20001119 Brigada Today

In this issue….

ATTEND CELEBRATE MESSIAH 2000, THEN BRING DOWN THE HOUSE!

That’s almost literally what you can do! AD2000 & Beyond has offered a special “inside opportunity” to Brigada readers. After the Celebrate Messiah event (Dec. 27-Jan. 2), AD2000 is willing to send the backdrop home with a lucky Brigada family member. There are some fairly strict conditions, however… like … you have to deposit $600 with them and pledge to remove it, pack it, and ship it home. That won’t be easy — it’s two stories tall (two panels, each 21’x22′, 80 pounds each, on 1/8″ vinyl)! But what a great opportunity. The large two-panel mural, entitled “Dawn of Eternity” by artist Britt Taylor Collins, depicts the moment that Christ returns symbolized by the light radiating from “Mt. Zion” with the crown of thorns shown in the clouds. It can be viewed on the AD2000 & Beyond website by using the following address: http://www.ad2000.org/celebrate/dawn.htm So, it’s a “first come” basis — just be ready to meet some criteria, and pay the $600 deposit. Serious inquiries ONLY may be made to Mary Ann Stone via email at maryann@AD2000.org through Friday, December 6, 2000.

HELP CARRIE CARRY OUT HER CHRISTMAS WEB MISSION

Okay… here’s a chance to show how much you care!

Carrie is putting together a web site that will feature Christmas customs and traditions from around the world. It will be evangelistic in nature and will focus on the customs that celebrate the true meaning of Christmas. Here’s how you can help. Visit her site… myweb.ecomplanet.com/CCAT5909 then send her a couple of holiday traditions from your country or even from your set of personal family traditions (to list on the “Creating Traditions” page for young parents to get ideas for starting their own family traditions). So… please help her carry on. Send your ideas to Carrie carrie_c@bigfoot.com by Dec. 15 please! (I hope I’m not getting carried away with this.

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TECH HELP FOR NON-TECHIES

With so many highly technical Web sites on the Internet, where’s a computer newbie to go to find answers, advice, and guidance for keeping a computer healthy? Web Evangelism Guide (WEG) is there to help new or moderately experienced computer users find online technical help when they need it. The WEG has compiled a list of links to assorted computer resources aimed at non- techies, covering computers in general, operating systems, computer recycling and more. The PC Tips page at WEG should prove especially helpful to missionaries and others who are often in places remote from computer help and advice. PC Tips (Web Evangelism Guide): http://www.gospelcom.net/guide/pctips.html (Thanks to Jennifer in Mali for pointing us to this item from Quentin Schultze’s INTERNET FOR CHRISTIANS newsletter.)

FREE DOWNLOADABLE EASY-ENGLISH BIBLE COMMENTARIES

Now you can get free Bible commentaries, courtesy Wycliffe Associates in the UK. Adapt them culturally, illustrate them, then print them as you wish! Get yours at: http://www.wycliffeassociates.org.uk/ee/ For more details, write Martin mlloyd3000@aol.com. Thanks Wycliffe Associates!

FROM THE SOFTWARE DESK: “CONTACT” CORRESPONDENCE MANAGER

Sick of the hand-cramping activity of making your newsletters personal? Contact is a correspondence manager that takes the mundane out of newsletter writing and gives you the personal touch of mail merging without having to learn Word Mail Merging routines. Contact also tracks people, events, market areas (if desired), and letters sent and received. People interested in beta testing Contact are invited to visit: http://www.access-info.co.nz/software/contact.htm Contact has been in development for a couple of years and is now in need of computer literate people to test and break it and report the bugs. Anyone participating in this testing will receive a lifetime license to all upgrades of Contact when it goes public. The software is Delphi based and can be downloaded at the above address. The exe is 4.7 meg. Once you’ve downloaded it, send an email to the author, Tony contact@access-info.co.nz to receive your free registration code. Thanks Tony! Go New Zealand!

IMPROVE WYCLIFFE NW WEB SITE

Wycliffe Bible Translators NW wants to make its web site more helpful to pastors and mission committees in the NW region of the United States (Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.) Are you a local pastor or mission committee member willing to spend 5 minutes filling out a brief questionnaire? Tell them what would be on your mission “dream site.” What would be a big help to your ministry? To receive a questionnaire, please request one from Dorothea_Lander@wycliffe.org.

LEARN TO TEACH ENGLISH IN CHINA!

A six-week TESOL course will be held June 1-July 14, 2001 in Henan Province at an American owned university. Teaching opportunities will be available upon successful completion of the school. The course will utilize proven American instructors and curriculum. For more information, write tesol2001@hotmail.com.

EMAIL MISSIONS STUDIES

Are you wanting to broaden your understanding of missions and cross-cultural ministry? Are you a missionary on the field wanting to further your education? BTC Southern Africa offers undergraduate degree level missions courses via email. The courses cover Biblical basis, mobilizing the Church, strategic planning, crossing cultures, history, study of religions and more. Go to http://www.btc.co.za/tms/tmsemail.htm to find out more, or e-mail Colin missions@btc.co.za. Enroll now for the February 2001 semester.

UPCOMING MISSIONS CONFERENCES HAVE ROOM

Though Urbana is full, the web folks there have put together a list of other conferences at http://www.urbana.org/resources.events.cfm. For example, the Heartland MissionsFest will be Feb. 22-24 in Tulsa with keynote speaker George Verwer. At the last Heartland in 1999 some 2,000 gathered from 15 schools, 21 states, 67 churches and 97 missions agencies. This three- day bi-annual conference informs and inspires those interested in career missions, short-term trips or sending others. Browse http://www.askamissionary.com/hmf.html or phone 800-366-6641.

COMPLETE TAGALOG BIBLE NOW AVAILABLE AT BIBLE GATEWAY

The Bible Gateway, Gospelcom’s popular searchable online Bible, has recently posted a complete version of the Bible in Tagalog, the primary language of the Philippines. Although the Bible Gateway has previously had selected books of the Bible available in Tagalog, the efforts and generosity of Bibles International has made it possible to offer the whole Bible to those who want to read the Word in the Tagalog language. Visit the Bible Gateway to see the Bible in Tagalog or in nine other languages. http://bible.gospelcom.net/
(Thanks to Jennifer, who pulled this item from the Internet for Christians newsletter & the Gospel Communications Network. For more information, visit them at http://www.gospelcom.net/ifc/subscribe.html)

CHRISTIAN ANSWERS IN MANY LANGUAGES – AND YOU CAN HELP!

ChristianAnswers.net (CA) is looking for volunteer translators to increase its international ministry on the Web. The CA site is currently available in English, Bulgarian, Dutch, Esperanto, French, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish and Vietnamese. Resources include movie, TV and game reviews; “God’s Story Online” (a multimedia journey through the Bible); an online Bible and a question/answer topical area (archaeology, children’s questions, creation/evolution, marriage, parenting, sex and love, social issues, teen questions, youth issues and more). Contact ChristianAnswers.net directly if you would like to join a worthwhile project — proclaiming the Gospel in many languages around our world! ChristianAnswers.net: http://www.christiananswers.net/ (Thanks again to Jennifer and the Internet for Christians newsletter.)

INSURANCE FOR MISSIONARIES

Adams & Associates International has served the missionary community exclusively since 1980, for international insurance and related services. A complete portfolio of insurance products is available to approved missionaries and mission sending organizations for Short-term, Mid-term and Career personnel. This includes supplemental travel, property, liability, individual medical, group medical, medical for mission visitors to the USA, self- funded or partially self-funded medical plans with administration, directors & officers liability, foreign auto, furlough auto and life insurance. For additional information on any insurance need, please email to aai@aaintl.com or visit their web-site at http://www.aaintl.com.

CORRECTION ON PAYPAL INTERNATIONAL FEES

In the Nov. 10th edition, we mentioned that PayPal had “gone international” and that their services were still free. That’s true to a certain extent. PayPal doesn’t charge anything for using its services. However, international users are finding that PayPal does exact a currency exchange fee of some 2.6%. Also, unfortunately, PayPal doesn’t give a $5 sign-up bonus to those living outside the USA.

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