Greetings friends,

We were in Capetown, South Africa October 8-25, and, in light of the significance of these days for us, for Development Associates International (DAI) and for the global church, we thought we'd offer a longer and more detailed report.

First, for your review, a brief trip summary:

• October 9-10: the DAI International Leadership Team (ILT) met to discuss a variety of issues including strategic direction, financial challenges, and the ongoing role of the ILT. In case you're interested, the ILT includes our president, Jane Overstreet, as well as Dave Fraser (representing the M.A. program), Nicholas Wafula (Uganda), Nagi Said (Middle East), Sam Thomas (India), and Paul.
• October 11-15: DAI International Staff Meetings. This was our every-18-month-or-so all-staff gathering. We had over fifty DAI staff members from 15 countries along with 9 board members and spouses from three countries. These meetings included devotional challenges, review of "best practices," small group interactions, strategic planning, and budgetary discussions. In addition to leading 2 small groups, Christie and Paul presented two sessions on maintaining balanced growth in our lives as leaders. In spite of all the good content, however, the most important aspect of these meetings is "face time." Whether or not we are a "virtual organization," there is still nothing quite as bonding as time, meals, travel, and long conversations together. We returned delighted with the amazing DAI team that God has put together over the years.
• On October 16, Christie headed back to the United States while Paul transitioned to the Capetown 2010 conference (www.lausanne.org)
• October 17-25: Capetown 2010, coordinated by the Lausanne Committee on World Evangelization, featured an amazing array of leaders from around the world: speakers, participants, seminar leaders ranging from organizational presidents to mega-church pastors, from well-known authors to campus staff workers. York Moore, national evangelist for Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship, summarized it this way:

  Cape Town 2010 is a trans-national, trans-ethnic, trans-denominational, trans-organizational, and trans-cultural gathering from 198 nations of over 4,000 Christian leaders who have given their lives for the purpose of global evangelism.

Now, the challenge: how do we possibly summarize such intense and diverse experiences? We could focus on the DAI Staff Conference, tell you about meeting new associates from Papua or South Africa, and tell you about the team with whom we serve. Or we could shift to the Capetown 2010 conference and relate Paul's experiences of meeting "family" members from Iran, Bhutan, Sudan, and North Korea.

On the DAI front, we could echo Jane Overstreet's report from our staff meetings about the highlight of "Listening to God Together." She wrote:

God reminded us of many of our core values through times of sharing and the devotions. This came about through God's orchestration. In addition the theme of "brokenness" came through several of the sessions. By brokenness I mean sharing about the daily challenges of living in a broken world, sharing deeply about some of the intense hardship people have been through recently, and sharing openly about DAI's corporate financial struggles. All of this enabled us to help lift each other's burdens, identify with each other and remind each other who God is and his promises. Those times helped us all to grow spiritually.

On the Capetown 2010 front, we could report on what friends called the "Global State of the Church" and "a microcosm of the global church." Many things are worth noting, with perhaps none more significant than the repeated emphasis on the expressed desire and exhortation to greater unity in the evangelical Christian family, purposefully working together "so that the world might know" that Jesus is the one and only Savior (John 17:21, 23).

Both meetings have left us with too much to share in any one report, but perhaps the best way to summarize these weeks in Capetown are with five images.

FIVE SNAPSHOTS:

1) DIVERSITY. With 15 nations (and more than 15 languages!) represented at our DAI staff meetings, followed by 198 countries at the Capetown 2010 conference, we were on multi-cultural overload. In two gatherings, we caught glimpses of that "great multitude that no one could count - from every tribe, language, people and nation" described in Revelation 5:9 and 7:9.

At the DAI staff conference, we heard stories of Ian (Australian) cultivating leaders in China, of Herman (Belgian) facilitating leaders in Burundi, and of Simon (a refugee from Rwanda) building the DAI partnerships in Togo.

At the Capetown 2010 conference, large group sessions featured speakers from every continent, young and old presenting vision, men and women leading us in biblical exposition, and leaders from multiple countries describing their vision for reaching all the nations of the world.

In a report for Christianity Today, Tim Stafford compared Capetown 2010 with Edinburgh 1910 (the conference that most consider the first truly "global" mission conference). At the 1910 conference, Stafford asserts, there were 1200 attendees: 500 from the USA, 500 from Britain, 4 from Asia, and none from Africa. In contrast (and as a testimony of the changing demographics of global Christianity, Africa was the most represented continent in 2010.

Even the Capetown 2010 small group in which Paul met illustrates the point. There was Nkosinathi from South Africa, Ishaya from Nigeria, Rita from India, Paul from Japan, Clive from Scotland, and Paul. That's 1 American, 1 from Britain, 2 from Africa, and 2 from Asia! (Remember that Spanish- and Portuguese-speakers sat with like language people.)

2) HUMILITY, SERVANT LEADERSHIP, AND INTEGRITY. As Jane reported (cited above), the Bible Studies and other testimonies at the DAI staff conference reinforced many of our core values - and none more so than servant leadership. Listening to a well established leader talk openly about stepping aside to foster an effective succession plan in DAI in his country reminded us of the humility present when a leader serves Christ first and not his own purposes.

At the Capetown 2010 conference, perhaps Paul's most lasting image of humility was the 4-6 person table groups with whom we met every morning from 8 am to 12:30 pm. Paul reflected in his journal,

As I looked across the 4000+ persons in the assembly hall, I could see Anglican Bishops from Uganda, Australia, Rwanda, and Nigeria. The Presidents of World Vision USA and World Vision Canada were there. The Presidents of Biola University, Gordon College, Asbury Seminary, Asbury College, and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary sat at various tables with associates they were just meeting. Best-selling authors and well-known Bible teachers, hugely successful business people and heads of mission agencies were all sitting with people who knew or cared little of their accomplishments. Seated at these same tables, there were village pastors from India, an unknown pioneer planting churches from Laos, campus workers from Colombia, Bible teachers from the Sudan, and church leaders from Albania. It was an amazing image of that statement, "At the foot of the Cross, the ground is level."

The values of integrity and servant leadership were strongly affirmed throughout the Capetown 2010 conference. Rev. Calisto Odede of Nairobi Pentecostal Church challenged the general session through Ephesians 4 to personal, relational, and organizational integrity. Mark Carver, an associate from Saddleback Church in California, observed in an email, "I was deeply impressed that the prosperity gospel was confronted." And - though the "Prosperity Gospel" arose largely through the teaching of Americans, it is now pervasive, with no continent more affected than Africa. As a great illustration of humble confrontation, the issue was confronted by African leaders from Chad, Nigeria, Kenya, and elsewhere.

On a smaller (~1000 persons) scale, in the seminar multiplex on leadership, Jane Overstreet, along with DAI MA grad Dr. James Magara of (Uganda) and DAI staffer Shamira Manwar (India) exhorted leaders to a lifestyle of integrity in all areas of life - with a specific call to a life given for the benefit of others.

Jane Overstreet speaks at the Multiplex Session on Leadership

3) AFFIRMATION. It might sound self-serving to observe this, but the two conferences were a huge boost to us in terms of the people with whom we serve (the DAI team) and the people into whom we've invested ourselves over the years. We were thrilled at the DAI Staff Conference to see past DAI MA students now serving on our overall team - Jairus (Uganda), Shamira (India), Sam (India), Pau & Lucy (NE India), and Narayan (Nepal) -many of whom are now course facilitators. We enjoyed meeting Board members, seeing the heart for leadership development from new colleagues in Papua and South Africa, and renewing our appreciation for high caliber leaders like Cindy (the Himalayan region), Nicholas (Uganda and Sudan) and many others.

Our DAI family has its struggles - personal issues, internal growth issues, and financial challenges - but the Capetown meetings affirmed that we are where God wants us.

At the Capetown 2010 Conference, the affirmation continued. It was refreshing to see the "ripples" of DAI global influence. In addition to Jane, Shamira, and James at one Multiplex, Reuben Ezemadu (DAI-Nigeria ministry center director and co-DAI Founder) was at another. At least 11 DAI staff were delegates, and others served as stewards and volunteers. But the actual staff being there was secondary to the people we are privileged to be connected to. Norbu Tamang (see below) is a refugee from Bhutan serving in Kathmandu, Nepal; he's a DAI MA candidate in the Nepali cohort, and he was in Paul's "Culture, Ethnicity, & Diversity" course in 2009. DAI MA students Niyi and Tokunboh were there from Nigeria. DAI-Uganda Board member Isaac Anguyo was there and DAI-UK board member Chris Wright gave a plenary address. Although we are truly a "Mustard Seed" sized organization, God has allowed us significant influence in the broader Christian community.

Beyond the affirmation to DAI specifically, we were personally affirmed by knowing that God has plugged us into effective networks over the years. Paul was super-encouraged by meeting with colleagues from IFES, Operation Mobilization, Scripture Union, Youth for Christ, Campus Crusade, Alliance Graduate School, Asian Access, Arrow Leadership Ministries, World Relief, Partners International, and the World Evangelical Alliance. It gave a great sense of connectedness to a global family!

Norbu Tamang and PB

4) PARTNERSHIP. Jon Lewis, President of Partners International (and past DAI Board member) summarized his Capetown 2010 experience by observing that "global partnership has never been more available… or more complicated." Both conferences underscored this.

The DAI staff team is built totally on partnership. The USA office helps administrate and assists in generating funds, but the DAI Ministry Centers in places like Russia, Uganda, Cote d'Ivoire, South Africa, and more form their own plans, utilize the training in formal and non-formal ways as they see fit, and initiate their own partnerships in an effort to help develop leaders in their own context. Perhaps the most important reason for our DAI Staff conference in Capetown was to foster these partnerships - so that we can have an "iron sharpening iron" influence on each other.

At Capetown 2010, the opportunities and challenges of partnership were evident every day. We (DAI and Borthwicks) learned of new partnership-in-training opportunities in Serbia, Ghana, New Zealand, Albania, Myanmar, and even Iran - to name a few places.

With respect to partnership, can we ask that you continue to pray for DAI as we seek to bring together the opportunities with the necessary resources to encourage the development of servant leaders?

5) GOD IS ON THE MOVE. This phrase was a theme at the Capetown 2010 conference, but it applied to the DAI staff conference as well. Whenever we heard it, we thought of the phrase from the Chronicles of Narnia when Father Christmas reports "Aslan is on the move. The witch's powers are weakening." [We're foreshadowing here the theme for our Christmas newsletter.]

God is on the move, and - thinking like Henry Blackaby in Experiencing God - we need to find where God is moving and go there. Here are some "God is on the move" highlights from our Capetown experiences:

• Nicholas Wafula reporting on his ever-developing DAI ministry in southern Sudan
• Cindy Perry reporting on opportunities coming in Myanmar and across SE Asia
• Libby, recently widowed when her husband and nine others were killed in Afghanistan in August 2010, testifying of God's grace to move - even through suffering
• Sam Thomas reporting on partnership opportunities in the Andaman Islands
• Farid from Iran telling us his story of conversion to Jesus out of his Shiite Muslim background and his planting of 50+ house churches in Iran over the last five years
• An 18-year-old girl from North Korea testifies of her love for Jesus, the disappearance of her father, and her desire to take that love of Jesus to the people of North Korea
• Robert, a Brit who lives in China, reporting about the opportunities to rescue children from orphanages and put them into healthy homes across China
• Lucy, relaying her dreams of using her DAI MA research to start ministry homes for women rescued from sex trafficking in northeast India

God is on the move. The powers of evil are weakening. There are too many stories to tell. We'll spend eternity watching the highlight films of God's Kingdom. We were simply privileged to get a "previews of coming attractions" on this journey.

Thanks always for standing with us in prayer and financial support.

Gratefully,
Christie & Paul

PS: a request for prayer for two upcoming trips. Please join us in prayer for effectiveness in ministry:

• UKRAINE: November 16-21: Paul to Rivne, Ukraine where, in partnership with "Hope to People" (www.hopetopeople.org) he'll be speaking at conference for Ukrainian pastors and leaders who are dedicated to growing the Ukrainian church's global impact.
• 22-29: Home for Thanksgiving
• NIGERIA: November 30-December 5: Paul will be participating in and speaking at WITNESS 2010, the "Nigerian Urbana" sponsored by NIFES (Nigerian Fellowship of Evangelical Students). They are expecting between 8,000 and 10,000 students.
• December 6: last Monday night class at Gordon College
• January 1-2: speaking at the Easton Bible Church (Gainesport, NJ), mission weekend.

We deeply value your prayers and - as noted in our Capetown report - we (and DAI in general) consistently need your financial support. If you'd like to join us in financial partnership, tax-deductible contributions (designated "Borthwick Support") can be made online at http://www.daintl.org/donate/ or checks can be made payable and sent to:

Development Associates International
P.O. Box 49278
Colorado Springs, CO 80949