19990509 Brigada Today

Now with 9089 participants!
News and Notes about Brigada, Your Gateway to Missions Networking!
On the WorldWide Web, browse https://brigada.org or http://www.eGroups.com/list/brigada-today
Brigada Today is “the missionary helper newsletter!”
Compiled by Doug Lucas <DLucas@teamexpansion.org>, Louisville, KY
[Pass this issue to a friend! To subscribe, see instructions at end.]

In this issue….

HOW DO WE FIND YOUR UNREACHED PEOPLE NETWORK?

Now that we have the “links” page in the Brigada-Today eGroups, can you give us a “pointer” so we know where to find information about your advocacy network (for some unreached people group)? For more information, read on to the next item!

HOW TO LIST YOUR ADVOCACY NETWORK WITH BRIGADA

For example, let’s say I’m connected to an advocacy network called Kosovo-Albanian Partnership (and I am). I go to the Brigada Today eGroups web page http://www.egroups.com/group/brigada-today then click on “links.” I click on “Add a link” (at the very bottom of the links page) then, to list a link to an unreached people advocacy network, I begin the “Name” with a forward slash (the symbol we’re using for advocacy networks – see the examples), such as: /Kosovo-Albanian Partnership (only use the name of your own advocacy network). Then in the “location” box, I paste in the URL for the location of the partnership’s best contact page on the web, which in this case, happens to be another eGroup page: http://www.egroups.com/group/kapcomm/

ADVANTAGES OF USING THIS “SWITCHBOARD” LINKS PAGE

Note that with this new approach, it doesn’t really matter which service you’re using to host your web page or discussion group (eGroups, Topica, MAFxc, or whatever) — they can all be reached via this links page. If you have a discussion group or an email conference, just make sure you describe it at that web page. I like this approach… because it doesn’t force list-owners to all migrate to the same list-hosting software. This takes everyone “off the hook.” It’s the best of all worlds! Some of my friends feel a lot of remorse that many of us are leaving the togetherness at MAFxc’s list-hosting service. But honestly, with this links page, we can still be unified in this switchboard fashion. And this way, everybody can choose their own path or options for list-hosting or web-hosting services.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO WAIT ON A HUMAN TO PROMOTE YOUR NETWORK

The great part about this “links” page is that you can go there anytime, night or day and list your network instantly. You don’t have to wait on a human to add a link to your page. Obviously, if you have an “insiders” conference (secure, private), please don’t list it… but if your insiders’ conference releases bits for public consumption, this is the place to list your link!

THE BRIGADA-TODAY “LINKS” GROWS ONLY WHEN YOU LIST THERE

Come on gang… please pitch in and help us build a useful switchboard page filled with dozens of links to people group advocacy networks! And, as always, list only those web pages which are for public consumption — don’t list pages with sensitive information in this public forum. Use your “public” URL to offer readers a chance to write contact people who can screen legitimate prospective partners that might want to join your network. Then offer to let them into your more secure discussion groups if you choose. Never release names and addresses of those working in secure locations via the web page or discussion group that you promote in the “links” page. And don’t forget to begin your “name” with a forward slash so it’ll be listed together with other Brigada-type unreached peoples lists. Thanks for building a global Brigada connections family!

POLL SHOWS MANY WOULD PREFER NOT TO LIST OUR PAGE

In the poll that we listed last week, many people voted for the option not to list the Brigada-Today eGroup in the eGroups index. (Thanks to all those who voted on the web! Next time, I’ll make it clear that I wasn’t really asking you to email me back personally! Yikes.

Either way, if you didn’t vote, sorry… the poll is closed now.) I’m convinced that many probably didn’t know exactly what that would mean (and if you were one of those, forgive us for not supplying enough information), but the long and the short of it is, we won’t be listing the Brigada-Today eGroup in the eGroups table of contents at this time. But that’s okay! We’ve never depended on a listing service to help us grow before! Why should we start now! We’ve always grown best by word-of-mouth. So if you’ll please help us spread the word… Please help us promote the new subscribe instructions in your network’s newsletter or bulletin. (See the last item below.) Thanks a million for your help getting the word out! And by the way, the https://brigada.org page will still exist as a rallying point for reading back-issues and learning more about Brigada Today.

YOUR BEST MISSIONARY STORY

Please send your best inspirational missionary story to Michelle smrenaud@bigfoot.com. She’s going to collect them and send us a copy that we can post on an autoresponder. She’s especially trying to find one about “a man who went to another country to be a missionary. He worked there for many years, and at the time of his death, only had one convert. After his death, that one convert brought thousands of others to Christ.” Does that ring a bell? If so, please send the story to Michelle.

“MUST READ” BOOK LIST

John johnomalley@csi.com has compiled a “missions must read” book list at http://ourworld.cs.com/mrjohnomalley. If you’d like to add to it, just drop him a note.

GET THE LOW-DOWN ON THE FRIENDS OF BOSNIA CONFERENCE

Want a full report on the Friends of Bosnia Conference that took place in Washington, DC in April? Now you can get it! Just send an email to: fobihdc99notes@brigada.worldchurches.org.

FIND OUT HOW OTHERS ARE EVALUATING MISSIONARIES

To get a thorough report on how others are evaluating missionaries, send for the report by writing an email to evaluating-missions@brigada.worldchurches.org.

NEW CHAT ROOM FOR BRIGADA FAMILY

Want to get together with some of the other Brigada-Today family members and brainstorm or swap ideas? Now you can chat live at http://www.egroups.com/ChatPage?listName=brigada-today

(Note: You might have to register first if you haven’t already done so, at http://www.egroups.com.) The chat page there gives you several special options such as sending private messages to those who are in the room and even varying the color of your “ink”! Not bad for a free service!

YOU CAN LIST YOUR UPCOMING MISSIONS EVENT IN THE CALENDAR!

Get this! Now you can list your upcoming missions program, conference, or training event in the calendar at: http://www.egroups.com/cal?md=y&day=10728&listname=brigada-today There’s no charge for the listing and you can do it yourself. If you don’t have web access, you can always ask a web-connected friend to list your event for you. (Sorry! Regretfully, Doug Lucas won’t be able to post your calendar dates for you. He’s unable to do that for a whole list of 9000+ subscribers! Hopefully, you have just one other friend who is connected to the web.) The graphical calendar interface can be viewed by day, week, month or year. What’s more, if you’re a member of more than one eGroup, you can even overlay more than one calendar!

POLITE INTERNET USERS ASK FIRST, BEFORE SENDING ATTACHED FILES

You know, Internet protocol calls for emailers to ask first, before sending an email to a recipient with an attached file. It’s a very small thing, but very polite. “Hey, I’ve got a brochure about my work, formatted in Microsoft Publisher ’98. It’s a 1 1/2 meg file. May I send you a copy?” That’s all it takes. Then you put your recipient in control. You might hear back, “Sorry, I’m on an overseas trip just now, having to pay by the byte. Please don’t send until May 25.” In addition to being good protocol, this approach makes for “safe computing” for a day and age in which many macro viruses and trojan horses are carried via Word files and other types of attachments. So… please ask first!

GLOBAL GLIMPSE FOR HINDU PRAYER

Organizers are gearing up for the third annual 30-Days Hindu Prayer Focus beginning May 23rd. In an effort to reach the unreached peoples of the world, Youth With A Mission in cooperation with WorldChristian News, is sponsoring this month long prayer initiative. According to YWAM, there are more then 800-million Hindus worldwide, making up many of the remaining unreached peoples of the world. Prayer focus officials believe this mobilization effort is key to seeing many Hindus come to Christ.
(Source: Mission Network News www.gospelcom.net/mnn 5/12/99. For more information on the 30 Day Hindu Prayer Focus visit http://www.ywam.org/prayer/hindu.html or e-mail wcn@xc.org.)
Global Glimpse is the occasional compilation of John Hanna, Caleb Project, Littleton, CO.

TAILOR-MADE OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE THE POOR AND NEEDY OF HONDURAS

Every once and awhile, we get news about opportunities. For example, this week we rec’d this notice: “IMPACT Teams and YWAM Honduras are partnering in the reconstruction of 50 homes for desperate families in a poor community in the southern part of Honduras. Church teams and YWAM groups can come for two weeks to build two homes shoulder to shoulder with the future occupants. We still need teams from now until the end of 1999 to complete this project which has strategic significance for the Gospel. Participation for groups (8 – 12 persons) is very easy as the program is streamlined with building materials stockpiled, sites prepared, living quarters set up, ministry opportunities made available and transportation pre-arranged. The two weeks include a beach trip and sightseeing in Tegucigalpa. For more information contact impactteams@compuserve.com.” Be sure to see the next note to learn more about how to list this kind of opportunity announcement.

NEW CONFERENCE FEATURES MISSIONS OPPORTUNITIES

Unfortunately, we just receive too many of these kinds of announcements (like the one above) to feature all of them in Brigada Today. So we’ve created a new brigada-opportunities page so that you can list your announcements directly. If you’re searching for a missions opportunity . . . or would like to showcase one . . . send a message to brigada-opportunities-subscribe@egroups.com Then once you’ve received your welcome message, write up a brief description of your opportunity and email it to: brigada-opportunities@egroups.com If you’d rather just list opportunities (but not receive news of them), go to the “members” page and edit your profile to “read messages on the web only”. That way, you’ll be able to list but won’t get the message traffic. If you’re in the market for opportunities, I hope tons of missions agencies will go there to create a virtual showcase of options! (So . . . come on missions agencies and churches, please help us list!)

LIFE IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT

To a large extent, that old saying is really true… “Life is what you make it.” I remember taking my family to Kiev for a getaway in 1991. Unfortunately, the hotel in which we stayed left quite a bit to be desired. It was hot, dirty, and run-down. The room was literally filled with bugs of all kinds. That night, as I tried to settle in my 1-year-old, my 4-year-old, and my wife, I felt a tinge of guilt for not having a better getaway situation. We had been working in Ukraine for months and sorely needed some downtime. So I set about to try to eliminate as many of the bugs as possible over the next hour or two. My 4-year-old (Christopher) began to really “get into it.” He joined me with his own rolled-up magazine as we set about on a military “search-and-destroy” mission to eradicate those bugs from every corner, nook and cranny! About an hour later, close to midnight, as we stood perched side by side on top one of the beds, just daring a single other predator to show his face on one of our blood-stained, battle-scarred walls, Christopher turned to me with those smiling, puppy-dog, 4-year-old eyes and said something that Penny and I have never been able to forget. “Dad, this is a great game… ‘killing bugs.’ Let’s always remember this night.” I couldn’t believe it! The very activity that I had thought of as a royal hassle had become, for him, a game! In it, he found release from the everyday strain of living in what was, in many ways, a failing economy fraught with faltering services. He didn’t need expensive toys or high-priced admission tickets to theme parks. All he needed was a rolled-up magazine and a room saturated with prey.

We had a ball. And Penny and I still laugh about it today. So… moral-of-the-story-time… truth be known, life really is what we make it! And always remember the fun game, “killin’ bugs.”

News and Notes about Brigada, Your Gateway to Missions Networking!
On the WorldWide Web, browse https://brigada.org or http://www.eGroups.com/list/brigada-today
Brigada Today is “the missionary helper newsletter!”
Compiled by Doug Lucas <DLucas@teamexpansion.org>, Louisville, KY
[Pass this issue to a friend! To subscribe, see instructions at end.]