Posted in General Articles by Jake Rodriguez on 1/21/2012
How do you make a love story of a couple that is so happy and so in
love not barfable? Jake says it's when you don't make the story super
rosey. But what if your story is rosey, thorns and all?
Here is what I would like to share...
 For
those of you waiting for your spouse, brains about to blow because of
frustration and a hormones like fireworks...here is what I know to be
true for me.
-Jake was a choice. He was not a mystical feeling
or a super-spiritual emotion. The later things were somewhat present,
but in the end I chose him and he chose me and we have continued to
choose each other pretty much every day--like no cliche's, we really do
choose each other.
-I thought I was ready to choose him before I
saw his ugly side...you know when you are still high as a kite after a
really long make-out session while you are dating. But I wasn't. It
took both of us seeing each others ugly sides before we realized this:
There is something incredible about first choosing someone out of your
own decision (dating) before choosing them out of obligation
(marriage).
-Both Jake and I had a amazing revelations before
we married. The Lord gave Jake the 3 P's and myself the 3 A's. Cute,
huh. Barfable, I know.
 Jake
was challenged to wait on marriage until he could do the following for
his wife....1.) Provide for her. 2.) Protect her. 3.) Promote her.
Sit on that for a minute...
In my quiet time with the Lord He
very clearly spoke to my heart. "In the way that you have loved me, I
want you to love him." He spoke 3 things to me. "Adore him like you
have adored me." "Accept him for who he is like you have accepted me,
even when you don't understand and it is not on a good day." "Advance
him like you have advanced my Kingdom."
-Jake and I both chose
to listen to people who's lives and marriages inspired us, individually
before we even knew each other. From each person we gleaned the good
stuff and were mature enough to realize that love doesn't come with an
exact recipe, meaning we had to leave behind some of what we learned.
And then when we finally found each other, we had to figure out how to,
in our own selves, love each other in the most natural way to us.
Jake's
pet name for me is Gorgeous. He wakes me up every morning with a kiss
as he says, "Good morning, Gorgeous." Every. Single. Morning. I smile
like a giddy school girl. He treats me with such respect all day, every
day as if I really were the sun and moon and stars. He loves me just
how God told me he would. He loves me just as He loves me.
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Posted in General Articles by Jake Rodriguez on 12/30/2011
My wife's latest blog...
My job at AIM is quite unique because I am a decision-maker. Before
anyone can go on one of our trips they have to go through me and it is
my responsibility to make sure they are ready to go onto the field.
It
would be an easy job if Eve would have never eaten the apple.
Unfortunately, our world knows good and evil and while reading through
everyone's interviews and learning their stories, I see every bit of
good and every bit of horrible.
World Racers, Passporters,
Ambassadors, Short-Termers, for any of our programs we send participants
to the field to do something courageous, you know something out of the
ordinary like actually help people. My favorite part about our programs
is that we send people that have endured dysfunctional families with
abuse that you don't want to think about. We send men and women that
have struggled through eating disorders, sexual abuse or past
circumstances of suicide attempts. We have the kind of people that were
once in rehab centers and mental hospitals. And, we have people that
have parents who are so in love and raised them in the best ways
possible.
What happens when you send these types of people out to a world that looks just like them?
- Katie Way, on X Squad, shares about her time in Kenya
where in just one week her team saw people experience healing from
pain and illness, and about 100 people came to know Christ! Read
about it here: http://katieway.theworldrace.org/?filename=that-just-happened.
- During this week in India, Kaylynn Loveless and her team on A
Squad prayed for a deaf and mute woman to hear and speak...
and she did!
"My team circled around her and asked God to heal
this beautiful lady who was crying out to him. After saying a
short prayer our translator Agape asked her if she could hear.
The lady shook her head yes!! Praise the Lord she could hear!!
As a team we decided to pray for her voice again. While
praying for her you could feel the Holy Spirit in the circle.
After we prayed for her our translator asked her to speak, she
started off by mumbling some words. We started singing praises
to God and she started to match our pitches and speak. This
lady who couldn't hear or tell us what she needed prayer for
vocally was now listening to us worship and joining us in
worshiping our wonderful creator. Hallelujah!!!"
Read the incredible story here:
http://kaylynnloveless.theworldrace.org/?filename=god-is-still-in-the-healing-business
- David Gardner, B Squad, received a letter from a 14-yr
old girl he ministered to in Honduras. His heart is touched as she
writes to him saying how he has now become her "youngest father."
"My dad and I don't have a good friendship because
he doesn't have much love for me, but it's not important
because I have a lot of other fathers who have a lot of love
for me, like God in the sky, Tony (our ministry contact with
whom she lives), and you, [David], my youngest father. "
http://davidgardner.theworldrace.org/?filename=her-youngest-father
- Cody O'Donnell, from X squad, shares this week about a
day during door-to-door evangelism in Kenya when he met a woman
who didn't want anything to do with his team. After some
persuasion, she let them share about what they were doing and why
they were there. By the end of their conversation, he had received
Christ and was a new creation. Read below about just how powerful
and detailed the Lord is with His timing:
"She asked Jesus into her heart that day and we
prayed with her. We invited her to church and three days
later she came. After the service, she told us her full
story. She told us how she had used her last 250 schillings
to purchase poison in order to kill her 3 children and
herself. She was planning to do it the day we came to visit
her. She was crying and was so grateful that we had shared
Jesus with her. It showed up how on a day when we weren't
sure how much we were accomplishing or whether decisions about
receiving Christ were actually real or just an obligation due
to having Mzungus (white people) sharing with her. This
really clarified we were there for a reason and that meeting
people in these situations weren't just a fluke or luck. "
http://codyodonnell.theworldrace.org/?filename=a-life-changed
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Posted in General Articles by Jake Rodriguez on 10/13/2010
For context, see original blog here: http://marisabanas.theworldrace.org/?filename=michael-angelo
Do you remember this child, the infamous Michael Angelo? Two years ago he was sold as a sex
slave for the same price of a meal out for two. His family was promised that he would be sent to
Japan to become a king, but what they didn't know is that the day they handed
him over to the seemingly harmless woman, they were actually handing their son
over to a pimp to be the sex toy for a perverted man in Asia who already had
several other children that he used in this way.
It is easy to turn your head and flip the downer of a news
channel over to some eye-candy reality show that involves nothing important
whatsoever. I do that often,
mostly for sanity. But today, in
this moment, I am going to ask you to not turn away. I want you to look at this next picture and what I have seen
with my own eyes. Then I want you
to consider becoming a Sarah Hastings.
At the time I had no idea why I was taking this boring
picture of their feet. It is this picture
that later haunted me along with several thousand other people who read the initial
blog. Sitting on the steps of the school, shocked and angry at what I had just
learned about Michael Angelo's situation, I looked at the picture and wept
profusely. I asked myself the same
questions you probably asked after looking at this image. “How can a man this size do…that…to a
child.”
Let that simmer…
About a month after the initial posting I was surprised by a
casual comment given to me by my squad leader. “Hey, I have good news for you. My friend Sarah Hastings has gone buck wild and changed that
sex slave kid's life…you know, the one that you blogged about.”
Here is where the story gets good.
Just a busy mom with two active toddler twins… Just a woman with a compassionate heart… Just someone that loves the Lord…
That is who
Sarah Hastings is.  And after
reading about Michael she let the haunting pictures make her so angry that her
only choice was to take action.
She decided to enlist
her family to trade the age-old tradition of giving and receiving Christmas
gifts for sponsoring Michael Angelo's family. Through PCF the family was
lavished with food, clean water, clothing, paid school fees and even a taxi
type of vehicle that would enable the father to provide with.
A couple of weeks ago we sent a current World Race team into
the village to find Michael Angelo and report the family's well being after 2
years. They found him. Michael is healthy. The father is
working construction and renting his vehicle to someone else so they are making
even more money. Most of the kids
are in school, and Michael Angelo will be enrolled in the next school
session. This time when they went
there, the children had clothes.
And although they still don't have much and are still dirt poor, their lives
have been touched. His mother was especially humbled by all that she has been
given. Wouldn't you if that were
your family?
It is possible to make a difference, and you don't have to
be a hero to be a hero. Thank you
Sarah Hastings for your tender heart, and for your relentless compassion that
led you to taking matters into your own hands and extending the reach of God
even farther.
Some recent pictures of Michael Angelo and his family: 
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Posted in General Articles by Jake Rodriguez on 6/2/2010
Coming Soon: Marisa Rodriguez
Marisa and I
have had a wild ride of a year. As you probably already
know we got engaged while she was in Spain visiting the G-42 School. With
our wedding scheduled for August of this year, I have approximately 66
days, 3 hours and roughly 3 minutes until she is finally my wife! Not
that anyone is counting. In addition to our transition into marriage, we have
another big change occurring. The World Race has decided to move our
Michigan office to our headquarters in Georgia. The move
is a welcomed one, and we are extremely excited to settle down in the
south once again. The Engine: If You Haven't Heard, This Is
Who We Are
We work with two of Adventures In Missions programs, The
World Race (11 months, 11 countries) and Real Life (Up to 3
months, 1 country). With both programs the concept is to take people
who believe there is more to God and partner them with ministries who
are actually making a difference throughout the world. The teams travel
to countries like Haiti, Romania, West and East Africa, Israel, the
Philippines, China and Guatemala. In fact, we have over
500 contacts in 73 different countries. Each month the teams come under the
leadership of a ministry that Adventures In Missions partners with, and
they do WHATEVER their contact needs. In any given month a team could be
building bathrooms for an orphanage, teaching sex slaves English,
addressing witchcraft issues, pulling orphans off the street, doing
pastor conferences, orphanage outreaches, praying for the sick etc. The
participants are stretched to the max as they live in tents, have a
year's worth of belongings in a backpack and eat a basic diet. The Steering Wheel: What We Do
(Yes, All Logistics People are Geeks :)
Our role in
this organization is on the business side. I am in charge
of the Logistics department which is directly involved with scouting out
and partnering with like-minded ministries all over the world. My
department also handles all of the budgets, transportation from country
to country, risk-management and emergency situations. Marisa's
role is to assist our staff during training camps when the Racers come
in for their 2-week training before officially be launched. This
year we have our work cut our for us. The program has
tripled in size and will have 1,000 participants on the field this year. The Rear View
Mirror: What We Want To Leave Behind Us
Our vision is simple. We believe
that God cares about the whole person--body, soul and Spirit. We want
to see people walking in God's Grace from little American towns to
Chengdu, China and we found a way to do it.
We tend to get the
kind of people that hear a whisper in their hearts that there is more to
God. They come from all denominations, Baptist,
Presbyterian, Non-Denominational, Penecostal½"You name it, we've got
them. At training camp we are up front in telling them
that the whisper is true, there is more. At that point we
equip them, give them a safe environment to investigate God and send
them out to some of the hardest most devastated places in the world. Our hope is
that through their investigation of God's capabilities, they will become
the answer to prayers that are prayed from people all over the world.
And when they return back to their homes, churches and workplaces after
their travels they will take what they learned and continue to be a
influence with their faith and inspiration for others in their own
community. Gas Tank: What We Need $25,000 gets
us through the year beautifully! That amount is broken
down to $2,083 a month. To do this we need
monthly and one-time supporters who want to be credited with the same
things we are doing. A few years ago Marisa was doing a
photo session of a couple and their baby. At the end of
the shoot the husband asked her what she wanted to do with her life. After
sharing her heart for missions the guy told her, “When you are ready to
go, give us a call so that we can support you.” Marisa
turned to him and said stupidly, “Oh, so you can be part of my prayer
team.” The guy said, “I always pray better when I have
money on it.” We can't wait
to partner with more people with this kind of tenacity, get'r done
mentality and love for the Lord. In the next two months we
will be making phone calls and sending support letters and the chances
are good that you will get one. We would be honored if you prayerfully
consider financially supporting us.
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Posted in General Articles by Jake Rodriguez on 1/12/2010
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
I recently talked with a father or an October 08 Racer. We discussed my position with the Race and he commented to me,
I
was very thankful for you while my daughter was away. I had a better
peace knowing that someone was going before her to make sure she was
safe.
In
an uncertain and dangerous world we obviously cant guarantee 100%
safety, but it has been a personal joy of mine to go ahead of so many
people and prepare the way. My job description is to scour the globe
and search for impactful ministries to connect with our energetic,
God-chasers also known as World Racers.
The
work that we do is dynamic. My department is responsible for managing
squad budgets, coordinating team placements, transportation and living
arrangements, establish Race routes and build our ever-growing list of
ministry contacts around the globe.
Just
as the father that I spoke about above was concerned about his
daughters safety, we too have several resources that we use that give
us a heads up on anything that would be life-threatening. My team
stays quite busy as we work to get around 250+ people around the
world. That number will quickly grow to about 600 young adults as we
continue to launch teams throughout the year.
We are busy, thankful that God is alive and that he really does direct us and blessed to be part of the Great Commission.
Thank you for your continued prayers.
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Posted in General Articles by Jake Rodriguez on 3/28/2009
This
is a quick update to share the latest. As I had mentioned previously,
as a co-leader to the Oct 2008 World Race squad I have the chance to
visit them throughout there year to check in and help with their
periodic debrief times. Well the squad has come up on their mid-point
of their 11 month journey. They are just finishing up their time in
India and will be arriving in Kiev, Ukraine over the weekend.
As part of my responsibilities, I get to travel ahead and meet them
here. Have I mentioned that I love what I do? Gosh, God is good!
I am here following up on several of the logistical details that have
been coordinated and arranged for the next three months of ministry.
It also gives me a chance to check in on how the squad is doing and do
some of the logistics for them over this next week and a half so that
the team can take a bit of a rest time.
They have been ministering for just over 5 months now and are about to
get introduced to yet another culture and environment. This is a first
for me and the World Race. This is the first time we have actually
sent teams in to Eastern Europe. We are excited to see what the Lord
is doing and how we get to partner in those great things.
I have been here for literally two days and am surprised to see how two
worlds literally converge in a place such as this. On one side their
is what seems to be a first world environment growing with all the
material fashions we are used to in the states and yet turn your head
and you can still see the struggles many people face in this post
communistic society. The struggles seem to be far from over as a world
of two very different ideologies converge. A younger generation seeks
out independence an freedom of expression (clearly seen in the fashion
forwardness of the younger population) and the older generation cling
to years of structured instructions on how to live. Both have their
goods and bads. Yet both seem to be operating at the same time
struggling to become the dominant thought of the day.
I look forward to learning more even if my time here is short. Please
join me in prayer for the people of Ukraine and that regardless of
political and social paradigms, the Truth of our God will make itself
known amongst the nations of Eastern Europe. Please pray for the teams
as they make this transition.
Blessings
Jake
Send Jake a comment! Click Here!
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Posted in General Articles by Jake Rodriguez on 2/25/2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Where oh where in the world is Jake these days?
Last time I broadcasted I was in the Philippines... Was somewhere else with limited to no internet access... Where oh where?!!
Rumor
had it that I was in China, possibly Hong Kong. Some had a thought
that I was somewhere in Africa. Kenya one would suggest. Others even
thought that I was even in South America. Well no more guessing...
I am back in the goodol USA. After 3.5 months of being out on the field with the most amazing group of World Racers, the Oct 08 squad,
I have found myself in Port Huron, Michigan. It really is a God
thing. The rumors were true. Over the past several months, I have
been blessed to see more parts of the world and the need for God. We
started in Manilla, proceeded to China, and then East Africa. Having
spent two months crossing the landscape of Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania,
there are several stories I am looking forward to sharing.
I
have now been invited to be a part of the World Race leadership team.
More specifically, I am partnering with an amazing team of World Race
alumni coordinating the Setup and Logistics for the entire program.
Talk about an amazing opportunity and crazy responsibility. God help
me and the team.
Under the leadership of Michael Hindes,
this team is working to meet the underlying question by many young
adults of, is this really all there is to living a Christian life? I
have had the amazing opportunity to see what a generation of young
adults looks like as they go through a process of abandonment and
surrender in an effort to find their true identity in the Kingdom of
God. In such we have organized a team of alumni here in Port Huron,
Michigan to lead this through the next coming years of growth.
It
really is a nice change considering I have spent the greater part of
the last two years in so many different places. At this point and for
this season, I actually have a bedroom and bed to call my own. Talk
about a stark change from living on the field and in so many different
places. The nations will continue to call and I will have the great
chance to serve as I get to serve the teams of WRers.
I
thank you for hanging on to the sporadic blogs that have been posted.
One of the luxuries that I currently have is pretty consistent access
to the internet. Throughout all these travels, the miracles, the
stories, the adventures, and just amazing stories of God showing
himself true have all bottled up. I hope that you will continue to
walk with me over the next several blogs as I finally take a moment to
recount and remember them as I write them in blog format.
Thank
you again for all your prayers and continued support. None of this
would be possible without your willingness to partner with me in this
God adventure. May the Lord bless you.
Blessings
Jake
Click to send Jake
a comment!
The World Race - Michigan Office
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Posted in General Articles by Jake Rodriguez on 10/10/2008
I
am a believer that Jesus lives in the dumps. This is my second time to
visit a community that calls the city dump home. And each time I have
to believe that I have seen more Jesus in people than I do in most
anywhere else. Let me share with you a brief story from my most recent
visit.
We
have setup two teams to work and serve with the Philippine Christian
Foundation while here in Manila, Philippines. I had the privilege of
visiting the dumps in which some 5,000 people call home. It challenges
my senses and stretches my very sense of conscience when I see how
people can have so little and literally have so much.
On
the day I visited I was being toured around with two local Philippino
musicians and their staff. They live in the greater Manila area and
were being introduced to the dumps and the conditions therein for the
first time. I tagged along trying to understand the conversations that
were mostly in the local tongue of Tagala.
As
we were walking around one young woman, from the artists staff, asked
why I was there and what the World Race teams would be doing there. I
replied with the typical, We are here to serve, build, create
relationships, evangelize, and... When all of a sudden she stopped me
mid-sentence. Jake, she interjected, I believe in Jesus and God.
But how do you evangelize and talk about Jesus in a place like this?
The Jesus and God I know is a God that wants his people to be
prosperous, fruitful, and he wants people to have a fulfilling life.
Look around. How do you share that in a place like this?
Immediately, I felt like I knew where she
was coming from with her question. I
have grown up in a community and
church that painted Jesus and God in just
that manner. Its not entirely wrong, by
any means, but it is an attitude that puts
God in such a small box. There is so
much more.
I
responded, Its actually so much easier to share the Gospel in a place
like this than it is even just across the street to someone who has so
much more. I continued, This is a place where Jesus would come to
bring hope to the hopeless and tell each man, woman, and child that
they are loved. That while the world around them is continuously
telling them that they are the lowest of the low. We have the
opportunity to visit, and tell them that they are special, we like God
love them, and that Jesus would have died for them too if they were the
only person on the world. They are THAT special in the eyes of
Jesus. We have been given the opportunity to say that we have come
literally from the other side of the world just to visit them and spend
time with them. They are again, that special.
I
had this young kid, named Jessica in hand. She had no shoes, a cute
dirt stained orange outfit on, one tooth, and the biggest smile of all
the little kids around as we walked and talked. I looked up at this
young woman, with whom I was sharing, and noticed she had tears
welling in her eyes and soon tear tracks running down her cheek.
She
said thanks, as she admitted that she had been ministered to with such
simple words. Youre right, Jake, she commented from behind her
tears. Jesus is bigger than she had initially thought, and I believe
He had just busted out of the box in her own life. I was touched at
how Jesus once again had made himself known from within the midst of
one of the dirtiest places on earth I have ever visited.
I pray that this story touches your heart just as much as it did mine. Lets remember that our Lord loved us first!
Click to Email
a Comment
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Posted in General Articles by Jake Rodriguez on 9/4/2008
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Greetings
to each of you my friends and supporters. I must admit that I have
struggled to write this blog. It has taken me a bit to actually
understand why, and after a bit of time trying to figure it out, I have
come to the conclusion that there remains a horrible trait within me
that I thought I had dealt with. PRIDE. DAMN this thing we call
PRIDE. ahhhhhhh. While I do believe I have grown significantly when
it comes to this, it isnt until it comes to writing this blog that I
realize it has a nasty habit of poking its nasty head again. Let me
explain.
I
have shared with you in the past that while I was traveling last year I
learned that my calling is truly for the field workers. While many are
called to serve the poor, the orphaned, and the widows, I have truly
come to realize that my calling is to serve those who serve the poor,
orphaned, and widowed. In other words, I feel my calling at this point
is to Equip the One... To Serve the Many.
Over
this past year, I have been able to serve the World Race missionaries
as they have served in Bolivia and India. My primary role has been to
assist with various logistical needs as the teams transition from
country to country.
Locally,
I have had the pleasure of helping a local youth group and youth pastor
in Michigan. I have also been able to work with SDG in installing AV
equipment in two brand new churches.
Each
of these experiences has been based on the calling to live this year
entirely on faith. Each day has been taken care of by faith. As I
have mentioned before I have never been without. The Lord really has
afforded me with all this opportunities by His provision.
So as I am here this evening, I now have the joy of sharing with you my most recent opportunity to serve the field workers. Outreach Outfitters and I have been asked to help the October 2008 World Race
team as they start their travels at the end of this month. If you
recall I spent the last part of my travels last year doing setup and
logistics for our squad as we traveled through SE Asia and China. Well
as one would have it, that is exactly where this team is going to
start. So I have been asked to assist this squad with their setup and
logistics needs through the end of the year. This is a great
opportunity for me to serve the field workers and indirectly the people
of the Philippines, China, and then Kenya.
This
will mean I will travel along side the squad for the first three months
of their trip with three main responsibilities. First to assist them
in working with local contacts in coordinating various setup and
logistical needs. The second, is to work with the squad leader, Allison Johnston,
in developing future leaders. Third, but far from least, I will be
working to expand the network of contacts throughout each of this
countries for future teams to partner with.
So
bring in the part about pride. Because this opportunity is still
founded in the field of international missions, it means that the need
for financial supporters still exists. In creeps the nasty thing
called pride. It is difficult for me sometimes to say HELP! I would
love to say I could do it by myself, but that would be a lie. Instead,
I have to embrace the idea that international missions is a community
project. A community that includes you and me. I dont know why it is
so hard for me to ask, but here I am putting myself out there.
So
here it is. To heck with the pesky thing I call pride in my life. I
NEED YOUR HELP! I need your help to serve those who are serving the
poor, orphaned, widowed, hopeless, and those in need of people who
reflect Gods love. I need to raise $6,500 in order to help offset the costs required to travel to Philippines, Hong Kong, Mainland China, and Kenya.
I
am asking you to pray and partner with me as we will continue to serve
those in need. If you feel compelled to partner with me please follow
the link provided. It will take you to the WORLD RACE support page
so you can process an online contribution. Regardless of the amount, I
promise you that every bit helps. Please remember that it is a tax deductible donation.
You have the option of being a regular monthly supporter please reply
via the comment link so I can get you the automatic debit forms.
Long
story short. I have been given an opportunity to serve 53 outstanding
world racers for the remaining part of the year, and I need your help
to make that happen. By being either a fiscal supporter or a dedicated
prayer partner the assistance you provide is so greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance and I look forward to sharing the testimonies with
you as they unfold.
Thanks again and blessings to you and your entire family.
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Posted in General Articles by Jake Rodriguez on 3/28/2008
2008 has been a wonderful year thus far. I know that I have been less than faithful in making regular postings on my blog.
Well there is good news. I have started a new blog and would like to invite you to follow me to this new site. Click the following link and please add jacob.rodriguez@outreachoutfitters.com to your contact list so that future update notices will make it through your email filters.
The link:
http://www.outreachoutfitters.com/Jakes_Place/My_Blog_Board.html
I have appreciated your emails, prayers, and support so much. I hope that you will continue to follow the adventure of "Living solely by Faith!"
Blessings to you and to your entire family.
Jake
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