Live in Thanksgiving Daily

"Recognize the blessings that are raining down on you, and enjoy them with thanks. D&C 109:12."

Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday.  It's not because of the amazing surplus of food (although that's a plus), but it's because I really get to see more clearly the hand of the Lord in my life!  There are SO many things to be grateful for!  Through the month of November, I've decided to post one thing a day that I'm grateful for on facebook.  #30DaysofGratitude!  That has really opened my eyes to see what the Lord has done for me!  I'm so blessed!!!

I was just reading my scriptures, and read Alma 34:38 in the Book of Mormon, which says, "That ye contend no more against the Holy Ghost, but that ye receive it, and take upon you the name of Christ; that ye humble yourselves even to the dust, and worship God, in whatsoever place ye may be in, in spirit and in truth; and that ye live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you."

That scripture brought a wave of amazing memories from my mission!  Story time!

Last Thanksgiving, I was blessed to still be serving in Windermere, FL (although most of the area was actually in the city of Orlando).  It was my first area, and I loved it SO much!  Thanksgiving week was my last week in the area.  It was time for a change, as I'd been there almost 9 months, but I learned so much there!  But as I had the most amazing holiday in my last week there, I knew I had to make it count!

My companion, Sister Eagar (I know, laugh all you want... Good and Eagar... we got jokes EVERY day from complete strangers) and I didn't have many appointments for the day, but we wanted to make it the best Thanksgiving we could for everyone around us!  As we planned what we would share for the day, we decided to find a great Thanksgiving scripture we could easily share with people we met to remind them of the many blessings the Lord had given them.  And we found Alma 34:38, the scripture from above.

This was perfect!  It was going to be a great day!!!

We were ready to contact everyone we met to share the wonderful news of the Lord Jesus Christ and to help them reflect on His many mercies.  This was exciting!  This is what missionary work is all about!  It was really easy to find a lot of people near our apartment, because I lived practically across the street from Disney World.  So we had the blessing of meeting so many people from around the world!  Usually, people around there are "too busy" to take time to talk to us.  They just blow past us when we try to talk to them.  But Thanksgiving day was different.  If we started talking about the holiday, people were excited to talk to us.  :)

We started out on our bikes on that wonderfully warm November day (heaven for an Idahoan) and started talking to everyone, asking them if we could share a Thanksgiving scripture with them, and then we would read the scripture, really focusing on living in thanksgiving daily.  We asked them what they were thankful for and then transitioned it to how we were grateful for the Book of Mormon, where that scripture was found.  We testified how any answer to any life question can be found in the book.  We testified how grateful we were for our Savior, Jesus Christ, who that book is all about.  We testified how it has helped us, and WHY we were so thankful for it!  And because of that, we were able to hand out multiple copies of the Book of Mormon that day.  That book truly changes lives!

But as we talked with complete strangers about "living in thanksgiving daily," it became really easy for us all to realize just how much we have to be thankful for!  It reminded me just how much Heavenly Father is in every aspect of our lives.  It reminded me how the scriptures truly apply to everyone.  It reminded me how loved I am!  That was probably one of my favorite contacting days.  It was just FUN all day!

Missionary work is fun.  The scriptures are fun.  Seeing God's hand in my life is fun.  All of my blessings are fun!  That's why I'm so happy!  I have EVERYTHING to be thankful for!  Even my trials turn out for the better, because God knows what's best for me.

I can't express how grateful I am that I have this amazing gospel in my life!  It has truly changed me and made me the happiest person I could be!  I have gratitude in my heart every day for it!

When times get tough, think of the blessings you have!  There are always more blessings than trials!

Live in Thanksgiving Daily!

Chronicle of an RM

Hey y'all!  Now that I've been back for a month and a half, I figured it's probably time to update this thing.  So I thought I'd share my feelings about my mission, since that's been my life the past 18 months!  Central Florida will always hold a special place in my heart!  :)

My mission was definitely a fantastic experience!  I'll never forget it, and I will always cherish the things I learned and the way I grew!  I know without a doubt that this is the true church of Jesus Christ!  I know without a doubt that the Book of Mormon is the word of God!  Before my mission, I knew that the church was true, but now, I know WHY and HOW it's true!  It never ceases to amaze me just how much Heavenly Father loves us and how much He knows us!  I don't think there's a way to put into words the way I feel about this gospel!  I'm just SO thankful I went on a mission!  Best decision of my life!

I miss everything about missionary work.  I miss testifying to random people all the time.  I miss feeling an overwhelming sense of the power of the Spirit!  I miss all the amazing people in Florida I had the opportunity to meet.  I miss putting on my name tag every day.  I miss seeing that amazing change the gospel brings into people's lives every day.  I miss being an official representative of Jesus Christ.  Shoot, I even miss all the persecution and getting yelled at all the time and all the heartaches that come with missionary work when people reject the gospel of our Savior.  I'd take it all back, if only I could have that joy of serving back!

I was just thinking yesterday morning about taking it all back.  Would I be willing to go back and do it all over again?  Would I be willing to leave for another year and a half of my life?  Would I be willing to take back all the extremely hard times, those times where I was just so heartbroken that I didn't know what to do with myself?  (I don't think you can understand the heartbreak a missionary goes through over and OVER again unless you've been there... there's no way to describe the despair that comes over you when someone you have grown to love rejects the one thing that will bring them back to the presence of our Heavenly Father and Savior).  Would I be willing to be laughed at to my face again?  Would I be willing to again endure people screaming at me and telling me that the things I am doing are of the devil?  Would I be willing to again just smile at people who tell me I need to quit what I'm doing and "go home to Mommy and Daddy?" 

The answer is YES!!!  YES!!!! I would go back and do it all over again in a heartbeat, if only it meant that I would have the opportunity to change just one person's life around and help them find their way back to our Heavenly Father and our Savior.  That's what missionary work is all about.  There's no way to properly describe the joy that comes from serving the Lord.  But I think Ammon describes it pretty well.  :) 

In Alma 26:27-30, it says, "Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success.  And now behold, we have come, and been forth amongst them; and we have been patient in our sufferings, and we have suffered every privation; yea, we have traveled from house to house, relying upon the mercies of the world- not upon the mercies of the world alone but upon the mercies of God.  And we have entered into their houses and taught them, and we have taught them in their streets; yea, and we have taught them upon their hills; and we have also entered into their temples and their synagogues and taught them; and we have been cast out, and mocked, and spit upon, and smote upon our cheeks; and we have been stoned, and taken and bound with strong cords, and cast into prison; and through the power and wisdom of God we have been delivered again.  And we have suffered all manner of afflictions, and all this, that perhaps we might be the means of saving some soul; and we supposed that our joy would be full if perhaps we could be the means of saving some."

This whole chapter is amazing (Go read it HERE) but I REALLY love these verses!  It perfectly describes what a missionary goes through, and why!  And I really would do it all again if I could!  Because that one soul matters to God!  

So yes, I miss my mission!  But I'm also happy to be home.  As my mission president put it as we were leaving, "You're leaving something amazing to go do something else that just's as good, if not better!  You have your whole lives ahead of you!"  I needed this experience of serving a mission.  It really will help shape the rest of my life!  And although I'm still sad about not serving full-time anymore, that has only motivated me more to make sure I can feel that missionary spirit for the rest of my life!  I've realized that I don't have to be a full-time missionary to bring someone into the joy of the gospel!  

So would I do it again?  Yes.  Double yes.  Am I doing it again?  Yes, just on a smaller scale!  It's not quite the same, but it's what God needs me to do right now, so it's what I'll do!  "I'll go where You want me to go!"

Now go out there and SHARE THE GOSPEL!!!!!

(By the way, if any of y'all have any questions about my mission, feel free to message me!  I love talking about my mission!  It might just create another series of blog posts!)  :)

Peace Out!

Here's my "See ya later!" post!

Only 8 more days until I enter the MTC to serve my mission in Orlando.  So I'm going to start updating my mission blog, which you can follow at sisterlakeshagood.blogspot.com.  My mom will post all my emails to it.

Things I'm going to miss while I'm gone:

• My family!  They're the greatest!
• My puppy, Bear
• All my many friends, especially those who will graduate and move on while I'm gone.  Thank goodness for facebook to keep us together when I'm back!
• My guitar, affectionately named Abu (because it's a Jasmine brand.  haha)
• My car, affectionately named DeeDee (because it's cute, spunky, and black, and I'm cute, spunky, and have a black name)
• My piano... not affectionately named anything... but I still love it!  Maybe I'll come up with something good sometime.
• Some of my favorite music: Colbie Caillat, Michael Buble, Indie music, country music, most pop music, stuff like that.  Pandora's my favorite!  (random funny story:  as soon as I typed "Pandora's my favorite" the Pandora station I was listening to froze.  Haha.  I guess it doesn't like me as much as I like it.  The little rebel!)
• College!  I really do love it!
• And on that note, just Rexburg in general.  I never thought I'd say that, but I have SO many good memories of that place!
• Movies.  'nuff said.  
• Normal person clothes.  I'm a sucker for a good pair of jeans!
• Un-frizzy-ish hair, thanks for the dry Idaho air.
• Idaho for that matter.  This has got to be one of the most beautiful states there is!  I LOVE the mountains, rivers, forests, all that jazz.
• MAYBE the snow... at this point, I can't wait to get away from it, but who knows what I'll say when I'm in 90 degree weather with humidity.  Haha
• Playing random games with my family.  Like the one time we burst out into a rousing game of duck-duck-goose at the dinner table.  :)  And the many, many laughs we have together!
• (Get ready for the nerdy side of me...) My Rubik's cubes.  My 3x3, 4x4, 5x5, sphere one, pyramid one, flat one, electronic one, my Disneyland one... yep, I'm a geek, and proud of it!

Even though I'm going to miss all these things, like I said, it's just "See ya later!"  I'll get EVERY one of these things back in just 18 short months.  That makes it much easier to part with them!  But if I wasn't going on my mission, then I wouldn't get these things that I need/want.

Reasons I'm excited for my mission:

• FLORIDA!  Tropical, sunny, warm, paradise
• Spiritual experiences, all day, every day
• I'm going to come back a MUCH better person than when I left.
• New cultural experiences.  I've always wanted to experience life outside of Idaho.
• I get to bring peace and happiness to people's lives.
• I'll learn more about myself
• I might get to see an alligator!  I've basically been obsessed with them for some reason ever since I got my call.  Haha.
• Who wouldn't want to be on the Lord's good side?  haha
• I'm going to be a Sister saving the world, one person at a time!
• I get to wear my Savior's name on my chest, every day.
• My testimony is going to grow so much stronger!

I don't even know what else amazing is going to happen to me on my mission.  But I know one thing.  Without it, I wouldn't end up the same person I will be.  And I want that person!  I can live without all the things I'm leaving behind.  Like I said, I'll get them back in a year and a half!  So bring on the mission!

This is LaKesha Good, signing off, and Sister Good signing on!  So see ya later!

Best Job EVER!

2 1/2 years ago, I got a job at Transitions, Inc. in Idaho Falls, which is a State Developmental Disabilities Agency.  I worked as a therapy technician helping adults with special needs.  This was the summer before I went to my first semester at college.  Before I got the job, I was completely lost about what I wanted to major in.  I couldn't think of anything that held my interest enough to make a living out of it.  I was so confused and didn't know what direction to take.  Once I'd been working there for about a month, it hit me.  I absolutely LOVED my job!  I found myself excited to go into work every day.  So I decided to major in Special Education.  And that's one of the best decisions I've made in my life!

Between every semester at college, I'd come back and work.  Then last summer, I heard that it was closing. I was so incredibly disappointed!  My favorite job was suddenly gone.  So I put in applications at different places, and the first day I went job hunting, I got an interview at The Adventure Center, which is the same type of thing.  I was so blessed to get that job!  I absolutely love it, just as much, if not more, than Transition's.  They're both good companies, and I work with amazing people at both.

It's a very high stress job at times, and definitely a hard job to do, but I wouldn't trade it for anything!  Why do I love it so much?!  Well, here's the reasons!

Every morning when I walk into work, I'm greeted by my clients with huge smiles and high fives and people exclaiming, "Kesha's here!"  It's the greatest welcoming party ever!  It literally makes the day shine brighter.

This is the most rewarding job EVER!  These amazing children of God want to be just like everyone else, and I get to help them learn new skills that will help them on their way to independence.  Seeing them make progress is the greatest feeling ever!

I think these guys teach me more than I could ever teach them.  I learn something new every day!  Some people teach me to be happy about everything.  They show me that it's easy to have a smile on all day, and that it's easy to smile at someone else and make them happy.  Others teach me patience.  It's OK to do things differently.  I've learned to slow down a little.  Things don't have to be as fast paced as the world is becoming.  I've learned that I can do hard things and do immediate, urgent problem solving.  I've learned how to look at EVERYONE as a child of God.  I've learned to count my blessings and to be grateful for the abilities I have.

I've been truly humbled by this experience.  I've developed a love for every single client, even the ones who might be hard to love sometimes.  It's so hard not to love them or be frustrated with them for too long.  Impossible even!  They all have such sweet spirits.  I can't wait to get my degree so I can do even more!

Satan Ain't Getting This Chick!

I think I have the BEST possible calling in my ward.  I get to be a Sunday School teacher for the 14-year-olds.  First of all, it's a tender mercy from the Lord that I got this calling.  I want to be the best possible missionary I can be, and two months left isn't very much time to prepare for it.  There's SO much I still have to learn!  And I think for me, my biggest challenge is going to be getting the lessons together and knowing what I need to say.  So I've been praying for something to help me with my mission preparations, specifically in this thing.  And then I got this calling!  There's a new Youth Curriculum that the church just came out, and it's AWESOME!  It's actually really similar to the BYU-Idaho Learning Model.  It helps me to have flexibility in what I teach, and gives many discussion opportunities.  Like I said, perfect practice for my missionary lessons, right?!

I was putting my lesson together, and the topic is something that I'm SO excited to talk about! It's finding the Lord's hand in your life.  This is something I have a strong testimony of.  I believe that everything that has happened to me has been led by the Lord.  Even the things that have been disappointments to me.  I've had rough spots in my life where things just didn't seem to go the way I wanted. There have been times when nothing has seemed to go right.  I've been discouraged.  But as I've pressed on, I've realized that no matter what the problem is, it will ALWAYS turn out right in the end.  Things always turn out better than I could have ever hoped for!  All you've got to do is believe that the Lord's hand is guiding your life, and that His plan is better than your plan.  One of my favorite scriptures is Isaiah 55:8-9- "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."  This scripture has helped me in so many different situations!  It reminds me that there's always a light at the end of the tunnel.  It reminds me to have no fear.  Just be patient!  A better turnout will ALWAYS happen, as long as we have the faith to endure it.

This lesson also reminded me of something we did when I was a Student Ambassador at BYU-Idaho.  At the end of every shift, we'd gather around and tell a tender mercy we recognized as we did our 2 hour shift.  This experience helped me realize that there's always something the Lord's helping us with, whether it's a simple thought of how to do something, an idea of what to say, or anything!  Tender mercies are always there, we've just got to look for them!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B4El4B9LVw  This is one of my favorite videos!  Check it out!  Then check out the tender mercies in your own life!  I promise, they're there!

I'm just bursting with happiness over this lesson I get to give!  And I'm just bursting with happiness over all of the things the Lord has helped me with!  When the Lord's on your side, nothing's gonna get you down!  Satan will probably try harder to get you down, but who cares?  My goal's to annoy Satan.  He can suck it up and go back down to his pit of misery, because he ain't getting this chick!  My favorite quote: "Be the kind of person so that when your feet hit the floor every morning, Satan says, 'Crap.  She's up.'"

2012, You've Been Good to Me

I can't believe this year's already come and gone!  Looking back on where I was a year ago, I NEVER would have though I'd be where I am today!  Well, figuratively speaking.  I figured I'd still be here in Rexburg.  Haha.  But I've seriously grown SO much this year!  But anyway, here's my musings for this past year full of the random stuff I did!

January
1. Started back working at Transitions.  I LOVED that job!
2. Hiked R-Mountain in Rexburg, just for the heck of saying I did it in the middle of winter with Cait and Kelsey, two of my favorite people in the world!

                             

February
1. I found Grandpa's old foot locker from WWII in their basement.  Super cool!  That's about it though.  That month was kinda boring.  Haha.  The top picture is Grandpa wearing his aviator glasses, and the bottom is the box.

               

March
1. I voted in my first caucus.
2. Grandpa's dad used to write music, and he just found a lot of his old music that he wanted me to finish.  I'm still working on them, but it's pretty awesome!  I'm just disappointed I never got to show them to Grandpa before he passed away.  :(
3. I realized that I can do improve piano!
4. This one's probably the most exciting so far.  Kira got engaged!

April
1. I turned 20!  No longer a teenager!
2. Went to Salt Lake for a session of General Conference and went to a Jazz game!  WAY up in the nose-bleed section!  I just think this is a funny picture because of number 34.  I have NO idea what he's doing with his leg, but it makes me laugh.  Haha.  And Jimmer's in the picture.  :)

3. Back to school!  And I had my first semester volunteering at Get Connected as an I-Rep.  Super fun!  

May

1. ...actually, nothing really happened in May.  That was probably the most boring month of the year...

June

1. Went canoeing!  And got THE worst sunburn of my life with an extremely large, painful blister on my shoulder that bubbled up real big... then popped.  Sorry, TMI.

2. I completed the Lazy Man Iron Man competition at BYU-Idaho!  Which is a HUGE accomplishment for me, because I hate working out.

3. My car overheated on the highway on the way to Salt Lake.  So I had to drive over an hour and a half with the windows open in 100 degree weather with the heater on.  Yeah, NOT fun.  But I stayed with my sister in her new apartment and went to Lagoon!  That was fun at least!

July

1. Kira got married!  That's pretty exciting stuff!

                            

2. I rode a camel!  Yep, that's probably the coolest thing I did this year.  :)  Had a great vacation with my family in St. George and at Tuacahn watching Aladdin there.

3. Olympics started!  I love watching those!

4. Found out that Transition's was closing.  Super sad, because that was the BEST job I've ever had!  So I took applications to other Developmental Disabilities Agencies and found a new job the first day I looked.  So I started working at The Adventure Center, which I still love!  I'm so lucky I can have a job I love and have a job that is perfect experience for my major!

August

1. Went to the Darius Rucker concert with my bro!  Super great! Top picture is me and Devin waiting for it to start, and the bottom is the one and only Darius Rucker!

2. Tried out for American Idol, just to say that I did it.  Small town auditions just so happened to be in Idaho Falls, 5 minutes away from my house, so I was like, "What the heck?  Why not?"  So me and Devin tried out.  And no, I didn't make it.  But that's good, because I didn't WANT to make it!  Being famous sounds too stressful.  Haha.  And besides, bigger and better things have happened to me since then!

3. I bought a car!  2003 Mazda Protege.  Named DeeDee because it's a spunky, black name, and I'm a spunky girl WITH a black name.  Haha.

4. One of my very best friends, Kelsey, got married on the 31st.  And I got to be one of her bridesmaids!  This is me, Kels, and Cait.  :)

September

1. My other, amazing, wonderful roommate got married on the 1st!  Congrats Carlee!  I'm just bummed I couldn't go to San Diego to see her!

2. Back to school!  I've started my Junior year of college!!!  Crazy how fast time flies!  I had an insane moment and signed up for 18 credits, which totally kicked my butt, but I did it!  I'm a survivor!  But before the semester started, I had the amazing opportunity to be an I-Team leader for Get Connected, and I was over the BEST group of new freshmen EVER!  Love them all, and I'm grateful for the opportunity I got to know them!

3. Some not so great news.  My amazing, wonderful, loving, talented, BEST grandpa passed away on September 9th.  I miss him SO much!  But I'm so incredibly grateful for the impact he had on my life.  He was literally one of the best men I know, and he lived an amazing 93 years.  And I'm grateful for the knowledge I have of the Plan of Salvation that I will get to see him again and give him another big hug!  He served in the Air Force during WWII.  I'm grateful for all he did for my freedoms!

October

1. The biggest news of all is that I decided to go on a mission.  I had the feeling on my half birthday, October 3rd, that I should go.  This just so happened to be 3 days before General Conference.  Then during Conference, the announcement that totally changed my life came!  Girls can now serve when they're 19!  So I immediately started my papers and turned them in 2 1/2 weeks later!  I'm one of the older ones now, but I don't care!  I'm just SO excited to serve the Lord!

November

1. Again, exciting mission news!  I got my call on November 9th, less than a month after I started working on my papers.  I'm going the Florida Orlando Mission, reporting to the MTC March 13, 2013!  I couldn't be happier or any more excited!

2. I completed the Lazy Man Iron Man again!  Whew!  I work out!

3. Happy Thanksgiving!  This was THE BEST Thanksgiving Break I've EVER had!  First of all, I really needed the break.  I was going insane from all the work I had to do.  Never again will I do 18 credits.  Haha.  But I found out that I'm going to be an aunt!  I can finally tell people since Kira's finally announced it to the public!  I'm SUPER excited about that!  The next thing that happened over Thanksgiving break deserves it's own number... So...

4. I went through the temple for the first time on November 24th!  That was such an incredible experience!  I'm SO grateful I can be a member of this amazing church!  It always brings me so much peace, comfort, and happiness!  I wouldn't be the same person without it!  It's had such a positive impact on my life, and never fails to make me feel better on a bad day!

December

1. Well, since it's only the 8th day of the month, I can't say anything too huge has happened yet.  But it is finals week.  I'm SO ready to be done with school, especially since I'm not going to have another homework assignment or test for another 2 years!  WOO!  I've been so incredibly busy and stressed out this whole semester.  But I can do hard things!  And I did!

So, yeah, that's my year in a nutshell.  A kinda big nutshell.  Haha.  Lots of stuff happened!  But I can honestly say that I'm a much happier, better person because of all of the amazing experiences I've had.  This has definitely been one of my favorite years!

The Happiest Place on Earth: Florida Orlando Mission

That's right!  It's official!  I'm going on a mission!!!  This all happened super fast.  I started on my papers on October 14th.  That's less than a month ago!  And then I turned them in on October 29th.  This has been the LONGEST week and a half of my life!  I've been dying to find out where I'm going to be spending the next 18 months of my life.  My bishop told me on Tuesday that the status of my call was "Sent."  And generally, here in Idaho, calls come on Thursdays.  So needless to say, yesterday when Mom called to tell me it wasn't here yet, I was crushed.  I thought I'd have to wait an extra week for it to come!  But today, I got the best news I've received in a long time.  MY CALL WAS IN THE MAILBOX!!!  But I was still in class up in Rexburg.  That was THE LONGEST class of my life.  That one hour felt like three hours.  But as soon as it was over, I ran home, burst in the door and yelled to my roommates that my call was here, packed up my computer and laundry (why not do it for free?  Haha) and drove home.  And that half hour drive dragged on and on too!

I practically sprinted in the door to my house when I finally got to Idaho Falls.  The camera was already set up too.  Haha.  Everybody was waiting.  So we snapped a quick picture, called Kira and Jeff on Skype, sat down, and opened it!

"Dear Sister Good:
You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  You are assigned to labor in the Florida Orlando Mission.  It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 18 months.  You should report to the Provo Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, March 13, 2013.  You will prepare to preach the gospel in the English language."

OH MY GOSH!!!  FLORIDA!!!

I knew right then and there that this is where I need to be.  This is where the Lord needs me.  And I get more and more excited every minute!

Florida is not one of the places I imagined myself going.  I've literally thought about every other possibility.  I kinda wanted to go foreign.  Or at least learn a new language.  But the funny thing is, once I saw that I was going to Florida and that I was speaking English, I KNEW that this was right!  But another funny thing is that all day, even before I knew my call was in the mail, Florida kept coming to my mind.  I don't know why, but it did.  I guess now I know!

I'm SO excited to serve the Lord in Florida.  It's one place I've always wanted to go, mainly because of Disney World, but still.  Haha.  I actually had really wanted to work at Disney World during the winter, but then I decided not to.  It just didn't feel right.  I guess that's because I'm supposed to serve a mission in Orlando instead!  Even though I won't be able to go to Disney World while I'm there, I'm still going to The Happiest Place on Earth!  The happiest place is the Lord's place!  But it sure will be fun to go back and visit!  

And, it's got one of the most BEAUTIFUL temples ever built!