Monthly Archives: August 2019

2019/08/18 — Brigada Today

2019/08/18 — Brigada Today

Compiled/Edited by Doug Lucas and Tina McCormick, Team Expansion
Brigada online has more graphics and links at www.brigada.org

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In this issue…
1) Debrief with TRAIN International in Joplin, MO
2) “City of Prayer” Book Available This Fall (Pre-Order Now)
3) You’ll Wonder Why “Homeschool Panda” (App) is Free – But it Is
4) TripIt (App) Can Help You Plan and Track Your Next Mission Journey
5) CityMapper Can Make Your City (or Your Next VaCay) a Cinch
6) This Brigada Participant Has Found You a $96 Financial Planner
7) PackPnt App: You’ll Never Forget Your Umbrella Again
8) Suppose You Need to Travel from Louisville to Tibet. How?
9) It’s Worth it Listening to This Original Recording of Jim Elliot
10) Yes it’s Dated. But “First Fruits” on Amazon Prime is a Must
11) This Lifelong Trainer Wants to Take You on His Next Training Trip
12) Get Your Item in the Next Brigada
13) Feel Left Behind on the Hong Kong Protests? Here’s an Explainer
14) The Last Bit: How do You Stay Motivated for Missions?
15) Closing Stuff

 

 

1) Debrief with TRAIN International in Joplin, MO

Take time to process and unpack your cross-cultural experience in a refreshing environment with an experienced team. TRAIN International’s next re-entry debriefing is October 20-25, with nine debriefings for 2020. Their ABIDE debriefing in Joplin, MO, offers time and space to process, and is for your whole family, as TRAIN provides age-appropriate TCK debriefing for ages 0-17. Gain perspective, get equipped to navigate the challenges of re-entry and move forward in renewal toward your next season of ministry!  Check out their website to learn more at:

 

traininternational.org/

 

At their latest debrief, 35 workers came together to process and plan. Several were Team Expansion workers. These guys are the real deal. You won’t go wrong at TRAIN.

3) You’ll Wonder Why "Homeschool Panda" (App) is Free – But it Is

We’re not sure how or why Homeschool Panda is free. It provides for lesson planning, budgeting, calendaring, task management and assignments, connecting with other homeschoolers in your area, and much more. They have gone on record saying security is their top priority. You can work from a web interface or use the app for android or iOS. What’s more, they’re constantly rolling out new features. Maybe they’re thinking that, once they build a huge following, they’ll introduce ads or sell the app someday? Who knows. What we DO know is that, for now, it’s completely free of charge. If you or your missionary workers are doing home school, this is the go-to app to check out for your kids — and you.

 

homeschoolpanda.com/

 

4) TripIt (App) Can Help You Plan and Track Your Next Mission Journey

4) TripIt (App) Can Help You Plan and Track Your Next Mission Journey

TripIt is a web service and app that can help you keep track of your upcoming flights, rental cars, hotels, and more. You can even make note of your meetings and conferences. As you build your itinerary in TripIt, the service will automatically check with the airlines you use to keep you up-to-date about the latest gate changes, delays, and more. The basic service is free, but for a small fee ($49 per year), TripIt Pro will even hunt alternative flights for you if your flight is delayed or canceled (and a lot more). Privacy is a top concern. They promise that, if your information is shared, it is shared only in aggregated form. Read their privacy policy for more info. Once it’s set up correctly, you can configure TripIt so it shows all your flights in your Outlook calendar. That’s cool. Learn more about the product here:

 

www.tripit.com

 

Learn how to lash it up with Outlook here:

help.tripit.com/hc/en-us/articles/226107967-Calendar-feed-setup-and-sync

 

5) CityMapper Can Make Your City (or Your Next VaCay) a Cinch

Do you live in a sprawling metro area capable of boiling your blood? If so, try CityMapper and make public transport fun! In a place like London or New York, trying to keep track of buses, subways, cabs, and *walking* can drive anyone nuts. CityMapper is amazingly better than just about any app you’ll ever find. And it’s completely free. You’ll need Wi-Fi to set it up (and get real-time updates), but if you just positively have to operate offline, once you’ve downloaded the trip into your device, you can do so. Check it out for free at…

 

citymapper.com

 

It will almost ALWAYS be better than the app provided by the local train or bus company AND it lets you specify the mode of travel you WANT rather than the mode that THEY want FOR you.

 

6) This Brigada Participant Has Found You a $96 Financial Planner

Wondering if you are saving enough for retirement? Asking yourself how much to save for your kids’ college? Wanting to know if you need to be investing in the stock market and how to do it cheaply while overseas? Mark Zoril has founded his own company, PlanVision, with you in mind. For a $96 fee, you’ll get an in-depth financial plan, state of the art software available only through a financial advisor (eMoney), and one-on-one conversations with Mark. He’s personal, professional, and affordable. This guy could be the planner for whom you’ve been searching. Learn more at…

 

planvisionmn.com/

 

(Thanks to Michael for the tip. You can see his passionate review of Mark by visiting…

vagabondfinances.com/the-best-expat-financial-advisor-personal-review/ )

 

8) Suppose You Need to Travel from Louisville to Tibet. How?

You’re an experienced world traveler. But even the BEST travelers sometimes appreciate help booking trains — especially between countries. (Who has all those train companies memorized in every little republic in the world?) There’s one singular app that has become famous for this type of job and you probably have already used it:

 

www.rome2rio.com/

 

But you might NOT have seen the way they’re adding new services and new conduits all the time. Rome2Rio can now help you equally well with airfares, hotels, and much more. They cover ferries, flight paths, buses… In fact, how did we live before this? (Stressed.) Try it.

 

9) It’s Worth it Listening to This Original Recording of Jim Elliot

Unless you’ve spent the last century living on another planet, you’ve no doubt heard the story of Jim Elliot, made famous in the book, Through Gates of Splendor. But have you ever heard Jim Elliot himself (his very own voice) preaching on the resurrection of Jesus Christ? If not, it’s worth it to invest 39 minutes in listening to this audio track:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_num8N7Rgq0

10) Yes it’s Dated. But "First Fruits" on Amazon Prime is a Must

I know. It’s almost painful to watch a video put together in 1982. But the story! It’s a story for the ages. And it’s just one hour. And it’s free if you have Amazon prime. First Fruits chronicles the story of two young Moravians (in 1732) who left their comfortable community of Hernhut, Germany, convinced that they were called of God to bring the Gospel to the slaves in the West Indies. Under the dynamic leadership of Count Nikolaus von Zinzendorf, the Moravians sent out more missionaries in 20 years than all the other Protestant groups had in 200 years. Worth the watch.

 

11) This Lifelong Trainer Wants to Take You on His Next Training Trip

John Hendee has been winning people to Christ for his entire life. Now, he’s offering to take you on his next training trip to equip you so that you’ll, in turn, be able to train others. He’ll take you on an 8-day trip during which he’ll teach you how to train others, while you’re doing the training. The curriculum is “It’s All About Relationship.” Learn more at…

 

www.itsallaboutrelationship.org/

 

He’ll take you to a place like Kenya, Uganda, Cameroon, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt, India, Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Philippines, Ukraine, or Poland. John will help you learn to make a global impact for years to come. To learn more, write him on the contact form at…

 

www.itsallaboutrelationship.org/contact-us.html

 

12) Get Your Item in the Next Brigada

It’s easy to feature your training program or opportunity in Brigada. It might be a conference, convention, or rally. Or maybe you have a new app or video. We feature missions information, resources, trends and more… Anything that makes sense to mobilize for unreached peoples, advance the Great Commission, multiply disciples and churches, and more. As you know, we have a somewhat eclectic flavor. Some might even say quirky. But it’s free. And ad-free. Clean. White. And it’s archived on the web at…

 

www.brigada.org

 

To get your item in the next Brigada, just click on “Submit an item” at the website above. It’s free. But it’s true — for donors, we bump up the item in the queue, and list it closer to the top. Either way, you’re published soon. Try it today!

 

13) Feel Left Behind on the Hong Kong Protests? Here’s an Explainer

Some have been honest enough to admit that the Hong Kong protests have passed them by. And… now that they’re a thing, maybe it’s too humiliating to admit — some of us don’t know why they’re happening exactly? If that’s you, here’s a great explainer to catch up — in one single landing page:

 

www.vox.com/world/2019/8/22/20804294/hong-kong-protests-9-questions

 

When you’re done, comment here if you feel like you have a better orientation now — and don’t be ashamed to ask additional questions. Some of our Brigada participants are *experts* on China — and, using Brigada, they can answer anonymously.

 

14) The Last Bit: How do You Stay Motivated for Missions?

Since I found the little book by Norman Vincent Peale, The Power of Positive Thinking, on a hardware store book table as a kid, I’ve been interested in what motivates us. Looking back, I’m not sure why that little book had such an impact on me. Somehow though, it did — which brings us to our point in this week’s, “The Last Bit.” What motivates you? Because the truth is — what motivates you might, for others, not so much. Is it —

 

*** Reading about heroes of the faith who never backed down?

*** Contemplating on the lostness of humanity?

*** Praying passionately to your Lord and Master?

*** Learning concrete ways to make a difference?

*** Studying new strategies together with peers?

*** Seeing progress/fruit?

 

What spurs you on in the dark of the night? Click “Comment” on the web version of this item and let us know.

 

15) Closing Stuff

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