19991003 Brigada Today

In this issue….

WHAT IN THE WORLD IS BRIGADA?

Brigada, pronounced “bree-GAH-dah” (rhymes with armada), is the rough equivalent of a “brigade” — in Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, and even Filipino! The idea is to stand side by side to pass buckets of hope for those most in need of Christ’s eternal message! Check out nearly 5 years of weekly back issues at https://brigada.org. See recent back issues and links at http://www.eGroups.com/list/brigada-today. Brigada Today is compiled by Doug Lucas DLucas@teamexpansion.org, Louisville, KY.

TRY MYTALK AND GET FREE 2-MINUTE CALLS WITHIN THE USA

Looking for a great way to get a free two-minute phone call into the USA? Try http://www.mytalk.com. You get a free email address, free toll-free number for voicemail, and you can even listen to your emails and reply — all via voice. The voice recognition is incredible. It’s fun just talking to the system! The main downside on the free two-minute call is having to listen to about 30 seconds of ads before making the call. Hey … that’s chicken feed if you’re getting a free call to anywhere in the USA!

I set up an email account and the only downside was it seemed to take forever for messages to show up in my inbox there. But maybe the site was just having a “bad hair day.”

But then I tried the free phone call and was put right through, after the 30-second ad. Terrific! Thanks for the tip, Macon! (By the way, Macon just did a complete mailing using the eLetter service we previously mentioned (“YOU’VE GOT MAIL: ELETTER!“). He said it worked great!) By the way, as far as free voicemail only, Mytalk.com might have uReach.com beat in some ways — since there is apparently no limit on the amount of voicemail you can receive per month! However, it appears there is no provision for receiving faxes. Your choice… or do both — one for a toll-free fax number and one for a toll-free voicemail number!

Seems like these are great options for students away from home!!! Highly recommended.

REGISTER NOW FOR MEDICAL MISSION CONFERENCE

On November 12 – 13, 1999, Southeast Christian Church will present its 4th Annual Medical Mission Conference. For detailed information about the conference, browse http://www.medicalmissions.com. Guess who they’ve got coming: David Thompson, a career missionary surgeon who works in Gabon, West Africa. He’s the guy featured in the unforgettable last 7 minutes of the Generation video that everybody’s showing these days (from Mars Hill Productions). Highly recommended. I’ve been using those last 7 minutes to close out one of the messages I’ve been preaching on Matt. 24:14. Gang… It’s powerful. The Elmers are going to be there too… (Duane and Muriel) as well as a ton of other workshop speakers and profs. They’re even presenting helps for raising funds for short-term mission trips. CME credits for physicians and CEU credits for nurses up to 5.5 hours will be available for taking this course. And guess what — there’s no registration fee! (However, a love offering will be taken.) For more information or for a brochure concerning the conference, call Stephanie Garling, 502-451-5317, extension 4725. Book your travel now — the “Breeder’s Cup” will be held in Louisville the same weekend as this conference. Stephanie Garling also has motel/ hotel information available for participants.

FREE WORD-PROCESSOR LOOKS GOOD

I continue to watch with interest the StarOffice suite that looks strikingly similar to Microsoft Office. It even reads and writes to MS Office! Recently acquired by Sun, it’s attracting an increasingly loyal following. There are at least two major differences though. You need 500MB of space for MS Office and only 65MG for StarOffice. And the Bill Gates version will set you back a few hundred bucks. StarOffice is free on the web. Get it today. Just browse http://www.sun.com/staroffice.

GOT PICTURES YOU WANT TO SHARE WITH THE WORLD?

Check out Adobe’s ActiveShare site http://www.activeshare.com, where you can post an unlimited number of photos for free and send them via email to those who want them.

NEW OPTIONS HELPING KIDS STAY “STREETSAFE” ONLINE

Have you been trying to find a good solution for keeping your kids on safe online streets? I’m tired of fighting CyberPatrol. New options include This.com which is a full-service ISP for $22/month. It uses ultra-smart server-based recognition software to watch for flesh tones, eyes, expressions, keywords, etc. Another chance is SurfMonkey.com which offers free filtering software, now in the form of a 250K plugin for Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 and 5, with Netscape and AOL browser plugins due by the end of the year. For more options, check out http://www.getnetwise.org for tons of helpful articles, links, and possibilities.

TAKE YOUR OWN Y2K HEALTH CHECK

Want to check out your Y2K readiness?
For business or organizational implications try http://www.y2k.gov or http://www.sba.gov/y2k.
For individual issues, look at The Cassandra Project http://www.cassandraproject.org or http://www.redcross.org/y2k.html or http://www.y2kwomen.com.
If you’d like to check your PCs, look at http://www.pcy2000.org, http://www.pcmag.com/special/y2k or http://www.y2k.com.
You can get 2 free utilities at http://www.on-mark.com and http://www.symantec.com/sabu/n2000/fscorporate.html.
You can even check your compliance over the web at http://www.mcafee.com/clinic/2000tb.asp

ON THE HUNT FOR A STAT

Okay… so we’ve all heard it… The number of people who are dying per day or hour or second or whatever… without Christ. Please send the location to Bertis BCRIGO@aol.com. Thanks!

CHECK OUT THIS HUNGER SITE

Okay… so we’ve heard about it from several different sources… Bob, Marty, and even folks from down under! You just go to this site… http://www.thehungersite.com and click and supposedly they give a free meal to a hungry person. Corporate sponsors pay the tab. Check it out.

“THANKS” JUST ISN’T ENOUGH!

Thanks to all those who have chosen to try out Netcom/Mindspring. Recently we pointed out that if you were looking for a new Internet Service Provider anyway, why not try them at 1-888-MSPRING. We trumpeted their great customer support, fast throughput, and points of presence (POPs) all over the USA in just about every city imaginable — plus cheap toll-free access for rural areas too! And they’re hooked up with a service that lets you do “global roaming” called GRIC so… just about wherever you go in the world, Netcom is there! You had to say “I’d be happier using MindSpring” to the sales representative. They then credited your account with a bonus — $60 if you signed up before Oct. 1st, but you still get $20 even if you sign up tonight.

TIRED OF MICROSOFT WORD 2000’S CHANGING MENU-SCAPE!???

I am. Yikes.

Just when I think I’ve got all the menu choices to show up, Word goes and hides ’em again! Well, here’s how to get rid of Office 2000’s “feature” that hides your seldom-used menu choices. Just choose Tools|Customize, then Options. Uncheck the box labeled “Menus show recently used commands first.” While you’re there, want to turn off that dastardly Office Assistant? Clippie or whatever? First time I ever considered homicide.

He seems so . . . smug! What were they thinking? At least he could lose the condescending attitude… along with the menus. Why develop all this power… then hide it from us because it’ll seem too “overwhelming” to look at such a powerful program! So… just choose Tools|Options, then click on the Options tab, uncheck “Use the Office Assistant.” Man am I glad to get rid of him.

IN SEARCH OF CROSS-CULTURAL TRAINING ON THE WEB

Doug Salser asgm@flash.net wants to know where in the world he can find cross- cultural training online. I got to thinking… have we ever covered that topic here? In other words, say there are 3000 Asians living in the neighborhood next door to yours. Where can you go on the web to “take lessons” in how to befriend them? Where could you go to find out about Buddhism, or Hinduism, or Islam for that matter? Send your best pointers to him and please send a carbon-copy to brigada-responses@egroups.com.

(Note that this is one group you don’t have to “join” first in order to copy it. The messages go right on in without the need for subscribing.) Doug Salser will compile your best shots into a report for us here.

NEED AN ISP-LITE? CHECK OUT LIBERTYBAY

Take a look at http://www.libertybay.com to see if it has the locations from which you need to log on. They provide Internet access at half the price of other full-service providers! You pay only $8.95/month for a fast e-mail account and great customer service — with no “ad bars” staring you in the face. Granted… they don’t have access numbers in all cities yet (like, for instance, none in Louisville, KY, where Team Expansion is based and where I live!), but if it meets your needs, . . . hey… can’t beat the price. Thanks Steve!

WEBWATCH: GATEWAY TO INDONESIA

Check out Rudy’s “Gateway to Indonesia” evangelistic site at http://www.gw2i.com.

BRIGADA-INDIA ALIVE AND WELL

Brigada-India is an email conference that formed just a few months after we opened the gates here in 1995. To join, browse http://www.egroups.com/group/brigada-india or send a message to brigada-india-subscribe@egroups.com. To learn more about current conditions of persecution in India, take a look at: http://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/indiachr/

NATIONAL SHORT TERM MISSION CONFERENCE

The NSTMC will take place Jan 28-30, 2000, with a pre-conference on Jan 27. The NSTMC is a training conference for those in any aspect of short-term mission team leadership (team leaders, pastors, missionaries, national hosts, mission committees, etc, etc.) The 5 general sessions and 6 workshop sessions cover every aspect of the preparation, the time on-site, and the follow-up. More information is available at NSTMC.org or by writing KJHurst@aol.com, or 800-636-3334. Feel free to write Kim KJHurst@aol.com if you’d like brochures or other materials to promote the conference in your organization. Thanks!

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COPYRIGHT — This issue of Brigada Today is Copyrighted © 2001. However, permission is granted to freely redistribute these materials, including those available through email autoresponders, provided that such redistribution is to those who will help the Good News of Christianity to reach the unreached. But please include this phrase: “For a free subscription of Brigada‘s weekly missions publication, write <brigada-today-subscribe@egroups.com>.”
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DISCLAIMER — Please note that there’s no way we can possibly screen all the text on all the web sites or items we recommend. We try to check them out first… but if we miss something, please don’t assume that the opinions on those sites are identical to those of the Brigada family of networks. “Eat the corn, leave the cob!”
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SUBMITTING CONTENT — To submit content or ideas to Brigada Today, first please get a copy of “Guidelines for submitting items to Brigada” Then, once you’ve composed your item in keeping with those guidelines, send your item for Brigada Today to DLucas@teamexpansion.org.
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Emphasis is placed on items relating to unreached peoples and challenges faced by those reaching them cross-culturally.

PLEASE DON’T SUBSCRIBE US TO YOUR LIST — It’s always better to ask before manually force-adding anyone to your list-serve or mailing list. Recently, tons of well-meaning people have been subscribing Doug to their lists. Since he often travels overseas, he doesn’t join many of those, for obvious reasons (like being charged big-time for overseas access). So as a general rule, please don’t bulk-mail us! See the note above if you’d like to submit items for Brigada Today. Thanks for understanding. Bottom line: We will never create Brigada Today items from bulk mail. Bulk mail gets deleted immediately — sorry. Nothing personal. We suggest you apply the same standard to everyone. Ask first!

WARNING ABOUT FORWARDING EMAILS — Please, before forwarding any kind of request (even if it says “please send this to all your friends”), please check to make sure it has a VERIFIABLE ORIGIN, a VERIFIABLE PURPOSE, and a VERIFIABLE CLOSURE (OPC). By following this simple approach, many “email viruses” could be nipped in the bud… at least in the Brigada family. More information about the full Brigada OPC protocol is available. Thank you.

BRIGADA TODAY IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE FOLLOWING TEAM OF REGULAR VOLUNTEERS:

Global Glimpses: John Hanna, Caleb Project, jhanna@cproject.com
Brigada Website: Bob Mayhew, WebServant@brigada.org
Brigada Customer Service Manager: help@brigada.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!