Dear Friends and Family,
I want to send out a letter to update you on what I am up to this year! Since I graduated high school in 2010 I have been mostly working and taking a few entry level courses at Red River College for the Deaf Studies program. I was not entirely sure what it was that I wanted to do with my life, and I continually held on to a few options: simply working for a few years, one was entering the deaf studies program and another option was to go away and do mission work for a year. I spent time reflecting on this and praying that God would show me what it was He had for me to do. Recently I was watching a video by Rob Bell where he shares a story about he and his son taking a walk on the beach and they see a starfish in the distance. His son runs out into the water to grab the starfish. When he returns Rob looks at his son’s hands and sees no starfish and asks his son why he didn’t get it. His son replies “My hands are filled with shells”, which is why he was unable to pick up any starfish. I was encouraged to drop the many shells I was holding so I could search for the starfish.
I have always had a heart for ministry and for missions and so I am excited to share with you that I will be participating in YWAM (Youth With A Mission) for six months beginning January. The YWAM base that I will be stationed at is in Kona, Hawaii, this is where the 3 month lecture phase will take place. During the lecture phase my group will be listening to various speakers and topics to encourage us to go deeper and explore our faith with Christ. Following the lecture phase we are placed into teams and sent off on a 2 month Outreach which is the hands on portion of this entire experience. I will be going either to somewhere in India or South Asia with the team that the staff will assign us to.
I know, however, that I cannot enter this journey alone – I need the support of my home community to send me in order to have the ability to fully experience what God has in store for me. I would appreciate your prayer support: please pray for myself and the other participants to open our hearts and minds to take in everything that God has for us. Pray that we would be challenged in our faith and stretched outside of our comfort zones. Please also pray for transformation in our own lives, as well as in the lives of those we will be ministering to and serving during Outreach.
Another form of support that I need is financial support. The expenses of the entire program are $10,000. At this point I have about half of that raised, but I am still in need of $5,000 to cover the costs of this program. If you would like to financially support me on this journey there are a few ways that you can do this: you can give the cheque directly to me (I have an account set up for this specifically) or you can go online to the U of N(University of the Nations) website at www.uofnkona.edu and click 'apply' and 'pay school fees' . ( You will need my name:Jacquelyn Hamm, email: jacquihamm@gmail.com, Birthday:January 31 1992, my program: DTS-Engage, Date:January 2012). You can choose Between Student Tuition or Outreach Costs. Or you can call and pay with credit card by calling the cashier at +01 808 326 4461. (You will need my Name :Jacquelyn Hamm and program DTS-Engage). If you choose the second or third options I would appreciate if you could inform me of the amount given as I need to keep records. Please note that any financial support you give is not eligible for a tax receipt. If you have any questions feel free to contact me by phone: (204)990-6190 or by email jacquihamm@gmail.com. Thank you in advance for partnering with me on this journey.
In His Service,
Jacquelyn Hamm
