So Much to Say...

So the past week and a half has been quite interesting, and definitely hasn't been slow. Jewell and I decided to sleep in the clubhouse Saturday night so we didn't have to put the couches back together before we left early Sunday morning. I don't think we'll ever sleep in there again, things echo really flipping loud. We got on the road around 9:30, I was driving the 15 passenger van. It was a pretty good drive, didn't feel to much different from driving Mom's car or Dad's truck, I'm very thankful I'm used to driving big vehicles. We stopped just outside of Colorado Springs for lunch. Brace yourself - I ate at Taco Bell. It's shocking I know, and I'm not too sure if I've fully recovered from the beyond traumatic event, but I'm getting there. We got to camp early, hung out with the kids, and met a few of the counselors. The camp we went to was Snow Ridge at Horn Creek, in Westcliff, it's a camp put on by Campus Crusade. I pretty instantly found an OU student and two Rogers State students, it was nice to hear some Oklahoma accents and lingo. After registration I was paired up in Red Fox with two of our girls, Destanie and Alexis, Destanie will be a sophomore and Alexis will be a freshman. Both of the girls are absolutely amazing...I love them! We had a few get to know ya times, dinner, games, and then the evening worship and sermon time. It was pretty incredible overall and I was really excited for what the week had in store. Red Fox, the cabin my two girls were in had 6 other girls, 2 from Arizona, and 4 from Dallas, the counselors were from up north, Virginia and Wisconsin I think. Monday was a pretty awesome day, the weather was great. We spent the morning hanging out and doing craft type things, it gave me a chance to just sit and spend time with the girls and get to know them more. The kids get sack lunches and eat at the rec center while all of the counselors, staff, and leaders eat lunch together and get an hour break, it was kind of nice. Jewell and I got to spend some time together which we hadn't been able to do really since we're in different cabins taking care of our different girls, crazy how close we've already gotten. After lunch my girls did the high ropes course and went horse back riding. Several of them conquered some fears and really rose to the occasion, I was very proud of them. From there we went to game time, I have a new game that is hilariously fun, it's called noodle hockey. Dinner was Thanksgiving, I ate so much stuffing!! After dinner we played human Foosball, during which I found a Razorback!!! I think we talked all things Arkansas for a good 20-30 minutes, he was very excited to see another Hog fan. While they were starting up the "play" time of the evening service I got a chance to speak with the speaker for the week. He was a really quality guy, who I wish I would have gotten to hear speak the rest of the week. He has spent years on top of years working in urban ministry with his wife, he was pretty legit. Right as worship started I checked my phone to see if I had gotten any texts from Mom, Peggy was in ICU and not doing so great, it was weird that I was checking my phone too because even given the circumstances, it's not something that I would do. I got service in the building that I could never get service in, and Mom was calling. I walked outside and got the news that my Aunt Peggy had passed away. While it was really hard finding out in the situation I found out in, I honestly believe it was the best way I could have found out. I was in the middle of some of God's greatest artwork, surrounded by gorgeous scenery and hearing soft worship in the background. It took me a about 5-10 minutes to go through the crying and sobbing, Vicki came out to check on me as well as another older couple, I was on the phone with Dad, and all I really wanted to do was go and worship. In the past, singing worship has always been one of the hardest things for me to do when someone has passed away, but in this instance it was all I wanted to do. Some of the songs got me choked up, but I'm pretty sure I sang louder and with more passion than I have in a very long time. By the end of worship and the service I was ready to run away and be alone, I really couldn't handle one more person telling me they were so sorry, asking if they could pray for me, or trying to convince me not to give up on God. And here is when something amazing happened, Jewell who was sitting at the front with some of our girls turned, made eye contact with me, and pretty much instantly found a way to get to me. She didn't even have to ask, all she did was give me a huge hug and told me that she was going to tell her cabin counselors and mine that we wouldn't be around for any of the late night stuff. We grabbed our bags and went walking, she laughed with me as I was trying to call my parents back and my phone would only let me make emergency calls, she got the idea to lay down and look at the gorgeous stars, she would let me talk about it, but didn't pry, she was perfect. It was like she was the perfect combination of some of my closest girlfriends, the ones that I would have turned to if I would have been back home, or if it would have been an appropriate time to call Elizabeth, since we haven't lived in the same town for 7 years. After being away from things and people for an hour we found Vicki and figured out my travel arrangements. Vicki drove me to the airport in Colorado Springs the next morning, I got stopped in security because I left a pocket knife/tool thing in my back pack, the only bag I was taking home. My flight was delayed, I made it to Denver right as they were boarding my plane. I passed out on the flight, which was great since I hadn't really gotten any sleep in about a week. When I got to Tulsa, it was flipping HOT!!! My first stop, Bueno, I had yet to eat anything and I was starving! Mom being the amazing woman she is, instantly knew to head towards the best Bueno in town, 61st and Garnett. Tyson freaked out when he saw me, I couldn't even get out of the car because he was attacking my face. The next several days were filled with family dinners and hang outs at Grandmother's house, a few random outings with some close friends, and a lot of much needed quality time with my parents. While I really enjoyed my time in Tulsa and getting to see everyone, I was so ready to get back to Denver! I'm pretty sure Jewell and I texted each other 50% of the time I was gone that we were both awake. I got back in town Sunday afternoon, the airport here is so confusing, once I finally got outside, we realized I was not in the same pick-up place Jewell was in, that was pretty funny trying to figure out. After getting back and getting settled we packed our stuff up and moved it into our tiny room because we had another high school group coming in to put on another VBS. Scum was pretty good, as usual, and it felt so good to be getting back into a routine of sorts. After the service Luke treated Jewell and I to slushies from the 7-11 on the corner, where we attempted to work out details for 4th of July and our trip to Pikes Peak. When we walked back by Scum, Amber and Katelyn had been talking to a girl who gave a short account of what God is doing in her life, she is getting ready to leave for school in Hawaii. She invited us to her going away party at a local Greek restaurant. It took us forever to find it due to the roads being shut down for a parade, and the random drunk man in the wheelchair rolling down the middle of the street into oncoming traffic, aka. my car! When we got there, it was a lot of the Scum staff and people you can tell are regulars. It was pretty cool to get to meet them in that environment, it definitely was a God thing to help all four of us girls get more connected to each other and start to become a part of the church. I have a lot more to tell but it's getting late and I have a very long day tomorrow, so I'll finish up later.

Much love!

Who Wants to Party with Grandma???

So it has been an incredibly busy week and it's only going to get worse from here I think. So Sunday night we had a group of high school students arrive, they stayed with us until Friday morning, they put on a VBS for our clubhouse kids and the other neighborhood kids. They did a great job with the kids. They also made me realize how much I should say thank you to all of the adults who went on trips with me in youth as well as all the people that I stayed with. They fed me and Jewell dinner though, that was awesome, I'm always a fan of free food. I got to spend more time with the kids, causing me to fall even more in love with them. The pictures I have right now aren't so great, but I'm going to try and get better ones pretty soon and then I'll post them. It cracks me up the things that kids say, to see the world through their eyes. They were positive that Luke and I were married and that Matti and Jewell were our kids, it was so funny. Once we finally convinced them they weren't our kids and we weren't married or dating, they got on the fast track of wanting to set us up. Wednesday I didn't go to VBS because Vicki needed my help managing another group that came in to do manual labor and odd jobs for us. I spent the day working in the office getting things prepared for the block party, and the majority of the night doing the same thing. Thursday me, Matti, and Jewell went to the Food Bank of the Rockies, I so love it there!! We had a blast, I love those girls, I'm going to be lost without Matti when she leaves in a week, and then Jewell in a month, it's so crazy, we all feel like we've known each other for years. Thursday night was my first experience of Coffee House, got to meet a couple of the teens, they seem pretty awesome, I'm excited to get to know them more! Friday was a busy day of cleaning the center and finishing up loose ends before the block party. Friday afternoon we went over to Vicki's and cooked for the Summer in the City interns, Matti and Luke's group. I made mom's peanut butter rice krispie treats, they were beyond a hit, no surprise there! Jewell and I watched New in Town after everyone left, really good movie, especially if you've gone to Minnesota and gone to a smaller town and actually met local people. Today was the block party, it was crazy busy from the second I got up until about 5:30. The set-up got done fairly quickly, we were lucky enough to have a lot of volunteers, making things go a lot smoother and faster. Once things got started, Luke and I walked along our street, Boston, and along Colfax handing out flyers trying to get people to come, it was pretty interesting, I'm very thankful Luke was with me, even though he made me go talk to some creepers at one complex. I'm pretty sure we probably walked about 2-3 miles, came back and helped around the party. We had a total of 398 people come through that we know of, possibly more. Over all the party was a huge success I think. After the party, we had a meeting for camp with the girls we're taking. We're taking 7 girls to a camp 4 hours away, Horn Creek I think, we leave first thing in the morning. The girls are pretty cool, I'm excited to get to know them more over the week. I've been typing this while watching Rachel Getting Married with Jewell and Amber, and now we are taking Amber home and coming back to go to bed. It's going to be a long week. Ending with a family picture...



I love our group!! Jewell is the redhead, Matti is the brunette!

Much love!
D

Do You Have a Y?

Sunday started off quite interesting! We host a church out of our building that starts at 10:45, Jewell and I planned on waking up between 9 and 9:30. Jewell randomly woke up around 8:20 to find that our boss had texted her saying we were meeting her at a different church at 9:30. She woke me up and I freaked out since it typically takes me between a hour and a hour and a half to get ready with a shower, which I desperately needed. (Side note: I have actually gotten my get ready time down to about 30 minutes, including shower, straight hair, and some make-up. Gasp!! I know, right?) I somehow managed to pull off a miracle and we made it across town and were only 3 minutes late, which I blame on not really knowing my way around town yet. The church service was different, we sat in a room around round tables with the lights dimmed and candles on each table, and the sermon was delivered from a pastor on TV. After service we headed back to the facility as our service was getting started, we decided to grab our bags and head to Panera for lunch and some time to get work and studying done off site. As we walked out a woman who was talking to Lucy (a woman on staff with us) was fixated on Jewell. I'm pretty sure she was a prostitute who was either drunk, high, or both. Needless to say it was a very interesting conversation. We found a Panera not too incredibly far and settled in for what we thought would be an afternoon full of getting things done, 30 minutes into our time there we both got kicked off the internet, they have a 30 minute limit during "peak hours". We came back to the facility as people were cleaning up from church, Jewell decided to go for a run (I still haven't gone with her, she's still claiming that I'll go eventually), she came back soaked because it started to rain and hail on her, it was pretty entertaining for me. While she was gone another group came in to use the facility. The group that uses the facility Sunday afternoons is comprised of Burmese refugees who speak pretty much no English. They were having a celebration of some kind and it was pretty interesting to hear through the walls as I was trying to read and get some work done. We also had a group of teens come and they are currently staying on site with us. They are running a vacation bible school during the days for our clubhouse kids and other neighborhood kids. The highlight of my Sunday, came Sunday night. We decided we were going to check out Scum of the Earth church. The second Jewell and I walked through the door I felt at home. I can't even begin to tell you how much I loved it. The worship was INCREDIBLE, after worship they do a community meal, for free, which is amazing right now! After everyone is fed they go into announcements and a message from one of the different staffers, then more worship, and a final prayer. All of the members of staff that I met or watched interact were so down to earth, it was so laid back too. The environment and the other people attending were so at ease and comfortable around each other, it's exactly what church should be! Needless to say, Jewell and I will be attending every Sunday night, and I'm trying to find a night that I can get involved in one of their small groups. After we got home Jewell and I watched Bride Wars, I love that movie more each time I see it. That pretty much sums up my Sunday, it was exactly what I needed!

On a completely different, but somewhat related note, I love the other interns. We all get along really well and were talking today about how it seems crazy we've only known each other for a week. We laugh and joke like we've been friends forever. We already have countless inside jokes, honestly I couldn't have asked for a better group to be with me this summer. Anyway, I'm off to bed, and I'm hoping to give an update of the week tomorrow, it was my plan for tonight but I got overcome with random projects out of the blue that needed attention for Saturday's block party!

Much love!!

That Can't Be Snow?!?!

So I'm hoping this is just a quick update, because I really need to get some sleep, we have a busy day tomorrow, however I have a lot to post about Saturday and Sunday. So like I said in the last post, we took a day trip to Mount Evans, it's the highest paved road in North America. In theory it sounded like a great idea to me to take this drive, and to take my car since I have an SUV that's not too old. Jewell and I picked up her friend Amber who is interning at Open Doors a few blocks away and headed out on our adventure, we stopped to get gas and happened upon a buffalo overlook and a sign that led to Buffalo Bill's grave site, we decided to just check out the buffalo and get back on the road. The buffalo were amazing, and the babies were so funny to watch.



We started our trek up the mountain and were amazed at how beautiful it was. We were all talking and getting to know each other and relishing in how it was such a beautiful day and we were so happy to have the day off.



As we kept driving the road got more narrow and rougher. We also got higher up, which for some reason didn't occur to me that that would happen until it was happening. For those that know me well I am terrified of heights, add in factors such as rocky cliffs and no guard rails and it's an instant flash back to when I almost flew off the side of a volcano in Hawaii while riding a bike, and no I am not being melodramatic. It was a ride full of nervous laughter as we got higher and higher up and I proceeded to go slower and slower, at one point and time a person riding a bike was going faster than me uphill, no joke. We made it to the top after what seemed like an eternity, I'm pretty sure my knuckles were white for a good 10 minutes. Now again, me being the smart person I am, I had on sandals and shorts, thankfully I had worn long sleeves and had my fleece in the car. The view was amazing and we even hiked a little way to the peak of the mountain, but alltitude mixed with shorts and sandals didn't allow me to make it to the top. Here are a few of the gorgeous pictures I got that don't even do it justice.







After enjoying enough of the view, and being thoroughly frozen we decided to head back down, the drive down was a lot easier and I really enjoyed it for a few reasons, I was able to actually see how amazing the view was without getting sick or feeling like I was going to fall off the edge and we got to drive through clouds. I have always wondered what clouds feel like and now I know!!!!





As we were at the base of the mountain getting ready to head back to Denver, we spotted a small waterfall flowing through a slightly wooded area, we pulled over and decided to go exploring. Jewell and I climbed a few of the rocks and chilled in the middle of the water, it was amazing, again I wish pictures good do it justice.





After we were done playing, we headed home and had a relaxing evening. Went and rented some movies from Blockbuster and got some pizza. We watched Elizabethtown, pretty interesting movie. All in all it was a pretty great day.

I'll post about Sunday through Tuesday tomorrow hopefully, I really need to get some rest. I'm also going to work on seeing which kids pictures I can post so you can see the beautiful kids I'm loving working with.

Much love!!

Are You Cold?

So Thursday was Food Bank of the Rockies, I went late because the ministry's fan broke down and Vicki needed me to follow her to the mechanic, more about that later. So when I got to the food bank I found Jewell, Matti, and Luke, they were filling web orders. Matti and Luke decided to go start on another order and me and Jewell would finish the current one. So we're loading food on this palate that's attached to a manual fork lift type thing, I'm the one driving it, it was pretty interesting. After we fill the order we have to get the industrial saran wrap and wrap it up, good thing I have practice using industrial saran wrap. I tried really hard not to laugh as it was pointed out that I was good at saran wrapping. Next order we got to fill was a huge web order that was several palates, it was insane. After lunch we got to go in the back and empty palates of donated meat and frozen items into carts. After we filled the wall with boxes and I spilled cookie dough all over the floor, Matti and I started to break all the boxes down and take them to the trash compacter, if I ever have to break down another box it'll be way too soon. The other wonderful thing about the food bank, I think I almost got ran over by all the different fork lifts about 100 times. Vicki didn't have anything pressing for us when we got back so I went for a drive and found a Chipotle!!! I don't think I have ever been so happy to see a familiar mexican restaurant. I had some reservations about eating alone, but after I took the first few bites, it wasn't so bad. Thursday night we walked Colfax spreading the word to the community about the block party we are throwing next Saturday, that was pretty interesting and fun. So Friday morning I got to drive to Colorado Springs to pick up our kids that went to camp this week. Our van, which I mentioned earlier started smoking and overheating Wednesday night, the repairs are ridiculously expensive and we have no idea how we're going to get it fixed. The drive was gorgeous and gave me a chance to make some phone calls and let people know how I was doing. We got to the campsite at the top of some mountains, and me being the brilliant person I am, I had on shorts and a tshirt, it was just a little cold. On the drive back I had Sergio, Arturo, and Victor in my car, they were hilarious, I loved getting to hear about their experiences from camp. When we got back to Denver and were dropping the kids off Victor proceeded to tell me that I sounded like the Grandma from Hannah Montana. The really funny part of this is, Jewell, Matti, and Luke refer to me as Grandma since I'm so much older than everyone and I made a stupid comment referencing it trying to pick on Luke in one of the first days. After taking all the kids home I came back to the facility and helped the other interns finish cleaning up because we are hosting a church youth group next week that is coming on missions. Friday night Jewell and I grabbed some dinner at Outback and went for a drive to Littleton. Aside from the awkward man from Boston that kept talking to Jewell while we were trying to eat, it was a great dinner. We were going to go to a coffee house that's down the street from us and watch a movie, but decided not to because it didn't look like anyone was there. So we came home and watched Remember the Titans, I FINALLY saw it!!! Today we took a drive to Mount Evans in Idaho Springs, more to come on that later, for now I'm off to bed, we host church in the morning, are going to Scum of the Earth church tomorrow night and have 2 groups coming in to start missions work for a week, it's going to be an interesting Sunday!

Much love!!

Hot Dog, Hot Dog...

Yesterday was my first day of work and it was interesting. I went for a walk to the park down the street w/ my boss, Vicki. We sat by the creek and went over scriptures, prayed, and then started in on my training and my basic tasks, I'm so excited for everything that I'll be doing. After being gone for the morning we came back just in time for lunch. Lunch is provided for us on the days that we put on the food bank, we had a hamburger casserole, it was pretty good. Lucy, one of the women on staff, did an incredible devo, I really enjoyed it. Then I got to experience my first food bank, we had several food items placed on tables in a half circle, after people registered they stood in line and waited on one of us to get them and fill their bag w/ the groceries they needed/wanted. It was crazy busy and the next thing I knew we were cleaning up and it was late afternoon. After the clean-up Jewell (my roommate and other ROP intern), Mattie & Luke (our summer in the city interns), me and Vicki (our boss) sat around and just talked about random things, it was very entertaining. Mattie & Luke left and Jewell and I did our own things, I did a few random projects for Vicki that took 5 minutes here and there, but nothing major. I found out that I will be going to an "adventure camp" with the older girls in a week, and I'll be driving the van, that'll be interesting. Jewell and I chilled for the rest of the night and did our own things around the center. Today we had an intern meeting which was hysterical, I absolutely love the dynamic of our group. We had a "webinar" on social networking and then tried out a mexican restaurant on the block for lunch, it was okay, I'm definitely missing my Oklahoma mexican food. After lunch we didn't do too much expect for hang out and talk, Mattie and Luke took off and me and Jewell had some down time before a Clubhouse cook-out. Tonight was my first night getting to meet some of the kids from Clubhouse, most of them are away at camp right now. The kids are so cute!!! We picked up Sebastian, he's the cutest little 6 year old I've seen, right now he is missing his two front teeth which makes him cuter, he has the funniest stories and he is such a flirt. We also picked up two girls, Mary Ellen and Angelica (this is pronounced crazy), they were both crazy after they got passed their shy stage. When we got to the park there were several other kids that were so ready to play on the playground. Jewell and I took them over and played all sorts of games with them, they were so much fun and full of energy. Two of the boys in particular were hilarious, Alex and Irving, I had so much fun hanging out with them, they kept me laughing all night. Irving was trying to figure out how to remember my name and he decided he'd use the word Diva to help him, then I became Miss D which all the kids quickly picked up on. We played soccer and football, and attempted to skip rocks, then had what everyone up here was calling bar-b-que, aka hamburgers and hot dogs, that's going to take me a while to get used to. We packed up around 8:30, took the kids home, and now I'm back at the facility watching episodes of Friends and How I Met Your Mother online, I am so thankful we have wireless here! Tomorrow is going to be a busy day w/ Food Bank of the Rockies and Coffeehouse!! More to come later.

Much love!

Ready to Run

Krissi left this morning. I drove around for a little bit after I dropped her off, grabbed some lunch, and headed back to the hotel. I layed around for a while watching tv, slowly getting myself together for the day, and repacking my bags to go to the ministry center. I didn't realize how hard it was going to be to actually come here, I mean we toured the place on Saturday and I was super excited to hit the ground running and get started, but the neighborhood is super sketchy. It didn't bother me too bad when we toured, but then again I had Krissi with me and we were meeting Vicki, today Vicki wasn't going to be here because she has Mondays off. I finally got up my nerves and called Jewel, the other intern, and headed over to Colfax. After missing my turn I figured I knew well enough how to get there and took a little bit of a tour of the area. I'd drive by certain parts and would feel better about the circumstances, putting my nerves at ease, and then I would drive into another area that would completely wreck me and my nerves more than they already would. I finally pulled up and got out after one last pep talk to myself. Knocked on the door and Pat, the director of the food bank ROP, (the organization I'm working for, Restoration Outreach Programs)hosts every week. I talked to her for a few and she helped me find Jewel. I re-parked my car and unloaded my bags. Jewel showed me where we lock up our stuff, so basically I overpacked and have a very small storage area, but I'm making it work. Alot of you would be in major shock of how compact I have to be, I'll have to take pictures so you believe me. While I was unpacking Jewel went for a run (apparently I'm going to go w/ her next time, we'll see how that goes), it gave me a chance to be alone with my thoughts on everything, I'm feeling much better than before. When she got back we headed to the grocery store and picked up some basic things; ramen, turkey, bananas, and taquitos, I'm living quite the healthy lifestyle. I was very excited to hear that Jewel not only likes Mexican food, she also doesn't know how to cook, but wants to learn. So I get to teach her how to cook, and I get to cook most of our meals!!! We had fajitas for dinner tonight along with some great conversations, I think we connect pretty well, we're not similar, but we're not completely different either, if that makes sense. Anyway, tomorrow is my first day of work and I'm excited to see what God has in store for me. I know we are helping run the food bank tomorrow, they provide lunch for us (Hamburger Helper tomorrow, I'm in Heaven!!!) and we meet and do a devotion before hand. And then we have Clubhouse tomorrow night, which is the time that the neighborhood kids come and hang out. Not really sure what else I'll be doing tomorrow, hopefully something clerical, I've been told they have lots of needs in that area, so I'm excited to help. Vicki (my boss) told me to be ready to hit the ground running and to learn quick because she needs me at a place of comfortable leadership pronto! So fingers crossed let's hope that I pick everything up fast and can perform far beyond what's expected. That's all for now!


Much love!
D

P.S. I originally didn't think that I would have internet access, but the center does have wireless, which means I should be able to update regularly, huge blessing. Also, I've been told that I could have a host home within the next 2-3 weeks, which is super exciting and a huge answer to prayer if that's the case, I'll keep you all updated.

Here

So I'm finally here! Krissi and I turned a 10 hour trip into like a 12 hour trip. We were supposed to leave between 9 and 10 in the morning on Friday, I think we finally got on the road around 2. Krissi drove the majority of the time, which was surprising to both of us. We saw lots of semis but only got a few of them to honk, we played the alphabet game like 5 times, it was crazy. Pretty sure Krissi has a bruise on her arm and I have one on my leg from the license plate game, then the drive got interesting. Coming through Wichita the highway we needed was closed off because of construction, we didn't realize this until the Tom Tom had taken us on our 4th figure 8, called dad and he figured out an alternative route. Pulled into a little town in Kansas for dinner, quickly pulled out due to the horrendous smell. On our quick exit we almost hit not one, but two deer, Krissi saw the one on her side, swerved to miss it and almost took out another one on my side. After the initial shock was gone, we couldn't stop laughing at what had happened. We pulled into another little town right outside of Colorado and waited what seemed like an eternity for our Arby's. The last 124 miles seemed like the took forever!! We finally pulled into Denver around 12:30 here (1:30 Tulsa time). We tried to find the hotel, it was hidden in an apartment complex, that was an adventure trying to figure out. Once we found it and got checked in some of the funniest things happened. We loaded up the bell hop cart thing w/ our bags and while we were getting things out of the back seat I turned to see all of our bags flying down the hill, I'm pretty sure neither one of us have ran that fast before. After getting the car unloaded and the cart under control we realized Krissi's Iphone had gotten shut in the back hatch, it was shattered. After I parked it took forever to get the cart in the doors because of our bags being put on crazy and laughing so hard. We got the cart in the elevator after about 5 minutes of trying and then we just sat there, Krissi forgot to push the button so we sat there for a few minutes. I think the whole process of getting stuff from the car and up to the room took us at least 30 minutes. Needless to say there was a ton of laughter for the day, more to come on the weekend later! Hope everyone is well.