Current Newsletter: Christmas Greetings 2008 from the Borthwicks
Some wise men, following the star they had seen rise, came to Jerusalem from the east in search of the infant king of the Jews. "There in front of them was the star they had seen rising: it went forward and halted over the place where the child was. The sight of the star filled them with delight, and going into the house they saw the child with His mother Mary, and falling to their knees they did Him homage. Then, opening their treasures, they offered Him gifts…" (Matthew 2:9-11)
The tradition of gift-giving at Christmas reflects two aspects of the original Christmas story. The most obvious is the great gift of Jesus Himself: God incarnate and Savior of the world. The second is the gift-giving of the Magi. In response, we give gifts to each other. But the Magi did not give gifts to each other – they brought gifts to Jesus. We invite you to celebrate the treasures - our G-I-F-T-S that Jesus has given us in 2008 that we offer back to Him.
GRATITUDE. We offer our gratitude to God for 2008 for He has given us all that we need and more. We say with the Psalmist, "the Lord is good". Specifically…
INTERNATIONAL MINISTRY. It's been another wonderful year of opportunities to network, work alongside, encourage, and train Christian leaders – from our own locale to places across the USA, from Canada to Malaysia, Nigeria, Burundi, England, the Philippines, Egypt and Sri Lanka. These amazing brothers and sisters – many of whom serve in very difficult contexts are gifts from God in our lives.
Two very specific highlights came from teaching Development Associates International (DAI) courses in Burundi (Conflict Management) in April and in Sri Lanka (Culture, Ethnicity & Diversity) in November. Participants in these courses deeply encouraged us with responses like "This course has been a medicine to my heart and the way I approach leadership" (Burundi); and "You have stirred us to think about and discuss together issues that are desperately needed in our country right now" (Sri Lanka).
FRIENDS, FAMILY, FELINES and FEATHERS. How we thank God for people who stand with us as tangible expressions of God's love. We deeply treasure our family – starting with our relatives, but extending outward to our larger family in Christ: our global DAI family, our Grace Chapel family, our partner-in-ministry family at Gordon College, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship (Urbana 2009), and of course, our prayer and financial support family!
For us, the created world is an amazing gift to our souls. The animal highlight of 2008? Two new kittens, Sophia (Sophie) and Zephaniah (Zeph), bring lots of added activity and joy to the Borthwick household! In addition, we tallied 40+ bird species in our yard in Lexington this year – including our first-ever resident hummingbirds. Since "all creation sings," we accept the invitation to sing along!
TREASURES. When Paul preached this past summer on the parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12:13-21), God challenged us to remember that becoming "rich towards God" begins when we treasure what He treasures. In this light, our treasure is the great gift of being able to invest our lives in others in an effort to help them grow towards Christ and His purposes: the women supported and encouraged through Christie's counseling practice; the students and young adults mobilized for involvement in global ministry through preaching and teaching; and the women learning together to listen to God through Christie's work as a spiritual companion (director).
SERENITY. In light of all of the economic turmoil of these days, our last treasure we offer back to God is His peace in our lives. A fulfilling marriage (almost 30 years), good health, a wonderful home to live in, and a progressive growth in our willingness to live more simply have made this a magnificent year. We're learning that "godliness with contentment is great gain" (I Timothy 6:6). What better treasure to receive from the Prince of Peace!
Perhaps the Magi foreshadow the time described in Revelation 21:24-26 when the kings of the earth bring the treasure, splendor, and wealth of their kingdoms into the heavenly city – giving back to God what He has made possible in the first place! We thank God at this Christmas season for all of His gifts in our lives, and by His grace, our ability to offer these gifts in gratitude to Jesus. May you also celebrate His gifts in your lives as you celebrate the birth of Jesus our Lord.
Thank you for your partnership with us. Merry Christmas 2008!
Christie & Paul
A note about end-of-year giving: given the economic times, we at Development Associates International are approaching 2009 cautiously, but we're still anticipating basic expenses as well as ministry expenses related to leadership training in India, Spain, Ghana, Nepal, and Cote d'Ivoire. 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
OR
you can donate online by going to https://app.etapestry.com/hosted/DevelopmentAssociatesInterna/OnlineDonation.html and designating "Borthwick support" on the line "Use my gift to support staff and projects"