2021 BORTHWICK JOURNEY

Greeting friends,

Last year we summarized the tumultuous year of 2020 citing Covid, political unrest, racial tensions, economic losses, natural disasters and more! 2021 has echoed similar challenges, but we are trying our best to adjust to our ‘new realities.’ Like Paul the apostle (writing to the Philippian believers from some sort of prison confinement) we want to choose contentment and rejoicing in spite of the tough circumstances we might face (Philippians 4: 4 and 10-13).

For our end-of-year update, we want to rehearse personal and DAI ministry highlights that fuel our rejoicing. Christmas songs repeat the traditional “12 Days of Christmas;” we want to repeat our “12 ways of praise.”

12 months of ministry by Zoom. The ability to communicate, teach, facilitate, and encourage leaders through technology is a gift few of us could have imagined 10-15 years ago. Even though we far prefer face-to-face ministry, Zoom and other platforms have taken us to countries and people that we’ve never before visited (see below). NOTE: A special thank-you to our financial supporters for sticking with us – even if we’re working from home.

11 unique locations where we were able to lead Zoom trainings, teach courses, or simply encourage local leaders. These include China, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Myanmar, Peru, Cameroon, Uganda, and South Africa.

10 wonderful participants in our DAI MAOL cohort in Sri Lanka. From August into early 2022, Paul is facilitating (virtually) the Culture, Ethnicity, & Diversity course with leaders in the Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership program. The class is composed of eight leaders from Sri Lanka, an Australian missionary serving in Thailand, and pastor Timur from Tajikistan (who incidentally is the first Tajik believer we’ve ever met).


9 significant networks and ministries outside of DAI with which we served as resource partners. Networking and serving other ministries are DAI priorities, and 2021 included ministry partnerships in countries like China, Liberia, the Philippines, as well as with ministries such as the Lausanne Younger Leaders Network and Cru.

An all-DAI staff meeting from the perspective of one of the remotest villages of Peru. These are the leaders Christie and I visited in November 2019 at this exact location.

8 weeks (by Christmas and ongoing into 2022) of recovery and rehabilitation for Christie from her fall and subsequent surgery in October. We’ve updated you before about Christie’s accident that led to surgery to correct a “trochanteric fracture” at the top of her femur. Recovery is slow and deliberate, but Christie is motivated and moving ahead well! We thank God for so many of you assuring us of your prayers by text, email, and cards. We also thank God for the excellent health care available to us here in the Boston area.

7-week cross-country trip late May through early July.  On one of the longest drives of our lives, we navigated our way across country with primary stops in Wyoming (below) and Colorado. And don’t forget – our two cats were in the car with us… for over 2,500 miles of driving! It was definitely a ONCE in a lifetime experience. ?

6 anticipated international ministry trips ahead in 2022. We hope that global ministry trips anticipated in 2020 and 2021 will actually occur in 2022. Two of these trips will be to teach in the MAOL program (Uganda and India). The others will be seminars or conferences for leaders in Costa Rica, Senegal, Togo, and Thailand.

5 weeks of living and working remotely from a log cabin in the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. We’re deeply refreshed by being surrounded by God’s creation – including moose at our cabin, hummingbirds at our feeders, and bears on our hiking trail! (If you’re on Facebook, our best pictures are posted (in June) on Paul’s page.)

4 wonderful (warm) months of living and working from Southwest Florida. For our fellow New Englanders who ask, “But don’t you miss Winter?” the answer is definitely NO!

3 major 50-year celebrations (and three surgeries too!). In 2021, we both celebrated 50 years since we started our life journey following Jesus. Paul celebrated 50 years since two life-shaping events: his first ever cross-cultural ministry trip and a nearly fatal car accident. We also spent some 2021 time in surgery: one for Paul (hernia repair) and two for Christie (carpal tunnel plus the fracture repair (see #8)).

2 cats that keep us laughing. With all of the isolation that has continued throughout the Covid pandemic, we thank God for our pets.  Martin Luther once quipped that we should meditate on “things that take life blithely, like birds and babies.” For us, it’s cats. They worry about nothing, sleep without tensions, and trust absolutely that we will take care of them.

1 main reason to celebrate: Christmas is our reminder that Jesus came to give us abundant life. Jesus came as a servant and a sacrifice. His coming to give His life for us is why we do what we do.

Related to the example that Jesus has set for us, we reaffirm at Christmas our commitment to serving. Servant Leadership is a priority value in DAI, and in this our DAI 25th Anniversary Year, our President/CEO Jane Overstreet has written an overview of DAI’s origins and growth over the years.  We hope that it might encourage you in whatever servant leadership roles God calls you to in 2022; Jane’s book God Loves Servant Leaders is available for free at: daintl.org/God-Loves-Servant-Leaders

We thank God for you, your encouragement, prayers, and partnership in this ministry.
Gratefully,

Christie & Paul

A Special Word About End-of-Year Finances

It’s been a tough year for many people and many ministries, so we are especially thankful for so many faithful and generous donors. End of year gifts have always helped us end the year in a strong budgetary position. We are praying for the same as we enter 2022 and what we hope will be the resumption of face-to-face ministry.

We welcome your participation.  If you’d like to join us in financial ongoing monthly partnership or with an End-of-Year gift, you can give:

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