In this issue…

  1. DIAL ABROAD AND HELP BRIGADA, OR BECOME A DIRECT SPONSOR
  2. FREE SOFTWARE TO TRACK DONOR INFORMATION
  3. NEW MISSIONS DVD AVAILABLE
  4. MEDICAL SEMINARS GIVING PRACTICAL HELP TO MISSION CANDIDATES
  5. NEW PRICING ON OPERATION WORLD
  6. TSI TO HOST ELECTRICITY SEMINAR FOR MISSIONS
  7. EXPERIENCE CHURCH PLANTING
  8. LEARN MORE ABOUT TALKING BIBLES
  9. TESOL OPENS DOORS TO THE NATIONS
  10. TRANSFOMRING NATIONS . . . COMMUNITY BY COMMUNITY
  11. WYCLIFFE OFFERS INTRO COURSE: TOTAL IT UP
  12. KNOW OF ANY ARABIC WEBSITES THAT EXPLAIN THE KING OF KINGS?
  13. FREE PRINTING EQUIPMENT FOR A CHRISTIAN ORG
  14. LEARN TO TRAIN ENGLISH TEACHERS
  15. CORRECTED URL ON CONFERENCE ON TELLING YOUR STORY
  16. MORE TIPS FOR BACKUPS
  17. CLOSING STUFF
  1. DIAL ABROAD AND HELP BRIGADA, OR BECOME A DIRECT SPONSOR — When we first heard about Dial-Abroad, I’ll admit – we were skeptical. But this past week, they sent a donation based on Brigada participants’ May telephone bills. Get this – it was $135! If you have to use the phone anyway, you might as well get a great rate and help Brigada pay its part-time secretary! Check them out at https://brigada.org/phone.html If you’re using the service, please keep talking! :-) Thanks, too, to Laura, a missionary with ABWE, for sending $15 to sponsor Brigada… like a magazine subscription! (Thanks Laura!) If you’d like to step up to the plate this coming week to help us underwrite the cost of our Brigada secretary and keep getting Brigada out the door each week, just log on at: https://brigada.org and click “sponsor” in the top menu, or just send a check payable to Team Expansion to: Team Expansion (Brigada secretary), 13711 Willow Reed Dr., Louisville, KY 40299. Thanks! As always, be sure to let us know if you’d like us to promote any particular service or ministry, or if you’d prefer your gift by anonymous.
  2. FREE SOFTWARE TO TRACK DONOR INFORMATION — Can you believe it? A free program to help you track information about your donors and contacts. Check it out at: http://www.sunergeosystems.com/MMBetaReg.asp Thanks to Sunergeo Systems for making the program available to Brigada participants at no charge! Remember – you heard about it on Brigada!
  3. NEW MISSIONS DVD AVAILABLE — International trainer and consultant, Paul Borthwick, speaks on the “Role of the West and Rest: Where do Western Churches and Missions Agencies Fit Within the Context of Global Christianity.” This 4-hour DVD will help you to help your church become more mission minded. http://acquirewisdom.com/g.o/brigada
  4. MEDICAL SEMINARS GIVING PRACTICAL HELP TO MISSION CANDIDATES — Mercy Ships offers Medical Seminars in East Texas for medical professionals who would like to get into missions but need help making the jump to the mission field. They offer 4 one-week seminars each year (“Navigating Medical Missions”)and 1 four-week seminar a year (“Preparation for Medical Missions”). They give continuing education units to nurses. Call (903) 939 7628 in Texas, USA, or log on at: http://www.mercyships.org
  5. NEW PRICING ON OPERATION WORLD — We are still years away from a new edition of Operation World, but you can get your copy of the current edition at knock-down prices from William Carey Library. SO…spread the vision, go to: http://WCLbooks.com or call 1-800-MISSION to order. IF you get 60 copies, you can even get them for less than $5.00 each! (One copy is $8.95, 3 or more is $6.50 each, 60 or more in case lots of 20 is $4.75 each. All prices are PLUS shipping and handling.)
  6. TSI TO HOST ELECTRICITY SEMINAR FOR MISSIONS — Tech Serve International (TSI) seeks to help missionaries and mission organizations worldwide in three areas: Electricity, Telecommunications, and Construction. This fall they’re hosting a seminar entitled “World Missions Seminar Electricity 101.” For more information, log on at http://www.techserve.org (Thanks for the tip, Ken!)
  7. EXPERIENCE CHURCH PLANTING — Here’s a different approach in learning how to church plant. All Nations Training Center (ANTC) runs a “Church Planting Experience” (CPx) in which seasoned church planters, experienced on four continents, walk side by side with student learners to plant churches in several people groups in Kansas City, Missouri. Participants will start to learn a new language, be resourced, mentored and coached on how to learn and disciple cross-culturally through storytelling and plant church planting churches. CPx runs from September 7th this year for 7 months in the USA and then 2 months overseas. For more details, including course handbook and application form, visit the ANTC web site at: http://www.allnationstraining.com/planting or write to Carrie crowe(at)metroallnations(dot)com [replace (at) with @ and (dot) with .]
  8. LEARN MORE ABOUT TALKING BIBLES — Audio Scriptures International has talking Bibles. Check ’em out at http://www.audioscriptures.org or to call ASI +760-745-8105.
  9. TESOL OPENS DOORS TO THE NATIONS — Here’s a 4-week TESOL course from September 19 to October 15, 2004, at Youth With A Mission in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, USA. See the website at http://www.ywampa.org for details and application forms, or e-mail your questions to ywampa(at)comcast(dot)net. [replace (at) with @ and (dot) with .]
  10. TRANSFORMING NATIONS . . . COMMUNITY BY COMMUNITY — Are you interested in establishing a Community-Based Health Care Program which integrates the physical and the spiritual? Medical Ambassadors International’s Training of Trainers (TOT) introduces people to Community Health Evangelism (CHE). This strategy teaches concepts, gives vision and practical How Tos for implementing and managing CHE in your ministry. Training dates for USA: September 14-19, 2004. Additional information can be found at http://www.medicalambassadors.org/Training_Dates.htm or email Helen(AT)med-amb(DOT)org [replace (at) with @ and (dot) with .]
  11. WYCLIFFE OFFERS INTRO COURSE: TOTAL IT UP — A “Taste of Translation & Linguistics” is back by popular demand. This five-day course includes introductory classes on phonetics, phonology, grammar, translation/semantics, and language learning. Field reports, videos, and personal testimonies each night round out the experience. Learn in a relaxed setting with experienced translators from different countries and language projects. Devotions, and worship build meaningful relationships between staff and students. Housing, meals (breakfast, lunch & supper) are provided. The cost is $200.00 and the dates are August 15-20, 04 in Idyllwild, California. Please contact Vicki vicki_weber(at)wycliffe(dot)org [replace (at) with @ and (dot) with .] or call (909)719-1105. Visit the Wycliffe web site for other courses outside California. http://www.wycliffe.org Select “happenings”, “Total It Up”.
  12. KNOW OF ANY ARABIC WEBSITES THAT EXPLAIN THE KING OF KINGS? — Here’s a guy in need of an Arabic website explaining Christianity (in a culturally sensitive way) to Muslims. He would love it if he could also see the English version to be able to communicate better on what they are reading with those to whom he refers it. Got any leads for him? If so, email Chris christopher.lay(at)teenmania(dot)org [replace (at) with @ and (dot) with .]
  13. FREE PRINTING EQUIPMENT FOR A CHRISTIAN ORG — Here are 4 printing presses, a process camera, 2 folders, misc. darkroom equipment all free to a Christian organization. The equipment in located in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. Contact danleinbaugh@cmfi.org for more information.
  14. LEARN TO TRAIN ENGLISH TEACHERS — The University of the Nations in Kona Hawaii is beginning a new 6 week TESOL course beginning August 2 and ending September 23. Their course consists of an intensive 4 week lecture phase with a 2 week practicum within our own Cross-Cultural ESL school. For more info, log on at http://www.uofn.org You may also call (808) 326-4433 for more information or (808) 326-4400 Ext 4172. You may also contact Randall Randall_Cavanaugh@hotmail.com
  15. CORRECTED URL ON CONFERENCE ON TELLING YOUR STORY — It’s coming up soon — July 6-9th, and it will focus on how to share the passion and vision of your ministry through story. The first two days of the conference you will learn how to see the stories in your ministry and how to write about those stories effectively. You will learn to share more than just information but share the heart of your ministry. You may continue for an additional two days and get hands-on video training with video coaches who are cutting edge professionals in their field. Whether you’re a beginner or advanced you can benefit from these second two days. Learn more at http://www.eyesoftheheart.org worth visiting just to see the great front page animations
  16. MORE TIPS FOR BACKUPS — Perhaps you recall that I my laptop’s hard drive went completely dead on April 17th. Try as they might, nobody could recover data for me. Now I back up every night, and even use a portable USB “flash” drive for smaller backups, at times, during the day. Several have contributed tips for backing up, and here are a few additional thoughts from an I.T. guy named “Jonathan”:

    a. Keep one backup off site at all times – if you use re-writable media, this means having at least two (three is better so you can keep the third on site at all times for convenience).

    b. Floppies are still good for backing up a limited number of small files.

    c. CD-R’s are great – cheap, convenient and especially reliable. Unfortunately, they are not re-writable but they are cheap enough for most people to throw away once a week or so. Break it (wear goggles or wrap it in cloth!) or melt it thoroughly (in good ventilation) first if it has sensitive data. It takes many CD’s to back up a half-filled modern hard drive, but with good back-up software you can do incremental back-ups that only store the data that has changed since the last back-up in a particular series, so only the first back-up in a series takes a long time and many disks. CD-RW’s are bad since they don’t always work well except in the drive that created them, even when precautions are taken.

    d. Recordable DVD of various types are starting to look good for long term reliability, and they are getting cheaper, though there are possible compatibility issues. Though movies on DVD are pervasive enough that the drives will be around for awhile, not all DVD self- recording systems are inter-compatible. 1 DVD = 5 CD’s

    e. Magnetic media of any kind loses data eventually. Some types of tape reliably last decades some disks only years. Most will last decades to centuries if stored properly, but may have a data error on a file or two after a long time.

    f. Anything exotic or trendy is a bad bet since a new drive may not be available next year after your office burns down. Never buy the “best” or the “latest”. Buy the one that everyone else uses.

    g. Avoid consumer grade Iomega products like Zip, Jazz etc. I really mean it on this. Use professional grade stuff if you use magnetic tapes or disks, but remember that blank media may be special order only and costly.

    h. External hard drives are good – probably the best if you do big backups and want to keep re-writing the same media over and over. Remember – you must buy at least two in order to always have one off- site from the computer! Buy only USB or Firewire – nothing fancy or exotic that may not catch on and be around next year.

    i. Flash memory such as the “film” from digital cameras can be good for small backups – buy a good brand and one that is commonly used for many types of device. Be careful – the flash card for my digital camera is now unavailable and can only be used in the camera even though it was “the only kind” five years ago. The readers for these are so cheap that you can afford to buy a spare to put away for the future if you are paranoid (only paranoids REALLY back up all their files, right?).”

    (Thanks Jonathan!)

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