Colombia – colombiatotheworld

Our Story! :)

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When people meet us, they are always curious about how we met, where we met, etc. After living in the States for so long now, people just assume that we met here. But here’s the real story…

I moved to Bogota, Colombia right before New Years in 2007. I was invited to teach music at an international school, and knowing that a lot of my world would be in English, I asked if it would be possible to live with a Colombian family instead of with the other teachers. I was placed with a bi-cultural pastor’s family. We didn’t know anything about each other until I arrived, but we quickly found out that the Lord had indeed put us together!

They invited me to go on a retreat they were leading with a different church my first weekend in country. It was during that trip they discovered that I was a worship leader/speaker, and we had a BLAST ministering together. I learned a TON of songs in Spanish, and was on my way to becoming bilingual (although I had a LOOOOOOONG way to go).

The following weekend, I had been spending time with the English teachers when I got a call from the pastor asking if I would be willing to play the drums for the services the following day. He said that their worship team had a few different drummers, but that none of them were available. I immediately agreed and rushed back to their place so he could take me to the church.

I showed up without makeup, in a t-shirt, baggy torn jeans and crocs. Lol! (if you know anything about Colombian women, they would NEVER dress like that…).

None of the guys on the worship team spoke English, and, as Leo later told me, upon seeing me they decided to change the set list to translated Hillsong songs instead of their typical latino-flavored songs.

I had a blast!

I think the guys were a little surprised that I could do it.

After the rehearsal, the electric guitarist (Leo) stuck around to wait for the pastor to pick me up. I literally had no idea how to say anything about music or life at that point… and he didn’t really know how to say anything about life and music to me, either… but somehow, after sharing our names, how old we were and how many siblings we had (thank you Spanish 1), I communicated that I write music.

Leo immediately turned on the keyboard and asked me to sit and play him something. I started playing “We will praise You” from my Captivated:Live cd, and just as I got to the 2nd verse, Leo stopped me. He said…

“No. No. No…. Jazz…. colors!” and then proceeded to hum the melody of the song and completely changed the chords to sounds I would never know how to make in a million years. I cracked up! I remember thinking “I think this guy and I are going to be good friends!”

The pastor came right about then to walk me home (he lived only a block away from the church).

The following weekend, and the ones that proceeded it, I was a part of the worship team. We had rehearsal on Saturday afternoons, and then 3 services on Sundays. In between the services, we would all go to the cafe across the street to get something to eat and I would try my best to communicate what I’d been learning. In addition to the Sunday services, I started helping out with the youth services on Friday nights, and teaching lessons at the worship academy on Saturdays. I LOVED it!

Leo also happened to be involved with all of those church events, so it gave us a good deal of time together, sharing life and ministry. He was hilarious, and an incredible guitarist/worship leader. It was so much fun to find someone with similar interests and passions!

He started walking me home more, and the pastor would always invite him to eat dinner with us. When Leo would get home, he’d sign on to Skype and we would chat (all written) while the pastor’s daughter sat next to me to translate and help me learn what to say back. It was hilarious. We were NEVER without a bilingual dictionary!

One day, I was walking with the pastor and asked him what he thought about Leo. He said “Wow! What a guy! He loves Jesus, loves people and is always here serving at the church! You really can’t find anyone better!”. But then he went on to say… “But I recommend you wait 2 years before you start to date. Get to know him better, get to know the language and the culture better… Here, Colombian christians take dating VERY seriously. You first start out in groups, and then the moment you go out just the 2 of you, it means that you’re serious about each other. Dating in our church culture means that you’re seriously contemplating marriage.”

I think 2 weeks later, Leo and I were sitting on the steps out in front of the pastor’s house talking about what we really felt called to do. And, it was exactly the same! It was at that moment when I had the feeling “I think I’m gonna marry this guy!”.

It was during that conversation where Leo said that he wanted to be my “novio”… and out of respect for the pastor, I told Leo that he would have to ask permission from the pastor if he wanted to date me.

Sidenote: it had always been an agreement between my dad and I when I was in high-school that if a guy wanted to date me, he HAD to ask my dad first. It was a safety-net for me and to this day I am so grateful! If a guy called the house (you know… in the ancient days before there were cell-phones), my dad would ask me “do you want to go out with this guy?” If I said “no”, then so did my dad. I have always encouraged young girls who are starting to date to have this same arrangement with their fathers. It is SO important for their safety and health to have their dads involved with any boys who have interest in them.

So, Leo and the pastor met and talked one evening. They were in the living room, and I was in the kitchen cooking (the pastor’s wife was out of town). I was SO nervous, especially after the pastor had said that it would be better to wait 2 years, and it had only been 2 1/2 months!

But both he and Leo came into the kitchen beaming… the pastor hugged us both and said “you have our prayers, our counsel, and our best wishes!”.

A year and a half after Leo and I met, we were married in Bogota! We just celebrated our 9th anniversary.

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Processing… and waiting

Leo and I are about to celebrate 3 years of marriage! It’s crazy how fast these few years have gone, and how many obstacles we’ve had to overcome in such a short time! The few months leading up to our wedding, and even a year and a half into our marriage, it felt like it was us against the world! Or, at least, us against the US Immigration laws and other issues that had to do with Leo not being able to get to the States. Now, things have kinda switched around a bit. Leo even took his first trip by himself to the States in March… a kind-of expensive requirement that comes with having a resident Visa… he can’t be out of the States for longer than 6 months.

We are at a bit of a stand-still now, however. Leo would really like for us to have a year-long furlough in the States sometime soon, and I agree that we need a break! Back in October, we were thinking that we could do it this coming January… but things haven’t worked out how we hoped. We were thinking I could get pregnant, have the baby here in Colombia (I don’t have insurance in the States), and then live the last year of Leo’s residency requirement, before he gets US citizenship, in the States being close to family in a kind-of utopian, rest-filled existence. Well, obviously, I’m not pregnant yet, and from what we’ve seen and heard from doctors, even visiting the States isn’t a good option for me because of my hormone issues and how connected my body is to seasons. The two 2-month trips we took during opposite seasons knocked my body off again, and that’s the reason I’m still having a hard time getting pregnant. And, if we went to the States and were able to get insurance, we wouldn’t be able to get pregnant until we’ve paid into the system for 9 months. So, everything is on hold, and it’s not very fun.

All that to say…I’m not doing well… in many ways.

I’ve read 2 books lately that have really helped put words to my emotions. One is “God on Mute” by Peter Greig. He skillfully writes about the many reasons why God doesn’t answer our prayers. Ultimately, it’s because our life is meant to glorify Him, and He will do what He wants with us. We can’t manipulate Him, have enough faith, or do enough good things to change His mind. He knows what is best for us in the long-run, and He will have His way.

The second book I devoured this week is “A Million MIles in a Thousand Years” by Donald Miller. I know it’s been out for a long time, but I finally had time to read it this week… I was sick at home for 2 days. He writes about the importance of having a story, but yet knowing that our personal story ties in with the big Story that is weaved through generations of lives. The greatest stories are those that have an obstacle too big for the main character to overcome without great sacrifice.

We don’t have many helpful answers to my health issues, but I can’t help think that somehow malar ia has something to do with it. My liver was pretty damaged during the whole ordeal, and your liver is what processes your hormones. Almost 7 years ago, I had to understand that if facing death was the price, it was worth knowing Jesus through the pain. I knew the presence of the Lord through my pain… a kind of knowing that gets into your bones and holds everything together. However, the last few years, I haven’t wanted to know Him in my pain and suffering. I have wanted to know Him in the blessing… in the easy things… and nothing has been easy. It’s been rather crazy actually. But, in the area of my health, I’ve had to face another, very real thought: if malaria is the price of not having natural children, is it still worth it? Is this my obstacle that comes with great personal sacrifice?

I don’t know why being in pain as a wife is so much harder than it was being single. Maybe it’s because as a single person, serving Jesus, I knew that He was all I had… it was just me and Him, and as much as I was hurting, He was the only one who could hold me and bring healing… and I was willing to trust Him. Now, as a wife, I serve my husband and Jesus, and my focus gets all off when I forget that my husband, while he can hold me, can’t bring healing or light to the dark, almost hopeless areas of my soul. And while the tangible is seemingly more available than the eternal, I’m mad at both. It was easier to believe in God’s sovereignty and timing when I thought it more closely lined up with mine. More closely being “o.k. maybe not this month… but definitely this year, right?”. 2 years, and more un-answered questions later, I’m not doing well.

We have a beautiful tangerine tree in our apartment. Our first Christmas together, we couldn’t agree on what kind of tree to have because Leo couldn’t understand the tradition of cutting down a beautiful, living thing just to decorate and watch die; and I couldn’t handle the feel of fake trees. So, we compromised and bought a small tree to decorate. Bogota isn’t the best place for any kind of fruit trees because it’s so cold; but when we got the tree, it had 7 little tangerines growing. The tree is supposed to bloom every 4 months, and then from those blooms, produce fruit. I can count on one hand the amount of times it’s bloomed since it has stayed in the little corner of our living room that gets sunlight, and we’ve only had 1 tangerine grow since we plucked the first 7.

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This month, however, I saw little buds forming. It was interesting to see them coming up from all different parts of the tree. The buds have since turned into leaves or little white balls that will burst open into the most delicate, sweet smelling flowers. This past week, I’ve been waiting for the first flowers to bloom, and just this morning, we had 3. I remember thinking as I was tending to the tree this week that I don’t know how much bigger those little white buds can get before they break open. They have such tension before they burst!

We are living an overwhelming amount of tension right now, and it’s easy to get mad at the tangible elements: our non-existent savings account, our tiny apartment that wouldn’t even fit a baby if we wanted it to, our lack of material things that would supposedly make things so much easier (… if I could just have a fancy mixer with all those fancy attachments so we could eat even healthier than we do now, or a juicer so we could do one of those “cleanse” diets…), Leo’s citizenship process that is still so expensive (and will continue to be for another year and a half) that he needs to finish before we can adopt, etc. It is overwhelming!

In the midst of this waiting for whatever is supposed to come next, however it’s supposed to come, I’m trying to choose to believe that this tension we are feeling is going to break forth into something beautiful and sweet-smelling soon. It just has to. We are desperate.

Pray for me… pray for Leo… pray for our hearts to be willing to line-up with God’s timing for many different things. Pray for balance between being faithful with what we can control, and having faith for what we can’t.

May 31st: Zaragoza

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To see pictures from this village, go to:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151471511235215.840611.741380214&type=3&l=0093e49b4b

The day started off great! We had a delicious breakfast of pancakes and syrup (!) at the base, and then split up again to go to the orphanage and shopping. Leo and I had a lot of last-minute things to get, and Hector (our dentist) needed boots. So, we walked down to the port to buy the various things we needed and couldn’t believe what we saw. There was about a foot of water covering the main road, and the people had built raised sidewalks with wood planks that we had to carefully walk on, especially if there was 2-way traffic! We watched as cars carefully drove through the water to get to the boats, hoping that our truck bringing all the luggage and supplies would also make it.

We got back to the base, and saw everyone. I guess Lucy at the orphanage was only expecting us yesterday, not today as well, and she already had other people visiting with different activities. So, everyone just walked back and rested while they were waiting for us.

The theme of a lot of group trips is “Hurry up… and wait”. This was no exception! As soon as the truck arrived, we were strategic in how we had to pack it so that it would be easier to unload at the dock. Then, it was time to put our boots on, lather ourselves with insect repellent, and walk the 5 blocks to the dock.

We got there a little before Monica did, so we thought we should wait for her… but the truck driver didn’t want to wait. So we found a dry spot to put the luggage and we waited. When Monica go there, we hurried to load the boat up with all the heavy stuff… and then the police came and gave us some problems so we had to wait again.

I’m always wary about the police… you can never really trust them here. Sometimes they make you wait for hours, expecting you to pay them a bribe. Luckily, we only waited about 1 hour for them to tell us that we could leave. Supposedly, they were worried about our boat being too heavy and over-packed. So, when we got on, we squished together, smiled and waved as we pulled out.

Besides some random stops along the way, we finally got out on the river… just in time for a HUGE rainstorm. Last year, the storm went completely around us and we didn’t get wet. This year, however, we weren’t that lucky. We went right through it, only able to see about 15 feet in front of the boat! Most of us forgot to pack our ponchos in an accessible place, so we just got wet… at least the people that were sitting on the side where the rain was coming in.

About halfway through the 3-hour trip, we got pulled over by the river police. As the boat had to turn around, the people on the other side got wet. Good times! J As it turns out, the police just wanted to let us know that they were there for us if we needed anything. They gave us their number and some pamphlets about dengue fever, and we were off!

As we pulled up to Zaragoza, those of us who had been there in years past were in shock. The village had become a lake! Everything was mud, and whereas in years past we’d stayed at the school on higher ground, we decided that it would be better to stay in the village this time to allow the villagers easier access to us and the medicine. Between the village and the school was an impassable lake. I’m so glad we made that decision!

We un-packed the boat and set up camp in a newly built building. It was right next to a Christian family’s house where some of the doctors were able to stay. We could use their rain water reserve to bathe, and they had a latrine as well. It was a really nice set-up!

The kids were waiting for us, excited that we were with them! A few of us went to the sidewalk in front of our “house” to sing with them and tell them Bible stories. They were little sponges, and they’d remembered everything we’d taught them from the other trips… even the songs that we’d written! That was so cool!

After a little while, it was time to set up the movie and start inviting people; so Zach, Andrew and I took the group of kids (each fighting over who could hold our hands… or just grasp a finger), and we invited everyone to the church for the movie. Two boys, Daivy Andres and Esteban were stuck to me like glue! They listened to everything I said, took me to the different houses, and helped me invite people. The sidewalks and paths we were walking on were crazy slippery and muddy, especially walking up and down the hills, and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to safely go to the farthest part of the village (through some more hills) to invite people… so I sent the boys. They LOVED doing it! They ran up and down the hills with their little bare feet and stopped in every single house to invite people. It was great to watch them!

We got back to the church and played some games while people arrived and the movie got set up.

The church quickly filled up with kids! It was so good to see familiar faces! While we were worshiping together and getting the movie started, the students were in the kitchen struggling to light a fire to cook the popcorn. Everything was wet, and they had to use a machete to cut off the outer parts of the wood, hoping that the inner parts were dry enough to light. It was pretty much impossible! But, about halfway through the movie, the popcorn got delivered, and the kids loved it!

I made the mistake of under-estimating how much popcorn we would need in that particular village. I’d bought 10 bags, but only got 3 out of the bin. The students didn’t know that there was more popcorn, and one student in particular started to stress out a little. I was in the church and had no idea of the crisis the students thought we were in… but Leo was helping them. Daniel, and 11^th grader, was not happy about the situation and Leo told him to pray to see what the Lord would tell him. Daniel came back after about 5 minutes and said that he needed to get the candy he’d brought to give out. He didn’t want the people to watch the movie without eating something. Leo was really proud of him!

During the movie, I was able to sit on the floor in front of the girl’s section. In these churches, most of the boys/men sit on the right hand side, while the girls/women sit on the left. I sat right in front of 6 beautiful girls who were obsessed with the movie… and my hair! They played with my hair, braided it, twisted it, etc. during the entire movie. It was so much fun!

The movie we showed was “Courageous”, and it was absolutely captivating! You know the villagers are into a movie when they talk the entire time… and they were talking! The girls were asking me question after question… and talking amongst themselves.

Some of the boys figured out that sitting right next to my computer gave them a better view, so they crowded around it.

It was so fun to watch the villagers watch the movie. As babies would fall asleep, the mothers would lay them on the floor, fanning them with whatever piece of cloth they had. Kids were asleep on the benches, some even left because it was late. We ended the movie a little early because we could tell that people were tired. Usually, they go to bed around 6pm, and it was already 8:30pm!

When the service ended, we went back to our eating hut and had a delicious dinner. Most of the students stayed in the kitchen for a majority of the evening… helping with the wood or fire, or just enjoying each other’s company. I think being in the village was a shock for some of them and they just needed some time to adjust.

We all headed back to the main house to use the bathroom (peeing outside is one of my favorite things to do!), clean up (can you say baby wipes?), and rest. I was looking forward to getting some sleep, since I didn’t get much the night before. But, those plans were put on hold as soon as we started hearing people outside our house.

At first, I didn’t understand what was going on. I heard 2 men and a woman talking to each other. I woke Leo up, and we were just listening. They were obviously drunk. One man said something like “we’re here helping them, and they treat us like dogs. They won’t let us into their house. It’s not like we’re going to rob them or anything!”. I didn’t know who these people were, or if they wanted to get into OUR house… I was a little freaked out to say the least. I wanted Leo to get up and tell them to go away, but he had no desire to talk to a few drunk people, so we just waited and prayed.

Some of us were tempted to get out of our tents to actually see what was going on, but Leo kept whispering to us to not make any noise or draw attention to ourselves. The people eventually left… and then came back. 3 different times I woke up to hear drunk people swearing and talking about horrible things.

It didn’t help that off in the distance we could hear the drums of the witch doctor. Needless to say, we didn’t get much sleep that night!

Friday, May 30th: Leticia and Brazil

Leticia and Brazil: Friday, May 30^th

For pictures from this day, go to:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151471447135215.840603.741380214&type=3&l=1695c28162

We were planning to leave ECA at 10:00am, however, we heard news of horrible traffic and an accident on our route to the airport, not much unlike our trip last year. So, we got permission to leave at 9:30am. Praise the Lord!

We got to the airport just fine, no traffic, and check-in was a breeze! The people at COPA airlines were amazing; and even if our bags were a few pounds over, they didn’t make us pay. They even counted 2 smaller bags that totaled 45lbs as one bag so we didn’t have to pay for an extra check-in bag! I don’t know if this is normally what they do, or if they saw that we were a HUGE group with tons of medicine and donations, but we were SO grateful!!! I think we will fly with COPA whenever we can!

We got through our check-in and still had plenty of time to get some lunch before the flight. We also had time in the airport to meet our non-ECA team members.

Only one of our bins had to go through a separate inspection… the one with all the toothpaste! It was a great chance to talk to the COPA people about what we were going to be doing in the Amazon, and they were really intrigued. We never know who’s heart is fertile soil to plant seeds in, right?

We got to Leticia just fine, and got a discount on the tourist tax that we normally pay because we weren’t coming in as tourists, but as servants.

At the base, they already had lunch waiting for us! It was SO good to be back! Our cook from last year, Agusta, even came from Brazil to visit with us!

After lunch, I sent the team to the orphanage to play with the kids while Leo and I stayed behind to organize the medicine with the doctors. There was so much to organize! (there’s that word again!)

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They got back just in time for dinner, and then we all headed out to find 24 motorcycles to take us to Brazil. It was so much fun! This year, Diana took us to an amazing ice-cream place “Los Gordos”. They had delicious copoacu ice cream and everything! I got peanut and brownie ice cream.

After only about half the people had gotten their yummy treats, the power went out in the whole town. So, Kylie went back to the counter with her head-lamp and helped them see what they were doing so that the rest of us could get ours. We had a blast laughing and taking pictures! The flash from the camera was the only way we could see each other! It was so much fun!

We took another motorcycle ride back, and some of us had a nice swim in the pool at the base. It was a little dirty, but in comparison to the water I knew we’d be swimming in the rest of the week, I took advantage of it! 🙂

We had a great time of worship and prayer together, and then the team headed off to bed.

Leo and I stayed up for a long time talking with the different missionaries at the base. Monica looked really tired, and when I asked her if she had slept, she just laughed. After her 2-week trip to Peru, she hadn’t gotten a single day off. I don’t know how she does it! All the missionaries at the base are incredible, with amazing stories of living by faith! They inspire us with their passion for the Lord and their willingness to serve Him, no matter the cost. I wanted to keep listening, but I was honestly falling asleep. Ha!

I got back to the girls’ room really late, and there weren’t any beds left. At least there was a small mattress and a space on the floor. It was going pretty well until Lili had to get up to use the bathroom and almost stepped on my head! Good times! J

I praise God for the team we have… doctors, teachers, pastors, students… I pray that we work together in unity for the purpose of the villages growing in their knowledge of Christ.

Malaria and other bad news

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Leo talked to Monica today. Monica is the YWAM missionary we work with in the Amazon. She’s an incredible woman, and we love her passion for the villages! She just got back from a 2-week trip farther into Peru than we go, and let us know of some really big challenges the villages are facing.

Rainy season started 6 weeks early. That means that everything is flooded, and the villages where we are going can only go from place to place by canoe. They’ve lost most of their crops already, and the fishing is sparce. Also, as the river gets higher and higher, it creates lakes or inlets where the water doesn’t flow… so the water becomes a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes. Where Monica was, the people were in absolute misery. Most of them didn’t have any more food, and everyone was getting sick. There were people dying left and right from different water and mosquito-borne illnesses. She assured us that it wouldn’t be that bad where we were going, but to prepare ourselves. She recommended that we start taking anti-malarial medication as well.

I will be honest… that report has knocked me down a little bit today. I don’t know what to think. I had an “emergency” meeting with my team to let them know. We prayed and cried together. Part of me is scared, but the other part of me is sad that our brothers and sisters are going through things like this! I know what it is to suffer, but not in comparison to what they are suffering! Last year we found out that every mother had lost at least one child to sickness. It was a part of their lives.

And, as far as malaria goes…. it’s been almost 7 years since I had it. Malaria. My doctor recommended that I wait 5 years to go to an area that has malaria, so technically I’m o.k. However, my body is still suffering from the damage that was done 7 years ago, and I don’t think I can handle getting it again. So, this is my internal struggle. I trust the Lord with my life or death… with blessing or suffering. I have been trusting Him for the last 4 years with all the different health issues I’ve been going through… but I am honestly ready for a break from it all. The thought of possibly facing another bout with malaria doesn’t excite me, but it doesn’t hinder me, either. I think it’s interesting that we bought the tickets on Friday, and today, Monday, is when we get this news. God is sovereign and in complete control. We, as a team, are trusting Him whether He protects us or not, and we feel honored to be able to partner with our brothers and sisters in their suffering. We are going to face a lot of “inconveniences”, like pooping in a bag among other things, but we will experience what our friends experience, and that means the world to us!

The flooding also means that we will not be able to put in the latrine toilets like we thought, because there is no ground to build on. God has a plan with this, however, and we will trust Him. The money that we had raised for this project will now go to help buy the medicine. We didn’t have enough money to do everything, anyway. God is good!

Drowning in Details

I am a person who can’t see the trees for the forest; so organizing a trip for 24 people is a little overwhelming… let alone the fact that 14 of the people on the trip couldn’t pay for the majority of the costs. On top of the individual trip costs, we had to raise money for the medicine, supplies, and toilet project… a total of $4000 additional. I’m also not good at coming up with crazy ideas for fundraising, especially here in Colombia, where missions and mission trips are a relatively “new” idea to most churches.

We had our annual “Celebrate Colombia” day at school, and I was able to tell all the parents about the upcoming Amazon trip and ask for their prayers and financial support. I like talking about the trip and getting people excited about what the Lord is doing in the Amazon; but what put me out of my comfort zone was walking up to the parents after the main celebration and asking them to donate towards the trip. I had an offering bag, and just walked up to everyone. It made me feel so uncomfortable, but I knew that if I didn’t ask, they wouldn’t give. We raised enough money that day to pay for 1 ½ trips! So, it was worth it… but it was hard for me!

That same day, I was talking to a mother about putting together a worship event/fundraiser for the trip. I think I looked at her with a blank stare, wondering how in the world it could happen. I knew we would be able to use my church, but I didn’t have time to work on getting a whole concert together! The mom told me that if I organized it all, she would get her dance team together to help out. There was that word again…. Organize. As if I didn’t already have enough to organize!

But, we did it! The following weekend, my middle-school worship team put together a great bi-lingual worship concert, and we had an amazing time of prayer for the Amazon, Bogota, Colombia, South America and the Nations. The community also surrounded the team and prayed specifically for us and what the Lord had for us in the Amazon. We felt so empowered!!! The dance team was also a great addition to everything, as they danced while we worshiped with song! I can honestly say that the entire evening was one of the coolest things I’ve been a part of for a very long time! And, we raised enough money for 3 more people’s trips!

During the months of planning and preparing, the Lord was so faithful in my weaknesses! He would continually bring people alongside to help me, as well as allow me to push myself to get better. However, I don’t know if planning and organizing is something I should keep pushing myself to get better at, or if I should find one person who thrives on details and organization to be a part of our team. This is my struggle now. I can honestly say that I drown in details. I am so much more of a big-picture person that I get lost in the tiniest of details, and it really affects me. The tricky part is finding a person who is going to stay around for a while. Most of the teachers at ECA stay 1-2 years… if they stay for 3, that’s a blessing! So, I am praying that I find a Colombian who will come alongside me and commit to these trips as much as Leo and I have… for the long-haul!