December, 2009

Dear Friends,

Three Kings \ 'thre'kinz\n..- pl 1: in the Christian tradition the three wise men from the East who paid homage to the infant Jesus.
2: several Persian magi or priestly cast members of Zoroastrianism (founded c. BC700) and practitioners of astrology, regarded at the time as a science, who traveled east to Bethlehem by way of Jerusalem in search of a prophet of kings from Judea.
3:in Western Christianity several wise men known by the names of Caspar ,Melchior, and Balthasar often depicted as bearing gifts of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh.

In his account of Jesus' birth, Apostle Matthew wrote "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold there came wise men from the East to Jerusalem, saying where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East and are come to worship him. They presented unto him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh."

In The Message, Eugene Peterson wrote, "After Jesus was born in Bethlehem village, Judah territory — this was during Herod's kingship—a band of scholars arrived in Jerusalem from the East. They asked around, "Where can we find and pay homage to the newborn King of the Jews? We observed a star in the eastern sky that signaled his birth. We're on pilgrimage to worship him."

Like the wise men, many of you have opened your hearts and have presented your treasured gifts of money, prayer, and time to the children and community of REACH. For some, generosity has required sacrifice. No Desert Storms to conquer, no armies to fear, but very real sacrifices of resources and time.

The REACH family sincerely thanks you. Just as the arrival of wise men made it possible for Jesus' family to flee the dangers of Herod, your gifts make it possible for our families to escape isolation and hopelessness by our provision of mentoring, family support, and the sheer joy of an annual camping experience. Otherwise, our families seldom receive such unrequited goodness. So we close this year with deep gratitude.

Continuing our dream,

Susan K. Slonaker

P.S. Because we are so thoroughly convinced of the uniqueness and value of our mission, we boldly ask you to give an additional $35 to support a terminally ill child who, through no fault of their own, has HIV/AIDS, as a closure to your generous giving in 2009.