un californien à paris

Thanksgiving Retrospective

There are seasons in life when time seems to accelerate.  Of course, by nature time doesn’t change.  The earth turns at the same speed.  The sun rises and sets in dependable rhythm, indifferent to our over-activism.  Our time in Colorado allowed us to slow down, to project into the future, to make promises, and to accept old and new responsibilities in France.  As soon as we landed in Paris, we hit the ground running, joyfully chasing down these promises and responsibilities.  Time has flown:  Five months to be exact.  We are grateful.  We want to remember.  And we want to tell you about it.  This letter is our attempt to slow down again, to look back and to express our gratitude.  Our God is more dependable than the hours in a day, more faithful than the sunrise.  He is keeping his promise to restore his good creation and that includes us !  He has reestablished us in France and, as much as we loved our time in Colorado, it feels like a return from exile.  What follows is a brief retrospective of the last five months since we returned to France.  We hope you will thank God with us ! 

To continue reading ::

Click here to read the Finleys' 4th quarter update online.

Click here to download and print the Finleys' 4th quarter update (file type: pdf  file size: 1122 KB)

 

 

The French Finleys' 1st Quarter Update

We want you to meet Team OIKOS.  This little band of friends wants to see lives transformed in Christ through participation in his mission, carefully joined together in intercultural service to the French-speaking world.  There are few things in life better than laboring together toward shared values and goals with people that you love.  To learn more, download our 1st Quarter 2011 Update.  (note:  all yellow highlighted words in the downloadable pdf version are active web links).  You can also get to know the team better by checking out our blogs.  Here are the links:  FINLEY — MARTIN — MOORE — SHORT

Download 1stQuarter2011

     

Journey Corps Paris

Check out our new website featuring the partnership between Mission OIKOS and Journey Corps to form young adults for intercultural service in the French-speaking world.

The deadline to apply for the Fall 2011 Journey Corps Team is March 15th.  So apply now !

 

The French Finleys' 4th Quarter Update

This year is coming to an end, but our 4th quarter letter is about new beginnings.  We are especially excited that in October we incorporated OIKOS as a new French non-profit organization.  OIKOS will serve our French church association to develop intercultural workers and to send them as missionaries to the broader French-speaking world, especially Africa.     

Since this letter was published, we've also learned that OIKOS is now officially WorldVenture's second Journey Corps site.  I'll tell you more about the OIKOS/Journey Corps partnership in early 2011.  WorldVenture will be launching it's recruitment campagne on 31 Jan with a goal to have 5 journeyers in France by October 2011.

For now, we want you to know about our plans to return to France.  To read this update letter, please download the pdf file by clicking on the following link:  Download Finley-4thQuarterUpdate2010

We appreciate your friendship and interest in our lives.  We love you !

Jonathan (for the French Finleys)

The French Finleys' 3rd Quarter Update

Officiating a wedding always affords time to reflect on the beautiful transformation that God through Jesus effects in broken human lives.  This July, Karen and I had the privilege to serve Audrey Domboy and Jason Falck on their wedding day.  Audrey has been a part of our life and ministry for over 10 years.  Her wedding was for us a celebration of the promise of the Gospel.  Marriage at its best is Gospel reenactment, a picture of Christ’s sacrificial love for us.  Audrey’s story reminds us of God’s faithfulness to do what he has promised.  As we look back over the last decade, we can see that his love and grace make us beautiful even as we get older.  It gives us hope for the glorious future he is preparing for us.  I tell Audrey’s story in this letter to celebrate the renewal of the beauty our Creator has always intended for us.  You can download the .pdf file here:  Download 3rdQuarter2010