Headed to Orlandia, São Paulo for Seminary Classes
The Hensleys have spent nearly 20 years serving in Brazil. They have established a church in Caraguatatuba and mission points throughout the city. They have also recently started a seminary to train pastors.
Dear friends and family,
What a beautiful day today is and to just to think that three days ago it snowed over one inch. And just to add a little interest it is predicted to snow this coming Monday. I heard someone say the other day—this is the ace I know of where you can experience all four seasons in the same week. Our Lord is AWESOME!!!!!
Going back to Monday, it is supposed to be 32 degrees with snow—and Tuesday Barbara and I are traveling to Brasil. I don’t know how this will affect our departure from Kentucky, so pray for us as we are traveling to Brasil.
This trip is going to be very exciting as we are planning 2 seminary classes in the capital of São Paulo. The classes that will be taught are Systematic Theology and Survey of the Old Testament. They will be taught by Dr. Coleman from Gardenside Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky, and Dr. Edge from First Baptist Church in Bastrop, Texas. Both of these Pastors are mission minded and are AWESOME servants of God.
One of the pastors working on the new church building
The next classes will be in Orlandia, São Paulo. These classes will be for the master’s program and then we will have two more classes in São Paulo. These will be New Testament Survey and Pastoral Ministries.
I would like to request “special prayers” for our professors who give of their time and their Churches who permit them to leave their pulpits for the time to teach our brothers in Brasil.
Our Professors are:
- Dr. Derek Coleman, Gardenside Baptist Church, Lexington, KY
- Dr. Raymond Edge, First Baptist Church, Bastrop, TX
- Dr. Terry Leap, William Storm Baptist Church, Williamstown, KY
- Dr. Greg Waltermire, Heritage Baptist Church, Lexington, KY
- Dr. Steven Shear, Central Baptist Church, Paris, KY
- Dr. Dustin Coleman, Brainard Ave Baptist Church, Countryside, IL
- David Stokes, Director of Missions for Central KY Network of Baptists
- Russel Zik, Durbin Memorial Baptist Church, Lexington, KY
We have selected four students from the Caragua Baptist Seminary graduates to help as they are planting Churches in Brasil. I am inserting a picture of one of them. In this upcoming class we will be selecting one or more students to sponsor for planting churches.
Our planned seminary classes for 2018 are:
- April- Systematic Theology, Old Testament Survey. These will be in the city of São Paulo.
- June- we are planning an exploratory trip to scout out new locations for the coming classes
- October – Expository Preaching 1 and Apologetics. These will be in Orlandia, São Paulo.
As you can see the Lord is really blessing and to Him all the glory and honor belongs.
As always, we have many prayer requests: our health is the first one and a good prognosis in July with the cancer treatments, the mission work in Caragua, church plants, Indians, the new locations for the Seminary, more professors for the seminary, and Pastor Walmir, Mary, Chelsea and Ashley.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280
Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online
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Training Pastors to Reach Brazil
The Hensleys have spent nearly 20 years serving in Brazil. They have established a church in Caraguatatuba and mission points throughout the city. They have also recently started a seminary to train pastors.
February 16, 2018
Friends and family,
When I was diagnosed with cancer, I started praying and searching for a way that I could continue to serve my Lord in Brasil because I did not feel that God was finished with me and my service in Brasil, knowing that the main emphasis for Baptist Faith Missions is to open new churches—so I began to think in that area. You know that sometimes the answer to your question is right in front of you and you just have to open your heart and eyes.
For several years now, we have been working with seminary training for local pastors. This Seminary training began in Caragua because we saw the need for the local pastors to have more Bible training. So, we began in our church and invited some of our sister churches to join with us for the first of many seminary classes. Before we knew it, other Pastors were calling us to see if we could do the same in their areas. With Dr. Coleman, myself and Pr. Jason, we organized the Caragua Baptist Seminary. Our first distant classes were in Orlandia, São Paulo, with 35 students. Although our goal was to train Pastors, we also included church workers in the classes. We did a lot of trial and error at first, making the occasional mistakes, but with the Lord’s leadership we have evolved. This year not only is Caragua Baptist Seminary accredited, we have also added a Master’s Program.
Although our objective is to train Pastors, it has grown even beyond our dreams and expectations. Training pastors is an AWESOME way to reach Brasil.
The way God revealed to me that I can continue to serve Him in Brasil is to continue to work with the Seminary training Pastors and sending them out to begin new works all over Brasil. You see, it was right under my nose—it just took God to reveal it to me.
So, I will continue to work in the Seminary, just from a distance. Each year I will go to Brasil 3 or 4 times for the classes to help with them and also to seek out other areas that need our Seminary.
As we teach these Pastors I am keeping my eyes out to see those Pastors who show a desire to begin new works. I meet with them and listen to their hunger to serve the Lord. Then I will encourage them during the time that we spend together to follow God in whatever they do. At this time, we have begun to help three pastors in their endeavors to start new Churches. One is in another country: Paraguay. His church start is in a rural area where there is no electricity. They have around 7 to 9 in attendance. The next two are in the state of São Paulo. The first of these two is having their services in the garage of their home with about 7 adults and 12 children. The other has a foundation dug for the Church building and they are having services in their home. To be able to get started they stepped out on faith and borrowed the money for the land and are building as God provides. How AWESOME! The Pastors we select to help start a church, we will give them an offering for the first year. We also pay for their seminary classes at Caragua Baptist Seminary.
The foundation for the third work
Talking about this calls back memories of how we started our last work. It began on the front porch of a widow’s home. After four years that work now has its building and a Brazilian pastor. What a blessing. AWESOME is the God we serve.
So, this is what God has laid before me as my way to serve Him in Brasil as I live in Lexington, Kentucky. This is so I can be close to the doctors. I have been to the doctor this month and the blood test that they did showed undetectable counts for cancer. Praise Him! The doctor said that if everything continued the same that I might be able to take a vacation from the injection that I am taking every 6 months.
So please pray for the Seminary as we are expanding into other cities and continue to pray for my health to continue to improve. HOW AWESOME IS HE WHO WE SERVE!!!
In His service,
Aj and Barbara
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280
Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online
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Serving God in Brazil from Afar
The Hensleys have spent nearly 20 years serving in Brazil. They have established a church in Caraguatatuba and mission points throughout the city. They have also recently started a seminary to train pastors.
December 12, 2017
Friends and family,
Since the day I discovered that I have cancer I have been in a quandary as to how I can continue effectively serving our Lord and Savior as a missionary. In these times you can get down to a lot of soul searching. I am saying this to let everyone know that when I surrendered to missions and my wife Barbara agreed to the prospect also, our plans were to be missionaries for the rest of our lives. Plans were to serve God in Brasil and be buried there. However; the Lord had other plans for our lives.
Planting churches and working with the wonderful people of Brasil has been one of my most AWESOME experiences. And to think that He (Our Lord) would allow me to do that in retirement. The only thing I can say is AWESOME.
Now we are at another crossroad in our lives. How can I continue to serve him in a meaningful and effective way? For the past three years we have been doing a Seminary to help the national pastors more effectively share the gospel. It started just to be a training tool for the people of our church in Caraguatatuba then grew to helping the local Pastors and church workers around our city.
Boy has it “sprawled out”. We have taken the Seminary to various cities and this year we have had three graduating classes out of Caragua Baptist Seminary.
Just to give you a little background, Caragua Baptist Seminary began from an idea between two pastors. We had a group from Gardenside Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky, visiting and the pastor asked what we needed in our work here in Brasil. Having been an educator (teacher), my reply was “a seminary”. And from that conversation was born Caragua Baptist Seminary and with Dr. Coleman’s help we have watched it grow tremendously.
Thanks, Lord, for your guidance. Sometimes we do not even realize that we are being directed to another way to serve Him.
The seminary is blessed to be in its fourth year of operation training Brasilian pastors. We have had 18 classes taught and 184 students, having 35 cities represented and 68 different churches participating. So, the number of people impacted from this seminary training has been 7,346 people. These numbers do not include the present year of 2017. This year we have had two more classes and 3 graduations. What a way to reach Brasilians for Christ. Now for the AWESOME part: from these graduating classes, we have selected 2 pastors that we will help with new church starts. One is in another state and their building does not have electricity. The other has been started in the garage of the pastor, he is having 8 adults and 11 children in attendance.
So God has opened this door for us to continue our missionary work in Brasil though we are living in the States. We will be traveling to Brasil 3 to 4 times per year for the seminary classes and the setting up for the next classes. How AWESOME is the God we serve!!!
The need for us to be in the States is that I am continuing my cancer treatments and there is a need for me to be close to my doctors. I have another consult in February and should have some more answers about my cancer. Continue to pray for God’s will in our lives as we endeavor to serve the Lord in Brasil from afar.
Thanks to all who support BFM and us through them. Our mission work could not happen without your support. Continue to pray for us and for BFM. Also pray for the seminary and the professors as they come from the States to teach the Brasilian pastors.
We would like wish all of you and yours a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
Like them on Facebook.
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280
Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online
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Celebrating Children’s Day and Seminary Graduates
The Hensleys have spent nearly 20 years serving in Brazil. They have established a church in Caraguatatuba and mission points throughout the city. They have also recently started a seminary to train pastors.
November 9, 2017
Friends and family,
Well I am sitting here in Lexington, Ky, being somewhat cold. It’s just amazing how different the temperature is here and in Caraguatatuba.
While in Caragua we were very busy working on the Church building trying to complete many small projects that needed to be completed. As it is with all buildings, you fix one thing and there are many more that come up.
We arrived there in time to help in the Children’s Day activities. We had around 90 children on Children’s Day and it was AWESOME!!!! There were almost too many children in attendance, but that is an AWESOME problem to have. Children’s Day in Brasil is similar to Christmas Day here in the States. They don’t celebrate Christmas in Brasil like we do in the States. We had sandwiches, pop, and cake for them to eat for breakfast. Then we had games and popcorn and cotton candy. They received beanbag animals and a small bag of candy. Then we sent them home on a sugar high to their parents. These children are all underprivileged children, so whatever they receive is a blessing in their lives. But what they need more than food is love. A smile and a hug does better for them than anything else. So, we spent the day hugging them and playing with them. We are sending some photos so that you can see some of the activities.
All enjoying the food on Children’s Day
The children praising the Lord
Serving the kids on Children’s Day
The graduating class in Orlandia
Our bus is a very needed part of the children’s ministry there and the last few months there have been various problems with it—leaking oil and water pump problems to name a few. We were able to get the things fixed but the next problem is to pay for the work. Thank you to those who have sent money for the work on the bus—and if you would like to help financially, that would be greatly appreciated. As I said earlier, this bus is a needed part of the children’s ministry, so your precious prayers are needed. The bus is a 24-passenger bus that most of the time carries up to 50 children. And with that many on the bus, we still are making two trips to pick up and to return them home. As you can guess, that brings with it a big gas bill per month. This is also becoming a concern. Prayers please.
Well the Seminary we began in Caragua has just grown beyond belief. Just this year we have had three graduations: Caragua, Nativity da Serra, and Orlandia. All of these locations are in the state of São Paulo, but they are not close together. There are more than 7 hours travel time between them.
The last graduation class was in Orlandia and there were 24 who participated in the graduation process. It is hard to describe the appreciation these pastors and church workers have for the training and instruction the are receiving at Caragua Baptist Seminary. This year there have been 55 people graduated from the seminary.
While in the States, we are working on getting a Masters of Divinity added to our program. What this amounts to is that we are having to jump through a lot of hoops. I never realized the amount of red tape that can be involved in seminary accreditation. Now I have an even greater appreciation for Lexington Baptist College that we had here in Lexington. As
Mary & Walmir graduated
of now all things are going AWESOME!! However, when we get one requirement met there seems to one more and then one more. Please keep Caragua Baptist Seminary in your prayers as we are reaching many Brasillians through the pastors that are attending this Seminary.
Here is just one of the many stories that have come out to these classes: one of the Pastors who has attended the Seminary is also a long-haul trucker and he has begun using his trips to get to know the other drivers. When he empties the trailer, he then puts chairs and a pulpit inside and when he goes back to the truck stops, he opens the back doors of the trailer, sets up the chairs, and invites the other truckers in and preaches to them. This has been a blessing and he is reaching many that would never come to a church. Pray for God to go before him in this labor of love.
Continue to pray for my health that God can continue to use me in Brasil as we continue taking the Seminary to the Brasilian pastors all over Brasil.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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Seminary Graduations; Stateside for Doctor’s Visits
The Hensleys have spent nearly 20 years serving in Brazil. They have established a church in Caraguatatuba and mission points throughout the city. They have also recently started a seminary to train pastors.
September 15, 2017
Dear friends and family,
This month has been a little different. We came to the States the first week of the month to be able to do the doctor things. We have had a good report from the cancer treatments and the psa is at 0, but that is to be expected as I am still taking the hormone shots–there cannot be a true number until I am off those shots for 6 months.
I also went to a heart doctor as I have been having some chest problems. We are waiting for the results of the tests. As per usual, it is always hurry up and wait. Your continued prayers are appreciated.
I am going back a month to tell you about some me of the great and AWESOME things that are happening in Brasil and the Caraguatatuba Baptist Seminary. In the last two months, we have had the first and second graduation of the seminary.
The first was in Caragua, as this is where the Seminary began. There in Caragua, we graduated 6 with 14 others receiving a certificate of participation with the hope of completion later. We thought it very appropriate to have the first graduation here in Caragua because the dream for a Seminary was founded here. Then the second was in Natividade da Serra where 24 people graduated. This is AWESOME because our purpose for having a Seminary was and is to train pastors to preach the Word.
Caragua Baptist Seminary is starting to make a major difference for the pastors located in the state of São Paulo, Brasil. The dream started 3½ years ago and is exploding into other regions. How AWESOME is the God we serve.
So with these two classes completed, we are looking to the future as we have another class in October that will also have a graduation ceremony. This is about 6 hours from Caraguatatuba.
It seems like we just turn around and the month is gone. I don’t know if it is really true or it has something to do with age. I’m thinking it is the first, what do you think?
We will be in the States for a little over a month and then back to Brasil for that next graduation, so maybe we will see you during that time, but if not, we will try to see you on the return trip.
Continue praying for my health and God’s work here in Brasil.
If you would like to see what God is doing with your Mission offerings to BFM, come on down. The lights are on and the food is on the table. In His service, Aj and Barb
In His service,
Aj and Barb
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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Blessed by Group of Men from Durbin Memorial
The Hensleys have spent nearly 20 years serving in Brazil. They have established a church in Caraguatatuba and mission points throughout the city. They have also recently started a seminary to train pastors.
August 15, 2017
Friends and family,
I would like to write one letter without having to say that something has gone wrong with one of our vehicles but this month is not going to be that month. This time it is Barb’s car—it is the wheel bearings and it is running hot and leaking oil. The tropical climate could have something to do with the hot problem and the speed bumps are the culprit for the leak. Long story short, we will fix the cooling system, replace the wheel bearings, and repair the leak…just another month (old cars are old cars).
This month we have had a group from Durbin Memorial Baptist Church with Pastor Russell Zik. What a blessing these men were for us. The Indian ministry was greatly blessed by this group. They purchased food baskets for the reservation. This time, instead of putting the food in baskets, we just divided the food into stacks. This way thirty families could receive the same thing.
These Indians do crafts so sustain themselves, so they depend upon visitors to purchase their items. We did not disappoint them, everyone made purchases. This tribe, although they live near other people, they live very primitive. Some live in just simple bamboo huts, one room, with an open pit for cooking in the middle of the room. We were able to visit in two of these homes. Taking the food gave us entrance to the homes where we prayed with these families and personally gave them their food. This is quite an eye-opening experience. This always leaves everyone remembering just how truly blessed we are. This tribe serves many different gods—but over the past five years we have seen seven of them come to know the one and only true God as their personal Savior. AWESOME!!!! The chief is one of those who now knows Christ as his Savior.
Talking about the Chief, he had requested that we bring him a guitar and he specified the colors to be BLUE and YELLOW. With the help from the group from Central Baptist Church in Paris, they were able to get the guitar to this group and we took it to him. He was totally surprised when we presented this guitar to him. Now here is an amazing fact about this Chief: he is 116 years old. He is now moving around slowly and this time he had to sit in a chair while we were presenting the guitar to him, but he is still active in the tribe. He and the others around him loved the guitar. They were excited to receive the guitar as the one they had had only few strings and it could not be tuned for them to make presentations in the city.
This group was an all men group. I especially had a great time as three of this group were firemen and we had worked together for the Lexington Fire Department. We spent many late nights talking about old times.
On Sunday, these men taught all the Sunday school classes except the small children. Then on Sunday night Pastor Zik brought the message. What a blessing!
These men came to work and work they did. They finished laying the floor tiles in the upstairs and it is beautiful. They were able to do some painting also to finish some projects that we had not been able to get to. The church building is really coming alive. How AWESOME is the God we serve!
Thanks Durbin Memorial Baptist Church and especially Pastor Zik, his father Bob Zik, Ron Logan, Charlie Davis and Bob Hendriks.
As always if you are thinking about a mission trip give us a call and come on down.
You will never know just how much Barbara and I appreciate your prayers and financial support. Without you and BFM, we could not do the things that we do here in Caraguatatuba, Brazil.
In His service,
Aj and Barb
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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God is at Work—Even when the Devil Sticks His Nose in Our Plans
The Hensleys have spent nearly 20 years serving in Brazil. They have established a church in Caraguatatuba and mission points throughout the city. They have also recently started a seminary to train pastors.
July 17, 2017
Dear friends and family,
Most of the time all I have to say is how AWESOME is the God we serve—the same still applies for this month. However, it has been a month in which the devil stuck his nose into our plans. So, where do I start?
1st—BUS: We have a great bus and it is an awesome tool for our church to “reach-out” to our members and the community. You name it and we have had a problem with it. The problem with the brakes is solved. Then there was the problem with the suspension, springs and bushings (riding like a wagon). While fixing the springs, etc., we discovered that we need shocks. We are managing to pay this on our credit card. During all this we missed having the bus for another week but the Lord provides with our two cars and several trips to pick up the people. If anyone would like to contribute to the Bus Ministry, start with prayers and then let the Lord lead you in what He wants you to do.
2nd—School Project: Our plans were to go to a public school and do some painting and do a Bible School with our visitors from Central Baptist Church in Paris, Kentucky, and Pastor Steven heading the group. When we got there, there was a contractor that the city had hired to do some much-needed work. So, we pitched in and started to pressure wash the walls that we had planned to paint. But the contractor came and informed us that the cleaning and painting was in his contract so we put up the pressure washer. The principal of the school came to us and told us that the caretaker’s house in the back of the school property needed painting and asked if we would consider painting it. The devil tried to take away our pleasure in helping and God gave us another avenue to help. During this time, the others were having Bible School with the students. It was a great success and the children were able to hear God’s Word from someone other than us. The ways of God are AWESOME and we just have to be still and listen.
3rd—Member’s House: Central Baptist came prepared to put a roof on Martha’s front porch and there we encountered some minor problems with family trying to delay the project (her husband). We eventually overcame the problems and got the roof completed and in the end, we were able to get her husband to attend church. Pray for Jose as he needs salvation.
Our visit to the Indian tribe was our best ever. Another Bible School success!! While there I was summoned to the house of the Chief, and I did not know what to expect. It turned out that the Chief wanted to give me his testimony regarding his salvation. Absolutely wonderful, AWESOME, hearing a 116 year-old Indian Chief talking about his faith. This tribe believes in many gods but this Chief believes in the REAL GOD. Sometimes words are not enough to express or tell about how Lord and Savior is working in Brasil. Before we left, some of the tribe’s younger adults sang several songs for us. The Chief asked or told me that he needed a new guitar for the group. The guitar that they were using was held together with wire and string. He asked specifically for a guitar and the colors needed to be blue and yellow. How many guitars have you seen that are blue and yellow? Central Baptist Church has solved the problem when they returned to the States, one of the members bought a guitar and took it to a body shop and had it painted! You guessed it—Blue and Yellow. How AWESOME is the God we serve. This week we will receive another group from Durbin Baptist Church and they will bring the guitar. We will be able to present the guitar to the tribe and the Chief. We will send pictures.
We were also able to work at the Church building one day with some needed carpentry work. Sometimes I stand amazed at how things get done, people get used, and the Lord gets glorified. AMEN!!!
Come see what God is doing with your missionary dollars.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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Full Month of Remodeling; Pray for Bus Ministry
The Hensleys have spent nearly 20 years serving in Brazil. They have established a church in Caraguatatuba and mission points throughout the city. They have also recently started a seminary to train pastors.
June 20, 2017
Friends and family,
This month has been very, very full. We have been working on the house, remodeling and cleaning it for the visitors. I guess all of you know how amazing it is the STUFF you can accumulate over 20 years. Well we have removed several years and have some more to go.
Speaking of the house, we have taken out our wooded windows and replaced them with new ones. What a mess!! We are not talking about wooden walls, etc., but masonry. Can you imagine the mess when the windows you bought are not the same size as those you are taking out? What a mess I have created!! After the replacement, I have created much more work—patch, sand and paint. I painted around the windows and, guess what, need to paint the house. Now the walls are beautiful but the soffit is ugly, so I put vinyl siding around the soffit. It is amazing how things snowball when you get into remodeling. There seems to be no end. But the house now looks great and the outside is beautiful. AWESOME!!!
As most of you know, when there is a transition of pastors some of the people do not stay. We are now in the rebuilding phase and things are going good. We are having visitors each service and many of them are looking for a home church. God is AWESOME.
My health is holding its own. Good days and some days not so good; however, the AWESOME thing is that God is in control and I have a good prognosis. My treatments will continue until February 2018 so continue to pray for my health and for all those that are in a battle with cancer.
Seminary is an AWESOME endeavor. The last class we had 28 people and 18 of them were active pastors. Continue to pray for the Seminary as we endeavor to expand the reach of the present work. We have had the blessing of being taken under the wing of New Orleans Baptist Seminary so that we can offer a greater range of classes here in Brasil. As of this year we are working on offering a Master’s program. We are also working on offering classes in Manaus and Sao Paulo, and returning to Orlandia.
Last month we told you of the many things that had to be fixed on the bus—this month is much better. It only needs 2 new tires. This bus is a necessary tool for us here in Caraguatatuba. Pray for our bus ministry because part of it is children. These children come to Sunday School and this is where they learn of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is an AWESOME ministry. We are reaching the children to be able to reach the parents. We have various examples of children that we have worked with who are now teenagers and are faithful in church now.
It is always great to hear that people are praying for you. So Barb and I request your prayers. And we thank you soooo much for your financial support—without you our work could not happen.
We are looking forward to the visits that we will have here in Brasil this year. You are always welcome!!!!! The lights are on and the bed is turned down, so come on down.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
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