Dear Family and Friends,

As with most families, 2003 has been a year of joy, endurance, and opportunity as three of our children move to new states and all of us to new challenges and seasons of life.

Even as you get this letter we are preparing to help Abigail move to her lovely new apartment in downtown Atlanta, Georgia on the 30^th. Since graduating from Covenant College in May, Abigail has enjoyed a time of transition while studying for and taking the CPA exam, babysitting some precious little ones of a friend, and continuing to invest in many deep friendships. She has also entertained us all as she has carefully followed the progress of her fantasy football team. It has been so much fun to have her home before she begins this next stage of her life in her new career in public accounting with Frazier & Deeter. Abigail has been overwhelmed by the goodness of God in her life and she is excited to see how the Lord is going to make a home for her in Atlanta.

Paul, double majoring in Bible and Business, continues to appreciate his studies at Bryan College, a school committed to "educating students to become servants of Christ to make a difference in today’s world." He has gone to new levels with the mentoring relationships he began two years ago through his role as Resident Assistant as he continues to pursue his life mission of discipleship by building into a core group of guys and other friends at school. This has been a wonderful and learning-filled year for Paul during which he has been so grateful for God’s faithfulness to teach and grow him in many ways.

One of his greatest pleasures has been in employing the business skills he has learned on campus into his new role with DNA as the Managing Director of Eternal Impact Publishing Company. He edited and gave final manuscript approval of our new leadership book centered on the life of the inventor and Christian businessman, Gene Ast, entitled Just An Ordinary Man.

Matthew’s first three months at Harvard have been difficult and wonderful. He and his five suitemates are the essence of the diversity that Harvard seeks, representing five states and multiple religions, ethnicities and political persuasions. Thanks to those of you who prayed for his wonderful roommates. Matthew is extremely thankful for them and the others in his dorm. They have all become very close.

Matthew has learned many things in his first few months at college: more than six hours sleep or one cafeteria meal a day is a luxury and there is really no need to wash clothes more than twice a semester - all great chunks of wisdom. Matthew has, as always, kept very busy between a difficult course load and the many extracurricular activities that were just too tempting for him to ignore. He loves his American Presidency class taught by the Honorable Roger Porter, a former member of three administrations (Ford, Reagan and Bush). Professor Porter’s stories about presidential politics keep everyone spellbound. When Matthew asked a friend in his English Bible class why she was taking it, her response was, "I don’t know anything about the Bible and thought I should." His Expository Writing course is focused on the subject of censorship and free expression and is taught by a brilliant professor from the law school. "The amazing thing about my Expos. class is that we don’t even talk about writing during class. We spend all of our class time hotly debating a myriad of issues, and then are given assignments to complete on our own time. Though we certainly learn a great deal about writing when our submissions are torn to shreds, our in-class time is focused on thinking with organization, complexity and clarity. The standard is incredibly high and sometimes overwhelming, but it is exciting to be so challenged." Matthew is thankful for his small group men’s Bible study, and the many Christian friends God has brought him. He has enjoyed working on the school newspaper, The Crimson, as a photographer, and participating in the Institute of Politics as a Study Group Liaison to a visiting Fellow. Matthew also became a paid usher at the IOP so he can be present when the presidential candidates come to campus to film the "Hardball with Chris Matthews" TV shows. Matthew would appreciate your prayers for his many friends who are in need of God’s love and forgiveness.

With her two brothers "abandoning the team," Anna stepped up and became the team captain, selecting and training the new team members. She also assumed the role of attorney for the first time in the McCallie Blue Tornado Mock Trial Tournament. Unbelievably, her team came out on top and Anna received the Best Attorney award for the whole tournament. She is also a member of the sixth Youth Leadership Chattanooga class and has enjoyed learning about different aspects of the city, meeting business leaders and interacting with students from high schools all around the Chattanooga area.

The highlight of Anna’s year, though, was being trained as a teacher for Child Evangelism Fellowship. This summer she taught six Five-Day Clubs and eight children came to the Lord! Several weeks ago, she began teaching a weekly Good News Club in an inner city elementary school to over 20 wonderful boys and girls who have energy, enthusiasm and a growing understanding of God’s love through Anna’s teaching. CEF is a ministry very dear to our family’s heart. Anna was 1 when Susy did our first Good News Club in Atlanta, and 6, 7, and 8 when we had our clubs on Signal Mountain. The Good News Clubs we did in those years were our children’s first opportunities for personal ministry and public speaking as they would get up in front of their friends and share a few lines of the Bible story.  Please pray for the salvation and discipleship of these precious children, many of whom have great home challenges.

Being seen but not heard has never been one of Joshua’s strong suits, but it has become his daily routine since his appointment by Majority Leader Frist as his first Senate Page. Josh is joined by 29 other high school juniors from 30 states – 16 Republicans, 14 Democrats, 13 women and 17 men and of course 1 Dallas Cowboy football fan.

Joshua has been challenged by the early morning regimen of attending school from 6:15 am until 9:30, working the remainder of the day (and sometimes late into the evening as the pages are required to be on the floor when the Senate is in session) and then coming back to many hours of homework. Josh has seen the difference that people can make in the political arena as he has gained respect for both sides of the aisle, the complexity of the issues, and the challenge of government service. "It’s an unusual experience to see first hand what makes senators tick. I’ve learned that people are people whether they are in the Senate or on the Signal Mountain ball field. It has been an honor to serve and learn in such an incredibly vital and vibrant environment and has been humbling to take part in a Congress that has accomplished historical feats on several different fronts." It has been a privilege for Joshua to learn so many new things and to build into friends and fellow pages. In a recent discussion among the pages, one commented, and the others agreed, that his faith defined who Joshua was. That was a great encouragement to his mom and dad!

Susanna shared her first presentation of about five minutes at the Riverbend, SC Church Family Conference where six of us were the speakers at the weekend conference. Tommy (Tom Hanks) has a higher approval rating within the family than any other cat in recent Downer history. Susanna loves reading her schoolbooks and holding Tommy in the swing outside, but due to the change in weather they have now moved to an inside closet Mom has generously let them use. Susanna continues to amaze all of us with her creative crocheting projects and has loved both her art and sewing lessons this year. She also said that doing Operation Timothy with Dad has been helpful in dealing with relationships with friends.

Susy has certainly had a stretching and fulfilling year, moving Matthew into his dorm in Cambridge, speaking at a marriage conference with me in Winchester, Virginia, sharing the teaching of the Bible study in our home, helping Abigail select colors for her new apartment, continuing to homeschool Susanna through the Civil War and Anna in the Greco/Roman period, and doing the myriad of responsibilities that keep DNA functioning. She considers it a great privilege to continue to invest in the lives of our kids and the women to whom she ministers around the country.

Our Monday night Bible study, Optimize Your Marriage, was based on Susy’s and my new book by the same title published by Christian Publications in July. We had 20 wonderful couples in our home for eight Monday nights this fall. Together we laughed, cried, studied, shared and became more intimately connected with our Lord, our spouses and one another.

This has been the year I have prayed for! Speaking around the country at men’s conferences on subjects of leadership, raising your family, and purity in marriage, speaking with my family at family conferences and with Susy at couples conferences, my greatest pleasure remains seeing men face-to-face and watching Jesus change their lives and mine through discipleship. Weekly discipleship calls with friends around the country, some of whom are brand new believers, who have committed to spending time with me in accountability, and spending time with my kids individually and by phone, have been profound blessings.

Perhaps my greatest joy has been in God fulfilling a 25-year prayer of returning to Camp Pendleton, California where I was trained as an infantry machine gunner as well as the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego. I was able to speak to more than 2400 young Marines about courage, character, and God’s love.

One young Marine who promised to read Just An Ordinary Man said to me as he clutched it in his hands, "Thanks for caring. How can I deal with death?" Many of those Marines will be sent in harm’s way as replacement troops in Iraq over the next six to eight months. Some won’t return to their families. But while I was there, I was able to share with them how they could be sure they would make the most important journey home of all – the journey home to heaven.

Thank you for your prayers, encouragement and support for our family, Susy and me. It is through your friendship and ministry to us that we continue to take the message of God’s love to those who are facing struggles, pain, and mortal peril, both in our hometown and around the world. We would be so grateful if you would fill out the enclosure with your email address. If it would be easier, you may email us at PhilDowner@DNAministries.org or sign our guestbook on our website www.DNAministries.org. We would love to be able to update you periodically on our ministry.

From our family to yours, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Phil Susy Abigail Paul Matthew Anna Joshua Susanna

QUOTABLE QUOTES 2003

DAUGHTER TRYING TO PLEASE A BUDGET CONSCIOUS MOTHER – When Susanna was offered hand-me-down shoes from an older sister she said "Well Mom, they fit when I’m sitting down but when I’m walking they hurt my toes and my heels."

PAUL HAS ISSUES – Somewhat ganged up on by the veteran contact lens wearers for not taking out his contacts every night, and trying to convince them that it really wasn’t a problem, Paul said somewhat defiantly, "Fine, tomorrow I’ll call my obstetrician."

A MOMENT OF SILENT REFLECTION – Anna to Mom: "When you think of all the people in this world who have such serious flaws, doesn’t it kind of make you wonder about yourself?"

A ROOKIE PAGE NIGHTMARE – On his second day as a Senate page, Joshua was anxious to put his recently acquired knowledge to use. Seeing one of his new bosses, he said, "Good morning, Senator Grassley." The distinguished senator replied cordially, "I’m Senator Allard, but I am sure Senator Grassley appreciates it!"

OH, TO BE A TEENAGER – Matthew, giving great input to a discussion on diets said, "Yeah, I diet between meals."

AMERICAN CULTURE – While talking to a little girl, Anna asked if she went to church, to which she responded with an emphatic shake of her head, "Oh no, we don’t go to church. We go to Burger King."

HILLARY CLINTON RUN OVER BY JOSHUA – "Rushing from floor one to floor two in the Capitol, I probably looked like I used to when I would run up and down the stairs at home chasing Matthew. The problem was, the person I accidentally ran into wasn’t my brother but the former first lady, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Seeing my mouth drop open and my face undoubtedly turn red, she turned and said calmly, ‘Good morning.’ I was so thankful for her gracious response which probably would have been no different even if she had known that hanging over my desk in the page dorm was a poster of Ronald Reagan."

IRS OR HOME DEPOT? – One of Abigail’s friends said to her recently, "I am really impressed that you have learned so much about this tax stuff. All I know is that for work each year I have to fill out a WD-40."

MEN SHAVE THEIR LEGS? – While staying at Liz and Ken Korkow’s house in Omaha, Liz was relieved to know that the frequent turning on and off of the water during my shower was not, as she had wondered, me shaving my legs, but simply the daily routine of a former Marine still hopelessly caught in the discipline of a "GI shower" – turn water on, turn water off, suds, turn water on, turn water off, suds – repeat as necessary.

WHO NEEDS AN EXPLANATION? – In response to Matthew’s comment that he had met many Christians at Harvard, Susy responded that it shouldn’t really be a surprise since her entire Lake Junaluska small group had been praying for this. Paul’s observation: "The power of supplicating estrogen!" Once the family had stopped laughing, Joshua said, "Mom, I think you’d better explain to Susanna what estrogen is. Isn’t it something like women’s intuition?"

TOO MUCH MATH – Anna to Mom, "I have three bumps on my face that look like an isosceles triangle."

AFTER SUFFERING THROUGH ANOTHER ONE OF DAD’S SPEECHES ABOUT LOCKING DOORS, TURNING OFF THE LIGHTS AND NOT RUNNING WITH SHARP PENCILS – Abigail, home from college, said with a smile, "You know Dad, after 20 years I think your speeches are getting better."