In this issue…

  1. SPONSORS ARE GREAT!
  2. LEARN TO RAISE FUNDS FROM THE JESUS FILM PEOPLE
  3. HANDLING SPAM: IS MAILWASHER “DECEITFUL?”
  4. GOT HIGH PHONE RATES? GET LOW ONES
  5. MORE ON PDFS: HOW TO CONVERT YOUR DOCS
  6. PRAYING GOD’S WORD, THEN SAYING YOU CARE
  7. PIONEERS OFFERS CAMPGROUND NEAR DISNEY
  8. LATEST REVEILLE SHOFAR POSTED
  9. LIBRARY OF “INSURANCE TOPICS” FOR INTERNATIONAL WORKERS
  10. CLOSING STUFF
  1. SPONSORS ARE GREAT! — Don’t forget to check out our recent sponsors at: www.brigada.org by clicking on the word “sponsors” at the top or bottom of the page. There you’ll see partnerships by Global Outreach Ministries, the author of _Toolbox for Video Storytelling_, and even an anonymous Wycliffe Bible translator, who wrote from overseas, “I have subscribed to Brigada for a number of years and it is still one of my favorite emails to receive, what with all the missions encouragement, information and helpful hints. So I decided to donate $5 a month (the price of a McDonald’s Value Meal) for the cause of the Brigada secretary. I’ll do it via PayPal. If just 250 Brigada subscribers did the same, she (and therefore Doug) would be free to serve you better and still feed their kids an occasional burger too!?” :-) We also received Brigada Secretary help from the Faith in Action Network, Ed Kearn, on behalf of ACMI (the Association of Christians Ministering Among Internationals), the Andover Church of Christ, Andover, OH (They’ve been a supporting church all the way back to our time in South America in the early 80s!) Now they’re stepping up to the plate all the more significantly! And don’t forget Wilcannia River of Life! Thanks one and all!!!
  2. LEARN TO RAISE FUNDS FROM THE JESUS FILM PEOPLE — Want to learn to raise funds at the feet of people who have successfully done it? The JESUS Film Project knows the stress that comes from raising money to meet impossible fund-raising goals. In an effort to serve and encourage others, our JESUS Film Project development leadership team is offering a two-day seminar to share what we have learned over the past 18+ years. They will cover The JESUS Film Project’s:
    *** Development Philosophy, Strategy and Structure
    *** Direct Marketing and New Donor Acquisition
    *** Major Donor Cultivation and Presentations
    *** Major Donor Events
    *** Office Representative Programs
    *** Foundation and Church Efforts October 13-14, 2003 is slated as the training dates. There will be a charge of $100 per person for the workshop, materials, and a special luncheon on Friday. The seminar will be held at The JESUS Film Project office in San Clemente, CA with the first day running from 1:30 p.m.- 5:30 p.m. on Monday, October 13th. The second day will be on Tuesday, October 14th from 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. For info write amy.elliott@jesusfilm.org or call (949)361-4549 to register. Your registration to ensure you have a seat and materials will be confirmed once they have received your payment to The JESUS Film Project at 910 Calle Negocio, Suite 300, San Clemente, CA 92673. Registration deadline is October 3, 2003 and will close after they have 50 confirmed registrations.
  3. HANDLING SPAM: IS MAILWASHER “DECEITFUL?” — Mark wrote recently to ask if Christians should ethically use products such as MailWasher, since they can send out the familiar “bounce-a-grams”, as if they had been generated directly from your ISP, saying that your email address couldn’t be reached. (This is supposed to trigger a response with spammers who will then drop your address from their spamming list.) To me, it’s the same as when we might tell the UPS guy “package refused”, because we don’t want to be billed for something we didn’t order. Likewise, we didn’t request the spam. We’re not lying about our email account; we’re refusing the package we didn’t order. :-) Granted, there’s another issue: does it work? I’m not sure the spammers ever really “unplug” our addresses, just because their emails bounce. But in my case, does it make me feel better? Indubitably. I no longer feel like a victim. At least now I feel I have recourse. :-) (I also use Brightmail in conjunction with the Earthlink account I maintain as my primary email box. Not sure how many spam mails it catches; maybe 100 per day? Still… over 100 per day get through its gate. :-(
  4. GOT HIGH PHONE RATES? GET LOW ONES — Are you living in a land with high international phone rates? For the cheapest rates for many country-to-country calls worldwide, go to https://brigada.org/phone.html . [Disclaimer: This phone service has promised to donate to Brigada when people sign up for new accounts. Before we featured them, however, we compared their rates to lots of other phone companies and — guess what: they really are great prices! So… unashamedly, we can feature them … because we would have done so genuinely and honestly anyway!]
  5. MORE ON PDFS: HOW TO CONVERT YOUR DOCS — Perhaps you’ll recall our item in the August 15th issue, entitled, “PDF FORMAT MAKES SENSE”. We got lots of positive feedback on that item. ‘Course, the Apple computer guys, like Dennis & Danny, had to write and brag about their MACs, which convert PDFs as a matter of course. Rascals. How was I supposed to know that Steve Jobs would get it right? :-) Still, somehow it’s tough for me to go with any computer that has fruit for a logo, much less one with a pre-bitten bite out of it. Tony had a good idea: “The free replacement suite for Microsoft Office released by Sun Microsystems, called OpenOffice, includes the ability to read .doc files and write .pdf files.” Before it was over, we had heard from dozens of happy “OpenOffice” users, including Peter and several others. Get your free copy for keeps at: http://www.openoffice.org/dev_docs/source/1.1.0/ With this product, creating PDFs is… well… almost as easy as doing it on a MAC! :-) There are other options. Don’t forget to have a look at the recent review of PDF-makers in PC Magazine: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,1190601,00.asp There’s an online PDF write/convert service One reader, Galen, prefers PDF995, which is reviewed there. You can get PDF995 for $10 at: http://www.pdf995.com/ And don’t forget, as Bob from Kenya points out, if you use Linux, get the Samba server at: http://www.linux-mag.com/2003-01/guru_01.html which will help you create PDFs at will. Either way, we *love* PDFs because a) they’re more memory efficient, b) the support included graphics more efficiently, and c) they can’t be edited… so your thoughts will remain your thoughts and they can’t impose viruses on receivers.
  6. PRAYING GOD’S WORD, THEN SAYING YOU CARE — Here’s a new twist on the ecard scene, Pray-it Say-it cards. This feature of Prayercentral.net helps you personalize God’s promises to the needs of those you pray for. You type in a name, choose a topic and they provide personalized scriptures and a sample prayer to cover that need. Then you can choose from some of the coolest images around and create an ecard to tell them you have prayed for them.

    You can even send out a card to your intercession group inviting them to join you in prayer for a special need. You’ll have to decide if your missionary will look upon this as a good thing or not. Most users today receive about all the unsolicited mail they want… and more! So you might have to identify here that it’s relative to you personally or whatever. Either way, check it out at: http://www.prayitsayit.net

    Wayne at Prayercentral.net has prayed for our Brigada subscribers, you can view your card at: http://prayitsayit.net/view.php/dfb0cc9b2e971e1e The great thing about these cards is you don’t have to receive any emails. The URL alone will do it. (Thanks Wayne!)

  7. PIONEERS OFFERS CAMPGROUND NEAR DISNEY — Pioneers, a mission agency focused on church planting among the unreached, owns and operates a KOA campground on the same campus as their US Headquarters building. If your church or organization is looking for a Florida camping experience, please consider this 355-acre pristine, lake front campground. There is large recreation hall for meetings and other get togethers as well as kitchen facilities. For more information visit http://www.orlandokoa.com, email whippoorwillkoa@piorl.com or call 1- 800-562-3969. Your patronage helps us serve our missionaries better!
  8. LATEST REVEILLE SHOFAR POSTED — Read how Islamicists are fighting Armageddon, how Time Magazine treated “tentmaking,” how terrorists are motivated in the Philippines, how Shari’a affects Christians in a province of Indonesia, and how Liberia is spiritually situated in Operation Reveille’s latest publication at http://www.oprev.org/Shofar.htm . Contact Bruce, the director of Operation Reveille, at bside@oprev.org if you need an e-mailed version.
  9. LIBRARY OF “INSURANCE TOPICS” FOR INTERNATIONAL WORKERS – – If you are struggling to understand international insurance and want some quick answers, go to http://www.overseashealthinsurance.com/newlib.asp . Over 60 topics regarding international insurance are explained in the library. There you will find answers concerning deductibles; co-insurance; HIPAA; choosing and managing international health, life, liability, medical and political evacuation insurance; terrorism insurance; etc. For information about the library and/or various international insurance plans, contact jeff@gninsurance.com or call 480/813-9100, toll-free in USA: 866/636-9100 or visit http://www.gninsurance.com/solutions
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