Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Never let it be said that we are the type of people to promote stereotypes. However, since our relocation to the UK, the infamous British weather has done little to dispell its infamy. It rained at some point every day during our first two weeks in the country and since then the grey skies have never been far away. Summer is supposed to be round the corner, but with night time temperatures still dipping below zero and snow in April, we’re still waiting for spring! Rather than complain, we need to find that stiff upper lip the British are famous for…

See You At ‘The Stand’

It’s a logical progression. After accepting the challenge to educate thousands of underpriviliged children in India, OM is now branching out into the human rights arena. The Stand is a major initiative scheduled for November 8th at Birmingham’s NEC Arena in the UK. Keynote speakers, informative presentations and performances from Christian bands will combine to highlight the reality of human trafficking and modern day slavery. OM are fully involved in the planning side of things and will be very present on the day. Read more details on the official website here .

First STEP

The demand just couldn’t be met. For nearly a year, only Doulos has offered a Short-Term Exposure Programme (STEP) to those wanting a brief taste of serving with OM Ships. Logos Hope just wasn’t quite ready to run these eight week training and mission awareness opportunities. This really squeezed the number of available berths on a programme that already receives far more applications than there are spaces. Now, the first STEP dates for Logos Hope have been confirmed for later this year (23rd Jun – 1st Sep & 2nd Sep – 1st Dec). Anyone interested better send in their application soon!

Sporting Chances

Sport is undoubtedly a language the world speaks. Seeing an opportunity many years ago, OM established a ministry network that reaches out to others while having fun. These sporting programmes often centre around poorer communities in developing countries. Baseball camps for youngsters in East Europe and football training programmes in Belize have been warmy received and opened doors to share more of God’s love. Pray for SportsLink Co-ordinator Martin as he co-ordinates the network. Visit the website to find out more details here .

A Tiring Past-Time

Hobbies are supposed to help us relax… However, Paul’s passion for following international politics is currently causing him sleepless nights! Since the US presidential primary season began back in January, he has avidly followed CNN’s coverage of each contest. Being based in Europe, that requires burning more than a little midnight oil – Paul can certainly relate to the fatigue that the candidates are complaining of! Still, it’s good to be informed of what’s happening in the world, but that doesn’t extend to Paul saying here who he is supporting in the race!

The Search For A Church

We could almost write a book on the subject – ‘Paul and Nobby’s Guide to Churches in the Greater Oswestry Area’. No doubt about it, there are plenty of churches near where we are now living. However, finding a fellowship that has people our age, good teaching and opportunities for us to serve in the local community is a challenge. This is compounded by the number of other OM UK folk who all go to churches in the area. It’s not that we don’t love our work colleagues, just that five days a week together is plenty! Pray for God’s guidance as we try to find a church we can call home.

Summer Of Love

OM has a long history of summer outreach campaigns. The Love Europe campaigns of the 1980s originally saw thousands of people serve for short-term events across the continent. This summer is gearing up to be another busy time on a global scale, with programmes planned in Moldova, Nepal, Panama and India to name just a few. A divese range of activites are planned to support local churches serving the community, including children’s camps, sports ministry and English lessons. Pray for more volunteers to complete the teams and that the planned events will impact many lives.

Meet Derek

Once is an event, twice is coincidence and three times is a habit… Paul’s last three bosses in OM (on Doulos, at the ships head office and now in OM UK) have all been Scottish. OM’s promotion of cross-cultural understanding even stretches to include English and Scottish! Paul’s new boss, Derek, has a very impressive background of marketing in the secular world. Several years ago God called him to take a big pay cut and use is skills in mission. Today, his experience and knowledge is a huge asset that helps inform Christians of the work OM is doing around the world.

Reaching Out In Orissa

Destroy people’s homes and churches and you destroy their hope too. Christians in India’s Orissa state recently came under attack from rampaging fanatics and now OM teams in the region are stepping up to help out. Food is being supplied to families who lost everything when their home was burnt down and efforts are underway to provide textbooks for children whose school work was lost in the flames. Team members are also assisting legal proceedings so the perpetrators can be caught and funds obtained to rebuild damaged churches. With most OM personnel in India being Indians, this is a real grassroots initiative.

Paperwork Overload

Putting pen to paper is becoming a daily routine… Since relocating to the UK, we’ve been overwhelmed by the amount of paperwork needing attention; as a non-UK resident, registering Nobby’s visa and obtaining a national insurance number were top priorities; having not lived in the UK for nine years, Paul also needed to update all his tax details; local authorities have already been on our back to pay community fees (kindly sending us two bills in the first month!)… And there’s more, from registering with a doctor to opening a bank account for Nobby. At least we’re no longer facing forms written in German!

Getting Into Gear

No, this isn’t a post about our bad driving skills… Getting Into Gear (or GIG) is an intensive weekend of orientation that OM UK gives all those joining the organisation to serve overseas. Covering subjects like raising a support team, what to expect from team life and raising awareness of security issues, the sessions provide invaluable preparation. Although we’ve only just joined the OM UK team, we were asked to speak to those new British volunteers about to join the ships (see Paul sharing about Logos II above). It’s good to know that our past experiences can be put to use helping equip others.

Learning A New Life

Getting here was only half the challenge! We have now joined the OM UK team and are finding about life in the surrounding Oswestry area. One major adjustment has been the need to drive - we walked everywhere in Mosbach and took public transport to travel around Tokyo when we lived there. Furthermore, with Paul not having lived in the UK for a decade and Nobby being Japanese, we’re hardly familiar with the British way of life. Despite all of that, we’re continuing to settle in well. Our new house feels like home already and we’re looking forward to officially starting work next week.