Cheap cheap

Hello team!

So I've been scouring the net for cheap stuff (as I do), and I found this awesome (read: ultra cheap) site which sells all manner of gadgets.



One great example is the Universal Travel Adaptor (click on picture to visit the site) which works in more than 150 countries - something that will probably come in handy for all of us...for CAR and beyond! If we put in a bulk order it'll come down to about $AU6.50ea shipped! Have a browse around the site for other stuff; they have really good flashlights and other things. Remember: All prices are in US dollars (but our dollar is doing quite well at the moment anyway) and shipping is free worldwide!

In addition, if anyone needs / wants anything, post it here or email me and I'll track down the best & cheapest way to get it! Guaranteed or your money back. lol

Cheers,
Matt.

Lonely Planet Central Asia book

The Lonely Planet book on Central Asia is a valuable resource for what we are planning. Mel has a copy if you would like to have a look at it in your research.

I am bidding on a copy in eBay, so don't you dare bid against me!

Update

Hey Team, as per Des' email this morning, I thought it'd be cool to collaborate all the fundraising ideas into the one post so that we can see so far what we've got, so straight from the emails in the last week that have been bouncing around in our inboxes:

27/7/07

I thought of another fundraising activity: we could shave someone's head!
Any volunteers? :P I'll have a think about it...
~Vivian

Wongo:

Er... Maybe...
But you might want to keep your hair in the cold weather? My experience of baldness is that it can be very chilly.

Clem replied with:

LOL I haven't been bald since I was a baby, so I wouldn't know but something tells me that I would concur with Wongo, so I will politely decline to volunteer thanks! =)

Maybe one of the Taiwan guys will volunteer, since it won't be as cold over there! Now there's an idea!!! =)

Viv:

Yes, true, but you would do it at least a month before leaving to give it some time to grow back, and you don't have to go completely bald, just short...Anyway, just an idea, we can use it as a last resort :)

Cerise:

Maybe instead of shaving someone's head we can colour someone's hair. You can wash hair spray out.

Other ideas:

• Silicone wristbands: like the make poverty history ones
• Jeans day: everyone who wears jeans to church on a special Sunday is encouraged to donate a gold coin
• Carwash: this actually raises a lot of money. We did it one time for HP fundraising and we raised $1000+
• Father's Day gift wrapping or cards
• Button badges
• T-shirts: Margreta screen prints
• Eat like a Kyrgyz dinner! - have found some Kyrgyz recipes on the net. Mmmm....plov! :-p
• Pumpkin patch has a fundraising thing. It's a clothing store for little ones. You can hold a fashion parade.
• Mouse mats
• Lanyards
• Mugs
• Prayer magnets

The list is endless!

Des:

Great work from Cerise and Sam!
We are already up to about $2300 – most recently I have been offered $300 to do a medical market research survey!
Please decide the projects as soon as possible, so that we can get started
I would suggest that at the very least, we start selling chocolates, as we can keep that going for the next few months in our workplaces and other networks.
Then add whatever other projects.
Matt, do you think you could sell some of the stuff I gave you for eBay for the team?

Plenty of work for you to do – as I had warned you! Keep in contact, and keep writing your thoughts down in the journal!

In Christ,
Des

Which plug adaptor do I take??

So I'm sitting on the lounge feeling sorry for myself since I've got the day off and am sick with a cold (yes, it's my turn, finally!). What else is there better to do than to blog hop with Pride & Prejudice playing in the background.

I was going to ask Mel later on in the next few months as to which adaptor type was needed in the CAR, since we'll have cameras etc. to recharge but no need now, since Andrew pointed us all to Lisa's blog and her top 20 essential things needed over there! (some of them are very American though!) So if you were curious about which type of plug too, then check out her photo of the kettle. That particular post gives quite an insight into her life over there too - a good read. They might be good packing tips for us too, eventually! Anyway, I hope you're all having a good week!

Useful Info

Ok, we now have weather info and a clock! Can you believe that it's currently 31°C over there at almost 7pm in contrast to possibly -15°C when we're going to be there!!! Brrrrrrrr!

Let me know if you object to the way anything on this blog looks, team, preferably by email!

Thanks for the advice on brochure creations, Des!

Brochures

Hey folks, we didn't get to talk much about what to include in your personal STM brochures for your supporters. Here's an outline of the main headings you need to cover:

• About yourself and the team, including the church you attend
• About CAR
• What we will be doing there (mention general things like community development and health; basically linking in with what the long-term missionaries are doing).
• About I/S - I will email info about them to you personally
• How to support us
• Prayer points
• Picture of yourself
• Picture of CAR (map or landscape or both!)

It should fit on a double sided A4 sheet of paper so it can be easily printed out.

The team brochure will have the same headings.

At a later stage, if we qualify for tax deductibility status, we can include a section on financial support, including credit card options. I'll keep you informed.

Let me know if there is anything else you need to know!

Chocolate fundraising

Hey. How are the fundraising ideas coming along? Selling chocolates sounds like a pretty good idea - you get$24 per box that you sell. If each person on the teams sells 2 boxes, that's almost $1000 raised. And I reckon that some could sell more than a couple of boxes!

Here are a few sites:
Mars/Maltesers/M+Ms etc (sell at $4 per big packet, but only 18 packets per box): http://www.marsfundraising.com.au/prod_prof/products_profit.aspx
Cadbury (choice of $1,2,3 per packet, with 48, 24 or 20 per box): http://www.fundraising.com.au/ordering.aspx?IDDataTreeMenu=81&parent_0=81

The key is finding a market to sell them to. Consider:

• your work tearoom
• university hangouts/lunchplaces
• your parents' workplace
• near movie theatres (or if you hear that a bunch from church are going to the movies, or having a gathering)
• asking others in your small group to help sell some at their work
• anywhere there is a waiting room
• at the train station
• make an outing to the City to Surf on Aug 11 (City or Bondi Beach)
• near footy stadiums on weekends

Let your imagination go wild! We'll leave it for Matt and Sam plus the Taiwan team to decide what's best. My preference? Yummy big boxes of Maltesers!

A new journey and a new blog

Well here we are. We have a new blog. I don't know about you, but personally, after our first team meeting today, I'm totally jazzed, and excited but also feeling totally overwhelmed at how much there is to do before we leave, but it's all good!

Ok, I've done my little bit for now, so it's over to the rest of the team!