7) Still looking for a Valentines Day Get-Away?
If you’re running a bit behind and you’re still looking for a Valentine’s Day Get-away, you just might be in luck. EdenRidge is a missionary-focused retreat and vacation destination located on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee. Last year, they welcomed over a thousand guests from around the world and they look forward to many more this year. To learn more and to make a reservation, just visit
Missionaries receive an 80% discount.
8) Online Travel Safety Courses at special discount!
Sarus Global offers online travel safety courses that are open to individual travelers and organizations. The six courses can be taken at your own pace and include a certificate of completion for your short-term missionaries. Group discounts are available. You can even get a special $10 discount at
https://www.gninsurance.com/gni_partners/sarus-global/
All the materials have been developed by an expert, former Special Agent and Diplomatic Adviser for the U.S. Department of State’s famed Diplomatic Security Service.
9) Debriefing in Southeastern Indiana
Are you looking for a debriefing event in Southeastern Indiana? Paracletos will be hosting Recalibrate! in March for adults (no children) and November (families). Five days of group and personal debriefing and quality accommodations will make this a first-rate experience for those who wish to share their story with people who care. Details can be found at
http://www.recalibrateevent.com
(Thanks for the tip, Jenny!)
10) Cool Tools: The Best Bible for Travel (Int’l or Otherwise)
To us, it makes sense to carry a printed Bible when on a trip for His Name’s Sake, even though there are a host of great Bible apps for our smartphones and other digitally connected devices. Why? What if the power goes out for an entire day and the batteries on your laptop and phone tucker out? Besides, I’m convinced that in some contexts, it still just looks WEIRD to teach or share the gospel using a phone or laptop Bible, especially in some contexts. So we recommend the thinnest NT/OT you can find (with print you can still read). It’s probably best to visit a Bible bookstore for this purchase, but as a rule of thumb, the NIV Thinline Bible seems to be a good compromise for font size and packing size. See a sample here…
http://www.amazon.com/NIV-Thinline-Bible-Compact-Zondervan/dp/0310435501
If you’d rather go digital (something on your phone or digital device), check out the Laridian line of Bibles at…
And, of course, there’s always…
Some swear by the extra helps and resources built into…
https://www.blueletterbible.org/
And finally, there’s our new favorite at…
11) Cool Tools: How to Remember Every Random Fact You Ever Heard
You only need one word to answer this item: Evernote. It’s fast, it’s synchronized (with every device you own), the notes are always available off-line, and it’s full-featured. Basically, think of it as a funnel into which you can throw all your ideas, goals, things to remember, notes, and everything else. On the other side, you can retrieve everything. It has been said that the spreadsheet application virtually CREATED the market single-handedly for the personal computer. Why? Because paper spreadsheets were made SO obsolete by computerized versions. To us, Evernote is another one of those apps.
12) Cool Tools: Carry an 8′ Brown Extension Cord
File the widened ‘polarization tip’ off the one prong of the plug so it’ll plug into the old 220 V. British (round prong) tip adaptor. Use the brown extension cord not only to bring the electric closer to you (in rooms that only have 1 plug for the whole room), but also to multiply the plug so you can charge your devices along with those of your roommate. :-) Many rooms will have only one plug.
13) We Give Thanks for …
…the True Fan of Brigada from Locust Grove, Virginia, who gave $100 this past week. God bless you!
Want to join him? Just mail a check, made payable to Team Expansion (Brigada), 13711 Willow Reed Drive, Louisville, KY 40299. Team Expansion is a 501(c)3 incorporation so, for USA citizens, your gift to Christ through Team Expansion is tax-deductible. If you’d rather give online, just click “Donate” in the upper right corner at brigada.org .
14) The BackPage: Are you at Risk for the Next Aggressive Hacker?
Brigada is. We just checked. One guy, evidently in St. Petersburg, Russia (although he could be anywhere in the world, just redirecting through Russia), has tried to log on to our site over 28,000 times so far. We’re not sure what he hopes to find. Articles maybe? : ) Or is he just interested in the challenge of it all? We’re tracking a host of other hackers from France, Brazil, Poland, Spain (that guys from Pamplona — isn’t that where the bulls run?), Latvia, China, Germany, Turkey, and even Red Deer, Canada. (Give us a break. Red Deer? That’s about 50 miles north of Calgary. Wouldn’t it be more fun to go skiing?)
We’re fascinated by hackers. Not sure why. They’re like the vandals who spray paint on the side of railroad cars. We’re not talking about graffiti artists. At least they have a purpose they consider noble (art?). Nope. These hacker dudes are just out to prove they can destroy. Now granted: Many of them want to suck the life out of your digital device or website by using it as a relay point for their spam or porn. But — hey… whatever happened to making an HONEST living by planting a garden and growing corn or something. The whole hacker scene is just creepy. Breaking and entering. Stealing bandwidth. Just ugly all the way around. So what’s a body to do?
Start by downloading the free program, Malwarebytes…
And yes — they sell a premium version that provides always-on protection. But even the FREE version will try to clean up the malware someone has planted on your device. Completely free.
But perhaps even more fundamental: Strengthen your passwords. The guys trying to hack into Brigada have invested THOUSANDS of [most likely automated] attempts in guessing our passwords. If yours are weak, you’re the next target. For this reason, security advisors recommend you NOT use the same password at every site. Please. Just get a program like RoboForm…
and let it “generate” (invent) hard-to-crack passwords for you. Use a different “hard-to-crack,” mumbo-jumbo password on every site — and you only have to remember your one cool password to get into RoboForm!
Of course, you could do more. You could turn off tracking in your browser, disable Adobe Flash, and delete the apps on your phone that you don’t really use. But at the end of the day, perhaps the single most important step might be password security. At least start there. And… pray hard. That guy from St. Petersburg is coming after you next.
15) Closing Stuff
Subscription Information –
Want to unsubscribe? Just click the “Unsubscribe” link at the end of this email. It’s one touch — so easy.
Want to change your address? That’s easy too. First, use the unsubscribe instruction above to get rid of your old address. Then just click to www.brigada.org and enter your new address in the one-click subscribe box in the upper right. That’s it! If necessary, verify the new address by watching your inbox for the confirmation from iContact. Be ready to click on (or copy and paste) the link into your browser. That’s it! It’s that easy!
To Submit An Item — We love to feature your news & resources! To find out how, read our submission guidelines on the web at:
Disclaimer –
We can’t screen ’em all. Please forgive us if a particular site contains offensive information! The web is constantly changing. We’ll do our best to scout it out in advance, but if the sea changes after we visit a site to check it out, please forgive.
Please Don’t Subscribe Us To Your List Without Asking –
Sorry, nothing personal, but we’re already deluged.
Warning About Forwarding Emails –
Just say no! :-) Read our thoughts about forwarding emails at
Donate to Brigada –
To give online, just click “Donate” in the upper right at www.brigada.org. Or if you’re reading this via email, scroll to the bottom to find a handy link. By the way, you don’t need a PayPal account to give. If you reach a screen asking for your PayPal I.D., look on the left side of the screen, about halfway down, and find the prompt which says, “Continue without a PayPal Account.” If you’d rather send an old-fashioned check, just make it payable to Team Expansion and send it to: Team Expansion (Brigada), 13711 Willow Reed Drive, Louisville, KY 40299, USA. (And by the way, Team Expansion is a 501(c)3 incorporation so for USA citizens, your checks made out to Team Expansion are tax-deductible.) Thanks to those who have suggested this cause to their local church missions committees, mission teams, and/or missions ministers/pastors. We appreciate you!
Privacy Information –
We will never give your information to anybody. We won’t market you, won’t hassle you, and won’t ever bother you. You will NEVER be signed up for mailings you didn’t request. Your address is safe and your future is secure. Life is good. :-)
Copyright — This issue of _Brigada Today_ is Copyrighted 2016. However, permission is granted to freely redistribute these materials, including those available on the Brigada website, provided that such redistribution is to those who will help the Good News of Jesus Christ to reach the unreached. To copy or reproduce Brigada Today for any other reason is illegal and is not permitted.
When you quote or paraphrase material from Brigada, please include this
phrase: “For a free subscription to Brigada’s weekly missions publication, visit Brigada on the web at www.brigada.org.”
2016/02/01 — Brigada Today
Compiled/Edited by Doug Lucas and Tina McCormick, Team Expansion. Your gift to Brigada will help get motivation, resources, and news/trends out to thousands of Christian workers throughout the globe on a weekly basis. Search over 2 decades of weekly Brigadas using the search box below.
In this issue…
1) New Book: “Evangelicals Around the World” Looks Promising
2) Free AudioBook: “I Don’t Have Enough Faith To Be An Atheist”
3) Someone in Your Org Retiring Soon? Check out This Guidesheet
4) Mission Media U Courses Opening Soon
5) What Every Missionary Should Know About Social Media
6) “Permanent Prayer Space is Becoming the Place to Be!” (in Schools!)
7) Curious Which Countries are Most Corrupt? There’s an App for that
8) Debriefing Short-Term Missions: Are we Neglecting it?
9) Are you a USA Passport Holder? Check your Expiration Date
10) Learn English; Serve in Asia; Change the World
11) Has Anyone tried TransferWise.com to send Money Overseas?
12) Reach Thai university students for Christ? Get TESOL
13) We’re Grateful…
14) The BackPage: Is this the Most Encouraging Talk of the Decade?
15) Closing Stuff
Recent Comments