30 June 2006

New photographs available at
www.thecousinsfamily.org/albums
Click on the headings:
- First Days at Kilchzimmer
or
- Discovering the Area

26 June 2006

Back to school

Joel has made a full recovery.
The students all arrived at the weekend and have settled in with us to our new home for the next 3 months.
It has been great to renew acquaintances with the staff, most of whom I have not seen for 10 years.
Today was our first day of classes. Our English class has 12 students - from Portugal (2), Netherlands (2), Greece (2), Lithuania (1), Armenia (1), and Norn Iron (4 of us all on the front row). I have the responsibility of making audio recordings of all the classes on computer and I have to clean the main classroom every morning. We all take our turn at the dishes. Two baby-sitters (both great girls from NI) look after the children while we are in class. This gives us great peace of mind to concentrate.
I will be preaching this Sunday morning to the students and staff so please pray that I will be sensitive to time as I have to allow for translation into French and Polish :)
The weather is warm and sunny with the odd thunder storm.
Please pray for our continual adjusting to communal life in Kilchzimmer.

24 June 2006

Feeling better

Thanks for your prayers. Joel is feeling much better now although his
glands are still a little swollen. We went to the doctor again this
morning for a check-up and he is happy with the improvement. So we
just have to continue to give Joel the antibiotics for the next few
days.

29 c - this is going to take some getting used too. The Field Council
are leaving today and most of the new students will arrive by tea
time this evening.

23 June 2006

Kilchzimmer snap shots

We will be posting some photographs over the coming weeks to the web.
You can view them by clicking on the link below:

www.thecousinsfamily.org/albums/

The Swiss Doctor

Yesterday we decided to take Joel to the doctor. He could see clearly how swollen Joel's glands were and was able to prescribe suitable antibiotics. We will go back again on Saturday morning for a check-up. Praise God that today a marked improvement is observable.
We have medical insurance so hopefully it won't be too complicated to claim back the costs once we get a bill from the doctors.

22 June 2006

The sound of cow bells

We arrived at Kilchzimmer (CEF European Headquarters, Switzerland) last night at 10.15pm.
Our journey began on Monday morning when we got the 7.35am sailing from Belfast to Stranraer. We arrived around 8pm at Mark & Heather Steele's home in Rochester (SE England). Mark (who is the brother of my brother-in-law) is Assistant Pastor in Rochester Baptist Church. We spent all day Tuesday with them and left at 7.30am on Wednesday. We then got a boat from Dover to Calais and for the next 9 hours we travelled through France, Belgium, Luxembourg, France (again), Germany and finally Switzerland - arriving just after 10pm.

We are thankful for the Lord's protection on the long journey and for how well the boys behaved. One cause for concern is that Joel has had swollen glands since Monday. He has a temperature, sore head and has been sick a couple of times. We went to see a doctor in England but she was happy that it was only a viral infection and that we should treat him simply with the usual Capol and Nurofen. However, he has still not improved and we are wondering whether we should just be patient or if we should go through the hassle (insurance wise) of seeking medical help in this a non-EU country. Pray that this will not be necessary.

The weather is cooler today than normal and there are light showers (which allows us acclimatize). The meetings of the CEF European Field Council are taking place this week and we will meet with them either today or tomorrow. So we have some time to settle in and get our bearings before the rest of the students arrive on Saturday. Classes begin on Monday morning at 8.30am (rise and shine is at 6.30am !!! )

Thank you again, that you are interested enough in us to take the time to read this and to pray for us. We really appreciate your partnership with us in this way.

Gary (Claudia, Joel and David)

12 June 2006

Meeting Dr John MacArthur















Today I had the privilege of fellowshipping with Dr John MacArthur (pastor of Grace Community Church, California, president of The Master's College and Seminary, and featured teacher with the Grace to You radio ministry). John preached in our church last night (click here to download the message 24MB) and today he spoke at a special pastors conference in Belfast, which I helped to organise. We were greatly blessed by his ministry and also that of Dr Steve Lawson and Pastor Philip De Courcy. It was also great to have lunch with them all before they left for a round of golf before going back to the states tomorrow.
Details of where to order tapes and DVD's from the conference.

Visit from Philip De Courcey

Me with Pastors Clifford Morrison and Philip De Courcey outside Portadown Baptist Church. Posted by Picasa

05 June 2006

BBQ in Gosford

Wow what a day! The weather was beautiful and the people came and really enjoyed themselves. We estimate that 200 people were there. We were so blessed by all the people who sponsored the food and offered their help – people have been just so kind to us!
Then last Sunday night (28th May) the church was packed with friends, family and well-wishers who gathered for a special service to mark the end of my ministry as Associate Pastor in Portadown Baptist Church. We were very pleased with the programme and encouraged by all that was said. It is so good to know that the church is behind us as we step out in faith to follow God’s leading.
Two weeks holiday now to get ready and then we are off to Kilchzimmer to do the CEF Europe - Leadership Training Institute. Please pray for us.


Here is my father with David and Joel. He will miss them and they will miss him a lot this summer.
We had a large bouncy castle, an large inflatable slide, a treasure hunt, face painting… A great night of family fun was had by all. Posted by Picasa