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News and Notes about Brigada, Your Gateway to Missions Networking!
On the WorldWide Web, browse https://brigada.org or http://www.eGroups.com/list/brigada-today
Brigada Today is “the missionary helper newsletter!”
Compiled by Doug Lucas
- , Louisville, KY
[Pass this issue to a friend! To subscribe, see instructions at end.]
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In this issue….
* HOW TO LIST ADDRESSES AND URLS FOR BRIGADA
* FROM THE “I TOLD YOU WE’D ONLY HAVE 5 YEARS IN THE USSR” DEPT.
* ISLAM ON A DISK
* WEB-WATCH – FREE SOFTWARE FOR CHRISTIANS
* INTERPERSONAL SKILLS WORKSHOP FOR MISSIONARIES
* THE DEFINITIVE RESOURCE FOR MULTICULTURAL TEAMS
* HOW TO BECOME AN EFFECTIVE SENDING CHURCH IN 3 EASY LESSONS
* TEACHING ENGLISH FROM YOUR LOCAL CHURCH
* THE IDEALIST SITE FOR CONNECTING
* GLOBAL GLIMPSE FROM THE LAND OF MOSQUES
* NEED TO SHIP AT 40 CENTS/POUND TO ROMANIA AND OTHER LANDS?
* CRITICAL MASS OF INFORMATION
* WANT TO STUDY PERSIAN CULTURE AND LANGUAGE?
* STREET-SMART AMONG 7000 OTHER USERS
* HOW TO RAISE A GREAT MISSIONARY SON OR DAUGHTER
* APPLIED ETHNOMUSICOLOGY
* READ A BOOK VIA YOUR LAPTOP
* 30 DAYS HINDU PRAYER FOCUS IS COMING!
* TO SUBSCRIBE TO BRIGADA TODAY
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HOW TO LIST ADDRESSES AND URLS FOR BRIGADA
When sending items into <dlucas@TeamExpansion.org> for inclusion in Brigada Today, please enclose email addresses in < > pointy braces as in the example above. We’re also now enclosing web addresses (URLs) in pointy braces, but for the benefit of some browsers who might not read those URLs correctly with the pointy braces “attached,” please leave a space on either side of the URL. See examples below in this edition of Brigada Today. Please DO include the “http://” on the front of the web address. Some email clients watch for it as a queue for URLs.
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FROM THE “I TOLD YOU WE’D ONLY HAVE 5 YEARS IN THE USSR” DEPT.
Word on the street is that a Russian official recently told an American missionary that eventually all American missionaries would be expelled from the Republic of Russia. He evidently said it as that missionary was being expelled. Yikes. gulp Guess we should have expected it since naysayers warned us of the possibility as far back as 1991 when the wall fell. “Mark my words — we’ll be lucky to have 5 years here in this window of opportunity.” Well, five years passed . . . but now we’re at the 7-year mark and some people are already having problems. To me the one key thing we should learn is that when these windows of opportunity occur, we need to climb through them QUICKLY and EFFECTIVELY, and in a harmonious fashion. I believe God is going to continue to orchestrate the “awakenings” — our job is to be there when they happen.
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ISLAM ON A DISK
Well . . . maybe not quite . . . but close, according to our friend Rod. He says it’s “the hottest Islamic resource” he’s ever seen. After showing it to one friend heading into missions among Muslims, he stated emphatically, “No missionary to Muslims should leave for the field without it!” WinAlim is an entire bookcase full of scholarly Islamic resources on one CD. ISL Software designed WinAlim for Muslims desiring to become an Alim (scholar) in Islam. Just as Christians have powerful Bible software today, Muslims have WinAlim. In many ways, WinAlim is far more sophisticated than most Christian software. With WinAlim, you not only have quick access to any book, subject, or page of the most widely read Islamic reference works, but you can also HEAR any verse of the Quran recited in eloquent Arabic! (Great for memorizing those helpful ayats which can be used as evangelistic bridges!) WinAlim lets you search for any word, phrase, person, hadith narrator, subject, or idea and easily acquire the facts you need. The Alim is an indispensable tool for every missionary to Muslims. Purchasing all the books contained in WinAlim would cost hundreds of dollars, but the cost of WinAlim is $99! Such a deal. http://www.islsoftware.com/html/the_alim.html Mac users need not lament the fact that this amazing tool is only available for Windows users. With VirtualPC http://www.connectix.com/html/connectix_virtualpc.html, WinAlim works beautifully on a Mac! (Now see, we don’t ALWAYS forget about the holdouts!! :-)) Sounds like this one’s a keeper . . . if you’re headed toward an Islamic land. Thanks Rod!
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WEB-WATCH – FREE SOFTWARE FOR CHRISTIANS
WebWatch Check out http://www.seriousd.com/freeware.htm. It’s like a directory of tons of free or at least low-priced software for Bible students, church secretaries, missionaries, etc. Looks like one that’s destined to grow! Thanks Levi!
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INTERPERSONAL SKILLS WORKSHOP FOR MISSIONARIES
Mission Training International is sponsoring a five-day workshop designed to help missionaries and mission leaders build their interpersonal skills It will be held near Colorado Springs, November 5-11, 1998. Some of the issues addressed include “drawing people out, helping others solve problems, confrontation and conflict management, building trust, helping others grieve well, and managing stress.” Sorry, this workshop is for missionaries only. The whole workshop is based on practical application of Scripture, and is very interactive, with demonstrations, practice, small group sharing, etc. It will be facilitated by long term missionaries who are experienced trainers. For more information, call MTI at (800) 896-3710 (if you’re in the USA or can use “Net2phone”) or email mintern@aol.com.
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THE DEFINITIVE RESOURCE FOR MULTICULTURAL TEAMS
Dr. Lianne Roembke of Campus Crusade International has completed a landmark study on multicultural mission teams. Based on her doctoral dissertation, this book is filled with significant data, relevant insights, and practical ways to help multicultural teams work well. The book is only available through Dr. Roembke. The cost is $15 per copy, including surface mail from Germany. (Not a bad deal for a “definitive resource!” :-)) For more information, contact her at lroembke@aol.com.
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HOW TO BECOME AN EFFECTIVE SENDING CHURCH IN 3 EASY LESSONS
That’s what Grace gracew@idmail.com. :-) ‘Course, she knows it won’t be that easy, . . . so she’d like to develop a kind of seminar on the process of effective partnership in missions for local churches. So far, she likes Neal Pirolo’s SERVING AS SENDERS book (excellent!!) and The Effective Sending Church (by The Missionary Training Service in the UK). Got other resources? Heard of any great ideas or got any stories about how God has blessed a sending church and her missionaries as the church has become more vitally connected as EFFECTIVE senders, etc.? She’ll make the entire course available to us after it’s assembled. How ’bout that.
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TEACHING ENGLISH FROM YOUR LOCAL CHURCH
Great idea for outreach to internationals in your area — and you’ll build tons of great relationships in the process. Your church people get involved, and, who knows . . . maybe a few of the internationals will get involved in your church! Literacy & Evangelism International has produced a Bible-based ESL curriculum called, PASSPORT TO THE WORLD OF ENGLISH. Two “how-to” institutes are scheduled for this summer: June 1-6 at Christ For the Nations Institute in Dallas, Texas; (Cost $235 for tuition, books, materials, room & meals.) and July 20-25 at Christian Heritage College, San Diego, California. (Cost: $250.) The objectives of these institutes are:
1. to equip Christian volunteers to be able to tutor English using Passport to the World of English as a means to share language, culture and the Christian faith;
2. to learn how to start an ESL outreach ministry from the local church to the millions of internationals now living in our neighborhoods;
3. to assist our ethnic congregations with their evangelism outreaches by providing English classes where they can invites their non-believing friends & relatives;
4. be introduce LEI’s newest short-term missions ESL curriculum “Nation to Nations,” as a field-test copy for churches to use.
Get more info. from Don Edic edic4lei@aol.com. 918/585-3826, 8am-4:30pm M-F Tulsa time. Sounds like a great resource!
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THE IDEALIST SITE FOR CONNECTING
Here’s a site I’ve got to make more time to explore. Idealist.org is a collaborative project through which thousands of organizations around the world have created what the organizers hope is “the richest directory of volunteering and nonprofit resources on the Web.” Idealist enables any nonprofit or community organization (whether it has a Website or not) to use the Internet to post and update detailed information about its services, volunteer opportunities, jobs, internships, upcoming events, and any material or publication it has produced. Idealist is already serving 13,000 organizations in 125 countries, and is being used by thousands of people every day to help themselves and their communities. To add your organization go http://www.idealist.org. If you have any questions feel free to contact Russ at Russ@idealist.org.
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GLOBAL GLIMPSE FROM THE LAND OF MOSQUES
Christianity is continuing to expand in traditionally Islamic Syria. Observers say many Muslims are deciding to follow Jesus, attributing this to the country’s Christians’ intense prayer and fasting. The government is also easing restrictions previously placed on Christian movements. One Christian organization received permission to print and distribute thousands of New Testaments. Even though Syria’s Christians are restricted in their rights to meet, the government donated land to build chapels and churches waving water and electricity fees, as for mosques.
(Source: FRIDAYFax 13, April 10th, 1998, via CMD Net web site: http://www.cmd.org.nz/ffaxnu.htm)
Global Glimpse is assembled each week by John Hanna, Caleb Project, Littleton, CO.
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NEED TO SHIP AT 40 CENTS/POUND TO ROMANIA AND OTHER LANDS?
If you have to ship to Romania, India, Nicaragua, Honduras, Haiti, Venezuela, Thailand, or Romania, try Christian Veterans Association, a shipping ministry for missionaries. They hope to get rates down to 30 cents/pound but pledge no more than 40 cents. Contact CVA@juno.com for more info.
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CRITICAL MASS OF INFORMATION
Have you ever wished you could do real-time searches through web-archived copies of full-text books, missions magazines and newsletters, and email conference archives? If so, Nolan nrword@hotmail.com would like to know. He’s wondering, “Would the general missions community use this site?, Would the royalties on materials be such that the project would be made impossible?, Would the missions community and advertisers targeting missionaries support this site through banner advertising? If you have any ideas or comments, email nrword@hotmail.com.
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WANT TO STUDY PERSIAN CULTURE AND LANGUAGE?
Stuart’s got a deal for you. He just returned from Iran and has tons of opportunities. Check ’em out at http://www.smiley.logos.cy.net/terradev/persian/home.html.
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STREET-SMART AMONG 7000 OTHER USERS
Thanks to Don & Judy, who have been serving as our “stand in” Brigada Customer Relations Managers (totally volunteer) for the past few months. As of this past week, they’ve renewed their commitment on a more indefinite basis!!! Yahooo! You can make their job tons easier by observing simple principles like these:
1. before changing email servers, please unsubscribe; then once you have your new address, subscribe again. (see instructions at the end of each Brigada Today
2. If you’re a CompuServe user and would like to change your address to the new “alpha” format, please unsubscribe before doing so. Then once you’ve changed, subscribe back again.
3. If your mailbox has limited space, unsubscribe before leaving for that 3-month mission trip!!! :-) Your friends just might fill up your box and emails to you will bounce back. No fun when you have to maintain a mail list of over 7000 people!
4. If you use “vacation mail notifiers” (“I’m on vacation; I’ll write you when I return”), make sure they’re “friendly” to bulk mail like Brigada conference mailings. For more information, contact your system administrator and ask about how to set up the filter. If there’s no filter, then simply unsubscribe from Brigada conferences before leaving.
Thanks for making Don and Judy’s job easier!!! Join us in thanking God for their totally voluntary service!
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HOW TO RAISE A GREAT MISSIONARY SON OR DAUGHTER
Do you work with MKs? Maybe you’re a dorm parent for one? Maybe you’re the father or mother for one? Maybe you ARE one! :-) A wonderful new resource has just arrived for those working with MKs. Raising Resilient MKs is a comprehensive one-volume collection of the best and most current thinking on a wide range of topics dealing with the nurture and education of “missionary kids” (MKs). This 500+ page paperback was developed by ACSI (the Association of Christian Schools, Int’l), Interaction Inc., and Mission Training International (MTI). It is now available from Mission Training International for $14.95 + s/h. Payment by check or VISA/MC. To order contact MTI via email at MIntern@aol.com, fax 719-594-4682 or by phone (in the U.S. or by Net2Phone) at 800 896-3710. Highly recommended.
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APPLIED ETHNOMUSICOLOGY
Would you like help in getting a handle on non-western music, and get ideas as to how to utilize it effectively in your ministry overseas? A week of training in applied ethnomusicology will be taught at the Dallas center of SIL/Wycliffe Bible Translators, June 8-13. A primary purpose is to train some students to do music research later in the summer, but everyone with an interest in promoting indigenous hymns is invited, including college students and members of all mission agencies. There will be a moderate cost for materials for this short non-credit class. Room and board are available at the dorm. If you’d like to know more, contact paul_neeley@sil.org.
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READ A BOOK VIA YOUR LAPTOP
Taking your laptop on your next mission cruise? Then why not catch up on your reading while you’re at it (makes those long plane rides seem shorter). Project Gutenberg is constantly whacking out new books at http://www.promo.net/pg. They’re free… and the New Testament and OT/NT is there too (in KJV). If you’ve got a new Windows/CE palmtop, you could download the whole novel there and read a book in your palm!
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30 DAYS HINDU PRAYER FOCUS IS COMING!
WorldChristian News (in cooperation with South Asia Concern) announces the second annual 30 DAYS HINDU PRAYER FOCUS For those Christians with interest in India and the Hindu world, May 17 – June 15, 1998. For more info, news release, and cover illustration check out http://www.ywam.org/prayer/hindu.html. Contact wcn@xc.org (in the USA) or 100126.3641@compuserve.com (in Europe) (I guess the rest of the world can just take your pick! :-))
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For subscription questions or problems, write help@brigada.org.
SUBMITTING CONTENT — To submit content or ideas to Brigada Today, first please get a copy of “Guidelines for submitting items to Brigada” Then, once you’ve composed your item in keeping with those guidelines, send your item for Brigada Today to DLucas@teamexpansion.org.
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Emphasis is placed on items relating to unreached peoples and challenges faced by those reaching them cross-culturally.
not symbolPLEASE DON’T SUBSCRIBE US TO YOUR LIST — It’s always better to ask before manually force-adding anyone to your list-serve or mailing list. Recently, tons of well-meaning people have been subscribing Doug to their lists. Since he often travels overseas, he doesn’t join many of those, for obvious reasons (like being charged big-time for overseas access). So as a general rule, please don’t bulk-mail us! See the note above if you’d like to submit items for Brigada Today. Thanks for understanding. Bottom line: We will never create Brigada Today items from bulk mail. Bulk mail gets deleted immediately — sorry. Nothing personal. We suggest you apply the same standard to everyone. Ask first!
OPCWARNING ABOUT FORWARDING EMAILS — Please, before forwarding any kind of request (even if it says “please send this to all your friends”), please check to make sure it has a VERIFIABLE ORIGIN, a VERIFIABLE PURPOSE, and a VERIFIABLE CLOSURE (OPC). By following this simple approach, many “email viruses” could be nipped in the bud… at least in the Brigada family. More information about the full Brigada OPC protocol is available. Thank you.
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BRIGADA TODAY IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE FOLLOWING TEAM OF REGULAR VOLUNTEERS:
*Global Glimpses: John Hanna, Caleb Project, jhanna@cproject.com
*Brigada Website: Bob Mayhew, WebServant@brigada.org
*Brigada Customer Service Manager: help@brigada.org
*Brigada Coordinator: Doug Lucas, Team Expansion & Brigada, DLucas@teamexpansion.org
*and many other occasional contributors too numerous to mention!
But thanks for working together! That’s the dream of Brigada!
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