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News and Notes about Brigada, Your Gateway to Missions Networking!
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In this issue….
* FROM THE “SOMETHING USEFUL FOR 15 CENTS” DEPARTMENT
* OLYMPICS KICK OFF TONIGHT . . . “REAL GOLD” ALREADY UP AND RUNNING
* “DID YOU KNOW…” (FUN FACTS TO KNOW AND TELL)
* DOING RESEARCH ON A LEAST REACHED GROUP??? TRY GOING TO THE AMAZON!
* JUNO KEEPS ON GOING!
* PICTURE THIS!!!
* TRAVEL CONFERENCE COMING TO A SCREEN NEAR YOU!
* LOOKING FOR A HOST FOR YOUR MISSION’S NEW WEB PAGE?
* SO THAT YOU DON’T OPERATE UNDER FALSE PRE-TENTS
* WEB-WATCH
* FOLLOW-UP TO FOLLOW-UP TO “IBM TO OFFER INTERNET FOR THE WORLD”
* GLOBAL GLIMPSE
* TO SUBSCRIBE TO BRIGADA TODAY
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FROM THE “SOMETHING USEFUL FOR 15 CENTS” DEPARTMENT
Every once and awhile some Brigada participant passes along a supremely useful tool that allows us to inch forward in our communication or implementation of the Lord’s Great Commission. This is one of those times. Hats off to Les Tilka lestilka@mozcom.com, writing from the Philippines, who just passed along this note for the whole Brigada family. “If you want to send email to someone that has not yet ‘caught up with the times’ and gotten email – no problem. I ran across this email-to-fax server that is great for overseas or stateside personnel. I have been using it from the Philippines for about two months now and am elated with its performance not to mention the savings. To send a one page fax from anywhere in the world to the US it is only 15 cents per page. At present they are running a free fax promotion and I have sent probably 100 faxes for free! Every user gets 10 free faxes as their trial. It has really been a savings for me!” Right Les!!! It’s great! To see what Les was talking about, I logged onto the Web. http://www.faxsav.com, read about it, and within 30 seconds had sent my first fax to our own fax machine here in the office. From the time I sent the email until the fax machine kicked into receive, it was exactly 1 min., 17 seconds! For those without web access, simply email a request for more information to internet@faxsav.com. If you’d prefer, call FaxSav Customer Service at +1 908 906 1555 from outside the US or at 1-800-909-0080 from inside the US.
Now for the really cool part. You can also download a free software package that they give away . . . (it can be emailed to you or you can grab it at their web site) that lets you send fully formatted faxes from any Windows program, as long as you have a Winsock connection (if you aren’t sure whether that has something to do with computers or stockings you get for being 1st place, ask your Internet Service Provider for help). When you install it, it installs a printer driver (faxLauncher) in Windows. When you want to fax something formatted, you connect to your Internet service provider (Netcom, Compuserve, or whatever with a Winsock connection), pretend you’re going to print it, then redirect your output to that new “printer” (which is really their faxLauncher software), and . . . shazam . . . it sends your fully formatted fax over the Internet!!! Again, it’s just 15 cents/page to the USA from anywhere in the world! And Les is right . . . during this promotional time, you’ll get to fax for free!
Only thing confusing for me was the fact that, once I was convinced and tried to register my credit card to become a paying customer, it wouldn’t accept it! Said I was already an “existing customer” . . . and wouldn’t let me become a “paying” one. Guess it wants me to use up my 10 free faxes first? I have a note in to their Customer Service to ask, but for now, I’m still able to send for free anyway. So . . . this one’s a keeper! Happy faxing . . . and thanks Les! . . . . from all of us!
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OLYMPICS KICK OFF TONIGHT . . . “REAL GOLD” ALREADY UP AND RUNNING
Don’t miss the “Real Gold” web site this week, . . . http://www.realgold.org.
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“DID YOU KNOW…” (FUN FACTS TO KNOW AND TELL)
You’ll recall that this discussion initially started with a fun question about water going down the shower drain. :-) From there . . . let’s see . . . we went several directions, including tea leaves spinning to the middle of your teacup. This wouldn’t be a bit interesting for missionaries, except for the fact that, by definition, we’re posted all over the world. Well here’s a guy who writes from Antarctica! Ralph Holwerda ralphsyd@ozemail.com.au spent a year there and he brings up a bigger than life illustration about the fact that the winds from up North (of Antarctica) blow fearsome at times (like Ralph says that at “NZ base ‘Scott Base’, about 1300 km further North we recorded wind-speeds of over 90 knots (170 km/h))”, whereas at his base at the South Pole, they seldom exceed 10 knots! So Ralph says the wind blows all the snow in the world (just about) to the South Pole, then dies down and dumps it all there! So Ralph’s theory is that tea leaves go to the middle, in part, because there’s no “wind” [ie., current] there! He also wrote some beautiful connections to Psalms: Did you know that the greatest part of Antarctica is covered with about 4km (13,000ft) of snow and ice!!! When you go to the actual South Pole, the barometric pressure is only around 2/3 of what it is at ground level, because you’re so high up (in fact aeroplanes there have difficulty getting off the ground because of this). If most of the Antarctic is covered with that much snow and the surface area is about twice that of USA (!) can you understand that David writes in Psalm 33: “He gathereth the waters of the sea together as a HEAP: he layeth up the depth in storehouses.” (KJV, emphasis mine). BUT how could David know that? He’d never been on the Antarctic. He lived almost 3000 years before man first set foot on that great continent! David MUST have been a prophet!” No matter what you think of Ralph’s interpretation, it’s still good to hear from someone with first hand experience of literally traveling to the ends of the earth with Christ’s name on his lips! Thanks Ralph!
Now on to other topics, a worker in the Czech Republic is plagued by this question: “Now that the tea leaf thing has been solved, I have another question for you. Which direction is the correct way to eat a banana? My husband and I are missionaries in the Czech Republic, and compared to Americans, here they eat it up-side down! The stem that we use to open the peel, they use as a handle at the bottom. They say you can eat the whole banana that way without getting it on your hands. …” Lydia Bischoff Blansko, Czech Republic, czechout@login.cz. This is serious stuff. I mean, how many other cultural practices are so well-entrenched in the North American continent as this “how to eat a banana” norm?!!! :-) So . . .the jury’s now out. Which end of the banana is the correct end for the mouth and which is correct for the handle!!?! :-) Sigh. Don’t you wish your life consisted of solving those kinds of problems instead of the ones you really have to face today??? :-)
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DOING RESEARCH ON A LEAST REACHED GROUP??? TRY GOING TO THE AMAZON!
That’s what Randall Merriott Merriott@aol.com suggests anyway. ‘Course, he’s not talking about the jungle! He’s talkin’ the Internet Amazon! He wrote to us this past week, “I just came across this internet bookstore, Amazon http://www.amazon.com, which offers over one million titles. They have an easy to use keyword search tool and they also offer to notify you by E-mail of new releases matching your search criteria. I haven’t yet ordered from them, so I can’t vouch for their service. Prices seem to be reasonable. I found about 15 titles relating to my favorite people group.” Great idea, Randall! Thanks!
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JUNO KEEPS ON GOING!
Thanks to Barry Lillie lilliepad@juno.com for writing with first-hand testimony about Juno, the free email service we’ve mentioned previously. Barry’s feedback is, “It is only E-Mail, not web Browsing, etc. But you can’t beat the price and if most of one’s need is for words and not pictures, it might be great help for those in the missions community.” As we’ve published before, dial toll-free 1-800-654-JUNO if you’re in the USA, or email your name and USA mailing address to signup@juno.com. This service doesn’t offer out-of-USA dial-ups.
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PICTURE THIS!!!
Want more training on how to create your own Christian comic books — from initial idea through published product — to use in reaching the unreached??? Kingdom Comics is offering courses in Atlanta, September 23-27 and Colorado Springs, September 30-October 4. For more info, see the Christian Comics International web page http://members.aol.com/ChriCom/index.html or write cathleen@xc.org.
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TRAVEL CONFERENCE COMING TO A SCREEN NEAR YOU!
You’ll recall that several months back, the Lord raised up a moderator for Steve Skaggs’ travel agent “request for quote” conference idea. Mark Fremer has gone into action these past 10 days and almost has the entire package ready to roar. So travel agents, be listening. In the very near future, we’ll be asking you to subscribe to a core conference where you’ll listen to the rest of us send in “request for quotes.” You’ll then be able to send us your best value and we’ll have the unique chance to take our pick of itineraries and flight plans! Should significantly reduce costs for you (listening to us dial you all up each time and use up your toll-free number dimes) while saving all of us a bunch of time shopping for the best fares. Plus you’ll be able to hunt for good values when your own schedule allows! Watch for more information coming soon!
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LOOKING FOR A HOST FOR YOUR MISSION’S NEW WEB PAGE?
There are lots of options. MAFxc offers web page hosting; for information, email helpdesk@xc.org. You could also try The International Institute of Technology and Theology, at IITT@aol.com. (IITT has a great search starter page at: http://www.starthere.com. Try it!) Most of these services seem to be charging anywhere from $10/month on up to handle your web site. Keep in mind that you do the web design and html-coding . . . so you’re paying only for the server file storage.
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SO THAT YOU DON’T OPERATE UNDER FALSE PRE-TENTS
:-) Thanks to Ken Smith KSmith@gati.wa.com for his update on the upcoming conference for tentmakers Friday August 2: “For those coming early to the INTENT ’96 conference at LAX …, The Continental Plaza dining room has set aside a special area where conferees can eat and share with one another. It will be marked for International attendees, but all are welcomed. Dinner will be served there between 6 and 7pm. Registration for International Conferees will begin at 8:30 am on the 2nd so that they can attend the pre-conference meeting from 9:30 to 11:30.” Please feel free to contact Ken directly if you have additional questions.
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WEB-WATCH
See AMF at http://www.goshen.net/amf/. They’re apparently “America’s oldest interdenominational outreach to Jewish people”.
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FOLLOW-UP TO FOLLOW-UP TO “IBM TO OFFER INTERNET FOR THE WORLD”
:-) Will we ever get this IBM thing figured out? Maybe, thanks to Pete Holzmann Pete@xc.org who sent in some additional clarifying comments: “To sign up with IBM [from the USA], call 800/863-8277. This number can also provide any access numbers needed. To see a complete list of local access numbers, showing cities and countries where local access is available, check http://www.ibm.net/phonenum.html [if you have www access]. … Didax is NOT the same as IBM Global Network. Didax is a separate service, that *uses* IBM’s network… Yes, there are (exactly) 600 local access numbers. That isn’t 600 different locations; many international cities have several numbers listed. The 600 includes separate listings for slow and fast modems, for example. The network has local access in one or more cities in 48 nations, with good coverage in Europe and the Americas. Asian and former USSR coverage is pretty dismal for the most part (although Japan is well represented). For example, all of Russia is “covered” by a local number only in Moscow. CompuServe has local dial access in many cities across Russia. There are plenty of surprises even in the USA; for example, most of Denver has no local access!!??!! International travelers and missionaries using CompuServe or AOL ought to compare their typical travel destinations with the IBM Net list; I’m sure many heavy e-mail users can save significantly through a switch. ” Thanks Pete! For non-USA users, I called IBM and got a fax number for you: fax 423-477-6869 to ask for more info. on IBM’s connectivity options in your country.
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GLOBAL GLIMPSE
In May, 1995 4,000 delegates met in Seoul Korea for the Global Consultation on World Evangelization conference (GCOWE). These men and women came from 186 countries to plan how to finish the task of world evangelization. As a result of this conference, research teams are now being sent to more than 1,300 distinct ethnic groups (living in 130+ countries) so that agencies, churches, and individuals can adopt the needs of these groups, focusing ministry efforts there. The vast majority of these groups live in the area called the 10/40 Window, including parts of Africa, India, China, Pakistan, Indonesia, Central Asia, Iran, and many other countries.
(Source: Global Prayer Digest, July 14, 1995 and AD2000 http://www.ad2000.org. To receive the Global Prayer Digest daily by e-mail, send the message
subscribe brigada-pubs-globalprayerdigest
to hub@xc.org.)
Global Glimpse is compiled each week by John Hanna, Caleb Project, Littleton, CO.
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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
*Web Wizard: Bob Mayhew, Brigada Volunteer, mayhew@xc.org
*Web Art: Patti Mayhew, pmayhew@discover.net
*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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