Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Hamm Prayer Points - 09|10|07

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

We trust that our Canadian friends had a blessed time of thanksgiving with family.

September has been a busy, exciting month for our family. We had just a few weeks to unpack and get settled in our new house before Sonia moved to Brandon to begin university, Lena began working at Reflections Café and I started my new job at Lighthouse Christian School. All in all it has been a great month, even considering all the completely new experiences for us all.

As you know, we are continuing to transition out of our ministry with Mennonite Brethren Mission and Service International (MBMSI). Beginning in September, we are no longer serving full-time with MBMSI. Instead, from now until the end of this year, we will be representing MBMSI at various mission events and church services (details following). As we fulfill our ministry responsibilities and as we complete the changeover to life in Canada, there will be some ministry expenses. MBMSI will cover our entire September-December ministry expenses as well as provide us with some additional funds to help cover the shortfall that we experienced in our final year of service in Russia.

We want our donors to know that MBMSI will continue to accept donations on our behalf until December 31, 2007. Those of you who have your donations withdrawn automatically will see withdrawals cease at the end of the year. We would like to assure you that your donations will continue to be used to support our ministry. Of course, since we are no longer full-time with MBMSI, some of you may wish to reduce or discontinue your support at this time. If that is the case, please feel free to contact us or MBMSI direct at 1-866-964-7627. For those of you would like to see your support continue until the end of the year, you need not contact anyone—MBMSI will no longer accept donations with our project code attached after December 31.

Thank you for your continued prayers, and please feel free to contact us about any questions you may have!

— Kevin, Lena, Sonia, Maya & Deena

FAMILY UPDATES

Here's a brief summary of what we've been doing over the past weeks:

  • Sonia has been studying hard in the Fine Arts program at Brandon University. While it has been a blessing living with friends, there is considerable distance for Sonia to travel each week, and with many evening classes it's been a challenge to get around by bus. Sonia is also looking for a part-time job to help pay for transportation and room & board.
  • Maya is enjoying grade one at Lighthouse Christian School and was excited to be able to go on her first field trip of the year. Maya was also thrilled to be able to begin ballet lessons here in Portage la Prairie!
  • Deena has been attending dance lessons as well, and has also been participating in the "Family Literacy" program at the local library. Deena is happy to have both "dance school" and library school" to attend.
  • Lena is now working two days a week (full-time on Mondays and part-time on Fridays) at Reflections Café here in Portage. In addition to caring for Deena, the remainder of her week is spent working on making our home (even more) beautiful and working on the Graphic Bible translation project.
  • Kevin is enjoying school! My new job as the Vice-Principal/Senior Learning Centre Supervisor at Lighthouse Christian School is going very well. It's wonderful how God has provided exactly the right job for me at this time!

BLESSINGS

  • We thank God His provision and blessings in our lives. It has been an amazing year for our family—one filled with uncertainties, change and blessing upon blessing!
  • We are very thankful for our faithful supporters who have helped us through this time of transition.
  • Our apartment sold in St. Petersburg for a very fair price. Even better, the money was transferred safely (and promptly) to Canada!

PETITIONS

  • Please pray for Sonia as she continues to adjust to university life. Pray that she will be able to find a job & good friends!
  • Please remember Nina in your prayers. Lena's mom has applied for a temporary resident's (tourist) visa to Canada. Please pray that the decision-makers in the Canadian Embassy in Moscow permit her to visit us in Canada this autumn/winter.

DID YOU KNOW...

  • ...that Lena & Deena are going back to Russia? It's true! They plan to fly on October 24th to St. Petersburg to be reunited with mother/babushka Nina. Lord willing, they will return in about a week's time with Nina by their side. This trip is no small deal, but is necessary to help Nina and also to allow us to bring more of our stored belongings to Canada. Please pray that it will work out well!!!

ESSENTIAL INFO

Kevin & Lena Hamm are former missionaries with Mennonite Brethren Mission and Service International, assisting with Christian Camping International/Russia as they are able.

Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)