All’s Well That Ends Well

 

Presenting the ship ministry at a Sunday church service was the natural way to end our time in Switzerland. However, the choice of fellowship we visited was highly significant. OM Switzerland rep Rahel Sigg had put considerable effort into arranging the different meetings we shared at. Opportunity to speak at her home church was therefore a very fitting final meeting. Rahel translated our team’s programme, thus visibly showing her sending church how directly she is involved in world mission. From our side, we were happy to help her build relationships with her key financial and prayer supporters.

A Swiss Underground Church?

 

The venue couldn’t have been more surreal. Swiss national and ex-Doulos crewmember Irene Keller attends a church that meets in a converted nightclub. The entire interior is designed as a cave – stalactites and all! However, the eccentric surroundings attract many local youth and knowing we were in town, Irene asked us to present the work of OM Ships at their weekly meeting. Our interactive presentation lasted 90 minutes and afterwards we talked to the youngsters for two hours! Many of them already know of the ships and have a heart for mission. Pray some of them will serve on board soon.

Amiss In Swiss!

 

A quarter of those serving with OM Ships were first inspired to join the crew when they came on board as a visitor. As a recruiting method for new crew, that works fine for countries with a coastline! Switzerland doesn’t meet that criteria, and with the landlocked country being just four hours drive south of the ships office in Mosbach, Germany, five of us headed there to share about the ships in different church meetings instead. The team was very international, with England, Wales, Namibia, Germany and Japan represented! The four days we just finished there were both productive and exciting. Pray for fruit!

Passing The Test

Nobby’s German test now seems like a long time ago (actually, it was in May). Finally the results have come through! After eight months of hard study, she passed the basic test with flying colours, even scoring 100% in reading comprehension. That doesn’t mean she’s fluent in the language though. We use English in the ships office so both of us need to make an effort to use our German. Secondly, where we are in Mosbach people speak with a dialect called Badisch that’s not easy to grasp. With the ultimate goal of better integrating in the local community, that keeps us motivated to study more.

20,000,000 And Counting…

OM Ships International is not all about statistics - bringing knowledge, help and hope, the ministry seeks to impact lives for the better. However, every now and then a fact appears that is cause for celebration and reflects God at work. Huge cheers filled the air this week as twenty four year-old Awang Mohd Bin Sabree stepped on board Doulos in Kota Kinabalu. Although the young Malaysian didn’t realise it immediately, he had just become the 20 millionth visitor to the ship! Crew soon informed him, and gave him a tour of the vessel and discount voucher for the book fair. Praise God for this milestone!

Deutschland Day

October 3rd marks a special occasion in the German calendar. On this day, across the land, citizens celebrate all that it means to be German… Today is the country’s national day, so the whole land enjoys a break from work. Being British and Japanese, we’re not quite into the beer-drinking, sausage-eating and lederhosen-wearing scene. Instead, we’re appreciating an extra day of rest at home (everything’s closed in Mosbach, and it’s raining, so there’s not much choice). At the same time, we’re thankful to the hospitality Germany has extended to us, allowing us to live here and work at the OM Ships office.

Open Day At OM In Mosbach

OM puts the small south-German town of Mosbach on the world map. That doesn’t mean the local community here are totally familiar with exactly who or what this global Christian mission organisation on their doorstep is all about. Addressing that issue, OM Germany (who the ships office team share the base with) organised an Open Day event and invited the town’s residents. Several hundred people did come along, helped by the blessing of better weather than was forecast. The work of OM in the wider world was shared in different presentations and, praise God, was well received by all who came.