Hamm Prayer Points - 17|04|06

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HE IS RISEN!

We are celebrating the hope and joy of Easter back-to-back this year: "Western" Easter was yesterday and Orthodox Easter will be on the 23rd. Regardless of the date, may we all continue to rejoice in the "living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:3).

Last night we experienced something new: indoor rain. Just before midnight Lena, Sonia & I had been watching a video in our bedroom with the door closed when we heard a strange sound from the hallway. As I approached the door to investigate I remarked, "it sounds like rain". It was, in fact, a torrential downpour coming from the apartment upstairs. As Sonia and I ran for buckets and mops Lena ran upstairs to see if she could stop the flow of water. It turned out that Olga, the lady upstairs, had been drinking heavily again and had managed to leave water running onto the floor. She was so inebriated that she couldn't comprehend what was going on. Finally a neighbour managed to help Lena get the message through the locked door. One hour later we managed to complete the cleanup with (thankfully) minimal damage. We shudder to think what would have happened had we not been at home! Please thank God with us for His protection and pray for Olga—it is all too often that she drinks herself into a stupor. We often hear her bumping and crashing around. We pray that we may be able to be of help to this needy, suffering woman.

Thank you for your faithful prayers.

– Kevin, Lena, Sonia, Maya & Deena

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COMING TO CANADA

In the past two weeks we received two offers of possible houses to either rent or house-sit. The respective owners would like a response from us soon as to whether or not we're willing to make a commitment. Because such a decision involves timing out of our control (that is, we don't know when we can expect to arrive in Canada) and either a commitment of time (contract) or money (rental), we ask that you join us in prayer as we seek God's will for this decision. This is by no means an "either-or" decision: we are still very open to other possible homes for our family. If you have any suggestions or offers, please let us know!

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BLESSINGS

Answered prayer from previous weeks! I have now received all of my visa paperwork, so I'm off to Finland tomorrow afternoon! Praise God for the timely arrival of my final (and most expensive) piece of paper: my Russian letter of invitation.

Our local church fellowship celebrated the ordination of ten men this past weekend. Praise God for the growth of the local church and the men and women God is calling to serve.

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PETITIONS

The first Staff Training Workshop begins in one week. Please remember in prayer our staff and the local leaders as the time for the STWs draws near.

With my letter of invitation and HIV test results in hand I depart for Finland tomorrow. Please pray that I will be able to obtain my Russian visa without delay so that I can return home in time to get my Uzbek visa in Moscow! As well, please remember Lena and girls in prayer during my absence.

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DID YOU KNOW...

...that Orthodox Russians bring bundles of pussy willows to church on Palm Sunday? The tradition developed because palm branches were not readily available in Russia.

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ESSENTIAL INFO

Kevin & Lena Hamm are missionaries with Mennonite Brethren Mission and Service International, serving with Christian Camping International/Russia in St. Petersburg, Russia.

A printable version in Adobe Acrobat format is always available for download.

Visit www.krhamm.com/pray for links to print versions, archives and more.

For more on our ministry in Russia, please visit www.krhamm.com.

You can help! Please visit www.krhamm.com/support for ways you can help our family & ministry.

Hundreds of our recent photos can be viewed at Flickr.com. (And now Sonia's pictures too!)

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