Brigada Today
24 Aug 2001
SPECIAL EDITION
News and Notes about Brigada, Your Gateway to Missions Networking!
On the WorldWide Web, browse http://www.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.]
Note: Though this Brigada Today represents the 8/24 edition, it is being
compiled on Sept. 11th. I know, I know. It's weird... but a long time
ago we settled on doing editions on Fridays... and we're told that if we keep the dates consistent it just works better that way. So... this
the Aug. 24th edition... posted Sept. 11th. In addition to his role of making an effort to compile Brigada Today on an [attempted] regular basis, Doug Lucas serves as President of a missions agency called Team Expansion. On Monday, Sept. 10, Doug wrote a personal note to each of the 175 full-time Team Expansion workers around the world, asking each of them to take a greater measure of caution -- to "watch your back", so to speak. After watching the morning of Sept. 11th, Doug wrote his colleagues again, this time, with the following message:
"Sept. 11, 2001 -- A Day of Terror for the USA and its visitors
"Well obviously, when I sent out a warning message to you yesterday, I had no inkling that 24 hours later, we'd be viewing scenes of such horrible destruction and loss of life. Honestly, at that time, I was anticipating some kind of attack on an embassy in Tokyo . . . or something in a restaurant in South Korea. By no means would those kinds of acts have been "small-scale", but the massive loss of life and the incredible sense of emotion that New Yorkers . . . and all Americans - - in fact, all sensible world citizens -- . . . the stuff we feel at a time like this is probably something akin to what our parents or grandparents felt on the day after Pearl Harbor.
"Of course, when I thought about attacks being far away, I was actually thinking of you and all our missionary force. Often, what's far away from us in proximity is close to you. In this case, the warning ended up with an ironic twist -- the attack was much closer to home than I ever imagined. Was it Usama Bin Ladin? Or was it some Tim McVeigh with a twisted sense of "getting even" about something that happened to his mother or brother? The truth is, we might never find out for sure. But one thing is certain: regardless of where this kind of act takes place, we are reminded of just how fragile life can be. I mean, how do we prevent jetliners from crashing through the windows of skyscrapers... or, for that matter, smashing into the castle at Disneyworld? Yikes.
"The only thing we can really trust in is the fact that somehow, God is near to us in times like these. He empowers us to do His will... to carry out the good works that He's created in advance for us to do. Sometimes that will require more courage, more endurance, and more stamina than we personally can muster.
"So where do we turn in times like these? (You know where I'm going with this.) We have to look straight into God's face and seek Him. Here at Int'l Services, we just gathered for a quiet time of prayer. As each team member lifted up various aspects of this tragedy, I saw varying perspectives and took peace in giving over all the strain to God.
"So I'm asking... would you please join me today as we lift up the needs of all the families who have lost loved ones this morning? Would you help me lift up the families of those who aren't even Americans but were simply in line to visit the World Trade Center as tourists? Let's pray for peace for those who are, at this very moment, agonizing over a terrible injury or loss of limb... or loss of a Mom or Dad or son or daughter. We pray for wisdom for our leaders . . . for George Bush and all his advisors. ... that he might have insight from God and incredibly swift and effective judgment. May God bless America and her allies on this fateful day.
"Would you and your colleagues there be able to gather today, even for a few moments, to jointly pray these prayers with us? Would you intentionally ask the Lord to grant wisdom to the USA's leaders? Thank you.
"Now, the same message I sent you 24 hours ago... still applies... "Over these next few weeks, as you make travel plans, just remember, especially for those traveling between an overseas location and the USA... please maintain a high level of vigilance and take appropriate steps to increase your security awareness and reduce your vulnerability, whenever it is possible. Maintain a low profile, vary routes and times for all required travel, and treat mail and packages from unfamiliar sources with suspicion. In addition, Avoid contact with any suspicious, unfamiliar objects, and report the presence of any such objects to local authorities. Vehicles should not be left unattended, if at all possible, and should be kept locked at all times. We appreciate you . . . and your friendship and camaraderie... so we felt an ounce of caution would be worth a pound of cure.'
"So please... just be careful. It truly is a jungle out there. 
Doug Lucas
TO SUBSCRIBE -- To subscribe to BRIGADA TODAY, send email to brigada-today-subscribe@egroups.com.
TO UNSUBSCRIBE -- Send email to brigada-today-unsubscribe@egroups.com. (Subject and text are ignored.)
IF IT DOESN'T WORK -- Write Don & Judy, our Customer Services Managers at help@brigada.org. Yahooooo for volunteers!!!
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>."
IMPORTANT: To copy or reproduce Brigada Today for any other reason is illegal and is not permitted.
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!" 
For subscription questions or problems, write help@brigada.org.
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.
Thanks to <eGroups.com> for hosting the Brigada mailing list.
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.orgBrigada Customer Service Manager: help@brigada.orgBrigada Coordinator: Doug Lucas, Team Expansion & Brigada, DLucas@teamexpansion.organd many other occasional contributors too numerous to mention!| "If you've been asked to lead, you've been asked to serve." | |||
 Home Page | Doug Lucas DLucas@teamexpansion.org | Phone: 502-297-0006 |  Today Index |
| 3700 Hopewell Rd. | FAX: 502-297-9823 | ||
| Louisville, KY 40299-5002 | Organization: Team Expansion | ||