The following is a from this week's Brigada.org newsletter. It is lengthy, but I encourage you to read it. It is not only proof of the effectiveness of technology in ministry, but it is also an opportunity for us to provide prayer and encouragement for a family in need.
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CAN THE INTERNET BE A LENSE TO THE SOUL?
It's funny, isn't it, that early software authors and personal computer manufacturers thought PCs (and MACs too) would be all about productivity and utility. And that's the way it looked at first, too. Back in the early 80's, I was an early user of those original spreadsheets, word processors, and database applications. They fueled the first wave of computers. But no one imagined what would fuel this next wave. Now it's practically impossible to imagine that the PC revolution was fueled by a spreadsheet program called Visicalc. My 16-year-old has studied everything from falconry to the correct way to hold a pistol for target-shooting, all on the Internet.
The truth is, the PC isn't really so much of a "*personal* computer" any more, at least according to the early intent of the word "personal." Instead, it's a node to a great cloud of users that are all working (and playing) on line simultaneously -- virtually. You see, any more, it doesn't have to be all about spreadsheets, data, bits and bytes.
Here's an example. Just as he and his family were poised to leave for Southeast Asia as new missionary recruits with our mission org., Mark Trotter learned last Monday that he has malignant brain cancer. His family gave up a successful dental practice to prepare for the mission field. Now, with his departure imminent, he and his wife, Lyla, learned Monday that the fast-growing tumors in his head are inoperable, incurable, and, barring a miracle from God, will inevitably take his life.
Within a few hours of hearing about this calamity, our mission created a page on our website where friends and family can "virtually pray" for him. (Please log on at: www.teamexpansion.org then click on "Caring for Mark" in the right-hand "main menu." Check out the responses of others. Leave a short prayer yourself. You don't have to register or sign in. But imagine how a word of encouragement from a dozen or two Brigada readers would help his wife and 10 children [yes, you read correctly; 10 children] make it through the surgery Tuesday (designed, we're told, to aid his quality of life, but not save his life).]
Now here's my point: See how the "personal computer" begins to become *personal* in ways that original creators never imagined. One could say that the machine has become bigger than its creators, in fact. The truth is, the machine *enables* personal ministry to Lyla Trotter and her children... and to Mark as well. Previously, how would we have gotten this news out. There are 10,000 people who read Brigada every week. How could we have asked 10,000 people to pray for Mark Trotter on Tuesday. It would have been impossible. Maybe at times like these, the *personal* computer finally becomes ... *really*... ***personal***.
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