Shirey Family Blog

Engagement photos – Heather & Jonathan

2012-01-07T15:23:00.000+01:00

Below are a few of the engagement photos I took of Heather and Jonathan as we walked around Basel on Tuesday (Barfüsserplatz, Münsterplatz, Marketplatz, etc.). We were thankful for the one clear, non-rain/snow day we had to take photos outside.

The one "studio" image below was taken in Kilchzimmer in front of a white wall and the background altered in Photoshop.

Family photo – Christmas '11

2012-01-07T13:43:00.000+01:00

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With our postings on Google+ and Facebook, I've slipped on updating entries to our family blog page.

Heather and Sarah were able to fly over for three weeks at Christmas, along with Heather's fiancé, Jonathan who arrived after Christmas. They fly back together to BJU on Jan. 9.
It was a real joy to have our entire family together again even if for a short time.

This is our annual Christmas family photo taken this week. The apartment was a bit tight this year for moving furniture to set up a creative family photo so had to settle for a white wall in Kilchzimmer and then used Photoshop to add a generic blue-grey textured background.

Tech notes: Nikon D7000, Nikon 50mm, f/1.8 lens. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop.

Solothurn, Switzerland (time-lapse)

2011-04-02T12:11:00.000+02:00

We are in Solothurn on Thursday evenings and I couldn't pass up all the great reflections from the rain to do a time-lapse video at the street corner outside the SBB (train station) – 9:00pm.

800 high resolution (camera raw) still images were used to create the video. In case you were wondering, the light signals in Switzerland turn "green" not "blue" like in the video.

Go to our Vimeo page for more details on how the time-lapse was done and to view it larger in HD.

Heather & Sarah's return flight

2011-01-11T20:08:00.003+01:00

Heather and Sarah had an eventful trip back to school. It began early yesterday morning with a 70 min. delay sitting on the plane in Zürich, waiting for a green light from Atlanta airport. People were permitted to get off the plane then for rescheduling their flight or continue on, not knowing for sure where they would eventually land. The final destination was still in question when entering US airspace – Chicago, New York City, Atlanta?

Of the thousands of flight cancellations at Atlanta airport, their flight was one of the very few permitted to land. This made for a quiet, low stress evening with no crowds. They would be stranded there for the next 25+ hrs..

Heather and Sarah still had to get to Greenville which was also covered in snow and ice. The next available flight was at 5:37pm Tuesday. After a 2 hr. delay at the gate and sitting on the runway to take off, they were brought back and rescheduled for a later flight, which was ... you guessed it ... delayed. Their plane finally landed in Greenville (more white than green) a few hrs. ago.

The video above is one of several TV interviews Heather and Sarah gave during the night. It was their 15 seconds of fame on Fox News Atlanta. They were also interviewed by NBC Atlanta. CNN interviewed someone next to them so the airport seemed to be a popular hangout for news reporters.

Family Photo – Christmas '10

2011-01-05T10:51:00.001+01:00

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At Christmas we have the tradition of a family photo taken in front of our Christmas tree. Eventually the tree was covered up so now we take the photo without the tree, which has it's challenges trying to clear a space in an apartment or finding matching outfits.

It was wonderful to have Heather and Sarah home for Christmas this year and spending time together, especially knowing it may be a year+ before we are together again.

View of Ankenballen - Kilchzimmer

2010-12-09T11:39:00.000+01:00

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The view this morning (11am) from the room next to my office at Kilchzimmer. Unfortunately, I have a sky window in my office so I only see blue, grey, or in the winter my slanted window can be covered with snow.

Our girls were hoping for a white Christmas and it appears we will have plenty of it this month.

Kilchzimmer wedding photos

2010-11-02T12:02:00.000+01:00

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You could count on one hand how many weddings I photographed in my life and here we had two in one month.
I feel at home behind a camera. Place me in the middle of a chaotic market in Kyrgyzstan and I know what to do ... but wedding photography requires a completely different approach and falls outside my comfort zone.

The daughter of our Kilchzimmer house parents (Felix and Diana Dürrenberger) was married this past weekend in a nearby village church and I was asked to take photos of the couple at Kilchzimmer – a great location ... when the weather cooperates. My co-worker, Brent was a huge help as the VAL (voice-activated light stand) and the one who held the big reflector high in the air to keep the sun spots off the bride's dress.

These photo opportunities have been very helpful in learning how and when to use additional lighting tools in a fast moving situation under time constraints. This was a tiring day but enjoyable with everyone feeling relaxed and having fun.

Daniel & Esther's Wedding

2010-10-18T20:58:00.001+02:00

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We had the joy of attending the wedding of Daniel and Esther Boschbach this past Saturday. The wedding was held in Weil am Rhein, just over the German border from Basel.

Sue's cake decorating skills have been raised to new levels ... literally. This was her first four tiered cake. Because of the size and weight (bottom layer was 16"), we had to transport the cake in two parts and added the flowers later when we assembled the cake. It was cold and raining, which added other challenges with assembling the cake as well as photographing the wedding. But the rain didn't dampen the spirit of those in attendance.

The day before the wedding (Friday) I was able to be at the civil ceremony held in a government building in Basel. This is the official ceremony that's recognized and required by the Swiss government but most Christians also choose to follow this with a church wedding. The civil ceremony lasted about 20 min. with a small gathering of immediate family and friends sitting in a beautiful room decorated with large oil paintings, a chandelier in the center and ornate trimming on the ceilings and walls. The official sat up front behind a long desk with all the necessary papers to be signed.

Sarah (and Heather) – off to college

2010-09-14T20:48:00.005+02:00

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This is Sarah's first year at Bob Jones University to study Mass Media and Print Journalism.

Female students are required to have two dresses for formal events on campus.

In August 2008 I took photos of Heather in her formal dress before she left for BJU. Heather is now in her third year at BJU. This summer it was Sarah's turn for photos.

They grow up so fast! [sniff...sniff]

West Rockport, Maine

2010-08-21T02:47:00.001+02:00

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This summer we’ve had the joy of traveling around to our supporting churches in Pennsylvania and this past weekend to Maine. While there we enjoyed a fellowship evening with the congregation and sharing in the Sunday services at West Rockport Baptist Church. When we stay with a family from the church there’s never a dull moment with seven girls in the house.

Our family has fond memories of camping at Cape May, NJ so the smell of salt water and “odor” of shell fish in the air was actually a welcome scent for us as we neared the Maine coastline. The cool climate of Maine also made us homesick for Switzerland.

While the girls were having a water battle at the house Sue and I had two hours on Sunday afternoon to enjoy a picture perfect day in the nearby seaside town of Camden.

WorldWidePhotoWalk 2010

2010-07-28T18:28:00.002+02:00

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On July 24th, 33,500 people in 1,111 locations around the world came together in groups of 50 or less and took part in the World Wide Photo Walk. Sarah and I (photo 1, 2) joined a group of 9 photographers who took a two hour walk (9-11am) around the city of York, PA. We then met up at the end to chat at a local pizza shop. We took hundreds of photos and will each need to choose one photo to submit for the competition. While the prizes are nice, the competition is secondary to just getting photographers of all skills together for a fun day to learn from each other and enjoy the morning taking photos. We had a lot to choose from in York.

York is a historical city. The city has underwent extensive renovations in recent years. (photo 3) Large murals cover the brick buildings and even the parking meters are mini works of art. In this photo you see a mural referring to York as “Muscletown USA” (Bob Hoffman “Father of World weightlifting”, home of Mr. America ’40-’41, Tommy Kono - America’s greatest weightlifter, etc.).

A chaplain from York was one of the four chaplains, who in 1943 were aboard the troop carrier USS Dorchester and gave up their life jackets to others on the torpedoed ship. As the ship sank in the cold North Atlantic, the four men linked arms and died in a heroic expression of self-sacrifice. This was remembered in the one mural.

Another mural commemorates the use of the print shop and printing press in York, first used by Ben Franklin in Philadelphia. Back in the late 1770s the press printed the Proclamation of the first Thanksgiving, the Journals of Congress, Continental Currency, and other congressional documents.

York, PA is considered to be the first capital of the United States (before Washington D.C.) as this is where the Articles of Confederation were drawn up and signed by the Continental Congress and it was here the country was officially called the United States of America for the first time. The C.Congress chose York because they had just been driven out of Philadelphia by the British. York is also where general Lafayette met to sign the treaty to bring the French into the war of Independence. (photo 4) Sarah captured an excellent photo of this historical colonial log house – it’s the photo of the candle in the red framed window. Sarah's photo is a good example of how you don’t need an expensive DSLR to take a good photo.

In (photo 5) you can see by this vacant store window that there are still areas of York in need of fixing up. This is one of my favorite photos from the day as it makes me wonder what used to be displayed in the window (perhaps it displayed the latest hats and fashions during the roaring 20s, etc.) and now it’s empty – only a faint dusty memory like the reflections in the dust covered window. I like photos that tell a story. For (photo 6) I like the conflict between nature and urban development, and the contrast between the visually organic intertwined roots and the geometric shapes of the sidewalk. Where there’s conflict or contrasts there’s a story! (Photo 7) is an example of the many old abandoned brick buildings near the new sports stadium that used to be busy with activity at one time in history. (Photo 8) is one of my favorite photos showing the old historic Valencia Ballroom. I wonder what it was like to be there in the early 1900s?

Sadly, in a city like York there is evidence of poverty, and people with scars from a lifetime of various addictions, etc. (photo 9). (Photo 10, 11) are just a few of the many examples of the beautifully renovated homes and offices we photographed in downtown York. It’s been many years since I last walked around downtown York so the Photo Walk was a great experience to not only share the morning with other photographers but to rediscover the hidden treasures of downtown York, PA.

Enjoying the rain

2010-07-15T04:45:00.003+02:00

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We had a heat streak pushing the thermometer to 105F/41C ...in the shade! The temperatures caused an overload on the electricity and blew out a nearby transformer, cutting electricity to a large area (including us). We were eventually cooled off by heavy rains that caused the creek by the house to rise. Our electricity went off again.

Sarah and Rebecca decided to make the best of the situation and enjoy a soaking romp through the newly formed “pond” in the field.

We're thankful to be able to stay at the same place as we did in 2008, on Camp Betty Washington Rd. in York, PA.

World Cup Finals

2010-07-15T04:33:00.002+02:00

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We had the challenge of finding a website that was showing the World Cup Finals streaming live. We huddled around the laptop, watching a small highly compressed video stream and sitting through the heat so we could see Spain go on to victory!

...and I should add that Switzerland was the only team to beat Spain! ;-)

Sarah – green belt in Judo

2010-06-21T19:16:00.002+02:00

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Sarah was excited to earn her green belt in Judo back in May.

I photographed her with a smile and a more serious look.

Tour de Suisse 2010

2010-06-21T14:24:00.011+02:00

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The Tour de Suisse, one of the top multi-day road cycling tours in the world drawing top cyclists from around the world, ended yesterday with the final stage in the nearby town of Liestal. The stage was an individual time trial looping through the hills behind Kilchzimmer (a few minutes from home) so I couldn't pass up seeing it. The day was overcast with a slight drizzle. I stood at the inside tight corner at the bottom of a descent for part of the race which allowed me to use a wide angle lens and get up close while the riders leaned toward me into the corner – I did wear bright yellow so they'd see me. I had a split second for a photo with riders flying by within inches of my lens. That's my excuse for cutting Lance Armstrong's head off (bottom right)! The right center photo is of Levi Leipheimer(?), a familiar name to those who followed road cycling over the years.

The final standings of the tour were close with Fränk Schleck (top left photo) beating out Lance Armstrong by 12 sec. You may remember watching the "Schleck brothers" surprise everyone in last year's Tour de France.

This made for an enjoyable afternoon despite the weather.

[all photos by Tim Shirey®]

BCF Sunday School Camp, June 4-6

2010-06-15T21:31:00.003+02:00

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Our church's annual Sunday School Camp was held in Kilchzimmer from June 4-6. Several months of preparation went into the camp program.

A medieval castle theme was used to help teach about guarding your heart against the attacks of Satan, with the Bible lessons and entire program written especially for the camp. The children performed a play for the BCF congregation who joined the children on the last day (Sunday afternoon) for a grill and fellowship time. After a week of cold rainy weather, the skies cleared up for a beautiful weekend.

Picture (top): Group photo with staff and children.
Picture (bottom left): "Pigs trough" ice cream was a first for most of the children. They did a good job of devouring it.
Picture (bottom center): Rebecca sewed her medieval dress from scratch. Several of the teen girls wore hand-made medieval dresses.
Picture (bottom right): Small group discussions following the morning Bible lesson time.

Albert Anker exhibit (100 yr. anniversary)

2010-05-20T21:32:00.003+02:00

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Have you heard of the artist Albert Anker?
He received widespread recognition and acclaim in his day, including several gold medals at the prestigious Paris Salon, respected by fellow artists across Europe, and was especially loved by his home country of Switzerland. This year marks 100 yrs. since his death and he remains more popular than ever. The few collective exhibits of his work in the past were always sold out in advance. I was thrilled to have this once in a lifetime opportunity to see the largest collection ever of his work coming from multiple private owners and museums.

I've seen many art exhibits over the years but this was the one exhibition that surpasses them all (for me). I learned much from his painting technique, composition and storytelling that I hope to apply in my illustration work. I went around the exhibit several times and plan to return for another visit with the entire family (free entrance with my Raiffeisen bank card - yipee!). There were several surprises ... Many of the paintings on exhibit I'd never seen before. Another pleasant surprise was to see his tools, the heavily used paint palette still showing how he arranged and mixed his colors. His Bible was also on display open to the book of Job – the last passage he read before his death (in the original Hebrew text).

Even though Albert Anker spent his winter months in Paris, he continued to paint rural life around his home in Ins, Switzerland (a village NW of Bern) and included local children in his paintings. He painted children more than any artist of the 19th C., but never depicted them in an overly sentimental view as was common in his day. He knew children well through his involvement with the Swiss schools and Anker addressed issues within the Swiss school system of his day. Anker always painted children as individuals, showing them constantly learning through books, work, or play. He often contrasted children alongside elderly people in his paintings and would show the loving interaction between generations. Faith played an important part in his life and before becoming an artist, he had studied theology in Bern.

I've included a few of the many paintings on display. I could say much more but I'll let you enjoy the paintings. :-) If you are living anywhere near Bern, I can highly recommend seeing this exhibit. It continues until Sept. 5. You won't regret it!

Mother's Day

2010-05-10T00:37:00.000+02:00

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Wild flowers picked from our front yard for Mom on this special day.

BCF website

2010-04-08T12:02:00.003+02:00

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For the past month my (Tim) evenings have been spent working on updating our church's website. On the surface the design is very similar to the previous site but the inside has been completely reworked for use with a content management system (CMS). CMS allows anyone (with access!) to easily edit the content, add pages, photos, announcements, etc. without a learning curve or purchasing additional software. I designed the template for use in WordPress. While WordPress (free) is popular among bloggers it also allows for creating entire websites.

We have first-time visitors from around the world coming to church nearly every week. Before coming to Switzerland, many search for a local church through the Internet. Besides being used to introduce people to the church, additional features have been added (calendar, etc.) to help inform those attending BCF.

Even though this project required additional hours, I hope to apply this new knowledge to areas of our ministry with CEF and as time allows :-) convert our family website/blog over to WordPress.

Here's the link: www.baselfellowship.org

Bowling w/Kilchzimmer staff

2010-02-20T16:06:00.006+01:00

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Last night the staff and volunteers from Kilchzimmer came together for our first ever bowling night in the nearby town of Trimbach, Switzerland. Bowling in Europe takes on different forms from what we are familiar with in the US.

This was Sarah and Rebecca's first time bowling on a full-sized 10-pin lane. All the bowling lanes I've seen so far in Switzerland (and Europe) have strings attached to the pins for resetting. The strings have a slight influence on how pins respond to the ball but it didn't throw off our game since we were more focused on just hitting the pins at the other end!

We all had a great night of fellowship and I look forward to the next bowling night.

Family Photo: official & unofficial

2010-01-13T12:19:00.004+01:00

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Each year at Christmas we have a family photo taken in front of the Christmas tree. As the children grew up the Christmas tree became more and more hidden behind us to where only the angel at the top could be seen hovering above someone's head. We've been able to continue the tradition of the family photo but wait now until our schedule relaxes a bit the week after Christmas.

I've attached our official family photo and an unofficial version I created with the help of Photoshop and patience of the entire family during an extended photo session. Because the photos were taken in a small room I needed to do some major moving of furniture and the camera was set up through a doorway in an adjoining room.

Great day for skiing

2010-01-07T18:12:00.001+01:00

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Heather was able to get a full day of skiing in today before returning to her studies in snowless South Carolina on Monday. With the holiday rush past there was hardly anyone around and the sun broke through the fog for a few hours – made for a great day (and great view of the Alps!). We went to Klewenalp, located south of Luzern. You can see part of the lake far below – to the left of Heather's elbow in the photo.

Being Swiss at heart, Heather needed at least one ski day while here ... and Dad didn't mind taking her. ;-)

Christmas & Open House

2009-12-26T12:05:00.000+01:00

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Christmas Eve was spent as a family at home. It was a special (unexpected) blessing to have all five of us together. In keeping with past years, for dinner we enjoyed a Swiss specialty – cheese fondue, followed by a Shirey (weekly) tradition – homemade ice-cream (chocolate, vanilla & mint chocolate chip).

For Christmas Day, we had an open house for anyone at our church who did not have family/friends to spend Christmas with. Being an International church, many have left family back in their home country (Iran, Japan, Mexico, England, etc.).
It was an enjoyable day of fellowship with our small apartment filled with 20+ friends.

Baseler Stadtlauf '09

2009-11-30T18:30:00.002+01:00

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On Saturday evening 9,000+ joggers met on the streets of Basel for the annual Baseler Stadtlauf.
Sue and Sarah were among the joggers who ran the 5.5 km route. It's always an exciting event with the route looping through downtown Basel city, cheering crowds lining sections of the street and Christmas decorations lighting part of the route. The 9,000+ runners were separated into different age classifications so they didn't all go stampeding down the street at once!
Rebecca & I (Tim) were spectators for the event.

Happy 15th Birthday Rebecca!

2009-11-30T18:28:00.000+01:00

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Happy birthday Rebecca!

Rebecca turned 15 yrs old on Thanksgiving Day. In the photo (left) you see the giant round eclair Rebecca requested for her non-traditional "birthday cake". Sue made the custom eclair and served it with our home-made icecream. yummmm. :-)

Basel Herbstmesse '09

2009-11-04T19:09:00.003+01:00

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For two weeks in October the city of Basel is filled with the hustle of people flocking to the "Herbstmesse" (Autumn festival). This has gone on for centuries. I read that this is the longest running festival in Europe having only cancelled once during WWII and once during the Black Plague!

We spent this past Sunday afternoon walking around Basel. Everything is within walking distance from our church. Sarah and Rebecca joined friends from church to roam the city and tackle a few rides that violently shake, rattle and spin you.

Sue and I were content to stroll through the busy stands full of Swiss handcrafts ... and then there were the wonderful smells, whether it be from the candied almonds being made, roasted maronies or the distinctive smell of cheese fondue to go.
We look forward to the Herbstmesse each year.

Firemen training center

2009-10-06T20:13:00.004+02:00

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This past weekend we went to an open house for the new regional fire training center in the next town of Balsthal. For many years this property was occupied by rows of old abandoned warehouses and train tracks – not of much use to anyone. The place was completely transformed into a high tech training center. A concrete car parkhouse, concrete apartment block, train tunnel and car tunnel were all built here for simulating real world scenarios. The tunnels and buildings are rigged up with advanced computer monitoring systems. We were able to see state-of-the-art fire fighting equipment including a ($8 million) train car & tanker used for putting out fires.

In image #4, you see Sue, Sarah and Rebecca standing next to an iron car designed to go up in flames and be reused again. You can see real cars piled up back in the tunnel. This replicates a multi-car pile up and fire in one of the many Swiss alp tunnels. In an actual training session this tunnel would be filled with smoke and burning cars. The fancy coloured lights are only for the open house. ;-)
Image #2 shows a live training session with trainees cutting apart a car and removing the passengers (real people are inside!).
Image #1 shows a nifty feature being demonstrated on one of the Swiss fire trucks. A hydraulic jack comes down and lifts the truck completely off the ground so it can be rotated 360º!
Image #3 is of my co-worker Brent Hautle. He's an American and Swiss citizen. As a Swiss, he's fulfilling his Swiss Zivilschutz duty by helping with the open house weekend. This is (roughly) similar to the civilian defense used in the US during the War. Zivilschutz is an option to the required military duty for all Swiss men. Brent performed his civil duty by bravely manning the grill in the food tent. :-)

This made for an interesting, relaxing and fun afternoon for our family.

apricots-digital painting

2009-09-30T12:20:00.001+02:00

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It's hard to believe winter is right around the corner.
I really enjoy the summers here in Switzerland with the warm sun, cool breeze, low humidity, green everywhere with touches of colour from the flowers and fruit trees. This is a quick digital oil painting study I did of apricots sitting in a basket on our kitchen table. I liked all the warm colours and touches of magenta where the sun hit the fruit. –– A nice reminder of summer when the winter snows come.

Roger Federer-Tennis #1

2009-09-30T10:08:00.000+02:00

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Living in a small village tucked in the Jura Mts., life goes at a slower pace. Bringing the cows down for the winter becomes a special event. Besides farming there is other industry in the area, one being the offices of Jura, makers of the world's best coffee machines. [no, we don't own one. $$$$] It's no surprise that one of their endorsers is another world famous name who grew up and now lives in this part of Switzerland – Roger Federer, world #1 tennis player.

I (Tim) couldn't pass up the opportunity to slip over for a visit yesterday when I heard he was coming by. Jura planned a 50 min. interview with Roger which was also projected onto a screen for the small crowd to see. Instead of asking the usual questions about tennis, they spent more time asking him about his family, etc. which made for an interesting interview. I was standing along one of the temporary barriers as Roger made his way around the side of the building. I wasn't expecting to run into him but it added some excitement to the day to meet Tennis' all-time greatest player. I forgot to invite him over to the house for coffee. Maybe next time.

Judo tournament - Sarah

2009-09-28T20:15:00.003+02:00

Here's a video of Sarah's judo match(es) held this past Saturday in Mürten, Switzerland. We came to watch and give our support. This was a ranking tournament to qualify for other tournaments.

Sarah enjoys attending a judo club in a nearby town.

Tuscany region-Italy

2009-08-17T20:19:00.012+02:00

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It was like a dream come true for our family to have 3 full days in the Tuscany region of Italy this past week. After an 8 hr. drive south we ended up at Case Cares, a Christian center and guesthouse (photo 1). This is a renovated (... renovation in progress) 16th C. villa that still produces olive oil from the surrounding olive grove.

From here we were only a 40 min. train ride to the center of Florence (photo 2-6). We spent the afternoon walking the streets and photographing everything in sight. Perhaps next time(?) we will be able to see the inside of some of the churches and art galleries full of the world's greatest art treasures and breathtaking architecture. I've never been in a city like Florence with so much to photograph at every corner and down every alley.

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We spent day #2 swimming at the sea and throughout our stay in Italy we were always on the lookout for a good Italian gelato (icecream) whenever possible (photo 7).

We did find two churches in the countryside that did not require a pricey entrance fee like in Florence. I've included a photo of a nearby abbey (for nuns) tucked away in the mountains (photo 8). You could spend a lifetime in Tuscany and only begin to see the amazing beauty of the region.

Some of the most memorable parts of our holiday were the restful times spent chatting, eating and playing games as a family when we weren't in "sightseeing mode".

Hope you enjoy these samplings of the sights we saw.

August 1st – fireworks

2009-08-03T19:07:00.003+02:00

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August 1st is Switzerland's national independence day (over 700 yrs.), complete with fireworks, bon fires, food and celebrations.

We find a spot to sit overlooking our small village of Holderbank (600 people) and watch for fireworks which could come from anywhere in the town since most firework displays around Switzerland are shot from private homes and can be quite impressive (and costly!). In the left photo, you can see a large bon fire on the hillside and fireworks launched from a home across the street from where we live. The right photo also shows a bon fire on a nearby mountainside.

Sarah's 17th birthday party

2009-08-03T17:44:00.005+02:00

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Sarah had a sleepover party with some friends to celebrate her 17th birthday – two weeks early. On Saturday afternoon we made a fire and had lunch at Holderbank's very own castle ruins. While it's not a big fancy castle like at Disney World, our small town of 600 is proud of our castle ruins!

Sue made the cake and to follow the "frog prince" theme, the cake was topped with a frog and white chocolate colored and shaped into a very tasty throne.

Camping in the Swiss alps

2009-07-14T09:38:00.009+02:00

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Heather and Sarah decided to rough it and do some wilderness camping last night. The tent was set up ~~miles~~ feet away from the nearest toilet, running water and wifi. Even ~~wild animals~~ cars passing by our front porch would not keep them from a good night's sleep under the wilds of the Swiss alpine night sky.

They were able to survive on a bottle of filtered water and an AC link .... to connect the laptop and watch a (Jane Austin) movie. ;-)

BCF Kids Camp '09

2009-06-16T09:29:00.012+02:00

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This past weekend was the annual kids camp with our church in Basel, held in Kilchzimmer.

Life was crazy around our apartment leading up to the camp with tables, chairs and floor space occupied with boxes, visuals, lesson notes, craft supplies, etc..

Sue, as the Sunday School coordinator, had a great team to work with. The curriculum & lesson plans were written from scratch along with a theme song specially written to go with the series! We are thankful for those in the church giving of their gifts, abilities and time. The theme of the weekend was "Get Wisdom".

The flowers in the hair are from the Hawaiian Luau on Saturday which included bananas placed on the grill with Mars bars melted in the middle. mm mmm..

The camp always concludes with the congregation coming out to Kilchzimmer (40 min. drive) after the Sunday morning church service, for a grill, short children's program and time of fellowship. The weather was great the entire weekend.

Thank you for praying.

Apple Store - Zürich

2009-05-22T19:23:00.012+02:00

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Heather's friend from college is visiting with us for 10 days. Hmm..... What do people want to see when visiting Switzerland? How about the grand opening of a computer store?

This morning was the grand opening of the Apple Store in Zürich so we decided to head there for part of the day.

Right now you're either scratching your head wondering "WHY? I don't get it." or there are those (and you know who you are...) thinking "Totally Awesome! – Wish I had a limited edition Swiss Apple Store T-shirt!".

For those in the first group wondering why, we did visit a more "normal" tourist attraction on the way home – Lenzburg castle.

We arrived at the Apple Store early but didn't mind standing near the front of the line as we had nice weather. We were entertained with watching the reaction of people passing by wondering about the looooong line winding around several blocks, security everywhere (the "brute squad" with dark suits/ties, huge muscles and sunglasses) and TV and radio station crews documenting the event.

Two minutes before 12 noon (opening time), about 15 Apple workers took a victory lap down the line of "excited" people, giving high fives, clapping, doing the "wave", etc..

The store workers cheered us as we entered (photo-bottom right) and handed us our T-shirt. I even gave an interview (photo–bottom left) for the Zurich TV station – TeleZüri. This is only the second Apple Store to include a glass staircase to a lower level .

There are Swiss jokes about how boring Zürich is ... today was an exception. ;-)

illustratedWORD since 1997

2009-05-18T18:12:00.013+02:00

(click on image to enlarge)

It's hard to believe we've kept our family website going non-stop since the summer of 1997. I no longer have the original layout but did locate the 1999 design for our startup page (bottom photo).

The Internet has evolved over the years in how people make use of it. It's useful to have this form of instantaneous distribution to keep in touch with our family and friends around the world. While we're free to share more personal family & ministry details through our newsletters and emails, the website provides a way to complement the newsletters with vivid images and videos.

We look forward to blogging with more images of our family, ministry, and other "stuff".

CEF Vehicle Project

2009-05-02T14:03:00.007+02:00

(click on image to enlarge)

This weekend we had the excitement of picking up our new (for us) car. It's a 2 yr. old Nissan Note. I'm sharing this on our blog as there were many who have been praying for this CEF project and gave financially toward the purchase of a ministry vehicle.

This car project was another example of how the Lord provided in an amazing, completely unexpected way and perfect timing! We saw the same thing happen back in the 90s with our previous vehicle, where God provided in ways we never imagined.

A BIG thank you to all who have prayed and given toward this project!

As with our previous vehicle, when driving this car We'll have another regular reminder of how God provides in His way and in His timing.

PTL.

Holderbank (SO), Switzerland (in miniature)

2009-04-28T16:41:00.008+02:00

(click on image to enlarge)

This is a view of our village of Holderbank (population 600+). When you view the image enlarged you'll notice a big difference between photo #1 and photo #2. After editing the original in Photoshop, the bottom image resembles a "tiltshift lens" photo, giving it a miniature look as if it was part of a model train exhibit!

[You can see the front of our red van, bottom right]

Swiss humour

2009-04-08T10:48:00.017+02:00

I couldn't resist posting this slice of Swiss Culture and humour. Even if you don't understand Swiss German dialect you can follow along. [English translation version]

There is a website for signing up volunteers to help clean bird droppings off the Swiss Alps. This is a good example of orderly swiss efficiency at it's best. We can do our part to save the environment and the Alps from extinction.

Before you rush to sign up and arrive with brush and climbing gear in hand, I better let you know that this is a joke from the Swiss tourist bureau. :-)

Winter scenes from Kilchzimmer

2009-02-19T18:15:00.005+01:00

(click on image to enlarge)

The setting sun spread a blanket of orange on the snow, which brought out the vibrant blue shadows. These photos were taken this evening from the top floor of Kilchzimmer where my office is located.

We've had our share of snow, ice and a freezing temperatures this past week.

I love scenes of freshly fallen snow ... as long as it's not viewed through a car window while sliding down an icy mountain road. :-0

Church Retreat - Lungern

2009-02-08T17:41:00.006+01:00

(click on image to enlarge)

Lungern, nestled in the heart of the Swiss Alps, is famous for it's breathtaking panoramic view from the top ... at least when it's not engulfed in dense fog and snowfall. Despite the thick fog (very poor visibility) and snowfall on the ski slope, we had a fantastic weekend of food, skiing, and plenty of fellowship with our church family in Basel.

There were no major accidents on the slopes even though Sarah had a sore ankle and needed to be rescued by the snow patrol which included a free snowmobile ride down to the gondola. We're thankful that nothing was broken but Sarah was still quite disappointed in having to leave her friends on the slopes and return to the bottom.

New (Lunar) Year Party

2009-02-01T00:07:00.006+01:00

(click on image to enlarge)

We celebrated the new Lunar year with friends from our church in Basel. As you can see, several came dressed for the occasion and others wore red. We had an enjoyable evening of Asian food and fellowship.

Family Photo

2009-01-21T22:46:00.008+01:00

(click on image to enlarge)

We hung a bed sheet in the living room for a backdrop to our quick family photo session before I had to carry our dried out Christmas tree down the road to the annual Holderbank Christmas tree burning. People in Holderbank bring their trees to a nearby field for a big fire followed by tea/coffee and conversation.

A Basel Wedding

2009-01-03T17:30:00.005+01:00

(click on image to enlarge)

It was exciting to share in Janet & Stephan Stücklin's wedding in Basel. It was a beautiful service in a large 13/14th century church. The day was filled with Medieval & Renaissance music provided by Janet's friends. Janet is studying Medieval/Renaissance music. The musicians even led a processional down the streets of Basel to the reception – traffic control provided by the Swiss police.

Wedding Cake Challenge

2009-01-02T19:19:00.007+01:00

(click on image to enlarge)

Sue spent many hours this past week on her first attempt at making a multi-tiered wedding cake. It was exciting for Sue and a good learning experience.

Stephan and Janet Stücklin attend our church in Basel and are getting married tomorrow (Jan. 3) in Basel.

The two end cakes are chocolate cake with white chocolate (buttercream) icing. The center cake is pound cake with buttercream icing. The dark red roses were to match the wedding colours.

Besides the challenge of making the cake and decorating it, there was also the nail-biting task of getting them to the final destination ... intact!

Lighting info: Main flash (1/4 power) w/shoot-through umbrella at camera left (a few inches from camera lens). Bare flash w/barn doors at rear-camera right (1/16 power).

Christmas – Circling the Globe

2008-12-26T16:39:00.000+01:00

(click on image to enlarge)

For Christmas, we continue with several traditions brought with us from the US, including stringing of popcorn on the tree. We added a few traditions over the years such as a Swiss (cheese) fondue. We had a break from tradition on Christmas Day when we had an authentic multi-course Asian meal complements of our guests, Maria and Mei-Mei. It included some flavours new to our taste buds such as green grass jelly, a sweetened red bean drink, and sugar cane juice.

Christmas Eve + Swiss Cheese Fondue

2008-12-24T22:48:00.006+01:00

(click on image to enlarge)

We had a traditional Swiss cheese fondue on Christmas Eve with our visitors Mei Mei Lee (CEF of Macau) and her friend Maria (from San Francisco). We were also blessed to have Heather with us for Christmas break from college, which came as a surprise gift to us shortly before Christmas.

Back Home

2008-12-14T22:31:00.010+01:00

(click on image to enlarge)

A short note to say we all arrived (eventually...) back home to a snow covered Holderbank, Switzerland. We had a rough start with a flight cancelation in Harrisburg, PA causing us to miss our connecting flight to Switzerland. They rescheduled us with a few extra stops along the way. There's nothing like sitting 6 hrs. in Harrisburg airport when our scheduled connecting flight is only a 2 hr. drive away in Washington-Dulles.

Sorry about the late blog entry of our arrival back. We've been home one week and jumped right into our work and school routine while struggling with jet-lag where we were nodding off all day and when our heads hit the pillow we were awake until 4:30am.

This is the last of our Furlough '08 blog entries.

Have a Blessed Christmas ('08)

2008-11-28T17:58:00.006+01:00

Click on image to enlarge

Have a blessed Christ centered Christmas.

~ from Tim, Sue & Girls

Thanksgiving Day '08

2008-11-27T17:49:00.003+01:00

Click on image to enlarge

Thanksgiving Day spent with Shirey family & friends. (Dad was unable to make it due to illness)

Happy Birthday Rebecca!

2008-11-26T18:09:00.002+01:00

(Click on image to enlarge)

Rebecca had her 14th birthday today.

Being in the US, Rebecca requested a Dairy Queen Reeses Peanut Butter Cup Blizzard icecream cake.

"Mom & Dad" Shirey

2008-11-12T02:12:00.016+01:00

(click on image to enlarge)

The photo was taken in front of their home.

Lighting info: Sunlight broke through the clouds creating an exposure challenge (side of Dad's face). Ambient light was reduced 1.5 stops. Key-light came from flash w/shoot-through umbrella at camera right. A bare flash was set near the tree on the right (highlighting edge of parents face/body).

the "Candy Lady"

2008-10-17T20:09:00.004+02:00

click on image to enlarge

After posting an image of Mr. Billet in his garage, I've included a photo of Mrs. Billet taken this morning at the Eastern Farmer's Market in York, PA where she has been a familiar face for over 30 years. Children and adults coming to the market know her as "The Candy Lady".

Lighting info:

I had Sarah and Rebecca hold the camera flashes in the busy market. I used a shoot-through umbrella for the key-light at camera left and pointed down length of table to light subject and candy table. A bare flash held by Rebecca at corner of candy table (camera right) provided the fill and rim light.

Billet's Garage

2008-10-12T00:15:00.007+02:00

Click on image to enlarge

Mr. Billet was a top race car driver in his younger years. He is still a familiar face working in the pit stops while still running his garage with people coming long distances for his expertise, whether it be to fix a car for the road or rebuilding a classic for the race track.

Mr. & Mrs. Billet are a great couple who reflect Christ in their lives.

We are staying in the Billet's old house where they raised their children, which sits between their new home and his garage. We're surrounded by trees and a small stream – very peaceful. At this time of year we've counted as many as 8 large grey squirrels at one time around the house.

Lighting info: The key light flash is camera left, shot through an umbrella, 2 ft. from the subject. A bare flash (with one barn door) is lower rear on driver's side of car throwing light onto the "electronic apparatus" in BG. A bare flash is held at camera right providing fill and rim light on subject. Ambient light (garage entrance) is underexposed by -1 providing minimal fill to front of car and subject.

Washington DC

2008-10-06T21:53:00.012+02:00

Click on images to enlarge.

During a missions conference at our home church, the missionaries were treated to a day in Washington DC. There is so much worth seeing (for free!). The weather was perfect and we were in walking distance of many memorials and the Smithsonian museum.

We rushed through a few buildings of the Smithsonian. We could have easily spent a week in the Smithsonian alone (FREE admission). The last time I (Tim) was in DC was back in the early 70s when we were able to tour inside the White House. Those days are gone!

Photos above: 180 degree photo (14 stitched photos) of the Capital building w/Sarah on the left; White House w/zoom lens from a distance; Vietnam memorial w/Washington monument in background; WWII memorial (Sue walking up ramp); and you will see the WWII memorial in the foreground of the Lincoln memorial (lower center & right photos).

Trip to Maine

2008-09-25T03:37:00.010+02:00

Click on image to enlarge

We spent an encouraging weekend of fellowship and sharing with the congregation of West Rockport Baptist Church in West Rockport, ME.

On Saturday morning, we took a hike up Beech Hill with several families from the church. The hill was covered with a blanket of blueberry bushes. Sarah & Rebecca joined others in the group to pick berries that remained after the main harvest (left-center photo). There are only low blueberry bushes on the hill and you can see a beautiful panoramic view of the Atlantic. Maine is famous for growing some of the best blueberries in the world.

In the afternoon, we drove to the nearby scenic seaside towns of Rockland and Camden. We took the 1/2 mile walk on the levy out to the Breakwater Lighthouse in the Bay and took many photos along the way (top-left and bottom photos). The warm sun was shining and a cool breeze blowing. Swiss weather. :-)

We had a potluck dinner in the evening sharing with the church in an informal setting. On Sunday, I (Tim) spoke in the adult Sunday School, spent the afternoon and lunch with the missions committee and shared about the ministry during the evening service.

We stayed with a nice family (with four daughters) we stayed with during our last visit to Maine in '05. Sarah & Rebecca enjoyed their time with the other girls.

Past meets Present

2008-09-16T21:26:00.008+02:00

We enjoyed visiting with David's Community Bible Church, a supporting church in Millersburg, PA (north of Halifax).

There is a large population of Amish in the area. Before church on Sunday, we watched the horse & buggies pass the mission house we stayed in. In this photo, a farmer and his wife are harvesting the corn with horse drawn modern (adapted) equipment.

York Fair

2008-09-12T02:36:00.007+02:00

Our family spent the day at the York Fair (oldest running Fair in America–est. 1765). We had deep-fried funnel cakes, deep-fried blooming onions, sampled deep-fried Oreo cookies but passed on the deep-fried Twinkies! There were the pig races that come each year and we enjoyed a free concert by "Vocal Trash" who played everything from garbage cans to a guitar made from an old gas can.

We returned home with great memories and clogged arteries.

Rain & Rainbows

2008-09-06T03:30:00.003+02:00

With the hurricane coming up the east coast we had some heavy showers today causing the stream to overflow and flooding our lane to the road so we couldn't go anywhere with the car. I went stumping about in the churning muddy water and pouring rain with the girls. What fun!

The rain eventually stopped by evening and a beautiful rainbow filled the sky. The lake in the foreground of the photo is actually the grass field right next to the house!

Heather - off to college

2008-08-28T02:27:00.011+02:00

I took several photos of Heather in her formal gowns used for special events at Bob Jones University. These were taken today before we load up the car and head for Greenville, SC tomorrow. {sigh}

CEF World Headquarters

2008-08-07T05:19:00.020+02:00

Flag Raising Ceremony

We arrived at the CEF World Headquarters in Warrenton, MO this week. We were asked to take part in the flag raising ceremony held every Tuesday at the newly completed flag plaza area in

front of the headquarters. There are flag poles representing each CEF region of the world. Sue & I had the privilege of raising the flag of Denmark for the European Region. Before each new flag is raised, a description of the flag is read and someone prays for the CEF ministry in that particular country.

We are attending the 10-day Missionary Refresher Course with other CEF missionaries in the US at this time.

Kids Camp '08

2008-07-05T17:37:00.013+02:00

[photos above are from the kids camp: #1-Sue teaching Bible lesson, #2-meal time, #3-shaving cream battle, #4-cabin devotions]

The girls were invited to a week of teen camp at Appalachian Bible College campus and after a day to recover we headed off to help with a church kids camp for a week. We took part through teaching the Bible lesson time, missions time, etc.. Our girls were jr. counselors and helpers.

It was a great week of camp with around 100 children attending.

2008-06-02T11:30:00.004+02:00

Heather and Sarah both have their blogs up and running and anxious to begin adding content in the months ahead.
The links are listed in our family website list to the right.

Family photo adventure...

2008-05-28T18:29:00.009+02:00

It was time to update our family photo for a prayer card. The whole process was a test of patience as I finished setting up the equipment outside on a hot day, then the weather changed. I had to shelf my initial posing idea (until next time...) and we quickly hauled light stands, bags, etc. to the top floor attic room in Kilchzimmer. Not the best pose/positioning but it'll do, considering the situation. We survived despite one daughter turning white and got sick from the heat, and all of us being entertained with the swelling and color shift of another daughter's hand due to the heat and prolonged sitting (...she was recovering from a shoulder injury). The heat and long session also made everyone's hair to go limp (except mine!). They all handled it very well as you can see from the smiles. :-)

I suspended a white bed sheet behind us then inserted a different background later in Photoshop.

Graduation Party

2008-05-21T14:47:00.008+02:00

Heather and her friend Anne (from church) had a graduation party this past Sunday in Basel. It was a special afternoon where they could say farewell to friends here at home before leaving to attend college in the States. Heather will be studying International Business (minor in German) at Bob Jones University. Anne will study Elementary Education at Lancaster Bible College.

Heather has officially started her own Blog this week!
Today is also Heather's 18th Birthday!

[note: Sue made the graduation cap and tassel out of 100% white chocolate! tinted black. Yummm! Sue's cakes taste as good as they look.]

Holderbank

2008-05-05T17:21:00.006+02:00

Since I included a panoramic view of the Rhein River in Basel, I thought it would be good to include a 180 degree view of our home town of Holderbank. We enjoy hiking on both sides of the valley. This photo was taken last week so the leaves are just beginning to appear on the trees.
This is a series of images stitched together to make a wide 180 degree photo.

Spring in Basel

2008-05-05T15:24:00.015+02:00

(click photos to enlarge)
Warm weather has finally arrived and we enjoyed a warm sunny Sunday afternoon in Basel. Sue and I took a packed lunch by the Rhein River (below the Münster Church) while the girls spent the afternoon in the city park with young people from church.
The coastline photo (above) is a series of photos taken vertically and stitched together. Sorry I can't include it in full resolution as it would span approx. 19 computer screens long (seriously)! The boat in the foreground is a small ferry attached to a cable across the river.
That's Sue in the other photo (lit by an off-camera flash juggled in my extended left hand).

Circus

2008-04-10T15:03:00.003+02:00

We received free tickets in the post for a small traveling circus in the nearby town of Balsthal. There were jugglers, clown, trapeze, camels, etc., and ended with a live European football (soccer) match played by bull dogs.

[In case you were wondering... Yes, that woman in the second photo is swinging through the air by her hair attached to a cable!]

BCF weekend church retreat to Lungern

2008-02-13T17:47:00.007+01:00

(Central Alpine Region of Switzerland).

photo #1: (view from our room!) Alps on 3 sides with village and church lit up in valley at dusk; photo #2: Sue helping to prepare meals; photo #3: Sarah Shirey taking part in a relaxing(?) game of Dutch Blitz in the evening; photo #4: Sunday morning worship time.

Photo session (part 2)

2008-01-28T12:45:00.010+01:00

A few more photos from our Saturday photo session.

4 girls – photo session

2008-01-28T11:17:00.001+01:00

Another photo session with a relaxed Rebecca, Heather the ballet dancer, Sarah the FCBasel fan, Sue "Do you have to take my picture" and Tim behind the camera saying "just one more..." .

3 girls – photo session

2008-01-23T18:40:00.000+01:00

Heather, Sarah & Rebecca modeling clothes from Christmas.

Burning of the Christmas tree

2008-01-05T18:22:00.001+01:00

Each year the people in our village bring their Christmas trees to a location for a big fire (first week of January). Refreshments are served afterwards but most people left quickly this year because it was raining.

Holderbank, Switzerland

Christmas '07

2008-01-01T18:23:00.002+01:00

Our annual family photo taken at Christmas.

Holderbank, Switzerland