Posted in General Posts by michael jensen on 5/10/2012
Well it's been a busy couple of weeks here in Moldova. Weeks filled with many blessings. After leaving Transnistria (Narnia) we headed to Chisinau, the capital of Moldova. It's a large, beautiful city with even more beautiful people. We spent most of our time here teaching English at an english club at the local university. It was a lot of fun and we made a ton of new friends. I had the oppurtunity of teaching the beginners class. Actually I should say helping to teach the beginners class. Seeing as how I don't speak the language and the class was for beginners, I was the only one in my team to have someone helping me teach. Even though it was dificult to communicate with the students I still had a blast teaching them. At the end of the week we had a "graduation party" for them complete with music, games, food, and diplomas. It was an awesome week. What made it even more awesome was our accommodations during our stay here. We had the privilege of staying in some super nice appartments. First we stayed with Radu and his family for a week. They were an amazing family and took VERY good care of us. They cooked us some spectacular food during our stay and even took us on a tour of the city. After that week we moved to another apartment in a nearby building. The apartment was on the 15th floor and it had an absolutely great view of the city. Plus we had it all to ourselves. NO sharing with anyone else!! It was awesome!! We have been truly blessed these past weeks.
Our last few days here have been spent in a hotel for the second debrief of the race. Debrief is when the entire squad gets together just to hang out, have fun, and let the rest of the squad know what they have been up to the last couple of months. Also month 4 is when our squad leaders leave to go back to the states. It was a blessing to get to know them and they are amazing people........so Chris, Holli, and Greg........I will miss you a lot and if you are ever in Tampa, Florida don't forget to visit!!!
Well, that's about all I got time for right now. I have to go finish packing. My next stop in the race will be Maputo, Mozambique. Also I want to apologize in advance in case I don't have internet there. I have no idea what the conditions will be like. I may be in Africa all 3 months with no internet. I hope not but we'll see. I will be sure to write as soon as possible. Also, my good friend and fellow teammate Tyler Hamilton was in desperate need of some jeans. So deperate that he went to a second hand store and bought girl jeans......hence the name of this post.....
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Posted in General Posts by michael jensen on 4/23/2012
Hello everyone! Thanks for stopping by. First off I would like to apologize for the delay. Internet is a bit hard to come by in Transnistria. What is Transnistria? I’m glad you asked. Technically it’s a Russian territory located inside the country of Moldova. It even has its own border patrol, currency, and president. Everyone here calls it Narnia because it’s basically a fake, made up country. So what have I been up to in Narnia? I’m glad you asked.
Our first week was spent with a small local church teaching English in Tiraspol, the capitol. It was a lot of fun and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We also had the opportunity to teach at a local university and high school. We made a lot of new friends and met a lot of interesting characters. We also got to celebrate Easter with them, which they celebrate a week later than us. And they eat tons of Easter cake (a special cake they make only during Easter).
During our second week we helped paint an orphanage and got to hang out with the kids there. We also spent some time with the youth of another local church here in Transnistria. One night the pastor of the church invited us over his house where we played ping pong and ate sushi with caviar. After we ate we spent a good hour with him and his family watching funny videos on youtube. It was an amazing night.
This past Friday we were fortunate enough to get to go to Odessa, Ukraine for the day. Odessa is a beautiful city located on the Black Sea. We had a wonderful time walking around and exploring the city. We saw the port, the opera house, Transfiguration Church, Potemkin steps, and a ton of monuments and statues. I got another picture holding a giant hawk (only $2.50 this time) and bought a real whale tooth from an old fisherman in the market. We also had a good time sitting on a bench in the park people watching and just enjoying God’s creation.
Overall I have really enjoyed my time here in Transnistria. We have become quite popular here because we are the only Americans in town. And the only Americans most people have ever seen. I am getting a glimpse of what it’s like being a celebrity. Everyone staring and wanting to take pictures and talk with me just because I’m American. I will miss this place and the many friends we have made. As I write this we are packing up getting ready to head back to Chisinau (the capitol of Moldova) for our next week of ministry. I will be sure to keep you all updated (depending on how good the internet is there). This is the end of act 1. There will be a 15 minute intermission….
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Posted in General Posts by michael jensen on 4/4/2012
Wow, what an exciting week we had this week!! Like I stated in my last post we were fortunate enough to go to Budapest for the weekend, but I’ll get to that later….
Right after posting to my blog last week, a few of us (including myself) got to go to the Soimos ruins in Lipova. I was eager to go but was half expecting just a few rocks or something. I couldn’t have been more wrong! The Soimos ruins are the remains of a castle at the top of a mountain about 15 minutes away from where we are staying. It was amazing. It took some hard work to get up there but it was certainly worth the effort. I could have spent all day there. Climbing up the castle and running and jumping along the walls made me feel a bit like Nathan Drake from Uncharted (if you know who that is). Some of the walls were a good 30ft or higher. I love being able to explore without limits. In the states they would have fences up and signs saying not to climb the walls…..but not here. And the best part was there was no one else there. We had it all to ourselves for a couple of hours. It was so much fun. Afterwards we walked to a nearby monastery and spent some time checking it out.
On Friday morning we left for Budapest. It took about 4 hours to get there but Romi and his wife were nice enough to drive us there so we wouldn’t have to take the train. Once we got into Hungary we stopped at a really nice restaurant and had some Hungarian goulash. It was so delicious……and cheap. Once we got to our hotel we put our bags in our rooms and immediately left for the city. Seeing as we all wanted to do different things we decided it was best to split into small groups. My group was hungry so we decided to grab a bite to eat. After finding a nice Irish pub, we settled down, and I ordered some amazing fish and chips. We sat and talked for a couple of hours, enjoying our time together. When it was dark, we walked to the top of the citadel to check out the view of the city. And what a view it was. It was spectacular. As things often are, it was so worth the hard work to get there. Afterwards we traveled back to the hotel and rested for the big day ahead of us. The next morning we got up early and again raced to the city. If you know anything about Budapest you know that Baths are THE THING to do there. They have dozens of hot springs where people gather to relax. They’re like giant hot tubs. Most of the buildings where the baths are located are hundreds of years old. Anyway we found a nice bath to go to and spent a couple of hours just relaxing and enjoying the view. When we were finished we went to the top of Castle Hill near Buda Castle and checked out the underground labyrinths. They go on for miles and miles and have been used for thousands of years. It looked like a scene out of Lord of the Rings. When we were done exploring we found a nice café and spent some time relaxing by the Danube River, enjoying the sites while a violinist performed nearby. Also nearby was a man with the biggest hawk I have ever seen. For a price you could take pictures holding it. I couldn’t pass up an opportunity like that so I of course jumped at the chance. It was an awesome experience and one I won’t soon forget. We returned to our hotel as the sun was setting and began our trip back to Romania. Budapest was such a beautiful and amazing city and I hope that someday I can return.
When we returned home to the camp we helped Mihai with the little yard work there was left. Mostly just picking up large logs and sticks and picking up trash. Yesterday, Mihai took me about 5 minutes away from here to a man who sold sheep. And for about 30 seconds I was the proud owner of one of the nicest looking sheep in the herd. But of course I only wanted it for the meat. So they took me to the back of a shed where I killed and helped prepare it. When we got back, Mihai and I cooked it on the grill and we all ate like kings. I thought my stomach was going to explode. We did the math and discovered that a sheep could literally feed 30 people. Not just a little bit either. Feed them till they’re full. So we’ve been giving a lot away to some poorer people in the village and to Sophia as well. Needless to say we have all been eating a lot of sheep lately. Good thing it’s my favorite meat.
Well I feel like I’ve been talking forever so I’ll shut up now and let you get back to whatever it is you were doing. Thanks for listening and as always I’ll be sure to keep you posted….
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Posted in General Posts by michael jensen on 3/28/2012
Howe time flies! A lot has happened in the last couple of weeks. We have much to talk about. Life here at camp is pretty busy. Like I mentioned in my previous blog we are getting it prepared for campers in the summer. We spend a lot of time cutting and raking grass, cutting down trees, picking up trash, and painting……lots of painting. We also got to help Marishka (a 91yr old woman) plow her field and get it ready to plant crops (by the way she usually does this all by herself and has done it every year since she was six!) . And while we may work hard, we play just as hard. After clearing a yard of grass, trees, and debris, that night we celebrated by having 3 giant bonfires. On the weekend of the 17th we took a train to the city of Arad where we spent the day exploring the city and hanging with Romi and his family (Romi is the pastor of the church who runs the camp). We all had an amazing time! Quite by accident while exploring the city we stumbled upon an old, historic opera house/theatre. The front doors were unlocked so we invited ourselves in. To our surprise there was NO ONE inside! NO ONE! It was completely empty. We had the entire opera house to ourselves! There were even instruments on the stage as if they were preparing for some big event. I wanted a better view so I went up on the balcony. Sitting up there staring down I felt a bit like Abraham Lincoln. Overall it was a crazy experience and one I thoroughly enjoyed. Later that night we ate outside at a really nice restaurant and then returned to Romi’s house where we all slept in his attic for the night. On Sunday morning we all attended Romi’s church. What a surprise that was. So much nicer and larger than I expected. Romi told me they have about 1,000 members! Anyway, the service was a great cultural experience. Afterwards Romi ordered us pizza which we all quickly devoured, and then we left on the train back to camp. On Friday morning of last week, a friend of mine and myself took an 8 hour train ride down to Brasov for the weekend. Brasov is a beautiful city with big mountains and a lot of history. While there we were able to tour the city, enjoy some great, cheap food, and spend some time just catching up on some much needed rest. Also, the famous Bran Castle (or Dracula’s Castle) in Transylvania is just a short bus ride away from where we were staying, so we of course jumped at the opportunity to check it out. This was especially important to me because it was one of the few items left unaccomplished on my bucket list. So it was nice to go and I greatly enjoyed my time there. Well now that I’ve caught you up on everything so far I guess it’s time for me to go. Thanks for listening! Stay tuned for more adventures to come……..this weekend we are going to Budapest, Hungary. Should make for some interesting stories……..
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Posted in General Posts by michael jensen on 3/15/2012
WOW……I can’t believe it. 45 hours after we left the Mission of Hope compound in Haiti, we are finally in Arad, Romania. And it only took 3 planes, 1 train, and a bus to get us here. Honestly I couldn’t tell you much about our travel days. It was just one big blur to me. But what I can tell you is that we were all VERY happy once we reached our new home. We met our contact Michael (pronounced Me-hi in Romanian) who showed us around, and explained to us some of the things we would be doing this month. We are staying in a very nice house on about 15 acres of property. In the summer it is used as a summer camp for kids but now in the winter we are its only inhabitants (except for Michael, some goats, sheep, ducks, geese, cats, and dogs). Our job while we are here is to get it ready for the kids who come in the summer. Mostly yard work, painting, making minor repairs, and that sort of thing. After our tour we all crashed. Really crashed……like for 13 hours. It was an amazing time. We woke up at 11am the next day and 4 of us (including me) went with Michael to pick up some food at the nearby town. When we got to the town we went to some second hand clothing stores to pick up some winter clothes. It was soooo cheap!! I got a sweet trench coat for 2 lei (that’s less than a dollar!). Then we went to get fruit, meat, and then to a grocery store for the rest of the supplies. Overall, it was an awesome day! When I got back I explored the area around our house. I met the sweetest Romanian woman named Sophia. She is at least 70yrs old and is the one who sells us milk for 5 lei. That’s less than 2 dollars! Well that’s about all the time I have right now. Since the internet is a lot easier to access here I will be sure to write a lot more often. After having only been in Romania a couple of days I can honestly say I know I am going to love it here!!
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Posted in General Posts by michael jensen on 2/23/2012
Apparently the internet is harder to come by in Haiti than in the DR so I apologize for the delay……But anyway we all arrived safe and sound in Haiti and after a few hour bus ride (it would have been faster but we blew a tire) we arrived at the Mission of Hope International compound. It's a nice place right on the ocean, so we have an awesome view. Honestly though, not too much has been going on. It's pretty much the same routine. We get up at 6:30am and have breakfast, and then leave at 7:30am to do construction. Sometimes helping to build a school building behind the MOHI church which is about a 15 minute drive from the compound, and sometimes helping build the BelikeBrit orphanage which is right next to the school. We do this every day except Sunday (which is church) and Monday (which is our day off). Last Saturday was the last day that they were going to have the cement mixer at the school construction site for a long time and there was still A LOT of concrete that needed to be poured. So we worked from approx. 8am to 11pm that night mostly pouring concrete the entire time. Actually I shouldn't say “we”. I spent that day resting because I was sick. But by the time everyone else returned, took showers, and got in bed, it was about 1am.
The heat and humidity here is INSANE. When I was here last it was in the summer and I was expecting it to be hot. But it's winter and it's still just as hot, which makes doing construction all day that much harder. Especially when there's little to no shade at all. Although while we are at the compound we do have the ocean, which gives us a nice breeze.
Well that's about all that's going on right now. I don't see much changing the rest of the time we're here. As far as I know we'll be doing construction until we leave. But I'll be sure to keep you guys posted (whenever I get internet).
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Posted in General Posts by michael jensen on 2/8/2012
What an adventurous last week we have been having in the DR!
Last Thursday, Ronny, Patria, and Francis took us on an exhaustive hike through the forest. After an hour we came to the top of a 60ft waterfall where we had lunch. And by lunch I mean Francis bought a chicken, killed it, and cooked it. It was so delicious. We spent the next few hours just relaxing, sitting on the edge of the waterfall, and enjoying the view God gave us. Overall it was a tiring, but awesome day!
On Friday we got to accompany the children from the Compassion program to a pool party about an hour away from San Juan. Which means it was a 3 hour bus ride for us (taking public transportation). I was half expecting it to be some ghetto pool in the middle of nowhere. Man, was I wrong! It was a really nice place. Sort of a mini resort. Not unlike what you might find in Punta Cana. It even had WiFi!! The food they served us for lunch was equally as nice. Rice, Ribs, and a really good macaroni salad. And we had Coke too! Afterwards we went to the guest house in San Juan where we stayed the night. It was kind of awkward because it was just me and Brett and 16 girls. All the guys had left for the weekend (they went spear fishing at some beach). So we decided to get Francis and have a guys night out. Francis drove us around the city on his motorcycle. We kept getting the strangest looks and people kept laughing and pointing at us. I don’t know if it was because we were Americans or because it was 3 dudes on the same bike. Anyway we went to an awesome empanadas place where we ate and watched a baseball game. After that we stopped by a bakery for some doughnuts and then to an Ice cream place for some milk shakes. At one point while we were riding around we literally almost ran into 3 guys running down the street on stilts. For a second I thought I was dreaming. It was pretty funny. Anyway after a long night we went back to the house and had a good night’s sleep. It’s weird but being at the house was almost a culture shock for me. Over the past few weeks I had gotten quite use to living up in the mountains and coming back to a place with actual electricity, running water, a refrigerator, and a mattress to sleep on was a big (but nice) change.
On Monday I finally got my wish! Francis took me on his bike to Los Frios where I bought a chicken. After coming back to Los Montacitos I killed it, cleaned it (with Francis’s help), and cooked it (with Francis’s and Ronny’s help). It was quite an experience. I got to eat parts of a chicken I didn’t even know you could eat. It was all delicious.
Today on our way back from visiting with some people in a neighboring town, we ran into some people on the dirt road who motioned for us to pull over (the pastor was driving us in his SUV). When we pulled over there was a boy of about 8 or 9 years old who had a HUGE gash right above his eye. The kind of wound you would need stitches for. Needless to say his face was covered in blood. But he seemed extremely calm and he wasn’t crying. We found out that he had been kicked in the face by a mule and they needed us to drive him to the clinic in Los Montacitos. We agreed and loaded him and an older gentleman (I’m guessing his grandfather) into the back. But as we were driving by, the doctor passed us in the “public transportation” truck. The ONLY doctor in Los Montacitos. We tried going after him but were unsuccessful, so we decided to see if one of the nurses could help. I should mention that during this time Francis, Ronny, and the pastor are stopping and talking to other people and seem to have no sense of emergency. It’s kind of funny but at the same time it’s not. I guess it’s just the culture. Anyway, after arriving to the nurses house she comes out (that’s after she finished mopping her floor. I’m not joking.) She tells us there’s nothing she can do. So the pastor decides to get his motorcycle and take the poor kid to another clinic in a nearby town. But when he gets his bike he notices that the gas is on reserve. So he drives around looking for gasoline. Of course no one has any and the stores are all out. At this point the kid, and the elderly gentleman are sitting on the porch of the pastors house and waiting for a ride to the clinic. I feel bad for them so I go to the nearest store and buy some cookies for the kid and sodas for both of them while they are waiting. Eventually an older teen, about 18 or 19 years old drives by on a dirt bike and we flag him down. After the pastor gives him money for gas he agrees to take the two to the clinic in the nearby town. So finally (as far as I know) they made it to the clinic and all I can say is THANK GOD NOTHING SERIOUS HAPPE NED TO ME THIS MONTH!!!
Well……time has just flown by. Just one more day here in the mountains and then we leave to go back to San Juan where we’ll meet the other teams and then leave for Haiti on the 11th. I’ve had an awesome time here in the DR, and met some amazing people. I can’t wait to see what Haiti has in store for me. As one adventure ends, another begins…….
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Posted in General Posts by michael jensen on 1/30/2012
Alright sports fans, time for round 3….
Time here seems to be flying by. We have started teaching English classes to the students here in Montacitos. And seeing as I know quite a bit of Spanish, I was chosen to hike to Los Frios on Mondays and Tuesdays to lead a class there. On Monday through Thursday we also help Ronny with his English class in the evening. It’s been really interesting and I’ve had a lot of fun so far doing it.
The nights here seem to have gotten A LOT more windy. On more than one ocassion I have thought my tent might fly off the mountain, even with it being staked down and with me in it. That much wind also makes it difficult to sleep at night. We all seem to be getting a lot less sleep than usual. Hopefully this won’t last too much longer.
Last weekend we went to the city!! It was quite an adventure just getting there and back. We woke up at 7am to take the “public transportation” down to San Juan. And by “public transportation” I mean some dude who drives a truck and crams as many people (and their belongings) into it as possible. The truck was suppose to come at 8am but was an hour late, which I was kind of expecting. After we got on board we took off down the mountain. It was better than any rollercoaster I’ve ever been on. It reminded me of the offroading I did on the mountains in Patagonia, Argentina. Except instead of being in an SUV I was standing up in the back of a truck the whole time. The ride there and back was my favorite part of the day. On the way back we shared a truck with about 30 chickens. The actual time we spent in the city was rather uneventful. We just did some grocery shopping and bought some fruit at the outside market. It was just nice to get a change of scenery. We are planning on going again this weekend but hopefully staying longer.
The other day we were just hanging out and Francis (one of the pastors brothers) told me ther e were places near here where people sell fried chicken. WHAT THE!?!?! WHY IS HE JUST TELLING ME THIS NOW!?!?!??!?! Needless to say we have been eating quite well these last few days. And the chicken is AMAZING. Sure beats KFC. I’ve also eaten fried chicken hearts for the first time. PURE HEAVEN!! A few nights ago we all went up to one of the places and ate like kings. We had fried chicken, fried hotdogs, and friend bananas. The locals even made us tea. We just sat under the stars and talked for hours. It was an awesome time. Oh yeah, when we go to the city this weekend I want to buy a live chicken and cook it. Ronny said he would show me how to clean and prepare it, so it shouldn’t be too hard. I CAN’T WAIT!!!
Anyway that’s about all the time I have for now. I love and miss you guys. I’ll write again as soon as I can. Hasta luego!!!!
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Posted in General Posts by michael jensen on 1/23/2012
Hello followers!! It’s that time again….
Things her e are going great. Even though we seem to have a lot of down time right now, we still have had some awesome experiences. Particularly our time with the locals. They are extremely generous, inviting us into their homes and stuffing us with food, coffee, and juice every chance they get. They will pull out chairs from their houses for us where we will sit around talking for hours on end. They love showing us pictures of their families, and although they have no electricity and few personal possessions, they can’t stop talking about how much God has blessed them. They are truly an inspiring people. And hard working……extremely hard working. Living up in the mountains they pretty much have to be. As a matter of fact, we came upon a house on Sunday where an 11yr old girl had just killed a chicken and was in the process of pulling out its feathers when we arrived.
They have church services here every day of the week except Wednesday. I have a theory on that which I will explain a little later. But anyway, their services are a little different than what I am use to. It’s mostly singing (with a lot of hand gestures) with the actual sermon being rather short. Once a month the entire church makes a trek through the mountains to visit a lady and her husband who live all by themselves on a tiny cliff. I found out firsthand how difficult this trek was on Monday. Our translator Ronny told us we were going on a “short hike” to a ladies house. He pointed down into the mountains to a barely visible white speck. “That is where she lives” he told us. I thought he was joking. I found out later he was not. It reminded me of hiking along the Napali Coast in Kaui. Except this was only about 3 hours round trip instead of 8. But to be honest, after he told us that the lady who lives there makes the same trek to come here every week for church, I knew I had to go. If some random, old lady could do it every week, I could do it once. I should also mention that none of us had brought our flashlights. I began to worry while we were there because the sun was setting and I really didn’t feel like getting stuck in the middle of the mountains over night. But God is good and we made it back literally as the sun set.
Although life here is for the most part pretty simple, it’s funny to see everyone walking around with cell phones. It’s not uncommon to see someone riding a donkey through the mountain while talking or texting on their phones. Some of the younger people have even asked us if we have Facebook. The people here may not have much, but they almost all have cell phones. Which brings me to my theory on why they have church so often. It’s quite funny actually. The church building is the only building in town with electricity. They have a generator which is turned on only for services. People will arrive early just to wait until they open the doors. After the doors open there’s a mad dash for the outlets. It reminds me a lot of shopping on Black Friday. During church services are basically the only time anyone can charge anything. Luckily for me I have a power strip that I found in Ft. Lauderdale before we left, so I’m set. That’s about all I have time for right now. I’ll post again as soon as I can. PEACE!!!
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Posted in General Posts by michael jensen on 1/16/2012
Wow....I cant believe the time has finally come. After months of preparation I'm finally on my world race. We arrived in The Dominican Republic in Santo Domingo on Saturday and after a four hour bus ride ended up staying the night in Miguel's house in San Juan. Miguel is an American missionary contact for the world race. We stayed there until about noon the next day and then left for Montacitos. Montacitos is a small village high in the mountains where my team will be staying for the next month helping out the local church. The ride to Montacitos was pretty crazy. It reminded me of the off roading I did in Patagonia, Argentina. Except this wasn't inside of an SUV. We sat in the back of a small truck with all of our packs and two weeks worth of food we had bought. Fortunately the ride wasn’t too long. Upon arriving we met with the pastor of the church and set up our tents for the month ahead. By the way, the view I have when I wake up in the morning is absolutely amazing. The nights are equally amazing. I have never seen so many stars before in my life. I promised myself I’d spend some quality time this month stargazing.
Joining us on our journey this month is our translator, Ronny. He’s a Dominican from San Juan who works with Miguel. And he speaks almost perfect English. He made the trip to Montacitos with us along with his wife Patrias. They have only been married a month. Although we have Ronny, I have also acted as a translator of sorts for the team. Living in Argentina for a year, I picked up quite a bit of Spanish. And while I don’t consider myself fluent, Ronny as well as the locals are quite impressed with my Spanish speaking skills. I have to admit they have come in handy thus far.
Life here in the mountains, as well as all of The Dominican Republic, is pretty wild. Everyone here is extraverted. There are no introverts. To be quiet and withdrawn is almost seen as rude. People here live there lives in the moment and on the streets. Time is mostly spent with friends outside, and the inside of the house is rarely used. Also, the children here seem obsessed with us. They have taken to following us around and standing in the doorways watching us. I have offered them candy thinking that is what they wanted but they always politely refuse. I guess they just like watching. Even as I write this there are a few spies staring intently from the doorway.
Well that’s all I got for now. If you have any questions feel free to ask. I’ll try to respond in a timely manner. Seeing as how we are at the top of a mountain, that might be hard. You can also leave comments. Anyway, thanks for all your thoughts and prayers. I’ll try to write again soon. And don’t forget to tell your friends and family about my blog!!!!!! I need as many viewers and subscribers as possible!!! LET'S ROLL!!!
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