2/10/2004
Its been one year since I've been 'en France.' Yesterday I tacked up a string of Christmas lights on my wall. Everyone loves Christmas lights even if it's not Christmas. They are so useful. I had a brilliant idea of shaping them like a star but my star looks more like an amoeba than a star, and my roommate thinks it slightly resembles the street layout surrounding the Arche de Triomphe. My desk is cluttered with cords and books and papers, and my wardrobe won't close cuz of my favorite sweatshirts that hang on the doors. It was a busy day finishing one invitation for the Chelles Church, and planning for the technical side of Saturday's big youth event. One video down, one loop to build and a powerpoint show of publicity to create. Sorry if my email bounced back today; my bad- I have to start remembering to dump my online stack on a daily basis.
2/09/2004
2/03/2004
Where in the world have I been?
create your own visited country map
or write about it on the open travel guide
So maybe I haven't seen that many countries- I can't wait to see the others.
create your own visited country map
or write about it on the open travel guide
So maybe I haven't seen that many countries- I can't wait to see the others.
1/31/2004
1/30/2004
1/29/2004
1/23/2004
Ok. Last time I told you that this was going to be a journey blog. Well, my journey has many facets and the one I'm about to tell you about looks like it will turn into a longterm project.
The Pays Basque or Basque Country of France and Spain has been layed on the hearts of multiple people in the last few years. The number is Followers of Jesus are few and far between but interest in a relationship with Jesus is increasing.
A year ago, I made a debut trip into the region, starting in San Sebastien Spain. We toured by car the northern coast came face to face with the beauty of God's creation, cliffs and world-class surf waves from Bilbao to Mundaka. We met people who would become our friends for life and were invited into homes that any other stranger would never have entered.
6 of us then made our way up into Biarritz and Bayonne of France to encounter God at work through a family hard at work in house church planting and a lone surfer who just wanted to show us his surf spots. This rendez-vous turned into the launching pad for a new believer and an open door into a whole network of local surfers from Hossegor to Hendaye.
Today, I am reflecting upon a return trip to the French Basque country. I returned to Paris Wednesday night from a long weekend spent with Bernard and his family in Bayonne. The trip featured the voyage of three mission-minded men: Gerald, Chris and Joe and their surf boards; the second encouter with Jean-Yves and his family, waves, and Christian Surfers International.
"What's going on," you ask? There is a growing movement in house church planting in the region, more spiritual interest than ever before, the Surfer Bible on the verge of translation into French, the preparation for an evangelistic outreach into the surf community in late September and a new team of reinforcements dedicated to the region is developing for which missionaries and believers in this area have been praying for years.
This team looks like it will be coming from several corners of the earth. Just today- an email from a family in Australia-- Christian Surfers holding their annual conference in the region will target these waters and beaches soon-- a boardsports missionary in Paris fields calls and project propositions for which he does not have enough time-- a french pastor and his Basque wife watch from Marseille-- an exchange student program hosting Basque students in Christian homes dives into another season of recruiting-- and young men and women in America are mailing applications to a mission agency while CS guys translate testimonies into French surfer lingo.
Meanwhile back in Lognes France, I'm clicking away at a very long blog. I think I'll let this turn in your head for a while and then I'll let you in on what I'm thinking... and maybe sign up for photos so I can give you a visual!
The Pays Basque or Basque Country of France and Spain has been layed on the hearts of multiple people in the last few years. The number is Followers of Jesus are few and far between but interest in a relationship with Jesus is increasing.
A year ago, I made a debut trip into the region, starting in San Sebastien Spain. We toured by car the northern coast came face to face with the beauty of God's creation, cliffs and world-class surf waves from Bilbao to Mundaka. We met people who would become our friends for life and were invited into homes that any other stranger would never have entered.
6 of us then made our way up into Biarritz and Bayonne of France to encounter God at work through a family hard at work in house church planting and a lone surfer who just wanted to show us his surf spots. This rendez-vous turned into the launching pad for a new believer and an open door into a whole network of local surfers from Hossegor to Hendaye.
Today, I am reflecting upon a return trip to the French Basque country. I returned to Paris Wednesday night from a long weekend spent with Bernard and his family in Bayonne. The trip featured the voyage of three mission-minded men: Gerald, Chris and Joe and their surf boards; the second encouter with Jean-Yves and his family, waves, and Christian Surfers International.
"What's going on," you ask? There is a growing movement in house church planting in the region, more spiritual interest than ever before, the Surfer Bible on the verge of translation into French, the preparation for an evangelistic outreach into the surf community in late September and a new team of reinforcements dedicated to the region is developing for which missionaries and believers in this area have been praying for years.
This team looks like it will be coming from several corners of the earth. Just today- an email from a family in Australia-- Christian Surfers holding their annual conference in the region will target these waters and beaches soon-- a boardsports missionary in Paris fields calls and project propositions for which he does not have enough time-- a french pastor and his Basque wife watch from Marseille-- an exchange student program hosting Basque students in Christian homes dives into another season of recruiting-- and young men and women in America are mailing applications to a mission agency while CS guys translate testimonies into French surfer lingo.
Meanwhile back in Lognes France, I'm clicking away at a very long blog. I think I'll let this turn in your head for a while and then I'll let you in on what I'm thinking... and maybe sign up for photos so I can give you a visual!
1/15/2004
Good morning Thursday. These last couple days have been devoted to organization for the coming year- kinda like spring cleaning. I've been cleaning too: Audrey let me re-pot her Christmas plants and I think they are going to make it. Besides their living presence in the house, they will be quite beautiful- adding necessary greens and maybe a pink or blue here and there. They tell me the sun will come out again, the cold will melt into warmth and the brown grass will turn green. I've started to look forward to Jonathan's tulips- they're coming!
organization also means reloading and updating all the email addresses that I have floating around after another year. This time I'm putting the LizToppy to use and organizing in it's sync'ed addressbook and mail features- We're gonna love it! But 600 addresses is an awful lot of people to keep track of.
This is also the week that I think and pray and write down goals and dreams for the now and future. I'll be turning the original work over a few times before its ready to share; but this blog is going to start telling a story of where I am going in life. Believe me...it will, eventually.
Like last year- this one starts with a bang! A trip to the Pays Basque. This trip's menu:
1. revisit Bayonne and it's surf with Gerald Griffin, Chris Probasco and Joe Brandi.
2. reencounter with Bernard and Evangeline Gaye and their house church network.
3. see Jean-Yves, Cecile and Pyrenee; witness JY's baptism!! He became a Christian last year when we visited!
4. talk to the Robinson's about involvement with their student exchange program.
5. take my new digital camera for a spin and let 'da boyz be boyz'- surfing is in the lineup! (3m waves yesterday.)
organization also means reloading and updating all the email addresses that I have floating around after another year. This time I'm putting the LizToppy to use and organizing in it's sync'ed addressbook and mail features- We're gonna love it! But 600 addresses is an awful lot of people to keep track of.
This is also the week that I think and pray and write down goals and dreams for the now and future. I'll be turning the original work over a few times before its ready to share; but this blog is going to start telling a story of where I am going in life. Believe me...it will, eventually.
Like last year- this one starts with a bang! A trip to the Pays Basque. This trip's menu:
1. revisit Bayonne and it's surf with Gerald Griffin, Chris Probasco and Joe Brandi.
2. reencounter with Bernard and Evangeline Gaye and their house church network.
3. see Jean-Yves, Cecile and Pyrenee; witness JY's baptism!! He became a Christian last year when we visited!
4. talk to the Robinson's about involvement with their student exchange program.
5. take my new digital camera for a spin and let 'da boyz be boyz'- surfing is in the lineup! (3m waves yesterday.)
1/10/2004
I had nightmares in highschool about the PSAT and then the real thing, the SAT. I didn't score so well but to me it didn't matter much after I got off to Bible College. Today I stumbled upon an IQ test online and decided that it has been enough years to give it a whirl and see just how I measure up. Well I scored 131 and they labeled me a Visionary Philosopher. They say that I have a talent for explaining things to people because of mathmatical and verbal skills. Well, now that my brain has been squeezed for all it is worth..., I think I'll fight sleep and the jetlag for another couple hours. Been up since 5:30am. Oh, wanna take the IQ Test?
1/08/2004
I just arrived back in Paris after a very long travel experience. Thank the Lord they de-iced the plane in Seattle before taking off and that they didn't try to fly the plane in Cincinnati with a broken door. It sure did make for a long haul as well as an eventful trip.
With a trip home fresh in my memory, I can't say how wonderful it was to see family and friends. I missed out on a second trip to Portland because of the gnarly snow storm but I did get to see a few people early on. There was absolutly no way that I could have seen everyone even though I wanted to. Certainly there is a list of precious faces that I had wanted and intended to see: Jeanette- I never got my massage, the Cabes, Timmy, Celeste..
Well, I'm trying to stay up as late as I possibly can, and after a nap this afternoon I am doing pretty well... I do have a ton of laundry and cleaning and organizing to do over the next week before I trip it to the Pays Basque.
With a trip home fresh in my memory, I can't say how wonderful it was to see family and friends. I missed out on a second trip to Portland because of the gnarly snow storm but I did get to see a few people early on. There was absolutly no way that I could have seen everyone even though I wanted to. Certainly there is a list of precious faces that I had wanted and intended to see: Jeanette- I never got my massage, the Cabes, Timmy, Celeste..
Well, I'm trying to stay up as late as I possibly can, and after a nap this afternoon I am doing pretty well... I do have a ton of laundry and cleaning and organizing to do over the next week before I trip it to the Pays Basque.
12/21/2003
we are hanging out as one great big happy family up in the San Juan Islands. dad knew a great guy who offered to let us stay in his place on the water. beautiful...
I'm trying to relax and can't get my muscles to relax.. can't wait to see Jeanette who I will enlist to massage the knots out in January.
I'm trying to relax and can't get my muscles to relax.. can't wait to see Jeanette who I will enlist to massage the knots out in January.
12/16/2003
12/15/2003
So I arrived finally in Seattle on Friday night. The trip was long and made even longer by the delay in Paris which caused me to miss the connecting flight in Cincinnati. I hit the ground running: left almost immediately for Portland and survived Sunday full of meetings and seeing people.
I haven't even had much time to collect my thoughts... So far everything is very familiar except all the changes for the people around me: relationships, marriages and kids. Everyone here thinks my hair is long.
So far I've been to church and seen many many friends, went to my dear PhotoCraft to have my film developed, stopped in at the Dept. to visit with Mike and Dan and enjoyed Baja Fresh with Bethany. I also savored a McMinimins cheeseburger on Saturday night with Mike and Fay and Courtney and Hayes- ...love these people...
Oh.. I also visited the dentist. They said that my teeth were doing good. "smile pretty"
I haven't even had much time to collect my thoughts... So far everything is very familiar except all the changes for the people around me: relationships, marriages and kids. Everyone here thinks my hair is long.
So far I've been to church and seen many many friends, went to my dear PhotoCraft to have my film developed, stopped in at the Dept. to visit with Mike and Dan and enjoyed Baja Fresh with Bethany. I also savored a McMinimins cheeseburger on Saturday night with Mike and Fay and Courtney and Hayes- ...love these people...
Oh.. I also visited the dentist. They said that my teeth were doing good. "smile pretty"
12/11/2003
My bags are packed. Tomorrow I catch a plane to the USA. The day after, I'll see you! Don't be surprised if I mix a little french into my english..."ziss appens after you ave bean een Fronce fo a while". a+++
See Michael Christophe Finley born December 10th at this blog.
See Michael Christophe Finley born December 10th at this blog.
12/09/2003
After 48hours and one 'sleep' I'll employ the airfrance ticket that I am looking at right now.
Its all over. I spent 10 minutes telling two prestigious Sorbonne professors that "his Majesty- the Fat Cat" ended a dispute between Madame the Weasel and the Little Rabbit by eating them both. I also was quite amused at the primary adjudicator who doodled spider-webs on her note pad as M Fesquet, my professor, and I discussed Louis XIV's politics as it was related to "his Majesty the Furry One". (see the Fables of La Fontaine)
Tomorrow the Finley family will grow by one. Jonathan and Karen will get to hold Michael finally! And "yes, there will be photos" says Jonathan.
Its all over. I spent 10 minutes telling two prestigious Sorbonne professors that "his Majesty- the Fat Cat" ended a dispute between Madame the Weasel and the Little Rabbit by eating them both. I also was quite amused at the primary adjudicator who doodled spider-webs on her note pad as M Fesquet, my professor, and I discussed Louis XIV's politics as it was related to "his Majesty the Furry One". (see the Fables of La Fontaine)
Tomorrow the Finley family will grow by one. Jonathan and Karen will get to hold Michael finally! And "yes, there will be photos" says Jonathan.
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