"All I want for Christmas. . ."

She's back!  We have our happy Asya again!  Her tooth finally broke through yesterday, but even before that she was obviously feeling much better.  Thank you, Lord!

Vasya is feeling better

Thank you for praying! Vasya is back on his feet. He says that his blood pressure is still causing him problems, but he feels much better. He was able to lead the church service again this Sunday.

Disaster recovery

Our neighbors have taken care of their plumbing disaster, and Will got everything cleaned up down here.  Now he's working on hermetically sealing off all the holes to the place where the pipes are, so that if anything like this ever happens again, it won't come through to us.  Thank you for praying!

Vasya

Please be praying for Vasya, the man who leads the church here. He is mysteriously sick and very tired. The church really needs him!

Plumbing disaster

We're having one of those good opportunities to get to know our neighbors today. We woke up to find what looked like our neighbors' toilet had exploded above us. It's not quite that, but it's a mess! The neighbors below us have been coming up to see what's happening, and Will had to go find the man who lives above us where he works. Pray that they can get this fixed soon!

By the way, had I mentioned that since I asked for prayer about water before, it's been on almost all day every day? Praise the Lord!

(I did just say how much I love having neighbors all around, didn't I? )

Tooth and toe again

The opposite tooth is coming through now, the injured toenail fell off, and she has a cold.  We are back to this:



Pray for our usual sweet, happy Asya to come back soon!

Doing better

Thank you so much for your prayers!  This toe injury was pretty traumatic for a few days, even though it was minor.  Asya is doing much better now. She's walking well again, and her tooth is through, too.

Tooth and toe

Asya has a tooth coming through, and it's just tormenting her. Then, yesterday morning she smashed one of her toes. She is not a happy baby right now! Actually, she's doing a little better today, but please pray for her. Neither problem is serious, but added together they're just making her miserable. Plus, it's sad to see such a little one limping around.

Water!

It's already back on! At least, for a few hours.

Funny: Will went in to pay our water bill this afternoon. They really were working without electricity! He couldn't pay, because it was too dark for them to figure out what we owe. They were only taking money from people who already knew how much they needed to pay.

Water

The water situation here has been annoying for a while. We've gotten used to the fact that it's turned off at night. That's no big deal. However, it's been off quite a bit during the days now, too.

Then yesterday it went off and didn't come back on for the evening hours like usual. And today there are notices up from the water people, saying something like "Please excuse us for the inconvenience of no water, but the electric company turned off our electricity, so we cannot provide water. If you owe any money on your water bill, please pay it right away." Please pray that it will come back on soon!

(Yes, Mom, we can buy drinking water, and we have quite a bit saved up too, because the water goes off so often.)

The outreach

Thank you for praying! Everything went smoothly. I haven't really heard many details yet, but I know your prayers were answered.

Youth outreach night

The youth here are hosting an outreach night on Saturday.  Youth from another city and a music group will also be participating.  Please pray especially for the preparations.  This is a first for the youth here. There has been a lot of disagreement about how things should go.  Pray for unity!  Please also pray for the people who will be coming and all the other details.

Julie's off!

Julie's visa did come in yesterday, and she got on a train back to Moscow. She should be getting in there pretty soon now. Thank you so much for all your prayers! I'm sure you can keep praying as she figures out how to be able to stay there for a year now and catches up with all the work waiting for her.

Julie's visa

We were expecting that Julie's visa would arrive in Zaporozhye tomorrow, but the UPS tracking site keeps saying that it's in Kiev, and its status is "Exception," and the only explanation is that an unforeseen event occurred. Please pray that whatever that is will be worked out soon! We love having Julie here, but her work in Moscow is piling up, and she does need to get back.

Computer

Sigh. Computers are nice when they work. And Macs are wonderful...in America.

Our computer died yesterday. Really, I am mostly praising God about this, though. Just the day before I had finally backed up all our pictures and documents, after a week of trying to do that. (Do you know how amazing that is?!?!?) And we have this older laptop, so we're still in touch.

Please pray that we'll figure out a way to get our main computer fixed, that it will have a safe trip to America and back, etc.

It's all here!

Thank you so much for all your prayers! We now have everything that we had left in Russia. I don't know that it was a cheap border crossing, but it was fast and without problems.

Now can we pray away the musty smell?

Anatolii

Anatolii (the driver we hired to bring our things from Russia) made it to Kovrov, and he's heading straight back. It's a more than 24 hour trip, but I guess he could be at customs sometime tomorrow. Please pray for an easy and cheap border crossing! (The Ukrainian side of the border is notoriously corrupt.)

Stuff

Anatolii (the driver we hired) has been sick, but he's well now. He might be able to go next weekend.

Please pray for a safe and uneventful trip for Anatolii and for us to be able to fit everything into this already crowded apartment when he gets back.

Thank you for praying!

Julie was able to get her test done, results translated and sent in, all in one day. Please pray that this last document catches up with others quickly, so that her visa application can be processed.

Julie

Please pray for our friend Julie tomorrow. She found out that she does have to have an HIV test for her Russian visa application. She's going to try to get that done in Zaporozhye tomorrow. Please pray specifically that she'll be able to get results the same day and send them off. Thank you!

And praise the Lord that we can spend time with Julie!

Neighbor

Please pray for the neighbor below us. He's very grumpy about any noise that we make. We don't want to bother him, but it's impossible for little children to be as quiet as he wants.

Another step forward

Will now has all the documents ready! Now we just need to pray for timing and logistics. I'll let you know when there's a time set for Anatolii's trip.

Another week

Anatolii probably won't be going in the next few days. Will pretty much got power of attorney for him to represent us in bringing our things into Ukraine, but now that needs to be translated and amended to be valid in Russia, too. So, tomorrow Will is headed back to the notary to start on that. One step at a time. . . .

Got the number!

Will got his tax number yesterday. He was hoping to meet with the truck driver (Anatoli) to get the papers they need here, right when he got back, but couldn't get in touch with him. This morning they started those documents, though.

Please pray! This is the last step to getting our things from Russia. Anatoli wants to be at the border on Monday, because he has a friend working then. Border crossings into Ukraine by car are really, really corrupt still. (Somehow customs in the airports and on trains is easy and streamlined. They just leave all the trouble for the roads.) We need you to pray our things right across.

And praise the Lord that the tax number came through. No problems, even with different translations of NC.

Progress

Yesterday Will got his notarized passport copy in Zaporozhya! He went back today to turn it in for a tax number.

Did you know that Will was born in North California? Or even that such a state exists? That's what they put as his birthplace (NC) on the copy! You can laugh about that and pray that no one notices. (There can be problems with documents don't match up.)

Paperwork progress

Will is slowly wading through getting our things from Russia. Just an example of the frustration: we need a document from a notary. The notary can't work with anyone who doesn't have a tax number. Will calls to find out how to get a tax number: "Just bring us a notarized copy of your passport." Simple. Except that the notary won't work with him at all!

Please pray for progress! Will's in Zaporozhya today trying to figure out the next step.

Heading home

Asya and I have had a wonderful time with Julie in Odessa. We are getting ready to start our trek home. We'll arrive tomorrow morning. Please pray! The trip here was very hard. It's a little cooler now, which should help, but please pray that Asya will SLEEP!

Thank you to those of you who are praying for Julie, too. We had a big scare, because getting her visa sounded very iffy for a little while, but the Lord worked all that out, and she should have it on Friday. We were hoping that she'd be able to get it today, and leave at the same time as me. Now she'll be here alone for a few days.

Odessa!

Asya and I are running off to Odessa for a few days! Please pray for safe travel, a good visit with our friend Julie (and for her to get a new Russian visa there), and for Will at home and church with Jaan and Raia.

Camp teenagers

Thank you for all your prayers for the day camp here! I have photos posted on our blog.

Please pray that some of the oldest kids--from Will's group--will come tonight for the weekly church youth meeting.

Camp update

Camp is going well. I don't think I mentioned that Will has the oldest group, the teenagers. They're hard to work with, but at such an important age for building relationships! Please pray for a good finish. We're all tired, and tomorrow is the last day.

Camp!

Day camp starts tomorrow! Please be praying for everyone involved. Will is going to be teaching several Bible lessons, helping with music, and probably more.

Teeth and tummy, part 2

Asya's tummy has settled down; praise the Lord! Her mouth still looks like a disaster zone.

Teeth and tummy

Poor Asya isn't feeling too good these days. She's working on two teeth, and her stomach has also been upset. Please pray for her to feel better soon!

Camp evening

Thank you for praying! Will's evening at that one youth camp went well.

Please be praying for the upcoming children's day camp here. The youth are preparing. It will be August 11-15.

Susan

Please pray for our friend, Susan, and her family. (Click to go read their prayer request.)

Rejoice!

Praise the Lord with our friends, Jon and Carrie Dulin, in Russia! They got the three-year residency permit that they had applied for!

A camp visit

Will has been invited to visit a camp in a nearby village to talk to the youth tomorrow night. Please pray that will go well.

Praise!

I didn't even think to ask for prayer for this, but our friend Julie went to the American embassy in Moscow today to get Asya's Report of Birth Abroad for us. (We left Russia without it.) Apparently they didn't want to give it to her, even though we had emailed back and forth with them about it. By the time we heard that they were trying to get in touch with us and called, they had already decided to give it to her. Thank you, Lord!

Other friends from Moscow (the Sullivan family) are coming to renew their Russian visas and visit us, so they'll be bring it to us this weekend. Please pray for them as they travel, and pray that they will get their visas. We've been hearing stories of visas not being granted.

A man named V.

Will got to spend a while talking to an unsaved young man about the Lord today. This man's life seems to be falling apart right now. Please pray for him. Pray that he would see his need for salvation as the true answer to his problems, and pray for his family.

Work is finished

The projects that Will and the other men were working on are done. There will probably be more before long, but they're stopping for now. Thank you for praying!

Team

The team left last night. Everything went smoothly with the children's programs and what they were doing with youth. Please pray for fruit here. Pray that children they had contact with will come to camp, August 11-15.

Relief

Today is a cool, rainy day. Such a nice break from the hot weather!

English camps

There are a few people that I know on a team doing English camps near Kiev. Also, Anna (Will's sister) is working at a similar camp in Odessa. I heard from her today that her first classes went smoothly, and that she's tired but doing well. Please pray for these camps and everyone involved.

The team

They got here on Sunday, and they're going out into the city every day to talk to youth and children and invite them to evening programs. Please pray daily for the visiting group and for the church youth.

Hot weather

The construction continues, and they're making great progress. Please pray for Will (and the others) as they work in the heat. It's hard on Will. Last week was cooler and rainy; now it's just plain HOT again. Also, they're actually working with several unsaved guys from a nearby village, so continue to pray for good conversation (and language skills. They all speak Ukrainian, so Will does a lot of guessing. )

Praise!

We're found a pacifier before bedtime! And the nap that Asya had to take before that wasn't too bad. God is very merciful.

Pacifier

Maybe this is a funny request, but Asya's beloved pacifiers are all missing right now. Please pray that we'll either find them, or that it will be easy to wean her off of them.

Church work

Today Will started working full time on the church work projects. They decided that after several weeks of doing just a few hours each evening--after work for most of the men--it would be better to hire some men who can work all day. Will will be working with two others, one from the church and one not, for a little while to try and finish up the projects that they have materials for. Pray for good work and good conversations while working. I think this will actually be better for our family, because the children and I have a routine for our days that works with or without Papa. In the evenings, when we're tired, he'll be here to help.

Team coming

There's a Russian-American team coming here in about a week to do some children's programs here. I don't really know too many details, but please to be praying for them and everyone who will be involved.

Catching up

We have had internet at home for a little while now, and it's time for me to get caught up here. God has answered so many prayers and blessed us so richly, that there's no way I can mention everything. Here are a few specific answers, though:

• Internet! - Getting it installed was a long process, but it sure is nice to be back in touch now!
• Apartment - The one I mentioned before has worked out beautifully. We've moved in and settled in, and we're enjoying our new home.
• Registration - It has taken a while, but now we're officially registered.
• Anna - Will's sister has come and gone. We had a great visit with her! So far, she's had safe travels all over Ukraine. Please keep praying for her. She'll be in this country until the end of July.

Now for some new prayer requests:

• We had to be registered before we could have our boxes brought in from Russia. Now that we have registration out of the way, Will and the driver will get together to get the documents we need to do that. Please pray especially for getting everything through customs. The Ukrainian border is notoriously bad and expensive. There are unofficial set prices for every single step of the way. (Did you know that for $1200 you can go around customs completely?) It could be complicated without us--the owners--there at the border.
• This is the second week of daily construction work for the men at church. Please pray for safety, endurance and good progress. (Pray for me at home, as I put our children to bed alone every night. That's the hardest part for me.)
• The youth meet Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. They're very active, but they want leadership and direction. They often ask Will to lead meetings. Please pray for him as he prepares and does that.
• Day camp will probably be in August.
  

I'll probably come up with more soon, but there are some specific praises and prayers for now. Thank you for joining us in prayer!

Sweet babies

Remember, way back when I asked prayer for Lena? She had a safe birth in March. I finally got to see pictures of the babies. (That's a huge praise, too! It's such a treat for me.) Aren't they cute?

Yana (or should I say Jaana? ) and Ulyana and family

Answers

We had a safe and easy trip. Thank you, Lord!

It looks like we've found an apartment. Please pray that everything will work out with that, if it's what the Lord has for us.

Will tried to go back to Russia and was not allowed into the country. Please pray for us to be able to get our belongings here another way.

Update on various visas

• The Mankins didn't get their visas in time to leave when they were planning to. Now they're planning to go May 19. Keep praying!
• The Beairds did get their visas, but also not in time for their planned departure. They have two updates, one here and one here.
• The Dulins are waiting. They should hear in June. The S family was miraculously able to turn in their documents. Now they have to wait for up to six months before they hear the results.
• I haven't heard anything more from the Palmers.
  

Moving

We're leaving tomorrow! Please pray for us as we travel.

Once we get to Ukraine, please be praying for us to find an apartment that will be good for our family and ministry.

Also, once we're there, Will needs to get to Russia and back, to bring our things from there before May 10. Please pray for him traveling and for the logistics of that trip.

Thank you!

Friends' visas

I'm still praising the Lord that He gave us our visas early this time. That reminds me to pray for all our friends who are waiting for visas, though. It seems like there are a lot of them in that position right now. Please pray with me for

• The Mankins: hopefully headed back to Papua New Guinea tomorrow, but waiting for paperwork
• The Beairds
• The Dulins and the S family: trying to get temporary residence permits in Russia
• The Palmers: visas for Australia didn't come in time, so they're waiting again

Almost hard to believe!!!

OUR VISAS CAME! Now we really can leave on May 1, and we don't have to live with the suspense of waiting for visas any more. PRAISE THE LORD!

(Please be praying for our friends the Beairds. They have tickets to go back to Russia April 30, but no visas yet, as far as I know.)

Got it

Asya's Social Security card came. It was a little too late for taxes, but it's very nice to have it in hand.

Buying tickets

We just sent off the check for our tickets. We should be leaving May 1! Please just pray that our visas get here in time for that. (I hate the suspense of having tickets before visas. We've said before that we'd never do that again, and now here we go. . . . We really do need to leave as soon as we have visas, so it's better not to wait.)

Here and gone!

Our invitations just came in, and Will's already sending them off to apply for visas! Praise the Lord for one step that happened just on time, and keep praying for speed.

Tickets

We have started looking at plane tickets to Ukraine!

The short version: Please pray for us to get tickets at a good time.

The long version: We should have our visas on April 28. It would be best if we could leave as soon as possible after that, so that Will has time to enter Russia and move our things to Ukraine, before his Russian visa runs out on May 10. The earliest that one travel agency could give us was May 5, which is cutting it close. Please pray for good tickets, good timing and good prices!

On their way

Our invitations were ready, and DHL picked them up, so they're on their way to us. We just found out that they'll be here on Monday! Then we can apply for our visas.

Next step with invitations

Will got a hold of Sasha in Ukraine without any trouble last night. Sasha said that actually, our invitations should be ready on Monday; he doesn't have them in his hand yet. He will email us on Monday to let us know, if they're there. Then, Will can schedule a DHL pickup for Tuesday. So, the prayer request is that they really will be ready on Monday!

Invitations

Our invitations are ready! Now we have to get them from Ukraine to here. Will's getting up at 1:00 in the morning to call and arrange that.

Hurrah!

Will's back. They're going to give Asya a number! It will take a little longer, because her birth certificate has to be checked and translated by Homeland Security. (Can't have any baby terrorists in America, you know.) But they are going to accept it. Thank you for praying!

Pray for mercy :-)

I couldn't get anywhere on the phone (although, I talked to some really smart computers!). So, Will's going to go to the Social Security office. It's really not that far away, which is funny, because we're so far out in the middle of nowhere. Please pray that they'll accept the documents we have. We should have two, and we do, but one is Russian. The American version of Asya's birth certificate is still sitting in Moscow. Pray that they'll take that and her passport as her two documents!

SS# update

We got an answer! I don't know if it's good news or not. Asya's application is officially lost. That means we can apply again, but I'm not sure we have everything we need to do that. Pray for me today as I try to get someone who knows something on the phone.

How's Jaan?

He seems to be doing better today. (After I wrote yesterday, he got worse, but never as bad as Raia.) Right now we're trying to hold him back from eating everything in sight. Pray for patience, as we try to be wise, and he whines for food!

(By the way, we're not starving him. He did have toast for breakfast. We just aren't giving him everything else that he was asking for.)

Visa update

This is what I posted on our blog:

Our friends Pavel and Tanya are in Ukraine, visiting relatives. Pavel has been working on getting us invitations. We sent all of our information to Sasha, a relative of his in the Baptist Union. Sasha just wrote, saying that he would pass it on to the missions department for them to apply for our invitations, and that it only takes 3-4 days for them to come through. So, if he turned them in right away, we could have invitations ready by early next week! Then, he will mail them to us, and we will apply for our visas. Please pray that all would go smoothly and quickly!

Happy news

Jaan must have the older sibling version of rotavirus. The other family who had this ended up with their toddler in the hospital; when his big sister got it, she just threw up once. Jaan's already doing much better, running around and eating crackers. Thank you, Lord!

Will's also up and moving around.

More sickness!?!?!

Jaan just started throwing up.

Raia had a little relapse yesterday, but I think it was just from eating solid food too soon. She's improving. (Her little, round belly is gone, though. I asked her where it went, and she said that she "coughed it.")

Will has been down with something. We're not even really sure what, but he has definitely not been feeling well.

Asya and I are still healthy!

She's well!

Thank you, Lord! We actually took Raia to church (in Charlotte, no less) yesterday. She was pitiful all day long. Her stomach was calm, but the fever was hanging on. The fever broke during the night, and she seems like her usual self today. She's still weak, but happy. We're supposed to keep her on a banana and toast diet for a little while longer, too.

Raia update

Her stomach finally settled late last night. We haven't tried any food yet this morning, but she's keeping down a little Gatorade. Just pray that it will stay down! I just heard that two other little boys are sick now, too. Please pray for Joseph and Daniel.

Raia. Sigh.

Last night she fell out of the living room window (which is high!). Today she's sick.

Edited to add: She probably has rotavirus, which can be pretty serious. Please pray that she'll be able to keep some liquids down!



(In the photo she's "showing off" her injuries from last night. Actually, she's covering some of them up.)

Asya's Social Security number

Please pray that we'll be able to get it for taxes! They seem to go very slowly overseas with Social Security numbers, and we applied for Asya's in Moscow. Pray that it would come through quickly and not be lost. Pray that I would be able to get in touch with someone who knows about it, and that they would be able to tell me what's going on. (I seem to remember something about you have to ask in person, not by phone or email. . . .)

Moving forward

We have a region of Ukraine chosen. Now we're working on visas. Please pray that they'll come through QUICKLY. Pavel, our friend and pastor from Kovrov, is visiting his relatives in Ukraine now, and he's working on getting invitations for us. Please pray that will go as quickly as possible!

Cross posting

This is something I had posted on our blog:
Prayers are being answered. Someone that we have really been wanting to get in touch with has gotten an internet connection. Pasha (in Kovrov) has been able to help a good bit, too; he and Will have been talking often via Skype, trying to figure out how to get visas for us.

Please keep praying! We still have a long way to go before we have definite plans settled.

Answers

Please pray for answers to the emails we've sent out. We've been writing and calling to try and decide where in Ukraine we'll be going, and now we're just waiting for answers. I would like to apply for our visas as soon as possible, but even that has to wait until we have some answers.

Pray for wisdom as we plan!

Will's cold and travel

Will and his parents are flying to Texas tomorrow. Will's cold hasn't been bad, but please do pray for him (and them) as they travel.

Also, I mentioned that our trip from Russia went well. I forgot to say that the drive from Florida to North Carolina also went smoothly. I wrote about that. . . .

Update

Sorry I've been so silent! There just hasn't been any time for me to write much.

Let's see. . . .
Our trip to Florida went well. It was long, but smooth. I had asked for prayer for Asya's ticket. We did get her on the plane with us; that cost a whole lot, but like Will said, it was worth it to be able to have her along.

And we're healthy! Praise the Lord for that, and please keep praying that we won't get sick. It's been so nice to be able to enjoy our time here without any sickness. (I started writing this yesterday. Today it looks like Will has a cold. )

I know people were praying about the car. Getting it on the road was an incredibly quick process. Thank you for praying! Please keep praying that we won't have any trouble with it. So far, it's running beautifully.

Our children have been doing well. Asya’s the easiest of all. As long as her milk supply is nearby—preferably holding her—she doesn’t care where in the world she is or what language is being spoken around her! Raia has struggled the most, but she seems to be doing okay now. She's even been babbling some; maybe she's getting ready to start speaking English? Jaan's doing wonderfully, but he seems to be more emotional than usual.

Travel

We have tickets. We’ll be leaving Russia on the 9th. Please pray for us as we travel!

Please also pray for one last detail: they don’t do e-tickets for infants, so we still have to get Asya’s ticket. There aren’t any travel agents in Kovrov who sell plane tickets; pray that Will will be able to get one in Vladimir.

Health

We’ve really been struggling with a long run of colds and coughs. Please pray that we can get well before we leave. Also, we tend to be sick a lot when traveling and staying with other people. Please pray that we can stay well this time!

Car!

Will's grandfather is going to let us use his car. Praise the Lord! (And thank you, Pop!) Please pray for all the details of getting Will's driver's license, buying insurance, getting the car running and such.

Lena

Some of you know Lena, mother of Jaan’s friend Andrusha, sister of Ira. We prayed every week for quite a while for God to heal her infertility and bless them with another baby. Now she’s expecting twins in the springtime! ( ) Please pray for her and them, especially considering the low quality of maternity care here. And pray for me, too. One of my big struggles is that I won’t get to see her little girls.

(Oh, and the doctors couldn’t do anything for Lena’s infertility. These twins are the result of God’s direct intervention!)

For our children

Please also remember to pray for our children. They’re sick. . . again. It’s nothing serious, but it is just another little thing to deal with. (Jaan says that his nose is drooling. )

They don’t really understand what is going on right now, but they do seem to feel that something is happening. (It’s been funny to see what sets them off. For Jaan it was when I packed up and sorted through the books. He stood next to me and cried the whole time, “No, Mama! Not the books! What will we read?” Raia had a harder time with the clothes: “What will we wear?”) And it’s so hard to stay patient with them! If I have to leave the room for Asya, I’ll come back to find that Jaan and Raia have instantly resorted my carefully sorted piles, unpacked our carefully packed items, and just let their curiosity run wild.

Kolya

Our friend Kolya has been going through a really hard time. He lost his job, and his wife is trying to divorce him. We have told him that we’re praying for him and that we would ask our friends to pray, and he really appreciates that. Also, pray for wisdom for us. We want to reach out to him, but especially when he’s very drunk he uses up a lot of our time. Pray for wisdom! We don’t want to turn him away, but we can’t afford to spend hours focused on him every day. Pray for his physical health and safely, too. (Recently one of our elderly neighbors upstairs came home drunk, and his wife locked him out. He yelled in the stairwell until late, and then went out. The next morning his coffin lid was by the door! He died in the night. I worry that something like that could happen to Kolya.)

[Since I wrote this, Kolya has started writing a book. He wants us to take it to America, translate it, and sell it for $10,000. Not too realistic, but it’s keeping him sober and busy. Praise the Lord for that!]

Seryozha

I’m struggling with the thought of leaving Seryozha, “our orphan.” Please pray for him to do well and for us to be able to leave him!

Sad news

We lost the appeal. Please pray for our broken hearts and for the practical details that we're going to have to be taking care of.

Appeal Hearing

We have just found out that our court hearing in Vladimir will be tomorrow, Friday the 18^th, at 3:00.  We appreciate your prayers!!

Appeal

We'll be appealing the court decision on January 9th. Please pray for Will and Sergei (the missionary-lawyer) as they prepare the appeal and turn it in.