20001105 Brigada Today

In this issue….

WHOA – CHECK OUT THIS SCHOOL OF MISSION

Whoa. The bar just got raised a meter or two. Check out this site: http://www.dci.org.uk We last mentioned this “Internet School of Mission” in the September, 1999 edition of Brigada Today. Les, the director there, said in an email this past week, “As you started us off 18 months ago, I thought you would like to see how we are doing with our Internet Schools of Mission.” All I can say is … whoa. These guys have put together a complete 85-lesson Evangelism & Mission course in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Hindi, Chinese, Telegu, Indonesian and Romanian “with hopefully Russian coming along soon.” And guess what — the entire course is free! I can envision leaders throughout Latin America, South Asia, and all of China . . . using this course for supplemental training for their Internet-connected lay people.

And that’s exactly what’s happening! They’ve got students already enrolled in nations like Mexico, UK, Argentina, Chile, Spain, Indonesia, Peru, Malaysia, Colombia, Brazil, Canada, Singapore, Qatar, and Australia. In fact, October brought them 37,393 hits — for a total of 333,180 since they kicked off the program. Whoa. Check out the World Mission Forum, where theory translates into practice. Les, the director, says that part of the site is one of the most popular, with participants sending in updates almost daily. And above all… their “links” section contains references to Brigada. Check ’em out! http://www.dci.org.uk

PAYPAL GOES INTERNATIONAL

One of the most common requests we’ve received these last few months is — how can people in international locations exchange money via the Internet. Until now, we were clueless. We had mentioned PayPal — the most popular way to exchange funds on the Net. But until now, it was available only in the USA. Fortunately, this past week, PayPal made significant strides in the international arena. As of today, residents of the following nations can now use PayPal: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom — and of course, the USA. (If you’re interested, please see the link at the end of this item.)

So what does this mean? If you’re a missionary based in Singapore and you receive funds from the UK, maybe you’ve been paying bank transfer fees to the tune of $15/wire . . . maybe 12 times/year. What this means is that today, you can put $180 in your pocket. Actually more… because you get a sign-up bonus of $5 just for joining — free! So that’s $185. Plus — you’re more in control of your funds. It’s wired directly into your PayPal account, rather than being out there in bank-land somewhere, floating. It’s a whole new paradigm for global funds transfer.

We’ll be straight up with you — Brigada will get $5 for every person who opens a PayPal account. But honest… this is a good deal that we’d tell you about regardless. And hey… Brigada‘s free, PayPal’s free… If you’re interested, just click on the link below:

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

FREE LONG DISTANCE FOR THOSE TRAVELING THE USA

Okay… so it’s just a two-minute call, but it’s perfect for folks traveling the USA, whether you’re a USA resident or not. Just dial 800-555-tell and when you get to the menu, say “phone booth”. Follow the prompts to dial your number, set up a home number that you’ll use for your user id (doesn’t have to be your home phone number, by the way), then a password and . . . at least for the present, make your free 2-minute call. Use it to tell your wife and kids that you made it to the hotel safely (and give them the hotel number, in case they need you in an emergency). Use it when your cell phone is out of range… use it at the gas station just to say “I love you”.

It’s free . . . and you can make as many calls as you like. Just say “phone booth”. (And in case you’re interested, Brigada doesn’t get a penny on this one.

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ANNOUNCING CARE BRIDGE 2000 PLUS (CB2K+)

From Link Care Center http://www.linkcare.org and Guided Discovery http://www.self-carebridge.com/GDindex.html comes an initiative that bridges mental illness prevention and alternative mental health self-care services to missionaries and other cross-cultural workers who often are away from family, friends, colleagues, or counseling support. Find brief summary information at: http://www.self-carebridge.com/CB2K+.htm Organizers are requesting prayer and suggestions as resources are being assembled to be deployed on the Web, in CD-Rom and DVD form. For more detail contact Dean drdean@mobynet.com.

GEO CONNECTS VOLUNTEERS WITH MISSIONARIES

Global Economic Outreach is building a registry of Christians with every imaginable profession, skill, talent, or hobby, making it available to missionaries worldwide. GEO’s emphasis is on building partnerships to advance economic and community development projects. Missionaries and agencies can use GEO as an “executive search firm” for finding skilled partners. There is no charge for their services. More information is available by visiting GEO’s site http://www.teamgeo.org.

PEOPLETEAMS REACHES 300 FORUMS

What’s the plural of forum? Maybe… “fora”???

Well whatever it is, PeopleTeams better start worrying about it. They’ve sure got some pluralities to consider now! They’ve just added their 300th forum or sub-web. Number 300 was from the people team seeking to bless Kampala, Uganda with the Good News of Jesus Christ. It was added on November 1, just a little more than one year after PT was first put online. PT officially launched January 1, 2000. PeopleTeams presently hosts 147 websites, links to 138 websites and has produced an additional 15 “adoption” websites. The adoption websites are priority unreached people groups, population segments or gateway cities where there is no missionary advocate. PT continues to enjoy more than 130,000 hits every month from approximately 10,000 different user sessions each month. The average session length during October 2000 was almost eight minutes. In web terminology, PT has become a very “sticky” website — people stick around when they visit! Visit PeopleTeams soon and celebrate their success! http://www.peopleteams.org

CROSS-CULTURAL OUTREACH ON THE INTERNET

Iain iain@isewi.org, of Interserve in England and Wales, is wondering if there exists a directory of Christian websites which engage in evangelism and apologetics on the internet – whether in a ‘publishing’ way or an interactive debate/discussion way – reaching out to those of the Hindu, Muslim or Tibetan Buddhist faiths. He’d also be interested in website addresses of Christian organizations behind such websites which give testimony and information as to the response to and effectiveness of such websites. If you know of such a directory let Iain know; if you don’t, but you do know of some websites of the kind Iain describes, let Iain have their addresses and perhaps he will compile a directory for us from the responses he gets! To find out what we’ve seen listed so far, send a blank email to evangelism-online@brigada.org. A copy of the 44K file will be immediately dispatched to your email inbox.

DEAF EXPO ON ITS WAY

The upcoming Deaf Expo 2000 for the Deaf and hard-of-hearing to be held November 17-19, mirrors society’s increased awareness of Deaf people’s needs. Recognizing that one in 10 Americans has hearing loss, show organizers for the eighth consecutive year have planned an action-packed, versatile program of seminars and exhibits. A paramount emphasis will be on the changes and progress made in quality of life for Deaf and hard-of -hearing American consumers. For more information, see http://www.deafexpo.com/.

LOOKING FOR GREAT WEB-HOSTING OPTIONS

Ross is looking for a great web-hosting option for his non-profit. Where should we send him? In other words… are there spots where his nonprofit can put up a free or nearly free web presence, complete with his organization’s own domain name? Where can he get the best compromise of cost versus value. Please write Ross directly (no need to copy us here) at info.e.works@bigpond.com and in a couple of weeks, he’ll prepare a digested report for all of us to see.

AFFORDABLE INTERNATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE

Insurance Services of America is a Christian organization that specializes in health insurance for missionaries. They have plans available for short and long term stays. Not being tied to any one particular carrier, they have the ability to “shop around” and find the best coverage available at the best price. If you are going overseas as part of a team be sure to ask about the “Day Tripper Group Plan” with rates as low as $1.08 per day! Check them out on the web at http://www.missionaryhealth.com email Mark at health@missionaryhealth.net.

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