In this issue…

  1. NEWS FLASH: WE REACHED OUR 2003 SPONSORSHIP GOAL!
  2. OVER THE TOP!
  3. CLIPMATE SPONSORS, OTHERS, START US OUT IN 2004!
  4. MORE FREE PASTORAL TRAINING STUDIES
  5. PRAY FOR MISSIONARY “R&R” PROGRAM IN THAILAND
  6. NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION PRICING ON MICROSOFT SOFTWARE
  7. BATTERY-OPERATED VIDEO PLAYER FOR “JESUS FILM”?
  8. UNREACHED PEOPLES IN MINDANAO
  9. SHORT-TERM LEADER’S TRAINING IN TAMPA, FL
  10. GRAPHICS FOR MOBILIZATION
  11. INDIGITECH BREAKS GRAPHIC GROUND
  12. FREE CLASSIC E-BOOK
  13. TESOL SCHOOL @ UNIVERSITY OF THE NATIONS, HAWAII
  14. MORE DICTIONARIES FOR MORE LANGUAGES (STATS TOO!)
  15. THE BACKPAGE: LESSONS FROM “SPIRIT ROVER”
  16. CLOSING STUFF
  1. NEWS FLASH: WE REACHED OUR 2003 SPONSORSHIP GOAL! — Can you believe it? And the donors even said some really things! “Thanks for the 9+ years I’ve been reading Brigada Today. Glad for another chance to help out.” Larry the head of BrigadaTechSupport, a group that attempts to provide free technical support to missionaries all over the world. We appreciate his sponsorship of $120!!! Email them at BrigadaTechSupport@Brigada.org about appliances, electrical problems, and really, just about anything technical! “Thank you so much for all of the good work you do to contact and inform missionaries of the many services available to them. Two years ago, you placed word about Mission Nannys on your weekly sheet and combined with our new brochure, webside ( http://www.missionnannys.org ) and God’s direction, we sent out 14 women volunteers last year to help 14 missionary families. Truly a remarkable thing! Up until 2000, which was 10 years of ministry, we had sent out 22 women. In 2002 we sent 12 and in 2003, 14. Thank you for your help in publicizing the mission activity. Enclosed is a check for $100 to help you with the financial costs of the secretary!” Betty Sullins, Dir., Mission Nannys. ($100 sponsorship enclosed!)
  2. OVER THE TOP! — And finally — are you ready for this? — Thanks to the anonymous donor who PayPal’d $3000 to help us go “over the top” on the amount remaining at the end of 2003! Yahooo! I’m humbled, sobered, challenged, excited, thankful, overwhelmed — all at once! :-) Our total for 2003 was $15,600… an incredible work from some very determined people, working under God’s empowerment!

    One of our readers asked, “so… now that you have a secretary, does she help you with things besides Brigada?” You bet she does! We stretch her all we can. But in the final analysis, we have understood from these sponsors that a critical part of her work is to help us keep Brigada Today on time and out the door for the roughly 10,000 or so weekly readers, and others who see the information archived at the website. Thanks to her input, we’ve managed not only to catch up, but also to *keep* up… on Brigada Today, as well as our work mobilizing and resourcing many missionaries around the globe among unreached peoples. Thank you for your help in this critical task!

    3. Want to help us with a jump start on 2004? Sponsor our Secretary.

  3. CLIPMATE SPONSORS, OTHERS, START US OUT IN 2004! — Thanks to some great friends, as well as the 11 people who have ordered Clipmate so far, we’re scheduled to receive a total of $83 soon from Clipmate’s publisher (due to the 11 offers for Clipmate so far), we’re already well on our way to starting our secretary in 2004. She won’t receive any kind of raise, per se, although we do hope to make available the Kentucky state-recommended cost-of-living increase of 2.7%. That means our goal for 2004 will be $16,021.
  4. MORE FREE PASTORAL TRAINING STUDIES — George Patterson and an international team are editing free, short, biblical, illustrated, translatable, training studies (in US-letter and A4 formats). These are suitable for mentoring new leaders of new congregations and cells in church planting movements. Each study has a lesson for group leaders and a lesson for children’s workers; many also have lessons for deacons and advanced learners. New studies are being added every week. Preview and download them from http://www.paul-timothy.net
  5. PRAY FOR MISSIONARY “R&R” PROGRAM IN THAILAND — Please lift up the anonymous donor who gave the $8,000. He and his wife are currently in Thailand, establishing a missionary R&R program (counseling, physician care, dentist, etc) so that missionaries and their families can have a break in a 5-star resort for one week with their kids and receive all the services for which they typically travel back to the west. Please pray for wisdom and direction in negotiating contracts for accommodations and programs. And once again, please thank the Lord for the generosity and selflessness of this family.
  6. NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION PRICING ON MICROSOFT SOFTWARE — Consistent Computer Bargains is the sole outlet selling Microsoft software to charities and non-profits at greatly reduced prices. Churches and mission organizations and missionaries qualify. Brigada reader Dave says it’s a great service! Check this out: A license for full install version of Windows Office Professional 2003, just $69 plus $30 for the media — far below the list price. Fine print: Initial order must be any combination of 5 or more MS licenses, and CCB must have a copy of your organization’s 501(c)(3) form (from the IRS) and State Tax Exempt Form in their files. Hint: Buy one license for MS Office and four throw-away licenses (at $4 each) for Windows Server. See http://www.1computerbargains.com (Thanks to Dave, and to others that have suggested this step in the past! I know it’s a real help each year in our own mission agency office!)
  7. BATTERY-OPERATED VIDEO PLAYER FOR “JESUS FILM”? — Outreach International has an awesome compact video equipment set available for showing the Jesus Film. It’s especially designed for remote areas and unreached peoples. The airtight, waterproof case is a must when facing dusty roads or monsoon rains! It has traveled by outrigger canoe, been strapped to a horse, and dragged behind a water buffalo to reach remote villages! The 80-lb. suitcase contains a complete sound and video projection system, including 8mm Jesus videos in appropriate languages and other Gospel videos when available. There is also a 29-lb. generator to power the system. Outreach International donates the labor to assemble the sets, and travels to field locations to train local ministers to use the video equipment effectively. They provide these sets at cost or as a gift to those ministering in remote areas. For more info write Bill <bill@outreachinternational.org> or check out http://www.outreachinternational.org or call 970-249-0306 in the USA. </bill@outreachinternational.org>
  8. UNREACHED PEOPLES IN MINDANAO — A cooperative multi-national effort for placing church planting teams among the unreached people groups of Mindanao is being developed by several U.S. local churches in cooperation with Filipino mission groups. Due to the sensitive nature of this area, new paradigms of church planting strategies will need to be developed. Is your church currently ministering in this part of the world? Interested in knowing more? Please contact tokyocarter@hotmail.com . (Also, feel free to register your intent at the Joshua Project site: http://www.joshuaproject.net/ . If everyone did, we’d be a lot more savvy regarding questions like this one!)
  9. SHORT-TERM LEADER’S TRAINING IN TAMPA, FL — It’s not too late to sign up for the ServantPrep Short Term Mission Leader’s training February 12 – 14, 2004 in Tampa, FL. Learn how to prepare, lead, and debrief team members effectively so that your short term experiences will result in long term passion and commitment to reach the nations. But, you must register soon! Download a brochure with all the details at http://www.commitministries.org/STML_FL2004.pdf . To get more information on the material contact Ray xctrainer@aol.com To Register, get a brochure, or ask questions about the seminar and location, contact Jamie babbsloveflorida.aol.com
  10. GRAPHICS FOR MOBILIZATION — Check out this site: http://www.createinternational.com/ for prayer mobilization documentaries and evangelistic films for unreached people groups. Their website describes the ministry of Create International and helps visitors do research on unreached people groups. They also make their audio visual resources available for purchase online. They produce a photoCD of very useful images for missions publications.
  11. INDIGITECH BREAKS GRAPHIC GROUND — Check out this site: http://www.createinternational.com/CIWebsite/indigitech/index.html for help in communicating the gospel message to peoples who have little or no access to it. Indigitech is a combination of ‘indigenous’, ‘digital’, and ‘technology’ — reflecting their desire to make use of indigenous arts and symbol systems as well as 21st century technology. It is their desire that Indigitech be a bridge between the fieldworkers and contextual resources which are now available.
  12. FREE CLASSIC E-BOOK — “Serve Him With Mirth” by Leslie Flynn, asks if humor is a forgotten area of Christian ministry. It is one of a handful on this subject published in the past 50 years, and it remains the only book which covers all aspects in detail. For example, the cultural and linguistic gap between us and the books of the Old and New Testaments can prevent us from understanding the frequent use of irony, whimsy, word-play and puns. We expect no humor, so we see none. This is tragic. Learn more at http://www.gospelcom.net/guide/resources/mirth.php (Thanks Tony!)
  13. TESOL SCHOOL @ UNIVERSITY OF THE NATIONS, HAWAII — Teaching English opens many doors to places in the world. The TESOL training given at The University of the Nations in Kona Hawaii will equip you to teach & credential you by awarding a Certificate of Course Completion. A letter is also supplied that explains the curriculum & course of study. This is a four week academic curriculum immediately followed by a two week practicum conducted on the Campus. The school begins on Feburary 16, 2004 & ends March 26, 2004. For more information & application forms contact admissions@uofnkona.edu
  14. MORE DICTIONARIES FOR MORE LANGUAGES (STATS TOO!) — Check out: http://www.yourdictionary.com/ It has all sorts of info put online by linguists. For those that are interested in a particular language and would like to know where to go to find more language resources in obscure languages or major ones, this should be your first stop. There are 6,800 known languages spoken in the 191 countries of the world. 2,261 have writing systems (the others are only spoken) and about 260 are represented by on-line dictionaries. New languages and dictionaries are constantly being added to yourDictionary.com; as a result, they reportedly have the widest and deepest set of dictionaries, grammars, and other language resources on the web: http://www.yourdictionary.com/languages.html Here you will find grammars and language courses for over 100 languages on line, on CD ROM, and in books. (Thanks Mert! mertaka@everybody.org)
  15. THE BACKPAGE: LESSONS FROM “SPIRIT ROVER” — As we were putting the finishing touches on this edition of “Brigada Today”, Nasa’s “Spirit Rover” touched down on Mars and promptly sent its telltale tones, thereby signalling a successful landing. It was an exciting event, watching the members of the Mars Exploration Rover team react to Spirit’s landing on Mars. I immediately went upstairs to tell Caleb, our 14-year-old, about the landing. “How long did it take, Dad?” “Well, the mission has been in planning for years, but the flight itself took about seven months,” I answered. “Whoa. Seven Months. Planning for years,” Caleb pondered. He looked me straight in the eye: “Can you imagine going to work every day for years, hoping for something that you won’t be able to see, wishing that it would come true, then finally hearing that it happened?” (Picture at left courtesy NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory website.*)

    He was right. Day in, day out, for *years*, these guys had been coming into their offices, creating software, hardware, and ideas… hoping against hopes for this night. And here it was! No *wonder* they were happy.

    As I returned to my desk, downstairs, I couldn’t get it out of my mind… We too long for that day, when we can finally leap into the air and say, “Yesss!!! I didn’t labor in vain!” We long to see members of the tribe we’re seeking to reach, dressed in white robes, glorifying God on that Final Day.

    Well here’s my take on this: If NASA can focus for some 16 years on a single mission to Mars, we should be able to stay riveted to making sure the message of hope gets to long-forgotten unreached peoples! In NASA’s case, they’re hoping to garner 3 months of science experiments from a red planet. In our case, we’re trying to change an eternity for millions. Get the picture?

    No wonder we’re waiting with expectation.

    So… as you close out the books for 2003, just remember one thing: Think NASA. Think how long they have to plan, how carefully they have to calculate, … how many scenarios they have to imagine. And then multiply the task by an eternity. No *wonder* it’s hard reaching your tribe or group. So hey… don’t be too hard on yourself. And if you lose one project, try another. If something goes haywire, figure out a new solution… or start over. The end result will be worth it. In fact, you’ll hear a *whole* lot more than a few tones from a spaceship.

    (*For more information about The Spirit Rover and its exploration of Mars, log on at http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html For more information on reaching tribes for Christ, read the Bible. :-) )

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