sims jonathan 1983 japan

8/12/2019 Sims Jonathan 1983 Japan

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V/C .A . J . - JONATHAN SIMSP.O. Box 3 77 M 26 983ChesapeaTce, Virg in ia 23325

January 21, 1983

Dea r F r i e n d s in Christ:Greetings in the name o f Jesus Chri s t from the forwardingagent of Ch r i s t s Ambassador to Japan - Jonathan Sims.Another year has passed since we l a s t communicated with youpersonal ly, except for the short notes and receipts . Once again,w6 would l i ke to convey our apprecia t ion fo r your cont inued suppor tof Jonathan and also your promptness. Your response has been mostencoiiraging. Thanks to each of you we can repeat ourselves and say,

It has been a good yea r .The Lord has t ru ly blessed Jonatham th is pas t year . He has hadno health problems and has been rapidly progressing in his abi l i tyto speak and write Japanese. He is to be congratulated on completingth i s most di f f i cu l t language course And now t ha t Jonathan has graduated from the Japan Missionary Language Ins t i tu te , he will continueto need your prayers and support as he begins to put into practicalapplication his use of the Japanese language. As Jonathan proclaimsGod's Word, we pray that our Heavenly Father wil l give an abundantincrease of p re cious sou ls into His church.When Jonathan l e f t in May I98I , the basic needs fo r one personcost 1050.00. Because of inflation, etc. we feel that his material

needs wi l l increase as he meets the new chal lenge before him. He hasbeen l iving with his parents this past 18 months; therefore, he hasmanaged (very modestly, I'm sure) on the 800 we send him each month.Actual committed regular support at present is only 786.66 monthly,but some of his supporters send more than their commitment a t times.Then there are those who cannot give regular ly , but give whenever theycan. This has helped to keep things in balance so far. For the f i r s ttime we were able to make a deposit to Jonathan 's Emergency Fund a tthe end of this year in preparation for his eventual fur lough back tothe s t a t e s . This wi l l al low Jonathan to fu nc t io n under l e s s pressureshould an emergency a r i se .I f you are not one of the regular contributors, we ask that you

consider Jonathan in your budget for the coming year. And for thosewho can send only occasionally, p lease continue All support servesto greatly encourage the missionary in his work. Letters help alsoWe thank each o f the churches, groups and ind iv iduals who aresharing their material blessings and prayers with Jonathan. May Godb le s s each o f you

You r s in Christ

/ /Jesse and El la Ing'e^(Fo rwa rd in g Agent s


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VOLUME 3

C A J R e p o r tJ O N A T H A N SMS CH RI S T S AMBASSADOR T O J A P A NAnd th e things y ou have heard me say in th e presence ofmany witnesses entrusted to reliablemen who willalso be qualified to teach others. Timothy 2: 2

FIRST QUARTER 1983

^

NUMBER 1

BEGINNING A NEW WORKThis year is bringing new opportunities fo r communicating th e Gospel of Jesus Christhere in Japan. In addition to continuing present activity of supply preaching whileour fellow missionary Mark Pratt is on furlough I have started a new Bible studyclass. The Bible study uses slides to supplement th e text. Color pictures and chartsaid much in understanding what the Bible says.Since starting the class on Saturday evenings an additional opportunity to beginanother class using the same material has come. To briefly state how th e events workedout fo r th e best dad performed th e wedding ceremony several months ago for th e IZUMIpronounced ee zoo mee family. The husband teaches a juku pronounced joo koo whichis a special class to supplement regular school curriculum and prepare students fo rr i g i d to

the schoolsSeparate a r e

fo r e a c h o f th e f ive sec t ions o fthe namely Japanese SocialEngl i s h .IZUMI s a n r en t s own cl as s ro o m

in the housing complex where hel ives. They have in v ite d me to us eth e room to teach the B ib le stu dyon Tuesday evenings beginning in IApril. Mister IZUMI w il l p ub lic iz ethe study an d is c o n f id e n t t h a tpeople who would be hesi tant toe n t e r a Church building fo r any-

o the r t han amore f r eel y g a t h e r aprivately rented room fo r a Bibles t u d y . The Iziimi Family

This opportunity i s a spe ci al si gn that th e Lord is at work. In many of th e newhousing complexes in Japan i t is forbidden to rent a meeting room for any sort of rel igious or political meeting. A person living in hi s own unit in the housing complex maypossibly re n t a room fo r a JUKU o r hobby related club but n o t o th er wi se . I t would beimpossible for someone in a neighboring community to rent a room. These regulationswould tend to l i m i t evangelism but through such people as the IZUMIs who themselvesare not y e t C hr is ti an but interes ted th e Lord is working. Pray t h a t through this doorth e IZUMI family and others may come to hear and respond to the Gospel message.


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VISITING OUR CHURCHESOne Sunday of each month, on which I don t

have other r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s I have been v i s i ting some of our Churches. Through the t r i p s Ihave been able to get to know some of ourJapanese coworkers b e t t e r and see more of anoverall picture of the work here in Japan. Thevisits have helped tremendously to augment mycontinuing learning of Japanese through hearing sermons of the l ocal p reache rs. Even thoughI have finished formal classroom study of th eJapanese language I s t i l l face awkwardness inexpressing myself, always feeling afterward thatI could have said things in a better way. yJapanese will always sound l ike tha t of a foreigner, but I hope to continue each day to studyon my own to be b e t t e r able to communicate theGospel of J es us C tir ts t in terms that Japanesewill understand. Let us continue to pray t h a tthe people here will be freed from the bindingchains of t h e i r many religious and other t r aditions so that they can accep t Jesus Christas Lord and S a v i o u r o f t h e i r l i v e s and l i v eas new people so that glory and honor can bebrought to Jesus Christ .

The K i n o n C h u r c h o f C h r i s t

The Lord is continuing to sustain me and provide the thin gs that I need to do Hiswill . I am very grateful for your cont inuing prayer and support. Except for a twoday type of flu, I have been in good health. I am taking a Japanese language newspaperto keep up y study. In the few articles I read, or at least try to read using a dictionary to find the words I don t know yet , I can sense quite a different picture thanwhat I read in the English language edition for foreigners . At times i t seems embarrassing to hear about problems in America, but at the same time there are plentyof l ocal condi ti on s that need to be changed. Sin i s rampant a l l throughout the worldand everyone needs to hear the Gospel and become obedien t to God s plan through JesusChrist. Pray that I can be effectivethrough my l ifestyle to lead the-Japanese aroundme to turn toward Christi-atiity. -Pray-^a-t there wilJ-be-f^uit-J;tou-gh-thp pppnrti nitlesthat the Lord has provided and is continuing to provide.Laurel Avenue Church o f C h r i s tC . A . J . - JONATHAN SIMSP.O. Box 13277Chesapeake, Virginia 23325

FIELD ADDRESSJ o n a t h a n Sims3-33-7 Mejirodai, Hachioji-ShiTokyo, Japan 193FORWARDING AGENTJesse Inge909 Neptune Ave. Va, Beach 234548 0 4 - 4 2 0 - 6 0 2 8

15 = 3 Per~mii;rf iH lb ft-ProfT t - ^ c

M s s io n s S e r v i c e s A s s o .Box 2427Knoxvil le , TN 37901


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VOLUME 3

8 1983

CAJ ReportJONATHAN SIMS CHRIST S AMBASSADOR TO JAPANAnd the. things you haveheardmesay in the presence of many witnesses entrusted to reliablemen who willalso be qualified to teach others. II Timothy 2:2

SECOND QUARTER 1983 NUMBER

A NEW PLACE OF SERVICE^ The Lo rd is continuing to provide for our-needs in wonderful ways . Through-several moves among personnel working here in Japan, I have become the Minister of theYokosuka Daiichi Kirisuto no Kyokai (Yokosuka Church of Christ . I t is a challengingresponsibility and my training in language study and Bible College and Seminary is being

put to active use. t is the f irs t experience of preaching every week in Japanese Ihave had, so requires a lo t of effort. But the Lord supplies all needs. I am growingspiritually as I draw from the Bible to communicate the Gospel in ways that Japanesepeople can begin to understand. As I preach through Genesis, the Life of Christ theEpistles topical and fo r special times such as Easter Pentecost Mother s Day, etc.on the 1st 2nd, 3rd and 4th Sundays respectively I find many riches in the Word ofGod that are taken for granted a lot of times. Sometimes learning the differences inmeaning between words in English and Japanese makes various Scriptures stand out morethan one notices when just cursorily reading several chapters a day. This new responi-bili ty is giving me a sense of fulfillment which is one thing I have been needing. Theother need which is somewhat pressing is that of a f i t t ing helpmeet for the task ofproclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ to th e Japanese people. Too many people aretrying to help which I deeply appreciate but the Lord will provide one whom is betterthan I could imagine. y immediate task is to seek f i rs t the Kingdom of Jesus Christwhile trusting in His provision of all of my needs according to His schedule.

The building has been rebui l trecently so is almost new. As far as

opinion is deciding how much to con-sider a serving for myself. o recipes Yokosuka Church of Christare j u s t fo r one and I don t care muchfor kitchen math. f i t comes to math I prefer bookkeeping rather than d iv id ing por tions of spoons and cups.

The Yok osu ka h urc h o f h r i s t

THE PRESENT SITUATIONThe congregation has been through a rough h is to ry of having more decreases thanincreases. But putting all of that out of mind, I consider this as a pioneer work forplanting a new congregation. The community may not seem as ripe for the Gospel as otherareas but the Lord is much more powerful than any force that Satan throws againstattempts to establish the Church of Christ. Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ has already won the batt le. t is our task to claim fo r Jesus Christ that which is rightfullyHis. Attendance at Sunday Worship, as low as two, but two who are not yet Christians

are coming, is nothing to report in a newsletter but is the accurate pictu re of theadult attendance. Sunday School is much more of a news item. The usual attendance is


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about twelve for the class for preschoolers to third grade, three for middleschool junior high in U.S. and somewhatsporadic attendance for 4th through 6thgraders elementary school). The Lordcan t a k e two f i s h and f i v e l o a v e s andfeed more than f i v e thousand . He hasno less a b i l i t y to take two Christ iansand multiply them into hundreds ofChristians. I t may take years of d i l igent labor, but I am committed to thet a s k . I f i s t h e L or d s w i l l t h a t Idevote twenty years to this communityI am here for the sake of Jesus Christ ,and am willing to follow His direct ion.

One o f t h e weaknesses o f t h eprior work here has been unwillingnessto spend more than two or three years int h i s community. In Japan, tha t i s j u s tthe time i t takes for the communityt o a l l o w t h e i c e t o m e l t f o r a newface coming into the scene, then a f t e robserving ones l i f e s t y l e they may begin to l i s t e n to what he has to say.Most Americans are too eager for d i r e c tand immediate r e s u l t s to a d j u s t to t h i ss i t u a t i o n . But t h e Lord u s e s a l l o f uswho d e v o t e o u r s e l v e s t o His work i nth e places where we are working. Int ime, f r u i t w i l l come from e f f o r t .

PRAYER REQUESTSTtircra-gh your-prayeiand support,-

I have been susta ined and the Lord i sanswering your prayers. Pray that Isoon can be made complete through provision of a helpmeet in the same waythat God provided Eve as a fitting andequal helpmeet fo r Adam. Pray that inthe meantime, I will not be slack or become discouraged with the work or preaching every week with l i t t le response or only afew to come and hear. Pray that I can make more contacts in the community that canlater bring fruit. Pray that Amino san may decide to become a Christian. Pray for apowerful and effective witness all over the world for the sake of Jesus Christ in spiteof seemingly overwhelming wickedness in our present society. Pray that we can remainstrong until our Lord returns shortly to take us to our real home in Heaven.

Laurel Avenue Church o f C h r i s tC . A . J . - JONATHAN SIMSP .O . Box 13277Chesapeake, Virginia 23325

FIELD ADDRESSJ o n a t h a n Sims3-6 Kugo Cho Yokosuka-ShiKanagawa Ken Japan 238FORWARDING AGENTJesse Inge909 Neptune Ave. Va. Beach Va. 23464804)420-6028

The Meeting Room

The Sunday School C h i l d r e n

P e r m i t 48Non-Profit OrgPostage PaidChesapeake, Va

Missions Services AssocBox 2427Knoxville, TN 37901


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VOLUME 3

CAJ ReportJONATHAN SIMS CHRIST S AMBASSADOR TO JAPANAnd the thingsyou have heard me say in the presenceofmany witnesses entrusted to reliablemen who willalso be qualified to teach others II Timothy 2:2

THIRD QU RTER 1983 NUM ER 3

THE KOBE CONVENTION

The summer schedule of activi t ies this year seemed to pass by very quick ly . I ta ll began with th e convention in th e city of Kobe Japanese Christians gathered together as well as missionaries, for a time of fellowship and encouragement to keep ons tedfas tl y in th e work of communicating the Gospel of Jesus Christ here in Japan.Four hundr ed and eighty people gatheredfrom f i f ty- three congregations to meettoge ther a t Kobe, which represents maybe s ix t een p e rc ent o f the Chris t ians inour churches in Japan and most o f thecongregations . Even though the numbersmay be small, the percentage of Christi an s who a t t ended and th e number o f congregat ions r ep re sent ed a re high enoughto chal lenge the at tendance o f theNor th Amer ican Ch r i s t i a n Conven t i on i nthe S t a t e s . In any case , there i splen ty o f hard work to be done to so f ten the h ea rts o f Japanese who are boundi n c us to ms an d t r a d i t i o n s o f Buddh ismand o th er r el ig io n s.

national

The Preachers sing a t the Kobe Convention

THE MISSIONARY MEETINGI t was a spec ia l b le ss ing a t the gathering of the missionaries to have Shermanand Joyce Nichols come and edify us with preaching fi l led with good American humor

I t i s quite a s t ra in to put out messagea f te r message in Japanese wi+houthaving a b r i e f t ime to take in a fewedifying messages in American English.All output and l i t t l e intake i s verydi f f icu l t for any preacher. Of course,there i s in take through B ib le s tu dy ,prayer and reading o f good devot iona lbooks etc. ,but i s a particular blessing to have a preacher from States idecome to encourage us in a spec ia l way.Not only tha t but Sherman can now repor t d ir ec tly to American Chris t ianswho support and pray di l igent ly fo r ushere in Japan about h is personal experiences in th is unusual country. Ofcourse, from the Japanese perspect ive ,Americans are unusual people. In mycase , I am considered d i f fe ren t thannormal in both p laces .he Missionary Meeting

AN UNUSUAL CAMP SEASONWhen the weather p at te rn s a re out of the ordinary in one par t of the world, can be expected tha t other par t s of the world wil l be affected also. In Japan therainy season came late and lasted a l i t t le longer than usual, adversely affecting crop


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production. Summer was shor t and a f t e r a few cooler than normal days came a few hott e r than normal. The weather as such d i d n t a f f e c t attendance a t camp but otherf a c t o r s made the d i f f e r e n c e . The Board o f Edu ca tio n h as b een p u t t i n g a heavierload on s t u d e n t s t o keep them from g et t i n g i n to t r o u b l e . Fewer s t u d e n t s came t ocamp t h i s year than before, because of extra homework assignments to be completed i nthe summer vacat ion. I taught c l a s s e s i n a t l e a s t one camp and the camplike VBSconducted by t he congr eg at io n a t Mejirodai where dad and mom work and where I stayedduring language school . We went bychartered bus from i fej irodai to one of

th e la k es n e a r hfount F u j i . On t h e waywe s topped a t a park p a r t way up th emountain f o r a p i c n i c lunch. As wehad a little t ime, we walked throughthe park. An earthquake h i t whichshook up most o f the kids , not mentioning th e volcanic ash o f t h e mountain.We were s a f e and made it t o th e campw i t h o u t further i n c i d e n t . T h e n e x tday a thunders torm knocked o u t t h ee l e c t r i c i t y o f th e camp f o r awhile .Thechildren w i l l p robab ly neve r f o r g e tt h i s y e a r s exper ience .

The Family Camp

The group from Yokosuka on Talent Night

A f t e r camp and t h e Mej irodaicamp-like VBS I would r e t u r n by t r a i nt o Yokosuka t o preach on Sunday andt e a c h th e Sunday School l e s s o n s andt u r n r i g h t around and go back t o campagain. For the week o f the familycamp, dad and mom were i n th e S t a t e sfo r my youngest b r o t h e r s wedding.S i n c e I h a d t h e c a r I c h a u f f e u r e d twoe lemen ta ry s choo l g i r l s and th e l a d yth t t e a c h e s their l ss f r o m Y o k o s u k at o the camp and back. There were fewf a m i l i e s as such which a t t e n d e d b u tthere were people o f a l l ages. A t yphoon came through the region whichcaused maj or damage i n t h e a r e a betweenYokosuka and th e camp, d ela yin g o ur r et u r n t o Yokosuka by one day. With mos tmaj or roads flooded i n places by suddent o r r e n t i a l r a i n s we stayed one e x t r anight . We had a t a l e n t show whereeveryone took p a r t by singing a song,playing some instrument, doing a s k i to r some o t h e r unusual t h i n g . Throughthe t a l e n t show, dampened s p i r i t s were

al ade brighter. The Lord provided safety again to the camp and campers.Through the prayers and support of many faithful Christians in America theLord is providing for my needs. The Lord continues to provide and sustain. In timethere w i l l be f r u i t from the continuing work i n Japan.

L a u r e l Avenue Church o f C h r i s tC . A . J . JONATHAN SIMSP.O. Box 13277Chesapeake, Virginia 23325

FIELD ADDRESSJ o n a t h a n S i m s3-6 Kugo Cho Yokosuka-ShiKanagawa Ken Japan 238FORWARDING AGENTJesse Inge909 Neptune Ave. Va. Beach, Va. 23464(804)420-6028

Permit No. ASNon-Profi t Org.Postage PaidChesapeake, Va.


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15^ 3 18C. A. J REPORT

JONATHAN SIMS. . .CHRIST S AMBASSADOR TO JAPANMd the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrusted to re l iable men who wil l also be qualified to teach others. I I Timothy 2:2VOLUME 3 FOURTH QUARTER 1983 NUTBER 4

ONE HUNDRED YEAR ANNIVERSARYOn October 16, 1883 the f i r s t missionaries from t he Restor at ion Movement,Charles E. Garst and George T. Smith, arrived in Japan. They were real pioneers inthe work of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Japan. They did not have theresoiircee we have today to make the task eas ie r . Travel was di f f icu l t foreigners

were restr icted to a few selected dist r ic ts in which to l ive and work , languagehelps were few and far between, and only a few years prior to their ar r ival had theedict boards forbidding Christianity been taken down (but the anti-Christ ian moodwas s t i l l prevalent). But even with these restrictions, the f i r s t missionaries wereable to sow some seed and open doors for add it ional missionaries to come to Japan.Charles E. Garst was the f i r s t Restoration Movement missionary to enter areas ofJapan which had been o ff l im it s to foreigners. He found the people in the areawhere he worked somewhat receptive to the Gospel. In some cases i t took a personten years to obey the Gospel af ter hearing for the f i r s t time, but from the s ta r tGarst was able to make many contacts and Japanese friends.

Some have advocated that the 1890 s were the years when Japan was r ipestfor the Gospel. But Satan has and is hindering th e work in various ways. A majorstif l ing of the plain and simple Gospel of Jesus Christ has been caused by the liberalism of many so called Bible scholars which has been imported from Europe,wlany of th e writings of these experts have been translated into Japanese and arebeing read. Because of liberalism and denominationalism, evangelism become diff icult . Just a t the time when potential was great for Church growth, these evils entered Japan. Even the Restoration Movement spurred forward by such men as Stone andCampbell has been fragmented into three groups. The Disciples of Christ haveJoined into l iberal denominational groups, the legalistic minded have separated tobecome Churches of Christ (non-instrumental) and we of the Churches of Christ(Christian Churches are not showing the zeal and gusto of earlier days.

On November 6th and 7 th th ere was a gathering of missionaries and preachers from the three groups within the Res tora tion Movement here in Japan, Only oneold Japanese preacher in the Disciples part is continuing on with the originalmessage of the I^^ovement. A number from both of the other groups came to the meeting.Leroy Garrett was the guest spesiker from the States and emphasized getting back tothe slogan In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, and in all things love.Since matters of opinion were suppressed in order to once again consider such pioneers as Garst, there was a chance for a fellowship like never before since thesp l i t

SIX MONTHS IN YOKOSUKA

I t has already been six months since I moved here. I t would be wonderfulto be able to report numbers of Japanese responding to th e Gospel message and comingto obey Jesus Christ In a ll things, but frui t doesn t come overnight. The soi ls t i l l need s plow ing, s eed sowing, watering and time before f rui t wil l come. TheLord blesses our frai l hijman efforts beyond what they are worth. Only the Lord canprovide t he i nc re as e

On September 15 to 17 one of th e elders of one of our sister congregationscame to be the guest speaker at our special Evangelistic meeting. Preparation consisted of hanging posters, distributing several hundred handbills in the communityand writing letters to former members. Only one former member came, but the guestspeaker brought a few with him and on th e f irs t night a group came from the congregation where dad i s working. Even though only a few came, was s t i l l more thanour normal Sunday morning Worship attendance. There was good fellowship and ourguest re la ted in his testimony that he f i r s t heard the Gospel as a student in aBible class conducted by a missionary, but i t was not unti l twenty-five years la tert h a t he became a Ch r i s t i a n


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A major attempt was made t o s t a r t an Engl ish B ib le class for youth involving much time and about 125.00 in advertisement (hanging pos te rs f or a price inthree nearby r a i l r o a d s t a t i o n s p r i n t i n g and d i s t r i b u t i o n of three thousand handb i l l s most through l o c a l newspaper s and the r e s t by hand a t the gates of a nearbyschool). Not a single response came from junior or senior high and college age peop l e . However, a month l a t e r a housewife came t o study the Bible i n English a t a' time convenient fo r her. She i s coming regularly and w i l l bring her friends, i fthey w i l l come. May we use every opportunity the Lord provides to the f u l l e s t thatHis Name w i l l be g l o r i f i e d .

A DAY TO HH#MBERI t i s already the time of year to remember the birthday of o\ir Lord andSav iour J es us Christ . Here i n Yokosuka we w i l l be having our Christmas program onthe 18th, a week early so t h a t the Japanese manager of our camp in the mountains

can come and help. He. w i l l bring a shor t t a l k as one p a r t of the program. The program w i l l consist of the Chri stmas Carol on s l i d e s a short message, a Japaneses t y l e picture-s tory with the pictures and dialogue writ ten by our 2nd and 3 rd graders, games and refreshment and g i f t s . I will v i s i t dad and mom at Christmas time,s i n c e I d o n t s e e them o f t e n s i n c e I h a v e moved t o Yokosuka.

The Lord has sustained me t h i s year, providing for my daily needs. God i sanswering your many prayers on my behalf. I am grateful for your continuing prayers. In sp ite of my cooking I am i n good health. In time the Lord wil l provideblessings greater than I ever thought possible. Pray that I can be effective forJesus Christ in t h i s community and t h a t He w i l l soon provide t h a t special help-meetwhich wil l great ly i nc re as e the impact for the Gospel i n our neighborhood.

F i e l d AddressJ o n a t h a n Sims3-6 Kugo ChoYokosuka-ShiKanagawa-Ken Japan 238Laurel Avenue Church o f C hristC.A, J . - Jona than SimsP.O. Box 13277Chesapeake, Virginia 23325

ON EARTH, GOODWILL TO MEN

Mssions Serv. Assoc.Box 2427Khoxville, l f 37901

Forwarding AgentJes se . Inge909 Neptune AvenueVa. Beach, Va. 23464(804) 420-6028Permi t f?48Non-profi t Org.Postage PaidChesapeake, Va.

sims jonathan 1983 japan

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