20000827 Brigada Today

In this issue….

BRIGADA ARCHIVES ARE SEARCHABLE

Looking for that “needle in a haystack” item from some past issue of Brigada Today? David was. He wrote this past week to find out if Brigada’s archives are at all searchable. All together, there are about 300 editions, covering some 5 1/2 years of missions mobilization history. That’s 1213 pages, 23,000 paragraphs, 78000 lines, 661,723 words! And it’s all instantly searchable via the new search engine at https://brigada.org, thanks to the work of our web wonder-worker Bob Mayhew. Notice that you get the results item by item (as opposed to simply listing the date of the edition!) and the results page shows both the issue date AND the title of the item. So try it! For example, put in the word “Compubank” in the “Search for…” box at: https://brigada.org/sbtas.html. You can uncheck “Advance” is you know the item appeared in Brigada Today rather than “Advance.” Put a checkbox in front of the years you’d like to search. Bob’s engine works like a charm. Thanks for your investment there, Bob!!!

VOTE FOR YOUR CHOICE OF CALEB PROJECT SLOGANS

That’s right. Caleb Project (Denver, CO) is seeking your input on which slogan they should use for the next 20 years of their missions mobilization history. Just click to http://www.calebproject.org and select the slogan you like best. Tell them in the “Other” blank that you heard about their vote via Brigada Today and they’ll send $15 cash to your PayPal account, just for participating! (Okay… so I’m kidding about the cash bonus . . . but just think of how great it’ll be to feel like you’ve made a difference in which slogan they’ll choose!

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HOW IS INTERNET BANKING WORKING OUT?

In a word, great! We mentioned a while back that we were trying out Compubank. They even sent a box of checks for free. We’ve had no trouble with any hidden charges… and we received the sign-up bonus of $20 into our account with no problem. Sure enough, we seem to be getting free checking accounts, savings accounts, bill payment, domestic wire transfers, ATM use (4/month), frequent flyer miles, online check images and monthly statements. For folks who have a USA address and SS#, it’s a full internet banking solution. (We still haven’t found an Internet banking solution for those from other locations. Anyone have any leads? If so, please write DLucas@TeamExpansion.org) What’s more, once you’re signed up, if you refer others, you receive a thank-you gift of $40 in your account for every new person you sign up. That doesn’t hurt a bit if you’re serving overseas somewhere, trying to save up for a new PC or whatever. Bottom line: It seems there’s no “catch”. Everything is FDIC- insured, just like your local bank — which probably charges $4/month for its online bill payment service. By contrast, at Compubank, you can open an account for free, instantly at:

http://www.compubank.com/cbe_appl.htm?AFFINITY=10024547

(Disclaimer: CompuBank donates $40 to Brigada Today for every new user who users the link above to sign up. By the way, they also give a $20 bonus directly to each new user!).

QUICK-AND-EASY SOLUTION FOR TRANSFERRING FUNDS VIA INTERNET

And don’t forget about PayPal, a quick-and-easy solution if you simply want to safely transfer funds via the Internet from one Internet user to another. They even protect buyers from fraud when using PayPal to transfer money to another verified PayPal user. It takes all of 5 minutes to obtain verification. This is now the most popular service for eBay users, but your supporters could even use it to send financial support to you, regardless of where you live now. All you need is a USA home address. Plus, you get a $5 bonus in your account just for signing up. You’ve got nothing to lose. Find it at…

https://secure.paypal.x.com/refer/pal=DLucas%40TeamExpansion.org

(Disclaimer: PayPal donates $5 to Brigada Today for every new user who users the link below to sign up . Of course, they also donate $5 to the new user at the same time!).

SUPPORT-RAISING 101

For those facing the challenges of support- raising, Rick recommends Getting Sent, by Pete Sommers (IVP, 1999), and Funding Your Ministry (Whether You’re Gifted or Not) by Scott Morton, Dawson Media (NavPress), 1999. According to Rick, “Both are superb, each one having good illustrations and Bible studies for readers to work through. Sommers has a multi-ethnic, North American ministry orientation (by InterVarsity, understandable), with two chapters dedicated to the unique challenges for women raising ministry funding. Those helpful chapters are written by Donna Wilson.” Rick goes on to add, “Funding Your Ministry is . . . replete with top-quality page design and dozens of cartoons by Wayne Stayskal–worth the price of admission in their own right. It’s a very easy read, and full of pithy illustrations from Morton’s own experience. Morton includes a valuable chapter on how to manage the money one raises–how to make and live on a budget! By comparison to Morton’s book, Getting Sent is text-heavy. But they both cover very important, highly practical issues and both have excellent charts, exercises, and forms useful to readers who are willing to act on what they learn from the authors.” Great job, Rick! Thanks for the tip-offs! To visit Amazon.com and buy the Getting Sent book for $11.69 (that’s 10% off the list price of $12.99), click to: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0830822186/teamexpansiononl For Funding Your Ministry, a $16 investment, go to: https://www.gospelcom.net/navs/navinfo/resources/dawson/order/store.php3

BOOKS FOR THOSE WHO CAN’T READ!

Darryl is interested in creating a resource book designed to teach fundamental Bible concepts and scriptures to Christian workers and/or believers (and non believers!) who are illiterate! But before he starts he wants to be sure that there is not already a resource out there that effectively does the same thing. The nature of the resource would allow it to be used with any language group because somebody will have to teach them the (simplified) “language”. If you know of an existing resource or would be interested in helping in some way (like helping to translate words to images or “simplifying” scriptures), contact Darryl ditnoj@pobox.com.

40 DAYS OF PRAYER FOR AFRICA (CORRECT SITE)

Remember that 40 Days of Prayer and Fasting for the continent from 1 November to 10 December? The web address for that is http://www.nupsa.org.za. Apologies if the first address left you empty-handed. As much as possible, we’ll do our best to try out each web address in advance of printing it. (Unfortunately, we wrote the last Brigada Today on a TWA jet, out of reach of an Internet connection.)

MAKE TIME FOR LEARNING RUSSIAN

Alexandra wrote this past week, “We are in our first week of language training through Russian Language Ministries http://www.russianlanguage.org and I am THOROUGHLY convinced that anyone planning on ministering in the CIS and surrounding countries NEEDS to go through the course here. The focus at RLM is communication–both comprehension and speaking. The instructors are dedicated to equipping people to effectively share Christ. I’ve struggled a LOT over the past three years to teach myself Russian and learn through college courses. And I’ve been frustrated to tears time and time again. For the first time I believe I will really be able to learn and communicate in the language. This is by God’s grace, I know. But I think a lot of credit goes to RLM, too. My husband was an Army Russian linguist, and he says the program here is superior in many ways to the military’s Russian language training. So, if anyone is planning on serving in a Russian speaking area, you NEED to come to RLM!” Sounds like Alexandra is a satisfied customer! Thanks!

REACHING PRISONERS AROUND THE WORLD

Been searching for a unique way to illustrate a particular story you love to use when sharing Christ with prisoners? Why not ask a professional artist to help?! “Pictures With A Message” is an organization established specifically for that purpose. One example: A modern version of an old picture called “The Broad and the Narrow Way” is proving very useful as an evangelistic tool amongst prisoners who cannot read. In fact, maybe you’d like to help the artist with Scriptures, ideas, insight, stories, and sayings that will communicate God’s heart to prisoners. The specific work will be called: “A Prisoner’s Guide from Death to Life.” Check it out at http://picturemaker.safeshopper.com or write petermill@lineone.net for more information.

THE BACKPAGE: HOW DO WE TEACH CONFLICT RESOLUTION?

At Team Expansion, we are greatly privileged to have on our staff a nearly- full-time Pastoral Care Coordinator named Donna Cole. She networks together with pastors-to-missionaries from all over the world. With her help, we’ve been trying to foster better teamwork around the world. One of the primary components we need to teach is conflict resolution. How do we train teams to get along, to solve problems, and create workable “win-win” situations for each other, for their families, and for their work around the world? That’s the subject of a short paper we’re trying to assemble here at Brigada. You can get a copy of the 27K file in its current form by sending a blank email to conflict-resolution@brigada.org. If you’d like to add to the paper, please send your material to DLucas@TeamExpansion.org with a subject line that reads, “conflict resolution”. (Only those emails will be handled correctly by the filter I’ve set up in my email client.) By the way, to get an index of other autoresponders and other helpful information, write to brigada-info@brigada.org. Thanks for your input. And do be careful — because it’s a jungle out there!

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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!