Operation Mobilisation changes lives in Europe

|PIC1|For 12 days in June, Dave McBride of OM (Operation Mobilisation) USA accompanied a church group of 16 people from Ohio on an outreach trip in Kiel, in northern Germany to coincide with Kieler Woche, or "Kiel Week", Europe's largest sailing regatta.

The group worked with OM North Germany and with local Christians in partnership with the Evangelical Alliance of Kiel.

Because Logos Hope had spent six months in Kiel, there was already local interest in OM. Evangelism took place on the streets of the city and along the waterfront where crowds were gathered.

Dave says, "On the second day of the outreach, a man approached me and another team member and said he had problems with his faith. A listening ear, words of encouragement, and a moment of prayer for him ended with him giving us a teary-eyed, hearty hug.

"A few minutes later he met another group from the team and shared that before he met us he had planned to kill himself that day!"

Another time, a drunk man would not move out of the way so the team could start a drama. Jim, from America, put a tract in the man's back pocket. Later the man called the number on the back of tract and asked about the message.

In Italy, meanwhile, a team from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) in the USA linked with OM Italy for the first time to offer two sports ministry events this summer. A team of six, led by soccer coach Tracy Duck, ran a highly successful sports outreach in the town of Torre Pellice during the week of June 15-22.

Although the area had been deluged with rain for the previous six weeks the rain stopped on the opening morning of the sports camp, and the rest of the week remained sunny and hot.

Field Leader Eliseo Guadagno who coordinated activities said there were a good variety of sports offered, from frisbee for the little ones to football for the older youth.

"The numbers that came were unbelievable! And when you start loving peoples' kids, the parents come, too," he said.

Dozens of children enjoyed making Good News bracelets and learning what each coloured bead represents. The team saw some of them repeat the Gospel story to friends and parents, before serving them at the end of the week with a barbecue.

"The church was thrilled by the response," notes Eliseo. "And the community saw the church was serving them. Now we need to follow up and show this as an ongoing attitude."

From June 23-28, FCA and OM Italy also hosted a sports camp in the mountains near Florence, attended by 100 staff and teens from across Italy.




Printed with permission www.uk.om.org