Barnes
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
September 12th
Hey Everyone,
well these last six months have gone by fast!!! it is so crazy to think that i have 1/4 of my mission over. it went by fast. well at six months they do burn a tie but i didnt do it.
well the weather has been changing a tiny bit. in the nights it gets really nice out. it starts to feel fresh and cool, but the days are still hot!!!
its funny that you guys had stake conference because we did too!! one of the seventy came to ours. his name is Mosiah Del Gado or something like that. it was a big event here because the air in the stake center is being re-done. so we had it in the Teatro of the city. there was a lot of space, so us missionaries did a lot of inviting people and visited members to get them excited to invite also. this one family had so many referencias for us. it was pretty cool and we got 6 of our investigators there. but it was really cool because the seventy said some stuff about my companion and I. he saw us working and inviting people to the conference. so that was interesting.
ok here is the answer to your many questions about mexico. well their main meal is at two-ish. they have a lot of different foods and some of it is weird. . .like the cow stomach soup (menudo), and cow liver, and pig skin. ya they eat some interesting stuff but i really like the food here. oh their independence day is the 16 of september. so that is coming up and there are a lot of flags and other stuff to buy. i think i will buy a lot of stuff next year.
oh a lot of the houses are small and the are made of concrete. there are a lot of cockroaches too. the houses sometimes have gates around it, so we hit the gate with something that is hard. none of the house have grass either. there is NO GRASS here! the people that are rich have grass but the grass is hard and not soft like in the US.
oh they also have a lot of people out on the streets/ corners selling stuff. so at stop lights there are people to wash windows, selling pics of Christ, selling candy or newspapers. one time i saw a guy put three candy bars on the windows of the cars to tempt them to buy because it is right there in their face. but before the light turns green and they drive off, the guy retrieves his candy bars and money. pretty interesting!!! some even do cool fire shows. like juggling things that are on fire.
i would say that the security system is really weird but cool. the police have machine guns and they drive in trucks. and usually in the back of the truck are more guys with machine guns. it is really interesting and cool!!!
In the airport they had this button and if you press it and it goes red, they will check all of your stuff. if it goes green then you can go on ahead. i got the RED!!
well i need to go. the hour flew by. i might get transfered today but i am not sure.
I miss you all alot, and love you tons.
Elder Barnes
well these last six months have gone by fast!!! it is so crazy to think that i have 1/4 of my mission over. it went by fast. well at six months they do burn a tie but i didnt do it.
well the weather has been changing a tiny bit. in the nights it gets really nice out. it starts to feel fresh and cool, but the days are still hot!!!
its funny that you guys had stake conference because we did too!! one of the seventy came to ours. his name is Mosiah Del Gado or something like that. it was a big event here because the air in the stake center is being re-done. so we had it in the Teatro of the city. there was a lot of space, so us missionaries did a lot of inviting people and visited members to get them excited to invite also. this one family had so many referencias for us. it was pretty cool and we got 6 of our investigators there. but it was really cool because the seventy said some stuff about my companion and I. he saw us working and inviting people to the conference. so that was interesting.
ok here is the answer to your many questions about mexico. well their main meal is at two-ish. they have a lot of different foods and some of it is weird. . .like the cow stomach soup (menudo), and cow liver, and pig skin. ya they eat some interesting stuff but i really like the food here. oh their independence day is the 16 of september. so that is coming up and there are a lot of flags and other stuff to buy. i think i will buy a lot of stuff next year.
oh a lot of the houses are small and the are made of concrete. there are a lot of cockroaches too. the houses sometimes have gates around it, so we hit the gate with something that is hard. none of the house have grass either. there is NO GRASS here! the people that are rich have grass but the grass is hard and not soft like in the US.
oh they also have a lot of people out on the streets/ corners selling stuff. so at stop lights there are people to wash windows, selling pics of Christ, selling candy or newspapers. one time i saw a guy put three candy bars on the windows of the cars to tempt them to buy because it is right there in their face. but before the light turns green and they drive off, the guy retrieves his candy bars and money. pretty interesting!!! some even do cool fire shows. like juggling things that are on fire.
i would say that the security system is really weird but cool. the police have machine guns and they drive in trucks. and usually in the back of the truck are more guys with machine guns. it is really interesting and cool!!!
In the airport they had this button and if you press it and it goes red, they will check all of your stuff. if it goes green then you can go on ahead. i got the RED!!
well i need to go. the hour flew by. i might get transfered today but i am not sure.
I miss you all alot, and love you tons.
Elder Barnes
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Septiembre 5, 2011
Hello everyone,
the time has been flying by. i will have 1/4 of my mission done in four days. how crazy!!! time is flying by.
well the weather hasnt changed much at ALL!!! its still hot and sunny. maybe has cooled down a few degrees but not enough to notice. that is one thing that i want to do when i get home is go camping at silvercreek with everyone and feel that cool air!!! but ya its still hot here!!!
well transfers came again but i discovered the other side of it. i am still in Delicias in Barrio Panamericano, but i have a new companion!!! his name is elder Hatton. He is from Utah and he is going to finish his mission on december 5!!! he is really cool and really likes to work. he is really excited to work with me in this barrio. i already have seen an improvement from my last companion. my last companion was a little FRITO!!! Elder Hatton is really cool and he reminds me a lot of Landon Watts. so that is a really good change here!!!!
tell Granpa and Grammie hi for me. i wish i could be there to tell them that but i know i should be here and so do they!!!! i am so grateful for their tremendous help in missionary work!!!! i really know that it is SO SO SO IMPORTANT!!!!!!!! so tell them THANK YOU SO MUCH for the best time/gift in the world!!!!
So is Bri is going to Chicago? that is so cool! the mission will bless her life so much! as it has been for me and continues to be for me.
wow football has started up again. that is really exciting. Please keep me in contact about BSU and Centennial. it is awesome to hear stuff like that.
i love packages and letters so so much!
thank you so much for the awesome letter!!! i love hearing about the fam and others. well i better go. i miss everyone so much and i love a ton!!!
Love,
Elder Barnes
the time has been flying by. i will have 1/4 of my mission done in four days. how crazy!!! time is flying by.
well the weather hasnt changed much at ALL!!! its still hot and sunny. maybe has cooled down a few degrees but not enough to notice. that is one thing that i want to do when i get home is go camping at silvercreek with everyone and feel that cool air!!! but ya its still hot here!!!
well transfers came again but i discovered the other side of it. i am still in Delicias in Barrio Panamericano, but i have a new companion!!! his name is elder Hatton. He is from Utah and he is going to finish his mission on december 5!!! he is really cool and really likes to work. he is really excited to work with me in this barrio. i already have seen an improvement from my last companion. my last companion was a little FRITO!!! Elder Hatton is really cool and he reminds me a lot of Landon Watts. so that is a really good change here!!!!
tell Granpa and Grammie hi for me. i wish i could be there to tell them that but i know i should be here and so do they!!!! i am so grateful for their tremendous help in missionary work!!!! i really know that it is SO SO SO IMPORTANT!!!!!!!! so tell them THANK YOU SO MUCH for the best time/gift in the world!!!!
So is Bri is going to Chicago? that is so cool! the mission will bless her life so much! as it has been for me and continues to be for me.
wow football has started up again. that is really exciting. Please keep me in contact about BSU and Centennial. it is awesome to hear stuff like that.
i love packages and letters so so much!
thank you so much for the awesome letter!!! i love hearing about the fam and others. well i better go. i miss everyone so much and i love a ton!!!
Love,
Elder Barnes
August 29th, 2011
the FAM,
hey how is everything going? it is about time i heard something about jills family!!! i havent heard much of them!!! how is EVERYONE doing?
so how is everything going with the new ward and stuff? who replaced dad for that short period of time in the bishopric?
well yes it is still really hot here. i look forward to rain but i dont really like rain. Although I do like it here because it cools the city down so so much!! i am very lucky to live in a house right now with air conditioning. very few houses have them. the houses are very small. they usually have a front room and a bed room and a small bathroom and a very very tiny kitchen. the neighborhoods are funny. i will take a picture because every house are exactly the same and my companion said that they arent because of the color and the top of the roof is a different shape but they are the same.
well yes i am back the bikes and that is one reason why i dont have money. the repairs are terrible!! my companion has had a lot of problems with his bike. yes we always eat with members and it is always at 2 o´clock. i believe that is the big meal of the day. at least for us it is!!!!
i havent had to teach the gospel principles for awhile because someone has the calling. my last time teaching it was in casas grandes. that is a nice relief. the thing that i am learning about myself is . . . . a lot of things. some are confidence, patience, diligence, and animo. i need to have confidence to talk with the people. a lot of the times when i start talking, the things that i want to say just come out without really trying but when i dont have confidence i worry and mess up. patience and diligence is because of this area. this area is really hard. the zone leaders and the district with his companion came and worked with us to help us a little. i went with my district leader and he put a baptismal date with an investigator and that was awesome. Animo is a spanish word. it means to be enerjetic or something of the sort. there isnt really a word for it but i need to be more excited because my companion isnt very excited. so that is also hard.
well i really need to go. i miss everyone a lot and love you tons!!!
Elder Barnes
hey how is everything going? it is about time i heard something about jills family!!! i havent heard much of them!!! how is EVERYONE doing?
so how is everything going with the new ward and stuff? who replaced dad for that short period of time in the bishopric?
well yes it is still really hot here. i look forward to rain but i dont really like rain. Although I do like it here because it cools the city down so so much!! i am very lucky to live in a house right now with air conditioning. very few houses have them. the houses are very small. they usually have a front room and a bed room and a small bathroom and a very very tiny kitchen. the neighborhoods are funny. i will take a picture because every house are exactly the same and my companion said that they arent because of the color and the top of the roof is a different shape but they are the same.
well yes i am back the bikes and that is one reason why i dont have money. the repairs are terrible!! my companion has had a lot of problems with his bike. yes we always eat with members and it is always at 2 o´clock. i believe that is the big meal of the day. at least for us it is!!!!
i havent had to teach the gospel principles for awhile because someone has the calling. my last time teaching it was in casas grandes. that is a nice relief. the thing that i am learning about myself is . . . . a lot of things. some are confidence, patience, diligence, and animo. i need to have confidence to talk with the people. a lot of the times when i start talking, the things that i want to say just come out without really trying but when i dont have confidence i worry and mess up. patience and diligence is because of this area. this area is really hard. the zone leaders and the district with his companion came and worked with us to help us a little. i went with my district leader and he put a baptismal date with an investigator and that was awesome. Animo is a spanish word. it means to be enerjetic or something of the sort. there isnt really a word for it but i need to be more excited because my companion isnt very excited. so that is also hard.
well i really need to go. i miss everyone a lot and love you tons!!!
Elder Barnes
Monday, August 29, 2011
22 Agosto
HEY!!! how is everything going? well first before i forget. i have been taking some money out of my account. i know that your watching but i dont know how much there is or how much i have taken out. i find it somewhat hard to live on the money that they give us at times. i dont by much food on mondays but i do buy some snacking food during the week. there are these little stores everywhere!! they are a part of peoples houses and i buy cookies and a soda every so often. the reason why i took out money was because i have to pay for bike repairments and light bill. also tell janae i got her letter and i loved it!!! i also got jordans dear elder. i think it takes around a month for me to get the dearelders.
well your questions. . . elder carrillo is really awesome!! he doesnt really speak english but he is trying. he can say some stuff but he cant put a sentence together on his on. he is from guanajuato. he will finish is mission in december. he was inactive for most of his life. the last 6 months he was reativated and is now on his mission.
my spanish is coming along, not as fast as i wish it to but elder carrillo is helping me a lot!!! during lessons i can talk with no problem because i have more confidence in myself but just with talking to people i dont have as much confidence and it isnt as great.
i email in any place that has internet, like right now i am in a papeleria.
we are teaching some investigators right now but we just started teaching them. like i said the elder before me left this area DEAD!!! we could definitely find more of these chosen people that the president is talking about. they are just so hard to find. we had a conference with the president again and this time i learned so so much and my companion volunteered to teach a lesson in front of everyone. that was a little nerve racking but it went well!!!
hardest thing about the mission. . . . is the language and . . . doing my best. i always feel like i can do more and more and better. at times i feel like i am not doing a good enough job. i KNOW that the Lord is preparing people but i am just having a hard time finding this people. i know that there are families that are being prepared and are searching the truth with out knowing it but i just dont know where they are. thats what is a little hard in this area.
the best thing is just the mission itself. i have learned so many things. there is nothing better than serving the Lord and teaching other people the outstanding blessings that come from the gospel.
I havent really had the chance to talk with the president but i think he knows because i wrote it in a letter and he asked me how my feet were and i said PERFECT!!!
Oh i also, tell janae that i have had menudo and it is not that bad. it is a soup with cow stomach. its not that bad. . .but its not the greatest either. the shrimp and fish that one time was terrible. shrimp is nasty!!!
but everything else is going great here. i think i will be sending something next week. i have to write to so many people that it is ridiculous. i LOVE getting letters but i am so busy and tired that it is hard to write back. oh the package. i would love to have the general conference ensign because i didnt get one. CANDY like reeses and m$ms and other candy. i can never have enough candy. thank you so so much. i need to go
i miss you all and i love you guys so so much
Elder Barnes
well your questions. . . elder carrillo is really awesome!! he doesnt really speak english but he is trying. he can say some stuff but he cant put a sentence together on his on. he is from guanajuato. he will finish is mission in december. he was inactive for most of his life. the last 6 months he was reativated and is now on his mission.
my spanish is coming along, not as fast as i wish it to but elder carrillo is helping me a lot!!! during lessons i can talk with no problem because i have more confidence in myself but just with talking to people i dont have as much confidence and it isnt as great.
i email in any place that has internet, like right now i am in a papeleria.
we are teaching some investigators right now but we just started teaching them. like i said the elder before me left this area DEAD!!! we could definitely find more of these chosen people that the president is talking about. they are just so hard to find. we had a conference with the president again and this time i learned so so much and my companion volunteered to teach a lesson in front of everyone. that was a little nerve racking but it went well!!!
hardest thing about the mission. . . . is the language and . . . doing my best. i always feel like i can do more and more and better. at times i feel like i am not doing a good enough job. i KNOW that the Lord is preparing people but i am just having a hard time finding this people. i know that there are families that are being prepared and are searching the truth with out knowing it but i just dont know where they are. thats what is a little hard in this area.
the best thing is just the mission itself. i have learned so many things. there is nothing better than serving the Lord and teaching other people the outstanding blessings that come from the gospel.
I havent really had the chance to talk with the president but i think he knows because i wrote it in a letter and he asked me how my feet were and i said PERFECT!!!
Oh i also, tell janae that i have had menudo and it is not that bad. it is a soup with cow stomach. its not that bad. . .but its not the greatest either. the shrimp and fish that one time was terrible. shrimp is nasty!!!
but everything else is going great here. i think i will be sending something next week. i have to write to so many people that it is ridiculous. i LOVE getting letters but i am so busy and tired that it is hard to write back. oh the package. i would love to have the general conference ensign because i didnt get one. CANDY like reeses and m$ms and other candy. i can never have enough candy. thank you so so much. i need to go
i miss you all and i love you guys so so much
Elder Barnes
August 15th
La Familia,
While being here on a mission i have learned so so so many things but the most important thing is to read and pray EVERYDAY!!!! thank you for teaching me this while in my youth!!!!!!!!
Well everything is going great here in Delicias, México. somtimes coming into a new area is very hard. the elder that was before me just went home and he didnt really work hard his last few weeks here. he was a little FRITO (fried). so when the new missionary comes in the new area he gets the fruits of his works. but everything is going great!!!! Elder Carrillo and i are working very hard trying to find people. we taught a lot of new people this week and having more new investigators. so things are progressing. we have this young investigator that she really cool. she is really understanding our message and why it is important for her. its funny how the Lord sends out 19 year old young men to preach the gospel. i think it is so cool and such a great blessing to be serving and to have the gospel in my life. i have noticed that some people dont know why we are here. its such a blessing to know what is our purpose in the world. i know why we here and what we need to do. that is why the Lord sends such young men to go and teach people that are older than they because we know how the gospel can bless their life.
but yes everything is going GREAT here. oh tell jeff HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! sorry i didnt write to you? i know that i need to work on that. trust me i will send some soon.
well i really need to go. i miss you all and love you tons!!!! how is jordan by the way. what is he doing?
love ya tons
Elder Barnes
While being here on a mission i have learned so so so many things but the most important thing is to read and pray EVERYDAY!!!! thank you for teaching me this while in my youth!!!!!!!!
Well everything is going great here in Delicias, México. somtimes coming into a new area is very hard. the elder that was before me just went home and he didnt really work hard his last few weeks here. he was a little FRITO (fried). so when the new missionary comes in the new area he gets the fruits of his works. but everything is going great!!!! Elder Carrillo and i are working very hard trying to find people. we taught a lot of new people this week and having more new investigators. so things are progressing. we have this young investigator that she really cool. she is really understanding our message and why it is important for her. its funny how the Lord sends out 19 year old young men to preach the gospel. i think it is so cool and such a great blessing to be serving and to have the gospel in my life. i have noticed that some people dont know why we are here. its such a blessing to know what is our purpose in the world. i know why we here and what we need to do. that is why the Lord sends such young men to go and teach people that are older than they because we know how the gospel can bless their life.
but yes everything is going GREAT here. oh tell jeff HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! sorry i didnt write to you? i know that i need to work on that. trust me i will send some soon.
well i really need to go. i miss you all and love you tons!!!! how is jordan by the way. what is he doing?
love ya tons
Elder Barnes
Monday, August 8, 2011
August 8th, 2011
La Familia!
first off, WOW Brianne Stokes is going on a mission! that is so crazy, but so AWESOME!!!!
well i am doing fantastic!!! everything is going great here. well i am so so sorry that my email last week was so so short. well i really dont like transfers that much now. yes i am back in Delicias but a different ward. i was in Barrio Juarez but now i am in Barrio panamericano. my area is big and yes we have bikes. my companion now is Elder Carrillo. he is a big guy but very funny. he has a lot of animo when he talks with people. he is a great guy. he is also helping me with my spanish because it isnt the greatest. well my feet are doing great. they have healed and i did take a picture. its got a lot of pics and i have a ton of other SD cards. so i will try to send it home soon.
oh by the way, i forgot to get a letter for jeff sent this week, so i will try to send next week. i feel so so so bad about how terrible i have been with writing letters. i have been so so busy. i dont see how derek was so good at that. it is something really hard to do!!!! so congrats to him!!!!
oh in my next package (when you send one) could you send the conference ensign and maybe some more sunscreen? and more candy of course
well being back in Delicias has been great so far. my area needs a lot of work, but our church is being remodeled so we are in the same building as my last area. our sacrament service is at 8 in the morning, so this will be harder to get investigators in church. but the two wards overlap and i got to see my old barrio. it was GREAT. i saw some of my old investigators and members. its was great because when i left, that week i was going to have 3 people baptized but i was transfered. well Fabiola was one of them and she is married to an inactive member and she was baptized and now they are REALLY strong in the church. she has a really strong testimony. i also got to see the other little girl that i was going to baptize (Vanessa). she and i were both happy to see each other. she is a little shy though.
but ya it has been great to be back.
oh my area is almost the same as the other one here, but there are more poor people. like the houses are the same but there are more poor people hanging around here. a lot of them are Chileros. people that pick chile all day. i have taught this one outstanding family and they are really poor. they live in this place that is kind of like a hotel but they live there. its like off of the movie THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. two of the kids were baptized but the parents werent. the parents have STRONG testimonies but they cant be baptized because they arent married. the husband is from some other country and doesnt have his papers. its so sad that they have such strong testimonies but cant be baptized. but i have seen some weird stuff with these poor people like some sleeping on the side walk and another bathing in the canal. that would be nasty!!!! i would understand more if it was like the canals in boise but here they are disgusting!!!
well i better go. i love you all and miss you tons¡!!!!
Elder Barnes
thanks for everything
first off, WOW Brianne Stokes is going on a mission! that is so crazy, but so AWESOME!!!!
well i am doing fantastic!!! everything is going great here. well i am so so sorry that my email last week was so so short. well i really dont like transfers that much now. yes i am back in Delicias but a different ward. i was in Barrio Juarez but now i am in Barrio panamericano. my area is big and yes we have bikes. my companion now is Elder Carrillo. he is a big guy but very funny. he has a lot of animo when he talks with people. he is a great guy. he is also helping me with my spanish because it isnt the greatest. well my feet are doing great. they have healed and i did take a picture. its got a lot of pics and i have a ton of other SD cards. so i will try to send it home soon.
oh by the way, i forgot to get a letter for jeff sent this week, so i will try to send next week. i feel so so so bad about how terrible i have been with writing letters. i have been so so busy. i dont see how derek was so good at that. it is something really hard to do!!!! so congrats to him!!!!
oh in my next package (when you send one) could you send the conference ensign and maybe some more sunscreen? and more candy of course
well being back in Delicias has been great so far. my area needs a lot of work, but our church is being remodeled so we are in the same building as my last area. our sacrament service is at 8 in the morning, so this will be harder to get investigators in church. but the two wards overlap and i got to see my old barrio. it was GREAT. i saw some of my old investigators and members. its was great because when i left, that week i was going to have 3 people baptized but i was transfered. well Fabiola was one of them and she is married to an inactive member and she was baptized and now they are REALLY strong in the church. she has a really strong testimony. i also got to see the other little girl that i was going to baptize (Vanessa). she and i were both happy to see each other. she is a little shy though.
but ya it has been great to be back.
oh my area is almost the same as the other one here, but there are more poor people. like the houses are the same but there are more poor people hanging around here. a lot of them are Chileros. people that pick chile all day. i have taught this one outstanding family and they are really poor. they live in this place that is kind of like a hotel but they live there. its like off of the movie THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. two of the kids were baptized but the parents werent. the parents have STRONG testimonies but they cant be baptized because they arent married. the husband is from some other country and doesnt have his papers. its so sad that they have such strong testimonies but cant be baptized. but i have seen some weird stuff with these poor people like some sleeping on the side walk and another bathing in the canal. that would be nasty!!!! i would understand more if it was like the canals in boise but here they are disgusting!!!
well i better go. i love you all and miss you tons¡!!!!
Elder Barnes
thanks for everything
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