Hamm's Headings - April-May 2003
Yes, we have emerged from seven long months of dark & cold, and we’ve now seen the light! With spring comes the busy season (for us) of training seminars and guests in our home. Read on for news of our family and ministry.
Nina's New Home
Yes, thanks to your prayers, Lena’s mother is finally moving to St. Petersburg. The sale was finalized at the end of April, and Nina will be moving here with her remaining belongings in early May. Now the question is; where will she move? It looks like we have three options:
- Have Nina move in with our family, and wait until we can afford an apartment for her or a bigger one for all of us.
- Purchase a room in a communal apartment for Nina, and hope that it will be only temporary.
- Buy a one-room apartment, preferably downtown, that could also be used as a guest "house".
We would very much appreciate your prayers for this situation. Nina’s presence in St. Petersburg is very important to us (and to her as well). Instead of having to bring her in from Omsk several times a year when Lena & I need to travel, we will be able to call on her anytime to assist (baby sit!), which will be a tremendous advantage to our ministry.
!!! Since writing the above words, numerous people have come forward with offers of funds to invest in an apartment. With a little more, we would have enough to purchase an apartment this month. Please pray that a few more investors will step forward (if you are interested in co-ownership of Russian real estate, please contact us)!
Baby, Baby!
Well, in case you missed it (this info did miss the last newsletter), we’re having a baby! Come late October, Lord willing, we will add a bouncing baby (girl? boy?) to the Russian Hamm household. Lena is entering the "middle stretch" after a pretty tough first three months. She has noticed numerous changes from being pregnant with Sonia & Maya, so she’s hopeful that this means it’s a boy! (This is the comfort she’s clinging to!) Please pray for the health of Lena and the baby, especially as we travel to the spring seminars.
Sonia Speaks
Hello everybody! I just wanted to write a few words about how things were and are with me.
As you know, I went to Germany in March as an exchange student. I really had lots of fun in Dresden, which is a gorgeous city with streetcars that takes you to almost any place in town! The architecture amazed me with its beauty (btw, the most important thing about Dresden: all the museums were built by one person: August the "Starker" (Strong)). I especially like the story about the bridge named "Blau Wunder" (blue wonder). Eventually, the bridge was painted green, but after a rainy night, the yellow paint washed off and the blue remained!
Dresden had been bombed in the war and many churches had been or are being restored. There’s an interesting story behind the restoration of the "Frauenkirche". It wasn’t ruined by the bombs as much as it was ruined by the fire that the bombing caused. So they’re planning to restore it for the 800th birthday of the city (2006). Anyway, the son of an American soldier, who bombed the church, volunteered to make a cross for the dome of the church for free to pay off for his father’s mistake! That’s absolutely great! I really enjoyed being in Dresden, especially because of the girl, in who’s home I stayed. We’re good friends now (also because of her being a Christian) and I’d love to visit her once more!
My school is almost finished. I recently won another Biology competition! Please pray for my exams at the end of the school year. Thank you so much,
Sonia
Playground Project
While the project may not happen in time for this summer, we are still encouraged by those who are raising money for the playground. Perhaps this spring as families & friends gather in God’s great outdoors, some may wish to share the blessings of beautiful parks, quality recreation areas and even green grass with the children of St. Petersburg. Mother’s Day, birthdays, anniversaries and even weddings may be great opportunities to make a special donation to this project.
If you feel led to give, please make your gifts payable to MBMS International
- In Canada send to: MBMSI, 2-169 Riverton Avenue, Winnipeg MB R2L 2E5
- In the US send to: MBMSI, 4867 E. Townsend Avenue, Fresno CA 93727-5006
Mention should be made on the cheque/check or attachment that funds are to be directed to CorePlus Project "P0290 St. Petersburg Playground".
[-> For complete info & updates on this project, please visit krhamm.com/playground ]
Ministry Update
One of the primary goals of CCI/Russia is to train camp staff in the proper techniques of Christian camping. Our national office here in St. Petersburg spends much of its time planning & preparing for training events. This is our busiest time with 10+ "Staff Training Workshops" (STWs) planned for each spring. Our office does the mailings, coordinates planning meetings and brings together all the pieces to help form a complete program. In fact, very little is accomplished without each of our six staff members contributing to the process. Praise God that CCI/Russia is blessed with such a talented, capable team!
As for our spring travels, Lena & I are heading to the STW in Belarus (May 17-22). There I will be training sport instructors and teaching program activity ideas to the larger group. We will be leaving the girls in the capable hands of Babushka Nina and travelling by train (a full day’s travel each way). Come June (1-6), we will again head west, this time to Latvia for the STW there. We hope that Sonia will be able to join us for this trip (they have horses at the camp!).
[-> Want to find out more about CCI/Russia's training programs? Visit www.ccirussia.org/en/training ]
Summer Camp Plans
Each summer, CCI/Russia staff spend several weeks serving at local (and sometimes not-so-local) camps, assisting leaders and working with children & youth. Last summer we missed this opportunity (being on furlough), but we are looking forward to this summer.
For the first time, our family will be a part of our local church fellowship’s youth camp. Greater Grace church is planning its second annual camp for August 18-21. While it’s still a long way away, we are already holding regular planning sessions in our home together with Youth Pastor Kimmo. We will keep you posted on the plans, but in the meantime, we would certainly appreciate your prayers as we plan.
Hotel Hammov: May Bookings
Time to play innkeeper! Our family is always excited to host guests, and this month we’ll be very busy (being excited, that is!). Here’s our schedule of bookings for May:
- May 8-11 Carolyn, a seminar instructor from North Carolina, will be staying with us in between teaching at STWs.
- May 12-17 my Uncle Al & Aunt Gerry from BC will be paying us a special visit and touring the city.
- May 26-30 our final guests of the month will be Gary & Susan, also seminar instructors, visiting us during the city’s huge 300th anniversary celebrations.
Add to the above list the arrival of Nina and we’ve got a busy month people-wise (good thing the baby isn’t due this month)!
Please pray for safe travel for our guests, and for all of us and we share "cozy" conditions together.
Blessings
We continue to feel the presence of your prayers and are frequently touched by kind words of encouragement. Many of you sent birthday cards to Sonia (she sends her thanks) and to us as we celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary. We are so blessed! Thank you as well to the church fellowships who faithfully post our newsletters and bulletin messages. Many of you respond with assurances of prayer—it is so wonderful to hear. We look forward to the time when we can again fellowship together and share together how great God’s blessings are!
[-> For specific details on ways to support our family, please visit krhamm.com/support ]
Upcoming Events
Following are some of the major happenings planned for our family in the next few weeks:
| May 5 | Nina arrives from Omsk |
| May 7-10 | Kevin travels to Helsinki to obtain a new long-term Russian visa (approximate dates) |
| May 11 | Lena’s birthday |
| May 12-17 | Our Uncle Al & Aunt Gerry (from B.C.) will be visiting us! |
| May 17-22 | Lena & Kevin will teach at the Staff Training Workshop in Belarus |
| June 1-6 | Lena & Kevin (possibly with Sonia) will teach at the Staff Training Workshop in Latvia |
[-> For more upcoming Hamm family events, check out www.krhamm.com/calendar ]
Please Pray...
- ...that we will be able to find a suitable home for Nina
- ...for the health of Lena & the baby
- ...for Sonia as she completes school by mid-May
- ...that more people will catch the vision for the playground project
- ...for CCI/Russia staff Alexander, Lena, Nicolai, Ira & Tanya as they fill important roles in the spring training events
- ...for the upcoming Staff Training Workshops–for both participants and instructors
- ...for Greater Grace camp in August and the plans that are being made right now
- ...for Lena as she plays the role of innkeeper for our guests in the month of May
- ...that Kevin will obtain his new visa without problem or delay
- ...that God's love will shine though our lives! May He be glorified in us! (2 Thess. 1:11-12)
In Closing
This is going to be a very full month for us; therefore we truly covet your prayers! This is also going to be an incredibly busy month for the city of St. Petersburg—the city has planned major celebrations for the 300th birthday of the city, causing a lot of changes for its citizens (including an early end to the school year and restrictions on travel downtown). Once the seminars are done in early June, we will be sure to update you on our summer camp plans and on Nina's home situation.
Kevin, Lena, Sonia, Maya & "Baby" Hamm
[-> This newsletter is online! Visit krhamm.com/current to read it online with pictures!]
[-> Our sending mission: Mennonite Brethren Mission Service International: www.mbmission.org ]
[-> Our "serving" mission: Christian Camping International/Russia: www.ccirussia.org/en ]
posted by Kevin R. Hamm | 13:42
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