Despite the rapid spread of broadband, in many countries a large proportion of internet users still use a dial-up connection.  For general surfing, emailing and smaller downloads, a dial-up connection should be fast enough for most people, providing the small amount of bandwidth is used efficiently.  On a 56k connection you should expect a connection speed of around 30k – 45k, although depending on the quality of your phone line you may get a higher or lower connection speed.  Here are our tips for making the most of your connection.

The first thing to check is the hardware. Your extension cable from your modem to the phone point should be as short as possible, and a high quality one, preferably stating that it is suitable for use with a modem.  Also avoid knocking or jiggling your phone connections while you are online.  Only your modem should be plugged into the phone line, so unplug any phones as you want all the available line capacity.  Also note that some modern phone features such as call waiting can affect your modem badly, so check to see if they can be disabled while you’re online.

Although 56k modems are available very cheaply, the more expensive makes do give a better connection and upgrading to a better quality modem can give a noticeable increase in connection speed.  Better quality modems also allow you to continue surfing without errors while downloading a file (albeit rather slowly).

The quality of your phone line is of course the most important factor in deciding your connection speed.  If there is a lot of hissing and clicking when using the phone, then a modem connection is going to be poor.  Your telephone provider has a responsibility to provide a reasonable phone connection, but not a good modem connection, but if you have a very poor connection, contact them, explain the problem and they may be able to help, although there may be a charge for any improvements, so check beforehand.

Your ISP (Internet Service Provider). The big advantage of using dial-up is that you can sign up for as many different pay-as-you-go services that you want, as you only pay for the cost of the phone call. So you can try different ISPs, to see which one gives the best quality connection.  There can be a considerable difference between providers, with some being difficult to connect to and prone to cutting you off frequently.  If you find that the connection with your chosen ISP gradually becomes less reliable over time, complain, and they will probably give you a new number to call.  If not, vote with your feet!

Useful web site – Find ISP. A site listing available ISPs by country, along with features and comments.  Very useful if looking for a new ISP.  A very good list of ISPs globally is located here:  http://www.whichisp.com/finddialup.php

Using the right browser can make a difference. Independent tests at Browser Speed have shown that the fastest browser currently available is Opera.  Its greatest advantage over Internet Explorer is not the speed at which it displays pages, but how it stores previously viewed pages (caching).  This enables it to instantly return to previously viewed pages, something IE struggles with.

You can also turn off some web features, such as sounds in web pages, java and plugins such as Flash. This reduces the amount you need to download and reduces the work your browser has to do.  Do not turn JavaScript off, as this will affect the way that many pages display, although you can stop some of its affects, such as resizing windows.  You can place a tick box on your toolbar, to turn any of these options on and off, which can be useful if you like Flash games, as I do.

The very popular Firefox browser is rather slow to load initially, but once running performance is on a par with Internet Explorer for loading new pages and significantly faster than Internet Explorer when loading previously viewed pages. Firefox is however quite heavy on resources and not the best choice for older computers, although tweaks are available to streamline it somewhat. I would personally recommend Google Chrome for older machines, its streamlined interface and optimized browsing engine works well on older machines.

Some web pages will only work with Internet Explorer, for instance if you are registering or buying something online.  In cases like this it is wise to use the browser extention IETab, for GoogleChrome and Firefox

Keep it streamlined. Avoid having too many applications running at once while on the internet. This is particularly important if you are using a older computer.  For best performance have only your browser, firewall and antivirus running, only run your email program if you need to check for messages.  If you use an instant messenger program, use a multi protocol one that is light on system resources, such as Miranda.  Close any browser windows that you no longer need.

Turn off automatic updates. Far too many programs automatically check for updates in the background, consuming bandwidth, so always set update checks to manual.  This includes Windows and antivirus updates.  Manually check for updates once a week, downloading once you have finished browsing the internet.  Pro Tip: Despite the dire warnings of security experts, providing you practice safe surfing it is not necessary to update your antivirus program every few hours.  If an alert is released for a particularly virulent virus, do an extra manual update as soon as possible.

In Conclusion. Hopefully this article has shown that with a little effort and inventiveness, browsing on a 56k connection need not be a negative experience.  Even with a slow connection it is still possible to play Flash games, download files, be active in forums, run your own web site and generally have fun.

Adam Brown Technical Director

When faced with such devastating destruction, what can we do?  On the one hand, it may seem that there is so much to be done, that we cannot possibly know where to start.  One the other hand, Japan is such a strong and capable nation that perhaps they don’t need our help.  We recognise that countries like Pakistan or Haiti cannot possibly rebuild on their own after a major disaster, whereas New Zealand and Japan seem so much more capable to us, and maybe they don’t really need our help.  Should we be giving our support to other, more needy nations instead?

An experienced Japan mission worker remarked recently that in many ways Japan does not need our help.  Technologically, there is no country in the world more capable of dealing with such a disaster; financially, they have a huge capacity for reconstruction even if it will significantly set their economy back; and organisationally they are unparalleled.  However, with donations to established disaster relief agencies significantly lower than those for Haiti at this stage, and the DEC not organising an umbrella appeal, immediate funding for emergency supplies such as blankets, food and water is in short-supply, and reports coming out of north east Japan indicate that there are many cold and hungry people still waiting to be cared for.

One area where they will clearly need help, however, is in dealing with the emotional fallout.  So many families have lost loved ones, and with the scale of the disaster many do not have a body to grieve over and cremate in accordance with their tradition.  The whole nation will have unanswered questions.  There will be nobody who is not personally affected by a disaster of this magnitude.  How do they grieve?  Who will comfort them?

While such disasters are an unmitigated tragedy which we wish had never happened, they do represent an incredible opportunity for us to reach out and support others.  The small number of Japanese believers, supported by the Christian family worldwide, has a chance to express love and compassion, and give an account for the hope that we have even in the midst of such trauma.  Demonstrations of support and sympathy will carry great weight in Japanese society and do much to counter any suspicion that Christians are viewed with.

In terms of providing immediate care there are already many appeals in place to help feed, clothe and house the refugees.  Syzygy recommends OMF’s Sendai Earthquake Relief Fund if you want to give financial support.  You can also find regular updates, including prayer requests on their Japan website.  OMF have a large number of mission workers who speak Japanese well and are able to get into places and communicate effectively where other foreign workers may not be so successful.  They are associated with a number of Japanese churches who provide contacts and networks that are already in place, particularly in Sendai where they have been operating for many decades.  OMF already have in place established procedures for transferring funds to Japan and communicating needs and prayer requests back.

Please pray:

• for Japanese Christians, who have to deal with the burden of their own grief while consoling those who don’t know Jesus.
• for the overseas mission workers, already coping with their own disorientation, who have to function in ways they are not accustomed to while ministering hope and comfort to others.
• for the Japanese people, particularly the military forces and rescue workers, faced with the unpleasant task of clearing up the destruction while still bearing their own unresolved trauma.
• for Mr Sato, Vice-Minister for Construction and Transportation, who is the only Christian in the government.  He is currently in charge of the response to the nuclear crisis and will have a key role in rebuilding the infrastructure.  Pray for his health, and that he would be an excellent ambassador for Jesus.

Language is what we use to describe the world.  The philosopher Wittgenstein said, “The limits of my language define the limits of my world,” and speaking two languages, as MKs often do, expands those limits.

In Portuguese the word that means you miss someone or something is saudades.  Saudades is such an expressive word that the Wikipedia article for it is over 3,000 words long.  It expresses a longing that gnaws; it is the sense that a part of you is gone and has left a gaping chasm where your breastbone should be.  I’m glad to know the word; without it I would still have the feeling, but not be able to express it.

Being an MK isn’t all mangos and cream.  Difficulty and loss are frequent companions on what can be a lonely road.  By the time I was 13 my home had moved 13 times.  Twice I moved back to a place I had already lived in, but the problem is that those who say ‘you can never go home’ are right.  Once you’ve left, even if you do go back it won’t be the same.  The people have changed, you have changed, the place has changed.  You can rebuild, but not from where you left off.  Weeds will have grown in between the cracks, rain will have swept the earth from beneath your feet.

And things are different in every new place.  Always different.  Rules are different everywhere.  Should I call my teacher by her first name (and title), or her surname?  Why does that lady from church call me ‘filha!’ (daughter) when she tells me off?  I’m NOT her daughter!

New school, new church, new ‘home’.  God and family were the only constants.  So my identity was change; I was the exotic one who was new, the one who always knew she would soon be leaving.

Gill Gouthwaite grew up as an MK in Brazil with her four sisters and English-speaking parents from different countries.

One of the best ways of managing stress, is to know yourself.  Understanding what works well for you, how you like to do things, how you respond to varying situations, will help you recognise potentially stressful situations and develop plans for managing it, and your own response to it.

There are innumerable tools, models and theories out there vying for your attention, and it can be hard to know what is going to work, and what isn’t.  The simplest is good old-fashioned common sense, which someone once observed, is clearly not common at all.  Though it should be relatively easy to work out whether you’re a morning person or not, and to plan your work pattern accordingly.  It’s also easy to work out whether music playing in the background distracts or invigorates you, or whether for you office banter makes the atmosphere congenial or chaotic.  Armed with this knowledge, you can plan your work area accordingly, and discuss with your colleagues how to make things work well for all of you.

But there are deeper issues which can lead you to feel frustrated with your work or your colleagues, and which if unresolved can lead to significant problems resulting from stress.  These are personality issues which affect who people are and the way in which they approach life: why does that person never get his paperwork done?  Why can’t she finish the job properly before starting another one?  Why is he so bureaucratic?  There are many reasons for the way people are – culture, upbringing, nationality and gender are some of the typical ones – and until we understand that the way people are is unique and often very different to us, we aren’t fully equipped to make appropriate allowances for the differences.  Which is where self-analysis tools are useful.

My personal favourite is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), which helped me to understand not only why I like to do things in a certain way, but why others can misunderstand my actions and motivation.  It relieved an awful lot of pressure!  I think MBTI should be compulsory for all new mission workers, and many sending and training organisations provide it as part of their preparation or ongoing team development.  You can find out more at http://www.myersbriggs.org.  Some people criticise it because people can easily us it to label others, but that’s the fault of the labellers, not the tool.  This tool needs to be used by a qualified trainer, and there are many in the UK and abroad who provide this service.  Please contact Syzygy for further information.

Another popular tool is Strengthfinder, which works on the deceptively obvious premise that rather than working to strengthen our weaknesses, we should concentrating on doing what we’re naturally best at.  It will help you focus on what your principal skills are so that you can reorganise your commitments around them.  This tool can be used by yourself, working through a book, but can also be used together with an experienced counsellor.  See http://strengths.gallup.com/110440/About-StrengthsFinder-2.aspx for further information.

The Belbin Team Role Inventory concentrates on behaviour in the workplace and is focussed on the role that each individual will play within a team.  It helps team leaders work out who is best at starting something, keeping it going, and finishing it, since it is highly unlikely that one person will be able to do all three roles well.  The result is that people can be assigned to role which suit their aptitude, and thereby increase their effectiveness and reduce their stress.  Go to http://www.belbin.com for a further explanation.

So there are three different tools, each focussing on different aspect of who we are:

• Our core personality (MBTI)
• Our key strengths (Strengthsfinder)
• Our ideal team role (BTRI)

Of course, you don’t always need to go to the trouble of this level of training.  Sitting down and creating some thinking time, perhaps with a trusted friend, and asking yourself whether there might not be a reason why you find a certain situation or person stressful, can lead to more self-awareness.  If only we had the time…..