DECEMBER 2014 Hammond Family Update

Christmas Greetings to you and yours!
​What a privilege it is to ‘re-wind’, ‘re-focus’ and to give thanks to our Heavenly Father for all of His many blessings throughout this year. Thank you for your involvement in our lives, for your support and for sharing in our family and ministry with us. The Great Commission Camp and Course ushered in the month of January. This course, attended by participants from all over the world covers every mission subject from ‘world views’, ‘Dates with Destiny’, ‘how to make a difference’ to ‘hospitality and modesty’. The lectures, outreaches, discussion groups, night hikes and workshops make for a very busy three weeks, culminating in the night hike which takes us from Constantia Neck to the other side of Table Mountain. This year’s hike was on Peter’s 54th Birthday.

​To view Hammond Family News with pictures Download the PDF HERE

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EDUCATION
​This year’s school schedule looked quite different, as Calvin is the only one left in High School. Daniela and Christopher took the train to Town each day, to attend their respective Colleges. I think they both could tell lots of humorous, as well as terrifying, stories of adventures on our public transport here in South Africa!
 
Daniela celebrated her 21st Birthday in February which was a wonderful milestone. Daniela has had quite an eventful year at CityVarsity, where she has now completed a 2 year Diploma in Multimedia, Design & Production. She was able to intern at a few places, each which taught her new and valuable skills. She recently had her final exhibition, showcasing everyone’s best work.

CAPE TOWN YOUTH CHOIR
In between her work and studies at College, Daniela was rehearsing several times a week with the Cape Town Youth Choir. Their preparations were geared at competing in the 2014 World Choir Games in Riga, Latvia. Their tour began in Hamburg, where they did concerts with the hosting German Madchen Choir. Then it was on to Berlin, Prague, Bratislava and finally Riga. This event saw hundreds of choirs from all over the world competing in many categories. The CTYC earned gold medals in both their categories, meaning they achieved higher than 80% in their results. This experience of a life-time was the highlight of Daniela’s year, and we are very proud of her achievements. Many, many hours of very hard work went in to preparations and fund raising for this event. Daniela continues to work as an ice-skating coach at Junior Blades and joins me on our Dragon Boat whenever she is available.

CHRISTOPHER
Christopher’s year began with very intense training and preparations for the 2014 Karate World Championships. This event was hosted by the South African Team in Johannesburg. Competitors from all over the World took part in this event, and over all our Team did very well, earning several Gold and Silver medals. Christopher has finished a one year course in Computers, and is right now interning at an engineering company,  working with one of its subsidiaries. 5 years ago this month, Christopher received a new lease on life with the kidney transplant. We praise God that He has seen fit to preserve Christopher’s health on so many levels. He sees the Renal specialist every two months and gets a generally clean bill of health.

CALVIN
Calvin’s year began with concentrated training for the February Water Polo Tour to Knysna. This involved playing against several other schools in the open Sea (quite different from playing water-polo in a swimming pool). Calvin was one of two players chosen from his school to play in an invitational U-15 Water Polo Tournament. This event included schools from all over South Africa. In March, Calvin participated in the Scout’s Kontiki, which saw over 30 vessels constructed and afloat for 24 hours. His involvement with the Scouts continues to involve more and more courses, camps and hikes as his advancement levels increase.
 
Calvin is planning to participate in the World Scouting Jamboree 2015 in Japan. This means lots of fundraising, and my contribution to this was to make a quilt with the WSJ 2015 Logo on it. We are hoping that raffle tickets will go a long way to help fund this event. Calvin’s Scouting year will culminate this year with a 10 day hike all across the Cederberg mountain range. This is some 250 km north of Cape Town, and the Scouts will hike over 100 km within this nature reserve.
 
A newly developing sport for Calvin this year has been Cross-Country Running. He participated in the district school runs, and consistently placed in the top three finishes for his age category. He now running with the Pinelands Athletic Club, and has taken part in several 10 km races. His goal is to run a half-marathon by the end of 2015. But probably the principle challenge to overcome successfully this year was qualifying to make the U-16 Province Hockey Team. Coming from a small school, Calvin’s exposure to hockey is limited, so he has to work really hard to make it to trials for these events. Being chosen to play on a Provincial level was such an honour and Calvin was very humbled by it. The Tour took them to Durban and was a life-challenging event. As parents, we are proud of Calvin’s athletic prowess! We are happy to add that this year’s academic results were an improvement over last years, and we pray that he will go from strength to strength in being more and more disciplined in all areas of life!
 
EASTER
For Easter this year, we had the pleasure of my sister Debbie’s visit. We were able to spend 10 wonderful days together enjoying Cape Town and one another’s company. We spent a memorable Easter Weekend together, and Debbie joined me several times on our Dragon Boat in Cape Town harbour.

DRAGON BOATING
My involvement with our local Breast Cancer Dragon Boating Team was quite intense this year. As a Team, 12 of us participated in a Dragon Boating Festival in Malaysia. We took part in two distances - the 250 metre races were in the Historic City of Malacca, and the 500 metre races were in Putrajaya. It was an incredible experience to take part in an international Dragon Boating event of this scale.
 
The race venue was world class, and we ‘held our own’ in our respective categories. Then, in October, I was privileged to take part in the International Breast Cancer Dragon Boating event in Sarasota, Florida. This event sees BC Teams from all corners of the globe participating in Dragon Boat Races. All of the members are BC survivors, so the spirit there is not so much focused on racing, but on celebrating life and health in the midst of this disease. There were 109 Teams, which consisted of over 3000 survivors. Dr. Susan Love and Dr. Don McKenzie delivered riveting speeches, and there were numerous workshops to attend. I paddled with a composite Team, made up of Canadians and Americans. I represented South Africa on this Team. My Team mates included some of the founding members of the original BC Team in Canada, and it was an honour to be ‘hobnobbing with the bigwigs’!
 
I am eternally grateful to our good friends and supporters Floyd and Diane Peede, who made this time in Florida a possibility. Without their generosity, this amazing experience would not have been possible. Following Florida, I headed over to Arizona to visit family. I had not seen my parents in 2 ½ years! It was so good to catch up and spend some relaxed time with them. Dad and I worked on some of the finishing details of his manuscript, and this time together was a wonderful ‘trip down memory lane’ for both of us. Dad has a life-time of experience and history in Missions, and putting these invaluable memories to paper in a succinct and meaningful way has been a project he has been working on for a number of years now. My oldest sister Debbie worked very hard with him over the summer months, and I added my 2 cents worth this time around. We hope to get this book to the printers in the first quarter of next year.
 
I spent some wonderful time with Andrea and Hunter as well. Andrea now works full time, so it was interesting for me to get a glimpse of their daily life together Post – University! Hunter is studying at Phoenix Theological Seminary, and hopes to be finished by 2016. My three weeks in Arizona were spent going back and forth between Mom and Dad’s and Andrea and Hunter’s home. I was also able to re-connect with old friends from High School and other supporters and friends. It was a relaxed pace, and allowed me to spend quality time with friends and family. I am so grateful for support which made this trip possible. Of course on the Home Front, Peter and Daniela managed to keep all the household duties running smoothly, and the boys as well helped to make my absence feasible. I am indebted to so many for this experience.
 
We are grateful to God for all of the opportunities we have been given to serve Him here on this Continent. We are humbled that He chooses to use us for His Service in His Kingdom. Thank you to you all for your continued investment in our lives and in the lives of those we serve. May His grace and blessing be upon you and yours as you celebrate His incarnation.
 
Christ is the Reason for this Season. With love and grateful hearts,
 
Lenora Hammond for all of the Hamfams

FROM ANDREA & HUNTER COMBS
We really love this time of year, where the weather is changing and there is hope in our hearts awaiting the celebration of our Saviour’s birth. This is a mystery that always baffles our minds that God Himself entered into this fallen world. The King of the universe stepped off His Throne to become a man, to suffer as we do, so that He could save us eternally. We have such a wonderful Lord who can relate to us in our most intimate insecurities and comfort us in our deepest pain.
 
In May this year Andrea graduated from Arizona Christian University and immediately got a job with Western Journalism (a conservative news site). Three months later the same boss asked her to join a new website they were to launch called Liftable Media. This is a brand new endeavour that seeks to bring a redemptive side to the media, focusing on positive, uplifting content from a Christian perspective. She is in charge of editing, writing, and social media. It has been a great joy and blessing for her to find a writing job in the field of her choice right after graduation.
 
As this semester draws to a close, Hunter is finishing up his second year at Phoenix Seminary. He changed his degree to Interdisciplinary Studies, which allows him to get a better-rounded education that’ll be highly beneficial in Missions. We eagerly look forward to being in Africa again at the earliest opportunity. Andrea misses Cape Town and family in particular, and Hunter is looking forward to being able to invest himself fully into Missions in Africa. The projected Goal at this point is 2016. If funds allow we want to undertake Summer Mission to Africa in 2015.
 
We pray that Christ’s presence be near to you as we remember the birth of our Saviour this Christmas season! God became like us so that we could live in the joy of His goodness. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year in 2015!!
 
With much love in Christ,
Hunter and Andrea

FROM DANIELA
Merry Christmas and a festive season to you all! This year has been packed, filled with God’s endless blessings, exciting new experiences and challenges, and it has come and gone so quickly. Turning 21, it has become more vital to pursue being a Godly example to others and to learn practically to live “In the world, but not of it”.
 
In my last year of study at CityVaristy, I have experienced and learned so much! Some of the highlights include being an extra in a black and white 1940’s styled student film. One of our tasks this year was to do two weeks of internship at any design-related company. After not having much response in securing a position, I was disheartened, worried I wouldn’t find a company who was available. My teacher encouraged me to send out my CV to many companies, and with prayer, this opened up doors to many opportunities. Instead of worrying and trying to figure out everything ourselves, we must trust and rely on God for His plan for us. This coming year, I will be entering the big, scary, but exciting, design industry for work experience. Please pray with me in this big new chapter of my life.
 
This year, my very close childhood American friend Kaitie got married! I was honoured to be her bridesmaid, and my Mom and I had a lovely time visiting Mossel Bay for the and reception. I am so very proud of her, and happy that we now live closer to each other.
 
Traveling to Europe for the choir tour was an incredible experience! I loved learning about the culture and seeing how every town differed in style of architecture and art, and the many kinds of people there. After having studied Art, I have become so much more passionate and appreciative of God’s Creation. A place that especially captured my heart was Prague. Singing in historical churches and performing alongside other choirs was incredible. Being able to travel,
broadened my perspective on life how big the world is, and I am so thankful and blessed for the opportunity! I hope to visit Europe again one day!
 
Thank you ever so much for all your continuous love, prayers, and support. May God be with you everyday of your life.
 
​PETER’S PAGE
This year as we marked the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War I wrote numerous articles and presented a series of lectures on how the greatest century of Missions was derailed into the worst century of persecution. 1914 marked a catastrophic watershed in world history and the beginning of a 100 year war against Christianity.
 
This focus on the lessons to be learned and how we can recover the greatness of the Great Commission led to invitations to speak on radio programmes, TV stations, and conferences in Europe and America. We also celebrated the 25th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Communist Iron Curtain in Eastern Europe.
 
Back to the Bible Training College appointed me as their History lecturer and I produced a 136 page, 26 chapter (with 50 pictures) Church History Manual  for their students. For 5 years I have presented their Missions lectures, and this year I also produced a new Great Commission Manual 2014  ((160 pages, 30 chapters).
 
This year I drove large distances, including in torrential rain, across flooded rivers, had 16 flights, conducted 12 leadership training courses, gave 320 presentations, 77 radio interviews and 8 TV interviews,  lectured at 3 Bible Colleges, preached in 24 churches, was a keynote speaker at 3 Church conferences, and at a Biblical Worldview Conference in America and England.
 
This year marked 19 years that I have been a presenter of ‘Salt and Light’ on Radio Tygerberg. We are informed that it is the longest running weekly Christian radio program in South Africa. This coming year will mark 9 years of being a contributing editor of JOY! Magazine. This year JOY! Published 15 articles of mine (52 pages) and its Afrikaans sister magazine, JUIG! translated and published 28 articles of mine (over 100 pages).
 
This January will mark 9 years of Livingstone Fellowship and the Reformation Society. Our Audio Visual ministry reports that there are now 173 of my messages uploaded onto Sermonaudio.com, 77 of which were uploaded in 2014. These sermons were downloaded 25,383 times during 2014. We produced 43 new Livingstone Fellowship sermons and 31 Reformation Society lectures, 4 MP3 box sets and 7 Digital Library Data discs this year. There were many outreaches this year, including Missions to t​he Mall, Mass literature distribution, film evangelism and door to door evangelism.
 
We received 9 Container Shipments of Bibles and Books. This amounted to over 150 tonnes of Literature 4 Africa which we offloaded, sorted through and then distributed to Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Burundi and the Congo.
 
Immediately after my Mission to Mpumalanga I was involved in the Association of Christian Military Fellowship’s Global Interaction 2014. About 600 military leaders from 100 countries gathered in Cape Town for fellowship, worship, ministry and strategic planning. We supplied hundreds of compact military Bibles and New Testaments, Gospels, discipleship materials, DVD’s and Digital Library resources to empower these chaplains, sailors, soldiers and airmen to evangelize and disciple their units effectively. The same week we shipped 28 tonnes of Bibles and books to Zimbabwe.
 
We praise God for your prayers, encouragement and support which makes all this possible. May God continue to be your joy and strength.
 
Yours for the Great Commission
 
Peter Hammond
  
Frontline Fellowship
P. O. Box 74
Newlands
7725
Cape Town
South Africa 

Email:
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Web:
www.reformationsa.org
www.thebibleandanimals.org   
www.livingstonefellowship.co.za
www.frontlinemissionsa.org