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Current Newsletter: Christmas 2007
Christmas Greetings 2007 from the Borthwicks
"We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him" (Matthew 2:2)
"May you become blameless and pure, children of God…shining like stars in the universe" (Philippians 2:15)
At the first Christmas, God guided the wise men to His Son by a star. The Savior has come. Now, God wants us to be His stars, guiding others to Jesus, living as "children of God…shining like stars in the universe". As we reflect on this past year, we remember the many ways God has guided us and the experiences He's given us to partner with and serve alongside others around the globe, seeking with them to be His stars. We share with you these stars of 2007.
SCHOOLING. May 2007 Graduation - a wonderful completion of a long and challenging endeavor for both of us. Now we're discovering how He wants us to use the lessons learned to encourage, train, and serve others.
TRAVEL. Because of your generous prayer and financial support, one or both of us have been able to encourage and train Christian leaders here in the USA as well as in Egypt, Hungary, Croatia, India, Taiwan, Indonesia, Australia, Nigeria, Jamaica, and Sri Lanka. It's been a tiring, but exhilarating year.
AWE. We stand in awe at the work of God around the world as we continue to participate in global Christianity - from encouraging Christians serving in the Arabic-speaking world, to visiting former students now serving in youth ministry in Croatia, from local opportunities to teach and serve, to global opportunities to mobilize the church for missions. We've sensed God's overwhelming protection surrounding us during various travels to places like India, Nigeria, Egypt, and Indonesia, but also in regular commutes on Storrow Drive! We've experienced God's faithfulness surrounding us through these travels, our ministry relationships, and in the great gift of our marriage.
RESILIENCE. We're especially grateful for God's grace in helping us to be resilient in the face of many wonderful opportunities and difficult challenges. Throughout this year, people have often asked us, "How are you managing?" They're thinking about the challenge of being 50+ year-old graduate students, the demands of travel and teaching, and the issues of health - from living with diabetes to recovering from hand surgery. Throughout our 28 1/2 years of marriage, God has taught us two great lessons: to take life one day at a time and to be flexible.
SPIRITUAL DIRECTION AND STUDENTS. After graduation, Christie began practicing as a professional counselor, but she decided that she also wanted training as a spiritual director. In the summer, Christie was accepted into SELAH, a certificate program for training in spiritual direction, offered through Leadership Transformations, Inc., a ministry founded and led by our good friend, Steve Macchia.
For Paul, some of the brightest stars are the students we are privileged to influence: -more than 100 students at Gordon College, another 50+ leaders in India (related to the DAI Masters program), and a dozen students at Lanka Bible College. In addition to the classroom, there have been amazing opportunities in 2007 to serve emerging leaders at "mobilization for missions" conferences in Taiwan, Indonesia, Australia, Jamaica, and Nigeria.
We thank God at this Christmas season for His guidance in our lives, and by His grace, our ability to shine like stars for Jesus. May you also live as children of God, shining like stars in the universe, pointing others to Jesus our Lord.
Thank you for your partnership with us. Merry Christmas 2007.
Christie & Paul
A note about end-of-year giving: our budget with Development Associates International will increase in 2008 to about $7,500 per month. This includes our two part-time salaries, added health insurance benefits, and approximately $3,000 per month for office, administration, and travel expenses (every DAI international trip is self-funded; i.e., our hosts sometime cover our land expenses, but our DAI budget covers our airfares and whatever is not covered by our hosts). We thank God that we have reached our budgetary goals in the past few years, but we are aware that this has been made possible through regular givers combined with generous end-of-year gifts. If you'd like to join us in financial partnership, tax-deductible contributions (designated "Borthwick Support") can be made payable and sent to:
Development Associates International
P.O. Box 49278
Colorado Springs, CO 80949
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