Hamm's Headings

Hamm's Headings is a bi-monthly newsletter (mostly a summary of Hamm Prayer Points). Available online, in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format, or by email.

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Location: Portage la Prairie, MB, Canada

2006-09-17

Hamm's Headings - July-August 2006

"We don't want to go home!"

Lena & I heard those words several times from our girls this past summer. The past two months saw a lot of travel—first a family trip to Finland (July 4-14) and then four of us spent four days at our church youth camp north of St. Petersburg (August 21-24). After camp I returned to Helsinki alone for a three-day seminar (25-27th).

This summer was likely our last in Russia for some time. A move to Canada is a few short months away, so we are very thankful for all the ministry opportunities we've had as a family over the past 7 years. We may not be certain if we'll be back or not, but we are certain of this: "The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it." (1 Th. 5:24).

As we wrote last time, we are in need of more financial support. With a shrinking support base, we have had to take a 25% cut in salary and have had to cancel several ministry plans due to lack of funds. Please pray for increased support! If you are able to help in any way, please contact us. Thanks to all who support us with prayers, encouragement and material assistance! You are very appreciated!!!

Do you believe?

"Do you believe in God? Do you believe that Jesus died on the cross for you? Does Mommy believe it too? Does Sonia? Does Babushka? Good, 'cause I want everyone I know to be with God!"

These were some of the questions Maya asked one evening as we were about to say our prayers. It seems that watching The Story of Jesus for Children had a profound effect on our soon-to-be six-year-old. Her pointed questions of my beliefs revealed a deep understanding of God's mercy and grace.

Praise God for His unspeakable gift and for a child's faith! May many more children across this land also be able to say, "I believe!"

Coming to Canada

We pray that in the next few weeks we will receive word from the Canadian Embassy in Moscow about Lena & Sonia's immigration visas. Our departure date will not be determined until then. Meanwhile, we're happy to report that it looks like we have a home until the New Year, but we still need a vehicle. (For more information on our Canadian needs, please visit www.krhamm.com/support#canada).

Summer Ministry Highlights

Living Grace Youth Camp. Wow! God is so very good! We are still buzzing after a great church youth camp held August 21-24. For days afterwards Deena talked about going back to camp, and she didn't understand half of the great things that took place!

This year four of us were able to attend camp; only Sonia was unable to because of school and work committments. Lena & I took turns being with Maya & Deena, so while I was with the girls Lena was able to cut and style hair for seven of the girls plus Pastor Andre (who got to be first in line). During my "family time off" I led all the games and activities, hosted the general sessions and even had the opportunity to preach one morning.

We were blessed with thirty youth in attendance, most of whom came from our church. We had invited five youth from a local orphanage, but at the last minute they were unable to attend. Still, we had a great group and the three pastors & I were thrilled to see the depth of questions the youth had about going through the transitions in their lives. Many of the youth come from broken families, and have faced many difficult transitions in their young lives.

We are very thankful for Living Grace, our local church fellowship, and for the opportunity we've been given to assist with the annual youth camp.

Enjoy viewing camp photos at www.flickr.com/photos/krhamm/sets/72157594268686279.

Sport Seminar. Immediately after camp ended Thursday morning we headed home and I quickly re-packed and caught a train bound for Finland. I had been invited to teach a sport ministry seminar for a local Bible School, and CCI/Russia agreed to send me on their behalf.

The seminar began Friday afternoon with over twenty Bible school students, youth leaders, camp leaders, missionaries and laypeople in attendance. They all had come to learn how to use recreational sport to further their respective ministries.

I taught over one hundred games during the three-day seminar, and showed participants how to prepare, teach and evaluate a recreational program with a ministry focus. The response was very encouraging and everyone went home with a wealth of resource material and the determination to use their newly-honed skills to the glory of God!

You can see pictures from many of our seminar activities at www.flickr.com/photos/krhamm/sets/72157594259246272.

In other news...

July 4-11... we travelled as a complete family to Helsinki, Finland for a short vacation. This was especially great for Nina to be able to spend time with family after a long period in the hospital. Nina had never travelled outside of Russia, so this trip was very special. We enjoyed family activities and a good amount of R&R. Highlights included visits to Sea-Life and Moominworld!

August 9... I celebrated birthday number 40! have now celebrated thirteen of my last fourteen birthdays in Russia. Who (besides God) could have imagined that I would spend (so far) over 1/3 of my life in Russia!

As well... Sonia continues to enjoy studies at jewellery school and has now landed her first paid job: working three times a week doing telephone surveys.

Blessings Received!

  • Families from Lakeview Community Church in Killarney have been faithfully taking turns sending us personal letters each month. It has been so encouraging to "meet" new friends and to hear how God is blessing them in their place of ministry.

  • Nina has been doing very well since her time in Finland. Praise God for her improved health—she has even been able to resume helping us with the girls (even if only for short periods at a time).

  • Nina received 500 Rubles (about 21 CAD) recently to help cover the cost of her prescription medications. This is an annual donation from a local deputy (city councillor) in St. Petersburg (it's not much, but it helps).

  • A number of generous donations were sent to us just before we learned that we had a significant deficit with MBMSI.

Did you know...

...that in Russia it is impolite to accept an offer of tea or coffee (or food in general) the first time? You are expected to "give in" only after the third offer or so!

...that people visiting parks and tourist attractions in St. Petersburg are now being serviced by "toilet buses"? These mobile washrooms have several "stalls" labelled with the following warning: "Stalls are very small. If you cannot fit inside, leave the door open."

For a weekly dose of Russia trivia, news, praise reports & prayer requests, subscribe to Hamm Prayer Points: hpp-subscribe@myinjesus.com

Upcoming Ministry & Family Events

September

16-22 – Camp Directors' Institute, 3rd Session (Moscow)

27 – Maya's 6th birthday

October

20-22 – Christian Camping Leaders Conference planning meeting (Moscow)

22 – Deena's 3rd birthday

flickr= Photos

View hundreds of photos of our family, ministry and travel at www.flickr.com/photos/krhamm
and at www.flickr.com/photos/sonique

Camp "Code Sign"

CCI/Russia president Alexander Kharitonov served as chaplain at Camp Code Sign in southern Russia this summer. Here are highlights from his time there:

Camp Code Sign was a wilderness tent camp (boys only, age 13-17). Campers were responsible for their own well-being: they had to fetch water, collect wood, cook their meals, etc. Success was only possible if the entire team worked together. It took some teams several days of self-induced fasting to recognize that truth!

All the camp activities were tied into a sequence that led a camper to a celebration of achievement. The first half of camp was dedicated to teamwork; the second half emphasied individual skills and persistence.

Bible teaching at camp focused on Scriptures that reveal God's purpose for men and showed specific male challenges and shortcomings. God was clear from creation about His plan for men, yet century after century we failed to "cultivate and keep" what God entrusted to us. The Bible is full of examples of misery Israel found itself in because its men fell short of their calling as God's messengers, priests, husbands and fathers. The same holds true about today's Russia. Yet there was (and is!) the second Adam, our Lord Jesus, who fulfilled God's high calling for men and reconciled manhood with its Creator. It was a joy to reveal the fulfillment and victorious life that every young man has in Jesus!

Most campers were non-believers, even though a majority of them came from Christian homes. This is a dilemma our churches face: at "teen" age many abandon churches and choose other pursuits. This disease first afflicts boys–and as a result, our churches are men-desolate. Changing this destructive pattern was one of our major goals.

Many of the youth heard God's voice and obeyed it. Every fourth camper was reconciled with God, praying for God's forgiveness and direction in front of the group. Likely many more made serious decisions in their hearts. Most importantly, none left without being exposed to a better path in life. A life of victory, life with a purpose, life with God.

Praise be to Him! Please join us in lifting up the hearts and minds of the 100+ Camp Code Sign community as they returned to their homes and try to put into practice what they learned and resolved at camp.

This is just one of hundreds of testimonies that our office hears every year. Thank you for your part in praying for the camps in the former Soviet Union. Thank you as well for enabling us to play a small role in training and supporting these camp leaders.

– Kevin, Lena, Sonia, Maya & Deena

Hamm's Headings...

  • A newsletter from Kevin & Lena Hamm, missionaries with MBMS International, serving with CCI/Russia in St. Petersburg.

  • Hamm’s Headings is written by Kevin Hamm except where noted. The material contained herein is personal, and is not necessarily reflective of MBMSI or CCI/Russia.

  • The print version of this newsletter was created using Scribus, a free desktop publishing program available at www.scribus.net.

  • We welcome your comments and questions.

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posted by Kevin R. Hamm | 11:37

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