All OM ships’ official communication takes place in English – it’s the lingua franca (for want of a better word) of the organisation and all those joining the crew must have a reasonable grasp of the language. Indeed, in today’s world knowing some English is a valuable, if not vital skill. Having been a language teacher in Japan, I (Paul) am finding even in small Mosbach there are people who want to improve their English. So, once a week I am teaching a group of ladies from our church. Being ‘older generation’ they never had chance to study English at school, so they are at a low level, but what they lack in knowledge they make up for in enthusiasm! They’re also willing to pay for the service, so we’re raising some extra funds to give back to the ministry.
