OM workers based around Lake Tanganyika know that local Christians make the best missionaries. Once trained, these believers have the language and cultural knowledge that foreigners initially lack. The OM team is therefore Christian training fishermen from the area in how to share their faith and despite their living on a subsistence income, a recent mission training course attracted numerous participants. After the two-week course and further follow-up training, these people will become self-sustaining missionaries, working not only as fishermen but also fishers of men.

While the world’s eyes have been focused on the Arab Spring, the Church in Algeria has continued to grow to tens of thousands of believers. Christians in the country however face restrictions on practising their faith. Operation Mobilisation UK, Open Doors and Release International recently hosted the visit of three Algerian Church leaders to the UK to raise awareness of those issues. During the weeklong event, the group spent time with those who have been praying for Algeria, spoke to Christian media and met with members of Parliament. Read more here and here.

What a privilege! A major part of Paul’s role involves reading updates from across the hundred countries where OM workers are living out their faith and choosing the very best ones to report to prayer partners across the UK. This is done through the Global magzine he writes and edits. The latest edition now out focuses on the theme of ‘Pioneering Initiaitves’ – how OM teams are finding new ways to present the unchangeing message of God’s grace and forgiveness. For those of you don’t already receive Global in the post, a sneak preview can be read here.

Hanta lives outside Antananarivo, Madagascar’s capital, with her farming family. She became interested in missions when she saw her sister’s devotion to spreading the Gospel. Hanta is joining OM Madagascar’s upcoming outreach to Manakar and meets every Saturday with those preparing for this mission trip. Unlike the others though, Hanta walks for five hours to get to this training. In addition, she is raising funds for the outreach by selling some of her ducks. Her commitment, passion and love has made a deep impact on the other trainees and the OM team.

Sometimes OM workers struggle to raise enough financial provision to fund their work in missions and support pledged by others can drop off too. One Dutch woman serving with OM Chile who experienced this prayed and, in response, her core group of supporters in Holland came up with a novel idea to raise money. They rented little rubber ducks, approached businesses about donating prizes, and ‘sold’ the ducks to local people who then lined up by a canal to watch their ducks race to a finish line. Besides having fun, the participants also learned about OM’s ministry in Chile.

In the course of everyday life and work, OM teams hear of, and see first-hand, people who are suffering; people battling the effects of poverty and disease, families torn apart by war and social upheaval, and communities desperately rebuilding following natural disasters. OM is committed to working with people and communities to bring aid and relief to where it is needed most as fast as we can. The Mercy Appeal fund is available to OM teams so when they encounter people in desperate situations they can respond quickly and bring immediate relief to their circumstances. Download the 2011 appeal here.

The new OM UK iPhone ‘App’ is an interactive one-stop source for Global mission information! Search the very latest details of OM’s short and long-term mission opportunities, read daily prayer alerts and watch videos of how God is using OM ministry teams around the world for His glory. designed by members of the OM UK Communications team that Paul serves a,longside, the new App is updated daily with resources and stories featuring OM teams and projects across 110 countries. It can be downloaded here. Keep an eye out for Android version of the App in the near future too.

Maintaining a 12,000-ton vessel is no easy task. Certain aspects of that work can only take place when the vessel is out of the water, so once a year Logos Hope goes into dry dock. During this period of several weeks, maintenance projects are carried out all over the ship. The crew do what they can, while skilled yard staff complete the more technical jobs. With Logos Hope effectively turned into a building site, normal life on board is briefly halted. The ministry continues though, with half the crew serving communities on shore, which this year is taking place in Sri Lanka and neighbouring countries.

The unfolding disaster of earthquake, tsunamis and nuclear accident left us both speechless and in prayer for a country we love. We remain thankful that none of Nobby’s family were affected or friends at our supporting church in Tokyo. As the scale of the tragedy unfolds though, we are encouraged by the number of Christian organisations that are providing assistance in the aftermath. All of OM Japan’s staff are safe and, despite the team’s small size, they are mounting a response effort in conjunction with church contacts they have in the devastated areas. Please pray that this will spread joy in a time of great sadness.

This month marks a milestone in the history of OM Ships – 40 years since the original Logos was launched into ministry. Since that time, the vessels Logos, Doulos, Logos II and now Logos Hope have welcomed 42 million on board in over 160 nations. More than 50 million portions of Scripture have been distributed by the various crews and hundreds of tonnes of books have been donated to educational establishments. It is of course impossible to count all the lives that have been transformed through a conversation with the crew or the life-changing literature on board – God knows though!

Not surprisingly, landlocked Zimbabwe is one of the countries we didn’t visit with OM Ships… Usually in the headlines for the wrong reasons, there is a growing awakening for the Gospel in this southern-African nation. The OM team there is reponding to this with exciting ministry initatives which include training church leaders in sports ministry for youth and organising a month of prayer with local congregations. OM Zimbabwe works in partnership with existing fellowships and these plans build on an established medical ministry and outreaches organised around the 2010 World Cup.

Hours before Christmas, the views where we are in Shropshire resemble something from a fairy tale. As temperatures remain below freezing, the significant snow falls from earlier in the week have not melted. A white blanket covers fields as far as the eye can see… With the holidays beginning, we’re counting our blessings at such a time – especially to have a warm home to relax in. Our thoughts go to people who OM teams are trying to help have the basics that we take for granted. Pray in particular for those in Haiti, Pakistan and Hungary for whom Christmas 2010 may not be full of the joy it should be.

Late last year, OM UK launched the ‘Buy a Buffalo’ initiative. Called Just Christmas, this creative appeal attracted the attention of churches and family members across the country. Through their generous giving, hundreds of oppressed Dalit (‘untouchable’) families in India received an invaluable source of income and came to a deeper understanding of God’s love and provision. This year, the buffalos are back, and this time they are brilliant! Once again, people are being challenged to spend less on gifts and pool the savings to assist those in real need, in India, Pakistan or Sudan. More details here.

The tragic toxic spill in Hungary this month has turned lives upside down and left a mammoth mess to clean up. When relief workers with the country’s branch of Baptist Aid needed a base for some of their operations, they knew where to turn – OM’s Bus4Life. This ministry usually takes Christian literature around rural East Europe. However, within 48 hours of being asked to assist, the bus had arrived with food and fresh water at the town most affected by the spill. Emergency workers have since used the vehicle as a base for refreshments, while the Bus4life crew have been counselling residents through the trauma.

Paul and the OM UK Communications team are delighted to present the latest edition of Global. This magazine highlights how God is at work through the different OM ministries. Writing, editing and overseeing the design process also form a major part of Paul’s role. This edition focuses on the theme of ‘emerging mission’ – countries that have traditionally received missionaries but are now sending them to serve with organisations like OM. Featured inside are stories of Colombians, Russians, Taiwanese Christians and more who have all stepped out in faith to join the Great Commission. See more here.

Over the past 25 years, Centre Ministries and OM UK have put Shropshire’s Quinta site on the local, national and international stage. In 1985, both organisations established presences in the extensive grounds, forming a Godly partnership that continues to this day. During those two and half decades Centre Ministries (formerly Cloverley Hall) has hosted many Christian groups for onsite retreats while the team at the OM UK headquarters has sent thousands of volunteers into mission service. A weekend event from Fri 3rd – Sun 5th September is being held to celebrate the 25 years of partnership. We’ll be there!

Over 20% of India’s population are going hungry. The majority of these people are from the Dalit outcastes and half of them are children. Rising to this challenge, OM is raising funds to give students at Dalit Educations Centres a decent midday meal. The impact of this simple act is multifold - eliminating hunger improves the children’s concentration on a day to day basis as well as their overall welfare in the long-run. It’s amazing that what we in the developed world consume as a snack could buy many more meals for India’s neediest. More such facts can be found at the Fast For Food appeal site here.

While South Africa may not be favourites to win the World Cup, OM workers in the country are hoping to see games and souls won at the competition. ‘The Ultimate Goal Campaign’ runs from June 4 – July 12, and involves hundreds of Christians from 20 different countries sharing their faith through ‘the beautiful game’. With distribution of Gospel tracts, evangelistic soccer camps and ministry to prisoners all planned, the size of the outreach almost matches the scale of the tournament! Day-by-day updates of all the God is doing through the outreach activities can be found here.

If a picture says a thousand words, then how much more does a hard-hitting 45 minute documentary communicate? Established film maker Michael Lawson has made several features that capture the suffering and oppression that India’s outcaste Dalits face. These films explore the same issues of injustice that OM and OM partner organisations are also highlighting. The latest release focuses on the particularly harsh challenges for Dalit women. Working together, OM is offering supporting partners the chance to obtain DVD copies of India’s Forgotten Women and discover the injustices in need of much prayer.

Doulos lives on! The vessel overseen by OM Ships International has spent three decades serving port communities in a hundred countries and over 20 million people visited the onboard book fair. However, the costs of maintaining a 95 year-old vessel were too great for OM Ships. After much prayer, Christian businessman Eric Saw, Director and Chief Executive of BizNaz Resources International Pte Ltd in Singapore, has taken over ownership. To be renamed Doulos Phos (Greek for ‘servant light’), the ship will move to a fixed berth and feature a restaurant, museum and facilities for a Bible school.

Packed with 32 pages of inspiring stories, OM UK’s latest Global magazine is about to hit the streets. This edition focuses on how God’s people are reaching those from a different faith background with news of the Gospel. From start to end, writing, editing and overseeing the design of each magazine takes Paul nearly ten weeks. However, the response from readers makes all the effort worthwhile. This issue also features a prayer map that follows Logos Hope around needy Caribbean communities and an update on OM UK’s Just Christmas campaign. Have a sneak preview yourselves here.