02 December 2010

Kilchzimmer staff

Staff and volunteers (December 2010) Photo: Tim Shirey
The Kilchzimmer team doesn't often get together for a photograph. However since there have been a number of major changes in the team over the past 3 years, it was time for an update. For example, we have a new European Director, new Kilchzimmer house parents, new Education Department coordinators ;), new assistants in various departments and volunteers who play a vital role in the efficient running of the centre. They come from Germany, Switzerland, Ireland (North and South), England, Scotland (not in photo), Isle of Man, USA, Poland, Sweden (not in photo) and the Netherlands!
Kilchzimmer is the European Headquarters of CEF. It serves our 560 full-time workers and thousands of volunteers throughout Europe. In the second part of the year, we offer our 3-month Children's Ministry Leadership Course (CMLC) in English and German.

29 November 2010

Crossing the line

www.baslerstadtlauf.ch
Basel City Run (5,5 km),
Switzerland
If you click here and watch this clip carefully you can see me cross the line over on the right (Adidas hat)!
It had snowed all day and the temperature was around freezing but it didn't put of several thousand people of all ages from taken part in the traditional Stadtlauf. It was my first time and despite the difficult conditions, I really enjoyed the experience and I was very happy with my time of 27 mins 49,8 secs. 
I'm always very impressed with the professional organisation and time-keeping over here in Europe. Each starting bib comes with a chip which registers your exact time when you cross the start and finish (as well as a few checkpoints along the way). A couple of minutes after crossing the start line, you get a text message (SMS) with your official time. After the race you usually receive a reusable bottle with an energy drink, a medal and some vouchers and goodies. Then later on you can download photographs and videos of yourself taking part. If you like, you can even print of your own certificate when you go home.

10 November 2010

Artikel in den KEB-Nachrichten 3/2010

This is an article that I wrote recently for the CEF Germany magazine. Dieser Artikel ist in den "KEB-Nachrichten" 3/2010 erschienen.

Im letzten Jahr haben über 26.000 Leute irgendeine Form der Schulung durch die KEB in Europa erhalten. Wir sind uns in der europäischen Ausbildungsabteilung darüber im Klaren, wenn wir mehr Kinder in Europa erreichen wollen, müssen mehr Menschen geschult werden. In Europa stoßen wir immer wieder auf das Problem der fehlenden Finanzen für neue Vollzeitmitarbeiter. In unserem Eifer neue Vollzeitler zu gewinnen, vergessen wir leicht den wertvollen und treuen Dienst, den unsere Ehrenamtlichen verrichten. Diese Menschen haben ein Herz für Kinder, sie sind in ihren Gemeinden engagiert, sie besitzen viele Erfahrungen und gute Kontakte zu Kindern in ihrer Umgebung und sie sind bereit, Zeit in diese Arbeit zu investieren. Genau solche möchten wir ermutigen, an unseren ZAK Kursen, teens!aktiv-Kursen teilzunehmen oder sogar unser Intensiv-Training in der Schweiz zu besuchen.

Jedes Jahr wird das Intensiv-Training in Kilchzimmer zweimal auf Englisch und einmal auf Deutsch angeboten. Dieses Training ist für einen werdenden KEB-Mitarbeiter erforderlich, aber die meisten Studenten, die unser 3-monatiges Training absolvieren, werden nicht Vollzeitler. Trotzdem freuen wir uns, wenn sie motiviert in ihre Gemeinden zurückgehen und mit einer größeren Hingabe die Kinder biblisch fundiert unterrichten und sie darüber hinaus eine Sicht dafür bekommen, unerreichte, gemeindefremde Kinder in ihrer Umgebung zu evangelisieren.

Nicht nur Theorie
In Kilchzimmer nehmen die Studenten täglich an sechs Unterrichtsstunden teil. Sie beschäftigen sich „intensiv“ mit der Frage der Kinder-Evangelisation und deren Umsetzung in ihrer Heimatkultur. Fast 40 Lehrkräfte sind über einen Zeitraum von 6 Monaten am Unterricht in Kilchzimmer beteiligt. Die meisten von ihnen kommen direkt aus ihrem Einsatzgebiet und investieren zwischen ein bis drei Wochen ihrer Zeit, um zukünftige Mitarbeiter in der Kinderarbeit zu schulen. Wir glauben, dies ist eine besondere Stärke unserer Ausbildung, da die Lehrkräfte nicht reine Theorie vermitteln, sondern praxisorientiert das weitergeben, wofür ihr Herz schlägt, nämlich die Kinder Europas effektiv mit dem Evangelium zu erreichen. Wie ermutigend ist der Unterricht, wenn man beobachtet, dass der Funke der Begeisterung überspringt.

Dankbar blicken wir zurück auf das letzte Jahr mit 44 Studenten aus Irland, Großbritannien, USA, Tansania, Südkorea, Slowakei, Frankreich, Tschechische Republik, Dänemark, Niederlande, Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz. In diesem Sommer sind es nur 9 Studenten und für den Herbst haben wir 26 Student. Der Hauptgrund für den Rückgang der Studentenzahl in Kilchzimmer liegt darin, dass parallel zur unserem Training im Sommer auch Kurse in anderen europäischen Ländern stattfinden. In Serbien wurden die ersten 6 Wochen des Intensiv-Trainings mit 22 Studenten aus 5 Ländern des ehemaligen Jugoslawien gehalten. Außerdem besuchten 19 eifrige Studenten (aus Tschechien und der Slowakei) den Kurs in Bratislava. Weitere Intensiv-Training sind für nächstes Jahr in Rumänien, Georgien und Russland geplant. Wir sehen fast nur Vorteile, wenn das Training in anderen Ländern abgehalten werden kann (z.B. der Kostenfaktor, die einheitliche Sprache), aber betet auch dafür, dass Gott Kilchzimmer mit neuen Studenten (besonders aus Westeuropa) versorgt.

Wer mehr über das Intensiv-Training in Kilchzimmer erfahren oder Bewerbungsformulare anfordern möchte, besuche bitte die KEB Deutschland Webseite.

02 November 2010

Another race

No we didn't do the whole marathon (maybe next year) just 12,5 km of it! Really enjoyed it. This has to be up there among the top marathons in the world for both the view and the supporters. More photos here.

15 October 2010

26 students at the Autumn CMLC in Kilchzimmer

The Lord has once again answered our prayers and sent us 26 students from N.Ireland, Rep. Ireland, GB, Ghana, Italy, Slovenia, Zambia, Albania, Cyprus, Germany and Switzerland. As with each Autumn, classes are taught separately for English / German speakers. I am looking forward to teaching this group for the first time next week. Please continue to pray for a good, warm harmonious atmosphere as this group lives and studies together for 12 weeks. Pray that they will study hard so that more children might be saved and helped in their faith.

14 September 2010

First Half Marathon

This past weekend I ran in my first competitive half marathon in Basel - photos. I was quite nervous before the race because although I have run the distance twice in training, this was the first big test since I injured my knee back in June.
Taking into account that I only starting to run 7 months ago, I was very pleased with my time of 2 hours, 12 minutes. David Austin (volunteer worker at Kilchzimmer) ran with me for the first 8 km behind the 2 hour pace-setters until I could no longer keep up! He put in a great performance, finishing just under the 2 hour mark.
The atmosphere over the 21 km of the course (13 miles) was something of a unique experience. Starting and finishing in the city of Basel, the majority of the course was along the Rhine and Wiese rivers, a truly beautiful setting – although I can't say I took much notice of it while concentrating on keeping the right pace. Pushing but not overdoing it. Slowing down when the pulse got to high but being careful not to loose momentum. It's amazing how the sound of the crowds cheering, the clapping and the sight of a familiar face along different parts of the course, really does help you to find some extra strength from somewhere. Perhaps the apostle Paul knew a thing or two about running when he wrote: 
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
(Hebrews 12:1 ESV)

06 July 2010

Kilchzimmer CMLC - Summer 2010

These are the 9 students who are currently at Kilchzimmer taking our Children's Ministry Leadership Course. They come from, England, Germany, Ireland (North & South), S. Korea and Estonia. This week they have classes on the biblical basis for child evangelism (Henry Berry - Ireland) and on teaching doctrine to children (Gerd-Walter Buskies - Germany). Next week they will be introduced to Good News Clubs® (Dorthe Jensen - Denmark), how to prepare and teach a Bible lesson to children (Jennifer Evans & Angie McKeee - Ireland) and also the pre-school children (Martha Heidinger - USA).

As you can see, there is still lots more space in the classroom. Please pray with us for more students to enrol for the autumn CMLC from 25 September – 17 December 2010 (taught in English and German).

29 June 2010

JYC Seminar in Munich, Germany

Each year CEF-Munich organise a training day for the local churches and CEF volunteers. This year I was invited to speak on the theme "Teenager work - no thanks!". We met in a church above a Christian bookshop, right in the centre of the city. About 30 attended the sessions. It was great to get to know some of those working with the teens in this part of Germany – to encourage them in their ministry and to introduce them to out youth challenge literature.
The journey was about 5 hours on the train, so I was able to go down on Friday evening and come back on Saturday evening. I even had a few hours to have a look around the city.

Renate, the local CEF worker wrote the following, "...dankbar blicken wir auf das gute Teenagerseminar mit Gary Cousins zurück, das am Samstag war. Wir hätten uns zwar mehr Teilnehmer gewünscht bei ca. 1000 Einladungen, die an Gemeinden und Einzelpersonen verteilt wurden. Doch mit ca. 30 Teilnehmern hatten wir eine schöne und offene Atmosphäre und es kam manches positive Echo."

Sorry - I forgot to take a photograph of the group (Photo above of the Town Hall and Marienplatz by David Iliff)

18 June 2010

Our first running event

The Lörracher Stadtlauf is the sporting highlight of the year for many serious and 'less serious' runners in the region. Over 1500 runners (including ca. 500 under 10s) took part. The event was very well organised and well supported with crowds lining the 1.3 km route and cheering us on. Our group was the last to leave and two minutes before the start it began to rain. I lined up on about the third row only to be completely shocked by the speed at which the front runners sprinted away from the line. I had to remind myself to ignore them, to slow down and to find my own comfortable pace. The rain was quite heavy and we needed to take care especially on the corners during the 5 laps of the 6.2 km race. I was aiming to be inside 35 minutes and I was delighted to manage a time of 32 minutes 48 seconds.The previous day, Joel decided to take part with other children from his school. Their 435 m race was earlier in the evening. At the finish I was very proud to see Joel coming in towards the front of the main group! It was a good positive experience for him.
By the end of the evening we were wet, tired and thankful for the whole experience. Next year we hope to be there again and David wants to join in - we're still working on Claudia :)

Afterwards
Joel on the front right.

15 June 2010

Granny's visit

My Granny Cousins (82) from N.Ireland is over to visit us with another family friend (Kathleen). Here she is outside our home with Joel and David, complete with Black Forest Gateau and chocolate rings from the bakery across the road.

08 June 2010

Hello from us

The blog has been a bit quiet lately so I just want to say a quick hello. We praise God for His goodness to us as a family. Thank you for your continued interest and that many of you have committed to pray for us.
We had a few days off to recover from the conference and on Sunday past we were at the Rhine Falls, near Schaffhausen in Switzerland (where we took this photograph).
As usual, a prayer letter is long overdue. I really should write it some day soon. Just to remind you that I do send out monthly prayer requests by email. If you would like to receive them, please click here.

22 May 2010

European Conference links

The conference is now a memory of great times of fellowship, challenging messages, helpful seminars, excellent facilities and many emotional moments as we said thank you to Roy and Ruth Harrison for their 40 years of service in CEF and especially for the past 16 years as European Directors. Below are links to what some other bloggers have been saying:
Next conference 2013 DV (date and venue will be published here in the coming weeks)

18 May 2010

CEF European Conference

It was my privilege for the first time to organise our European Conference for 350 people from 45 nations. The conference is only every 3 years and this year we held it for the first time in the Schönblick Christian Guest Centre near Stuttgart in Germany.
Tonight was the last night. More photos and news to come later.
www.cefeuropeanconference.com 

28 April 2010

What's the difference in translating and interpreting?

This is a repost from last year as it is something I am writing about a lot as I prepare for the European Conference and providing interpretation into various European languages.

This is a question I have been asking myself for a while as I have noticed in CEF that we tend to use the terms interchangeably. The quick answer is:

Interpreters deal with spoken language and translate orally, while translators deal with written text...

What we do in the Autumn CMLCs and at conferences is not translation, it is interpretation! Or to put it more accurately, it is consecutive interpretation! Simultaneous interpretation occurs when the speaker doesn't make any breaks and the interpreter listens and talks at the same time (usually by whispering or while in a cabin).
When a CEF literature worker takes an English Bible lesson text and works on putting it into another written language, they are translating.

On the surface, the difference between interpreting and translation is the mode of expression. Interpreters deal with spoken language and translate orally, while translators deal with written text, transforming the source text into a comprehensible and equivalent target text. Both interpreting and translation presuppose a love of language and deep knowledge of more than one language. However, the differences in the training, skills, and talents needed for each job are vast. (Read more)

26 March 2010

Visiting Every Home Crusade

It was great last January to accompany Bogdan (our multi-media Director) on a visit to Revival Movement's new factory near Lisburn, N. Ireland. They supply literature free of charge (an average of 4 Tonnes of paper each day!!!) to missions, churches, pastors and Christian workers in over 120 countries.

They have been a tremendous help to CEF in recent years printing hundreds of thousands of Meet the King booklets.
Right now they are printing half a Million lessons for our Bible correspondence courses in 4 different languages.



23 March 2010

500 JYCs in Europe!

In 2009 we crossed the line and opened the 500th JYC in Europe!
Praise God for the impact this ministry is making in the lives of many 11-15 year olds. We estimate that we are now reaching over 5,600 junior teens.
(This is up from 470 and 5,300 in 2008.)


Our top 6 countries are:
  • Russia – 143
  • Romania – 77
  • Armenia – 50
  • Ireland – 45
  • Ukraine – 40
  • Germany – 22

21 March 2010

What we get up to in our free time

This is a great family activity. Why not go out this weekend and give it a try?


Below are our geocaching stats.
Click on them to find out more.
Profile for Slieve Donard

16 February 2010

Interview


Gary Boal has published an interview he did with me. Click here to read it.

and

CEF Ireland just published a profile of us here