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News and Notes about Brigada, Your Gateway to Missions Networking!
On the WorldWide Web, browse https://brigada.org
Compiled by Doug Lucas, Cincinnati, Ohio
[Pass this issue to a friend! To subscribe, see instructions at end.]
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In this issue….
* WRITE NOW – RIGHT NOW – FOR INFO. ON PIT-STOP LOUISVILLE
* WANT THE NAME AND ADDRESS OF OTHERS WHO HAVE ADOPTED ‘YOUR PEOPLE GROUP’
* YOUR SOURCE FOR INTRO. INFO. ON PGP ENCRYPTION
* LOOKING FOR THE PERFECT MOTHER’S DAY GIFT? HOW ‘BOUT A MAP?
* MISSED MOTHER’S DAY? WHY NOT PLAN FOR A MAP FOR FATHER’S DAY!
* PLAN NOW TO ATTEND MISSION 2000 III
* JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT YOU’D NEVER FIND A 180-LESSON SURVEY OF THE BIBLE
* 30 DAY HINDU PRAYER FOCUS IS COMING YOUR WAY!
* USA MAILERS, NOW YOU CAN DO BULK MAIL WITHOUT THE GRIMMACE
* ARE YOU GETTING ‘ALERTS’ ABOUT CRYPTO LAW HR695?
* DO YOU USE CIS/COMPUSERVE?
* INDONESIAN RESOURCE ROUND-UP
* NEW VIDEO PROMISES TO CHARGE UP YOUR MISSIONS PROGRAM
* FIND FABULOUS FAITH-PROMISES FOR FURTHERING FAR FLUNG FOCUSES
* BANDWIDTH BUSTER OF THE WEEK: ABORTION POLL
* BRIGADA-TRAVEL-BIDS A MIXED BAG
* PERFECT IMAGE HAD IMPERFECT URL
* SHIPPING TO UKRAINE???
* STUDENTS STUDYING ISLAM
* TRAINING PARTNERSHIP ANNOUNCED
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WRITE NOW – RIGHT NOW – FOR INFO. ON PIT-STOP LOUISVILLE
If you want to take home a diskette chalked full of info. on how to adopt an unreached people group, and you’re wanting a simple step-by-step approach to promote the project in your congregation, come to Pit-Stop Louisville, May 30-31, and learn all about PACE — the simple, effective approach to pulling off a church/agency partnership for unreached peoples! For a free brochure, write Bill Reynolds at: 76152.2375@compuserve.com or see https://brigada.org/pace and keep checking back as more sites are added later this year for Minnesota, North Carolina, and Tulsa.
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WANT THE NAME AND ADDRESS OF OTHERS WHO HAVE ADOPTED ‘YOUR PEOPLE GROUP’
So do zillions of other folks. Let’s start praying that we’ll all figure out a way to make that happen. For example, John Rogers BCCYanadi@xc.org wrote this past week to ask for a list of other congregations and individuals (worldwide, presumably) that had adopted the Yanadi. Okay — so do we go to Adopt-a-people Clearinghouse, or AD2000, or the Manna Church of Fayetteville, NC? Search me. After two years of campaigning, the best answer I’ve been able to find it to write brigada-peoples@xc.org (you might have to join first by sending a message to hub@xc.org with
subscribe brigada-peoples
in the text) and asking for leads. Once you find even one contact person, you’re likely to stumble onto dozens of others in the same network. Real scientific, eh? :-) However, one of the rubs is security. Nobody wants to expose on-field workers to risk. Fine. So let’s don’t. Now what else is holding us up? Well, there’s also the ticklish situation of people getting a barrage of “please send money for such-and-such” appeals. I mentioned this to a buddy in Colorado two weeks ago and his answer was, “I don’t buy it. People can always just say no. You know what I say when people ask me for money and I can’t give? I say, “No.” So I don’t buy it.” (Way to go Steve Moore! :-) ) So what else is holding up a true clearinghouse of mobilizers for the same people group? I’m not sure. It’s surely not technology. Goodness knows we have plenty of that floating around a group of 5500 Internet types and missionaries. And certainly it’s not passion. My goodness no. So…. my only conclusion is that everybody’s business becomes nobody’s business. We’ve talked and planned and prayed and brainstormed and plotted and … where are we today??? Only a hair farther along than we were in January ’95 when we first asked the very same question!!! So… I’m recommending we shut down the whole Brigada family of networks. It’ll save me a ton of time and probably you too! :-) What’s that? You’ll miss the great humor? Yeah right. :-) Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy for the friendships and all that stuff. :-) But in the end, how do we form networks? Here’s my suggestion. (Okay — so I was kidding about shutting down Brigada. :-) ) Let’s make a commitment now to have this whole thing finalized by the time we do BriagdaFest ’98, Dec. 26-31, ’98. By then, with just two years left in the whole AD2000 & Beyond push “a church for every people by Dec. 31, 2000,” we’d better have a way to actually measure whether or not that’s happening! :-) So — for now, best bet I know of is to contact AD2000 & Beyond Lauri@ad2000.org or call (719) 576-2000 and ask them. If you can prove who you are (so you’re not a security risk) they’re likely to give you some kind of lead. And thanks to AD2000 & Beyond for filling this incredibly helpful role for now. Yikes. What would we have done without you!!!
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YOUR SOURCE FOR INTRO. INFO. ON PGP ENCRYPTION
Now Brigada participants have a totem pole to file FAQS (and their answers, we trust) about PGP encryption. Just send a note to hub@xc.org with only these words in the text:
get brigada pgp-help
You’ll soon receive an emailed reply with pointers to web pages and generally helpful pgp shell applications, tips, and tricks, as well as cautions about false senses of security. If you get the file and want to improve on it, send your suggestions/contributions to DLucas@TeamExpansion.org with subject line
PGP HELP
— note that messages which do not include this phrase in the subject line will not be added to the file. (I’m awash in email and I’ve got to work smart. :-) This method automates the process.)
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LOOKING FOR THE PERFECT MOTHER’S DAY GIFT? HOW ‘BOUT A MAP?
:-) Well, maybe it’s too late to actually get the map by lunch today, but you could get her a card and tell her what you’re ordering for her! “To my darling mother: I’ve ordered a map from the US Center for World Mission, from my good friend Gerry gerry.dueck@wciu.edu there. This is the now world-famous map of the least reached peoples around the world, beautiful full color… and might I add that by waiting ’til this Mother’s Day (and not buying last year), I was able to get this map for just $1.95 each (in quantities of 3 or more)! So I’ve ordered you 3 of them, one for your kitchen, your car, and the basement laundry room, so you can study unreached peoples while you fold clothes for me!!!!” By the way, if your mother is from the city, maybe you’d like the also pick up an extra map of the 100 Gateway Cities, from the 1995 prayer thrust??? Well Gerry’s ready for you there, too! $3.95 in quantities of 3 or more! So contact Gerry for all the details… and … good luck with your Mother’s Day shopping! :-)
Oh! Almost forgot, if you’ve got a really BIG mother, maybe you’ll want to order the really big map from IMB Customer Services, 1-800-866-3621 in the USA or Customer.Services@IMB.Org from wherever, . . . 36″x64″ for $4.95!!! Now there’s a steal of a deal for a really large mama… [or for the vestibule of you church, too!]. They’ve also got the 24″x36″ size for $2.95, in a mailer tube or folded, postage paid to USA addresses (please specify which version you’d like). As for those outside the USA, well… do other countries celebrate Mother’s Day? Maybe you can order a map for yourself??? :-)
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MISSED MOTHER’S DAY? WHY NOT PLAN FOR A MAP FOR FATHER’S DAY!
To help mobilize prayer for the least evangelized peoples of the world, and in cooperation with the Praying Through the Window Committee, GMI has designed a special “Praying Through the Window III” map. Now they’re offering a pre-publication discount bulk rate for quantities of 100 or more maps. But they need to know by May 23rd how many to print for you. Three designs will be available: Personal: 8 1/2″ x 11″ Place-Mat: 11″ x 17″ Poster: 22″ x 34.” I get it. In preparation for your missions banquet this fall, you could set up the table with the place-mat size, use the poster size to promote the banquet, then give each attendee a personal size! Now there’s a father’s day gift that would make Mark Patterson (from Global Mapping) happy! :-) So… order now… for your banquet, . . . or for your 100 fathers! Write PTTW@gmi.org and don’t delay… your Dad might never forgive you!
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PLAN NOW TO ATTEND MISSION 2000 III
We’ll have to work extra hard not to confuse Mission 2000 III with Mission 2003! :-) Because Mission 2000 III is this fall, September 4 – 7 1997 in Bispingen, Germany. This conference is all about practical ways to fulfill the Great Commission in our generation, about the initiatives “adopt an unreached people group” and “Praying Through the Window III.” Great speaker lineup… John Robb, George Otis jr., Betsy Neuenschwander, Bill and Amy Stearns, Jan Schlegel, and Kerstin Hack. Contact 100330.2724@Compuserve.com or 100711.2622@Compuserve.com for more details.
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JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT YOU’D NEVER FIND A 180-LESSON SURVEY OF THE BIBLE
… Just then, when you were desperate, Sky Media swoops in and provides you with their new CD that contains over 12 hours of audio, thousands of lesson graphics, and lots more. Write SKYMEDIA@aol.com for more info… and take these 180 lessons to the field with you!
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30 DAY HINDU PRAYER FOCUS IS COMING YOUR WAY!
Now, also by E-mail! Yes, you saw it here in Brigada-Today first. Beginning May 18 – June 16, daily prayer guides will be sent in English and German. Join a massive movement of prayer for the Hindu world simply by sending an email message to hub@xc.org with the body of the message reading:
subscribe hindu-30days
If you’d like the German version, just make that
subscribe hindu-30days-de
It isn’t too late to order the hard-copy guide too. Check out the information on http://www.ywam.org/prayer
For specific questions on the English or German E-mail versions, write to RonKernahan@XC.Org. Thanks Ron!
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USA MAILERS, NOW YOU CAN DO BULK MAIL WITHOUT THE GRIMMACE
Looking for a way to send flyers to all the moms you’ve loved before? Now you can!!! … with help from the folks at Helps Int’l!!! Write RogerJ@xc.org for info. on how Helps can help you! They can do bar codes, in case you’ve forgotten your mothers’ favorite happy hour sites! (Wait a minute… that’s not the kind of bar codes they mean!!!) Or sort the zips for all the mothers you were hoping to write but previously just couldn’t manage to address — and add all the “zip+4” extensions for all your moms’ addresses. Yes folks, now it can be different. Seriously — contact Helps for all your mailing helps today!!! They’ll even send you a program to do your label-tracking, and/or receive your mailing list in data format and process it to agree with nationally recognized USA addresses!
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ARE YOU GETTING ‘ALERTS’ ABOUT CRYPTO LAW HR695?
That’s a bill before the US House of Representatives that would change the way we think about encryption technology. If you’d like more info, see http://www.crpto.com/safe_bill/ or http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c105:H.R.695:. If you’re a USA citizen, you can also “adopt” your legislator at http://www.crypto.com/adopt/. Now there’s an oxymoron — “adopt your legislator!.” :-) Thanks to those who have emailed alerts . . . and to Jonathan for interpreting the possible scenarios. Basically, it’s an attempt to deal with the use of crypto in drug trafficking etc, but it might backfire. See http://www.crypto.com/safe_bill/safe_letter.shtml for one interpretation. And by the way, if you’re interested in seeing a summary of international encryption law, check out http://cwis.kub.nl/~frw/people/koops/lawsurvy.htm (Thanks Rod!).
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DO YOU USE CIS/COMPUSERVE?
Then check out Email Assist for CSi3 version 2.11, available from RhinoBytes, either on the WINUTILA forum on CompuServe or at http://www.rhinobytes.com. DavidHousholder@xc.org says the new version works great! Spell check on the fly, strip out Internet headers (or rather, hide them), use WinWord-like “autotext” substitution, and more.
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INDONESIAN RESOURCE ROUND-UP
Yulia dan Marc SABDA@xc.org is doing a round up of all Indonesian ministry resources and is willing to supply us with a copy of the summary here for others to “get”, later. Send Yulia dan Marc your ideas!
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NEW VIDEO PROMISES TO CHARGE UP YOUR MISSIONS PROGRAM
Procla-Media (part of the YWAM International Communications team in Colorado Springs) team has done it again! This time they have produced an MTV-style, high-tech and fast-paced video adventure journey into the world of modern missions. Who says missions is boring?! “Global Link” is the name of this 45 minute video; it can be watched in sections. After seeing it, your missions rally won’t think of missions as boring!! :-) Retail price is U.S. $14.95, but by mentioning this note in Brigada, you can get it from them for $11.95 plus postage (they can invoice you, and they also accept visa and MasterCard). Order it by sending an email to wcn@xc.org but don’t send your credit card number through unencrypted email. Either get their fax, or ask them to begin accepting PGP-encrypted messages. Also, if you have not yet gotten info about the Hindu World Prayer Focus starting on Pentecost Sunday, you can ask Paul at wcn@xc.org, or check out http://www.ywam.org/prayer/hindu.html.
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FIND FABULOUS FAITH-PROMISES FOR FURTHERING FAR FLUNG FOCUSES
Now you can find out what other Faith-Promise programs are doing worldwide. Write a short two-paragraph synopsis of your church’s faith-promise experience and send it to Kevin Paszalek pkp@mindspring.com. In a couple of weeks, he’ll knit together a compilation and make it available to us here on Brigada!
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BANDWIDTH BUSTER OF THE WEEK: ABORTION POLL
It’s gotta be this week’s major story in “forwarded messages.” The li site was probably among the Internet’s most misunderstood homepages this past week. The messages that everyone is forwarding to the whole world mislead us into thinking that the page is somehow sponsored by President Clinton, as if to get our input. (Ha! If Clinton wanted our input, he’d ask us on a page like whitehouse.com or something, not abortion.com.) In reality, the author of this abortion.com page is sending the results to Clinton, but does not purport to represent Clinton. As to whether or not Clinton will even see the poll, I doubt it. First of all, the page isn’t a true poll. I sat there and voted for the “pro-life” side of things about five times in a row, using my “back” and “forward” button to get a new start on the page. Now be honest. … didn’t you do that too??? A more interesting or helpful survey might have at least required us to submit our email address and street address, so we couldn’t be counted more than once. So… the page is an interesting idea… but in my opinion, poorly implemented and pointless. It only goes to prove how much bandwidth we wasted trying to prove that our side was the best! Still, if you want to look at it for the fun of it, it’s an interesting contest now — who can waste the most Internet bandwidth to show that their side is the most popular! As we went to press with Brigada Today this morning, the score was 5377 to 511, with pro-lifers ten-folding the pro-choicers. Course, my five votes helped make that possible. :-)
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BRIGADA-TRAVEL-BIDS A MIXED BAG
We still get messages from those who have tried Brigada-travel-bids and used it effectively to save money. Just email your travel request to brigada-travel-bids@xc.org (no need to join this one; only travel agents need apply) and odds are, you’ll receive a quote or two… or several! In fact, if you don’t receive any mail, you’re entitled to a complete refund!! Everything you had to pay to try the system will be refunded back to you! . . . zero! :-) But the 55 member travel agents who are trying to answer the requests ask that you please make sure to include “where you are traveling from, where you are going to, what date you will depart, what date you will return, and how many people will be traveling.” That’ll help them streamline their responses — and they’re getting daily requests for quotes on the system… so please be courteous. Lots of people are using it… and only one travel agent “gets the bid,” so it must be frustrating for some of them (if they lose everytime! :-) ). Course, the ones that do get the bid are the ones with the lowest price . . . and if that’s what you’re after, then try it! You might like it! :-)
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PERFECT IMAGE HAD IMPERFECT URL
Third time’s charm for Linda O’Flynn’s Perfect Image PC Service. She has twice supplied us with URL’s which were apparently incorrect. This time I went and checked before giving you http://www.inworks.net/perfectimage and at least, for now, it’s the right one! :-) So… if you’ve been banking on finding her on the web, maybe now you can? Sorry for the inconvenience. Someone said, “Let’s hope her scans are better than her URLs!” :-) Ouch! :-(
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SHIPPING TO UKRAINE???
Our sources say to try “LVIV Express Services, Inc,” an organization which offers person to person shipping to Ukraine for 99 cents per pound – taking only 6-9 weeks. This applies for humanitarian aide items (duty free) and other items that are to be used for the purpose of humanitarian aide. In the USA (or via the new Net2Phone service mentioned last week in Brigada Today! :-) ), call 1-800-965-7262 or check them out at http://www.imall.com/stores/lviv. They also hand deliver American currency in a most confidential way. Thanks to Paul, Andy and Chris for this great tip!
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STUDENTS STUDYING ISLAM
The National Student Conference on Islam is set for May 27-31 in Minneapolis, MN. The Conference is a special academic offering of the Islamics Studies Program at Luther Seminary. It is designed to:
1. provide information and understanding about Muslim religion and culture,
2. help a student share their faith with honesty and integrity, an important aspect of living in a multi-cultural world.
For information, contact gmi@luthersem.edu by e-mail or tel (612) 641-3487 or visit http://www.luthersem.edu/highlights/islammay97.htm.
[I love this guy because when he sent this paragraph, he already had all the little “<" braces around the email address and the URL! Thanks Mark!
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TRAINING PARTNERSHIP ANNOUNCED
If you’re interested in learning more about a new “Partnership for Missions Training” put together at a planning conference this past Apr. 21-22, call (704)-287-8996, ext. 231 or write to 71035.704@compuserve.com. Twenty-five leaders representing fifteen mission agencies, churches, and training institutions came together to explore opportunities for uniting efforts to better prepare cross-cultural missionaries. Sounds exciting! We’ll look forward to hearing more from them!
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TO SUBSCRIBE TO BRIGADA TODAY, send email to hub@xc.org with only the following message:
subscribe brigada
TO UNSUBSCRIBE, send email to hub@xc.org with this line in the text:
unsubscribe brigada
At https://brigada.org on the web, you can see tons more.
(This issue of Brigada Today is Copyrighted © 1997. However, permission is granted to freely redistribute provided that such redistribution is to those who will help the Good News of Christianity to reach the unreached. But please tell your readers where you learned about the item, and if it’s not asking too much, include the 3 lines on how to subscribe — see above.
IMPORTANT: To copy or reproduce Brigada Today for any other reason is illegal and is not permitted.)
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BRIGADA TODAY IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE FOLLOWING TEAM OF REGULAR VOLUNTEERS:
*Global Glimpses: John Hanna, Caleb Project, jhanna@cproject.com
*ADVANCE: Mark A. Kelley, Kainos Press, 70420.1057@compuserve.com
*Brigada Website: Bob Mayhew, Brigada Volunteer, mayhew@xc.org
*Technical Development: Jonathan Marsden, MAFxc jonathan@xc.org
*Brigada Customer Service Manager: Revis Ann Massey, RevisAnnMassey@xc.org
*Brigada Coordinator: Doug Lucas, Team Expansion & Brigada, DLucas@TeamExpansion.org
*and many other occasional contributors too numerous to mention!
But thanks for working together! That’s the dream of Brigada!
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