More great posts from around the world!
January 2, 2006 09:18
Some of my favourite posts from the last few days:
Under the African Rain with a new post in a series - the first was A Dream Come True, and here is A Dream Come True Part 2Reflection on a Christmas tragedy at The Rathmell'sWhen a spouse posts that doesn't usually post, it's almost always great - from Chile you can hear from Wendy at News n' Views OnlineI keep coming back to this post - from Kurt and Sally Kovach, One word summarizes this year: ChangeFrom Kids' Doc in Jos, a glimpse of Nigeria (something he's very good at doing) in Junkyard Outing.This is what I like to see - one missionary found another missionary through this site - and left a comment! A good post and good comments at The Life of Jon, some thoughtsFrom Kevin's Web Log in Bangladesh, some great pictures in Projects' Christmas ProgramFinally, on the lighter side, this 32 word post from Comings Communiqué (Brazil), Quote of the Week
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The domain name - Missionary blog tip #4
January 5, 2006 08:33
Today's blogging tip is: get a domain name. You might be thinking,"That sounds expensive", or "that sounds too technical" or "a what?!" So let me answer some of your questions.
A domain name is, of course, your address on the web. Here it's Missionary-Blogs.com, or www.Missionary-Blogs.com. There are other domains besides "dot-coms", there's also .org, .biz, .info, .net, .jobs, and many more, including country specific domains such as .uk, .ca and .us.
A domain name is actually a user-friendly translation of a string of numbers. Those numbers represent the computer where your website is hosted. When you register a domain name, that name becomes associated with that number.
Why get a domain name?
Because it can always be yours. If you change your site, or move, or if your hosting company goes under, it doesn't matter. The domain can stay the same. This also means you can have the same email address for life. It's also easier to build traffic to a site if it's always in the same place.You can choose an easy domain that your friends and family can remember.It looks more professional. People often come to associate free sites with low-quality. Does your address sound "free"?It's better for the search engines. This is a more complex issue, but suffice it to say that your own domain is better.It better matches your site - you can pick words that relate.
This doesn't mean that you have to redo your site this week, or ever. Here's how you can start - simply register a domain, and have it forwarded to your existing site. If you want to build on it later, great.
Is it expensive? It doesn't need to be. It varies depending on who you register with. I have used GoDaddy.com in the past. For a .com domain, the cost is less than US$9 per year - yes, per year. Less if you register for more years at once (as you should).
My top 10 tips for choosing a domain name:
Do it now, before you lose the domain that you would have liked. They're going fast!Make it long-term. sam-in-bolivia.com is great, but what if God calls you to Mexico? What if you have to leave for some reason?Make it easy to remember. People may lose your brochures and prayer cards, but will they remember your domain name?Make it easy to spell. How easy is it to make a type in Koinonia-in-Kazakstan.com? And remember, the longer it is, the more likely it will be typed wrong.Use a "dot-com" instead of other extensions. It looks the most professional, and is the easiest to remember. If you're really set on a word or phrase, and .com isn't available, .org or .net are your next best bet.Make it clear. If using more than one word, decide on whether you want a dash or not (or just register both variations).Try to make it uniquely "you".Think it through carefully. This could be yours for life. Brainstorm. Try making a list of possibilities. Run it by family and friends, see what they think. Get suggestions. Try slight variations (plural, dashes, word order, more or less words).Will this look good as an email address? You know, bob@ima-missionary.com?Make sure you're registering with a reputable company. Be sure the domain is owned by you, in your name. Ask first about ability to forward and other features you're interested in. Be sure you can host your site anywhere you want. For more details, visit the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which is responsible for managing domain names.
Now, go to a domain registry, register for 5 years right away if you can, and then get the domain forwarded to your current website. That wasn't so hard, was it? Now instead of telling people your blog is at spaces.msn.com/members/thefinklesteinsaremissionaries or finklesteinsinuganda.blogspot.com, you can just say "Our website is at finklestein-family.com. It doesn't have to change next year, always the same, even if you ditch Blogger. Isn't that a breath of fresh air?
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Tragedy in Nigeria
January 9, 2006 09:09
Missionaries are often writing about tragedy, since the lifestyle they've chosen takes them out into the middle of it. This tragedy has struck especially close to the heart. Missionaries in Nigeria, Ken and Linda, lost their son Justin on New Years Eve. It was so sudden. It wasn't that these people were in some dangerous "foreign" land - it could have happened anywhere.
Read these blog entries from friends of the family, and if you can think of anything to say - maybe just say a prayer and tell them you're praying. I'm including links to contact info for both these bloggers, in case you want to send a note of encouragement to them or through them to the family.
Kids' Doc in Jos (contact info)The Rothchilds Blog (contact info)
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Tip #4 addendum
January 12, 2006 14:11
In the past, when I've written a missionary blog tip I've also included a few blogs that are doing it well. When I talked about domain names, I didn't mention anyone, so here are some belated "gold stars". Now remember, some of these domains specifically point to blogs, others are for websites that include blogs. You'll also notice that most of these don't perfectly follow all my suggestions. With domain names, it's always about trying to get a balance, doing what works best for you. These examples will get you thinking.
A few sample domain names:
www.heartofuruguay.comwww.voiceinthedesert.org.ukwww.ymimexico.orgwww.caseyandmolly.comwww.missionarybroadcasting.comwww.smithconnection.com
And can you believe it? After my post one family went out and got a domain name - www.blythfamily.com! You mean someone's actually reading? :)
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New bloggers from Ukraine, Papua New Guinea and Brazil
January 16, 2006 14:23
It's time to highlight a few of the newest missionary bloggers! First, all the way from Ukraine, Marianna Peipon! She runs a new blog called The Heart of the Matter. Thoughts, news and prayer requests - looks good so far.
And how about a couple more from Brazil? Lounsbroughs in Crato, Brazil is the descriptive name of one new blog. While you're at it, check out the blog of MK Stephen Lounsbrough at Steve @ HS.
Finally, a blog that I just added today, even though it's been up for over a month (I know, I'm slipping) - Burns Abroad is the blog of Johnathan, Candy and Malachi Burns who live in Papua New Guinea.
Welcome, everyone! Why not drop by and say hi to these new bloggers?
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Short Termer in Niger
January 18, 2006 17:44
Time to direct you to another short termer - this time in Niger. Nathaniel Papay is from Edmonton, Alberta Canada. Of course he has a great missionary name (check your church history to learn more about the apostle Nathanael - ok, different spelling but sounds the same). In May 2005 he headed out on an 8 month tour to work along with a group of missionaries with a semi-nomadic people called the Tamasheq.
It's unfortunate that you can no longer leave comments on his blog, but you can email him using the link on his site, so drop him a line if you enjoy his blog (and let him know how you found it!). Nathaniel has a lot of stories to tell, about animals, people, culture - yes, camels too.
Actually, one of the coolest things is the pictures. Nathaniel has taken lots of great photos that you can see in his little corner of Flickr.
Anyway, without any further introduction, I'll turn you over to the website, found at www.nathanielpapay.com!
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Missionaries in Ecuador
January 24, 2006 18:07
I was wondering to myself today, do we have any missionary bloggers in Ecuador? Sure enough, we do. Adventures in Ecuador is the blog of Jeff and Kelly Haanen. Actually, the Haanens' blog is more of a photo journal. The photos range from beautiful shots of the rain forest to city pictures to pictures of culture and food, along with photos of the Haanens themselves.
Some of my recent favourites include these rainforest shots, these nature shots from a "beautiful little hideaway in the Andes mountains", and on the more unusual side these photos of a food in Ecuador which we call guinea pigs (yikes!).
It's worth going through the archives to see some of the older photos, by the way.
I did a little digging (ok, .7 seconds at a search engine) and found an article featuring this couple. Get to know the Haanens a little by reading Wedded Journeys | From "I do" to mission field, via wilderness or white-water by Christopher Lewis.
Jeff and Kelly are from the USA, and are currently involved in Leadership and Youth ministry as missionaries in Ecuador. Stop by and comment on their blog!
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Things are different here
January 26, 2006 21:09
Things are different everywhere you go. These posts give us a bit of an idea how and why things are different in other parts of the world.
First, all the way from Kosovo, Jeff gives us a few thoughts on the legal differences between where he's living and where he's from in New Law on Religion, Take Two.
Next, a look at how history influences people's reactions in Europe. This one from Paul, RELIGIOUS SMOKE (part 2): The Inquisition. Beware that some of the pictures are disturbing, but the post is eye-opening if you're interested in Europe and the Church there.
Finally, on the lighter side and yet still eye-opening, Becky learns something about how we eat meals here in Canada in Family Meals. Check it out!
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Just when I thought things were slowing down...
January 28, 2006 11:52
Just when I thought things were slowing down, a whole new crop of missionary blogs seems to be springing up. Bloggers from all over the world are being added to the aggregator. Believe it or not, there are now over 160 missionary blogs represented there! Incredible.
Just a reminder, many of these are not on the blog list, which is only updated every few weeks. The blog list is always changing, and always only has some of the many great blogs that we see and talk about here. The blog list is currently written by when the blogs were started, so that new bloggers can get a chance to be mentioned. The last blog there is Scottspiel, but I know about 17 blogs that started after they did, so soon that list will need another update!
However, keep in mind that new pages are being added with new blogs being introduced there as well. For example, we now have a new page with blogs from Ukraine, and a very new page with bloggers from Mexico. So if you want to find out about some of the best blogs from these countries, check out the menu to the left.
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