When I Was Just a Wee Zombie...

This is me (yes, i had hair at one time) and my friend Paul Bengds at 15 and 16 years old, respectively.  We met in 1988 on our first short-term summer mission trip through Teen Missions, International.  During that time, we spent the better part of 80 days together winding through the canals and locks of England on canal boats and the hills of Scotland by bike as part of a 20 person team that included other teens from around the country and Canada.  Our mission?  Open air "street" evangelism in major port cities ranging from Birmingham (England's second largest city) to Glasgow. 

Paul and i actually returned to TMI the next year and spent three gruelling months in Papua New Guinea on a hospital construction team, and then i returned a year later on another team to Budapest, Hungary.  These trips set the tone for the passion for Mission that has continued to burn in me through the rest of my adult life, and as I look back at my developing years of adolescense and young adulthood, stand out like mountain peaks among the myriad other formative experiences.

One other note:  although Paul and i became such good friends that we continued to visit and write each other for nearly a decade after our initial foray into Missions together, somewhere over the last ten years, we eventually lost touch.  I figured we'd probably never reconnect until he found me on Facebook a couple of months ago, and we have been re-igniting old memories and contemporary stories about where God has taken us over the years.  I tell you... Facebook is a wonderful thing!

Other Eyes On Target...

I have a friend in India right now, leading a group of people through some of the major areas where the ministry he works for are doing the bulk of their service.   He is a man of incredible wisdom and experience, has served as a mentor for many of us on staff here at GCC, and has helped to plant more than 40,000 churches worldwide in the last 25 years.  His name is Ron (last name omitted for security's sake), and he has a way with words and a good photographic eye to boot.  So why am i telling you this?  Because he's actually blogging his current trip!  You won't want to miss it.  I loaded up today's posts and saw what he saw sitting at the banks of the Ganges River near the town of Varnasi.  You can get there by clicking here, or going to the following link:   http://tourindiaoctober08.blogspot.com/

Holy Overstimulation, Batman!

Okay, through a bizarre and sudden combination of Birthdays, in-store credits, accumulated coupons, killer sales and Gamespot's already extensive collection of $5 - 10 PS2 used games, we walked away this weekend from the little store with enough PS2 adventure and drama to last us for several lifetimes, and all for...well... pretty much next to nothing.  While most of these titles won't compare to the newest and greatest next gen platoforms (hey, we haven't even played HALO 1 yet... much less HALO 3...sorry), they are setting up to be some serious fun for us who still have yet to make the next gen leap and are still in the land of Playstation 2.  Here's the quick rundown on what we picked up and our initial reactions:

Over the Hedge:  Yes, Peri picked this one up.  Actually, it's pret

ty good, not too difficult for small munchkins, and features many of the voices of the original cast (Steve Carrell doesn't do Hammy's voice, alas, and i'm pretty sure Avril doesn't do Heather, but Bruce Willis does RJ and m

ost of the others seem consistent).  It blends all the wackiness of mind-controlled gophers and REALLY serious yard security systems with the fun personalities of

 the movie... if you liked the movie.

Avatar:  The Last Airbender:  As with Over the Hedge, if you like the Avatar animated series, you'll probably like the game.  My personal opinion is that it's a little too cumbersome and tedious to be really enjoyable, and 

hasn't received much play time from either kid, but when we get bored of the other titles, will probably be a good stand-by.  I hope.  

Marvel:  Ultimate Alliance:  Okay, this one is my biggest disappointment, actually.  I really liked the idea of being able to select my favorite heroes from various Marvel comic series, and i had read reviews that said that the

 gameplay was worthy of notice.  I found, however, that it's 

virtually the same as previously released X-Men series, and the gameplay is basically just lots and lots of repeated smashing of things.  Granted, if you were a superhero flying on an enemy airship miles above earth fighting legions of robotic minions, "smashing things" would probably be a good use of your time, but after a few minutes, it made me start wondering how long it could continue.

Star 

Wars Battlefront and Battlefront II:  Okay, now these games ROCK!  As far

 as first person shooters go, i haven't seen their equal (again, barring some of the newer next gen games, i'm sure).  And the great part is, you can choose from a variety of sides, functions and perspectives.  Need to take out a tank?  No problem, respawn as a rocket-equipped storm trooper.  Need to pilot that snow speeder?  No problem, respawn as a Rebel pilot.  Need to take down 30 s

uper battle droids?  No problem, play as the Jedi-Knight Mace Windu.  The controls are easy to use and master (very straight forward) and playing through historical campaigns reminisces nicely of the movies.  These are great games!!!   

Lego Batman:  THIS was the gem in the stash.  We have played at least one other LEGO version (Star Wars II) and found it funny, fun and pleasantly challenging enough to hold interest while not being impossible to play.  Batman was likewise no disappointment in the same vein, and we have all had great fun running across Gotham rooftops as the Dynamic Duo, or donning our bad-guy masks and parading through Arkham Assylum as Poison Ivy, Clayface, Joker and the like as well.  These games are brilliant blends of tongue-in-cheek fun and genuine g

ameplay, and i'd highly recommend them to anyone.  We'll be seeking LEGO Indiana Jones when we've had our fill of Batman!   

ONE Prayer Update: Cambodia

Crew!  Bob Craft (our ministry contact for Cambodia) sent this in.  Enjoy! -sj

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Cambodia was country divided by a civil war, a holocaust and then invaded by enemies from a neighboring country. There are far too many stories of war, of refugees and the sheer struggle to survive. But by the grace of God, some have managed to emerge from the pain with amazing testimonies to the love of God.

In 1983, Lim left Phnom Penh city to live in the Rithy Sen, and join the resistance army to fight against the army of the State of Cambodia government. He was commander of 30 soldiers in the resistance movement. He was a cruel person and dictator. He fought in many battles, there was even one time when he was surrounded by the State of Cambodia army, and was almost killed. He lay unconscious for about three days and three nights. And apart from battles with human enemies, he almost died from malaria.  He finally fled across the Thai border to a refugee camp. 

In 1985, he left the army, and lived in City Two, Rithy Sen refugee camp. He became a teacher at a small school in the refugee camp. He had four friends who were teachers, and one of them, Mr. Sothy, was a Christian. Mr. Sothy shared the good news of Jesus Christ with Lim saying that Jesus was the Savior and those who believed in Him would be saved from sins and have eternal life.  He shared about Christ three times, so Lim got very angry with him, and had some students tie Mr. Sothy up to a cross and tickle him, humiliating him by saying “if your God is true and living, let Him help you”. Mr. Sothy was very upset at this treatment, so finally Lim’s students let Mr. Sothy go. Lim had grown up like 90% of his Cambodian peers, he practiced Buddhism and Brahmanism in the tradition of his ancestors. He had no use for Christians and their foreign religion. 

In 1986, he moved to another refugee camp, and got into trouble when he broke the rules of the camp. The Thai soldiers who guarded this new camp always arrested those who broke the law in the K.I.D. camp, and moved them back to the camps nearer the border. Lim often hid himself from the Thai guards in a deep pit from which he could look to the outside only through a small hole. One Saturday in February of 1986, there was a big raid by Thai solders to arrest law breakers in the camps, so Lim and his friends got so frightened that they hid themselves in the pit for the whole night.  Early in the morning on Sunday, Lim heard a voice outside the pit through the small hole saying, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and loaded down with burdens, and I will give you rest. Place my yoke on you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” It was the words of God speaking to him to seek God! He left the pit for another friend’s house and took a bath. There he met an English teacher named Chann who was going to church. Chann asked Lim to go to church with him (as he had asked once before) so Lim decided to go with him as he was curious to know about this God who could help humans and “give them rest”. At the church, he sat at the back corner of the meeting so that he could observe, but he criticized and cursed them in his heart. Despite the struggle going on in his heart and mind, he decided to read some small Christian booklets, and then finished reading the New Testament three times in one week! 

Each time he read the New Testament, it spoke deeper and deeper to his heart and life. Lim had come to put his trust in Jesus Christ and opened his life to the Holy Spirit of God. Lim became full of joy, and no longer feared being arrested by the soldiers. He studied the Word of God with the pastor and a group Christians. Lim immediately went out to share the Good News with other people. Many people listened to the words of God as Lim taught them as much as he knew.  Sometimes he felt like he had taught them correctly and sometimes he did not, so when he went back home, he studied even harder. He started going to share the Good News in the hospital and prison. In the villages, they had twenty five bible study groups and there were hundreds of people accepting Jesus Christ. Although Lim never studied at the Bible school, and never had a diploma, God has chosen him to serve Him in church planting ministry.  Lim has dedicated himself to establishing groups of believers in unreached areas of Batambang province. Lim is a leader and trainer in the One Prayer church planting initiative.

ONE Prayer Update: India

Crew!  Here's another ONE Prayer update.  This one is from India and from the mouth (erm...keyboard) of our brother Raj  about one of the ONE Prayer church planters in Tamilnadu! -sj

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Brother Jeyapaul was born deaf to a poor Hindu family. As a result, he was not allowed to study beyond 4th grade. In order to survive, he found all sorts of odd-jobs serving in restaurants, agriculture and road work, all of which were paid on daily wage basis. Many times, he did not get any job.

Because of his low status and physical disability, no girl was willing to marry him. As a result, he married an orphan girl from the nearby state of Kerala. She was a professional witch, and each week, as many as 70 people would come to her to ask her to solve their various problems through her ability to manipulate evil spirits. Later, when Jeyapaul and his wife had a daughter, they found that she was born mute. Until at the age of six, she could not speak even a single word. At that time, Jeyapaul himself became sick and bed ridden. His wife tried to heal him using all her spiritist means, but every thing was in vain. It was also during this time that a group of Christians came to that village to do open air evangelism. When Jeyapaul and his family heard that Jesus can heal any sickness, they invited the Christians to pray for him. He was miraculously healed! Then after joining the local church, they began to pray for his daughter. Immediately she started speaking as well! After that, his wife decided to follow this powerful God, and as a family they started sharing their testimony, which brought many people to Christ.

When God called Jeyapaul to do His ministry, he sold all his tools at half rate in order to acquire a little initial capital for books and supplies. He approached different organization to get an opportunity to learn to pastor and plant churches, but all of them rejected him because he was not educated either in secular college or in seminary. He asked his wife to help him. He said he wanted to study the Bible and pray for3 years, so that he will know the word of God to teach others. His wife decided to help him, and by hiring herself out as a day laborer, was able to acquire about 75 cent per day for the work she did (all the while honoring God by giving a tithe of about 7 cents). One day, when he was praying, his daughter asked for a few cents to buy some toffee. Since he did not have the money, he was feeling so bad and asked God if he would help him to provide something kind and compassionate for his daughter. After he finished praying, his daughter came to him holding some sweets in her little hands. When he asked where she had acquired the candy, the little girl pointed to a raven perching on a branch nearby. The raven left, and then came back with more candy for the little girl. This continued for three days, during which time, Jeyapaul came across the passage in 1Kings 17 where Elijah was fed by ravens in the wilderness. He was so shocked that he began to call people to him, instructing them about this God who can feed his children, even from the mouths of the birds of the air. As a result, more than 27 people came to Christ during this period.

Later, the Lord directed Jeyapaul to go to a small village called Kodimangalam. This village has 4,000 houses. There are 28 temples and 32 priests serving in those temples. There are 4 Hindu spiritists (witch-doctors) functioning in this village. There are also 17 prostitutes living in the area. When he came to do ministry in this village, no one would provide him with a house. As a result, the first day, he had to sleep on the road with his wife’s old saree wrapped around him. The next day, he found a house for $3 rent per month. When he started sharing Christ, the head of the village man, Palanisamy, chased him out of the village. He was there out in the village for 12 days, without any food. Then one man from that village who opposes Palanisamy gave his cow shed. Jeyapaul started staying there and doing ministry, and while he continues to meet significant opposition, threats and persecution, God is doing great things in the village as he seeks to plant a church there, and also in a village nearby

When Jeyapaul heard that we are training Church planters, he rushed to us and begged to be allowed to participate in the training program. Through the ONE Prayer movement, we are so happy to say that Jeyapaul is being trained to do ministry more effectively, and that he is proceeding through the training curriculum with great enthusiasm. He told us recently, that “I am so thrilled [to be receiving this training] and now have confidence and tools that will help me to plant a Church with 1000 people in it some day!” 

ONE Prayer Update: China

See below for most recent post from China for the ONE Prayer network! -sj

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In July of 2004, the daughter of Victor Zhang became 

seriously ill. The doctors in the city where he lived told him that his daughter had only a few weeks left to live, and could offer no hope for her condition to improve.

Looking for ways to rescue his daughter, Victor decided to take her to Harbin, a larger city nearby, in the hope that the more sophisticated and famous hospitals and doctors would be able to help. These hopes were unrealized, however, when the doctors’ answers were the same in each instance: “sorry, but we cannot help.”

Eventually, a smaller hospital in the region agreed to try to

 help and treat his daughter’s illness, but the prognosis remained bleak in regard to their confidence that they would be able to do more than just try to keep her comfortable.

At that point, Victor and his family turned to Jesus for help, and began praying for his daughter as a result of his newfound faith. Quickly, his daughter began to show signs of improvement, and a month later she was even able to get up from her bed. As a result, many patients, relatives and even the doctors themselves began inquiring about the nature of the dramatic recovery, and that is when Victor started to preach Jesus Christ boldly to those in the hospital.

Even though the 

treatment for Victor’s daughter has continued for two more years at the hospital, groups of believers have steadily begun to meet under Victor’s leadership and pastoral care. In fact, Victor and his family eventually decided to stay in Harbin in order to be able to continue the church planting ministry God so specifically and directly laid upon their hearts.

Now, through the training and help provided through the ONE Prayer Network, Victor is planting churches in the neighborhood where his daughter’s hospital continues to operate, offering worship services at the hospital and helping those in residence there to find salvation for both body and soul through Jesus Christ.

“Oh, what a wonderful God we have! How great are his riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his methods! For who can know what the Lord is thinking? Who knows enough to be his counselor?” 
Rom. 11:33-34; (NLT)

“This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it” John 11:4; (NIV)

ONE Prayer Update: Sudan

Crew!  Here's the latest update from Sudan for the ONE Prayer Network.  Enjoy! -sj

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Twenty church planters and a lot

 of other people attended the training in eastern Sudan in September.  It is becoming harder and harder to limit the training only to the church planters enrolled in the year long program.  The objective is to take a cohort of new church planters through training that focuses on the skills needed for each stage of church planting, but as time goes on, more people hear about the sessions and just show up. 

Like Jesus model with his disciples, the twenty church planters have been sent out two by two after each training session.  At this session, all ten reported that they have started a ministry center.  The three largest have between 25 and 30 adults at regular worship services, all from mixed Muslim and animist backgrounds.

Each team of workers is related to a “mother” church which takes responsibility for the emerging new congregation.  The leaders of these churches met with the trainers and shared how they are encouraged to be “totally active” in the new churches.  (It is wonderful to see these leaders so energized by the success of their missionary teams.  Many “mother” churches have been in survival mode, convinced that they cannot reach Moslems.  Now with training and experience, the new groups are already talking about how to reach other villages and will bring plans and prayers to the December training session.)

I Should Have Been a Drill Sargeant...

I probably missed my calling as a US Marine Corps Drill Sergeant, but i make up for some of that through training our India Teams to get them ready for the field. One thing that we do that i find to be both fun and fairly unique is a combined set of "simulations" where team members prepare to see how they will do physically during their time in India. You see, on the field, they will experience travel fatigue, sleeping on dirt floors, excess of hundred degree heat, carting luggage over the proverbial river and through the woods, and all sorts of new and different things that will tax them physically, psychologically and spiritually. So... to get them ready for the experience, we design a weekend long simulation that looks like the following:

Friday Night - Sleep on your floor. No fair dragging your mattress onto the ground, but it doesn't matter whether you have carpet, hard wood or linoleum. The idea is that you will most likely be sleeping on the floor in India, so just changing your sleeping position and normal level of comfort will help you get a feel for what that will be like.

Saturday Morning - Wake up early and head to GCC to participate in 2nd Saturday. The idea is that you are dong something "active".

Saturday Afternoon/Evening - After finishing 2nd Saturday, we meet back at GCC, grab a quick bite to eat together, and then head to Potato Creek State Park with everyone's gear packed the way they're going to be taking it to India. At Potato Creek, the teams will hike (with their luggage) through Trail I for a distance over mud and trails of about 2.2 miles. It's not that big of a deal, but if you get tired of carrying your 26 lb makeup kit during that time, better to find out this side of the travel timeline than in India and having to toss it on the field. When finished, team members are dismissed to run home, get a quick shower, and head back to church, where we meet to sit together at the 5 pm worship service at GCC.

Saturday Night - Sleep on your floor...again. By this point, you should be a little sore from Friday night, plus good and tired from the day.

Sunday Morning - Wake up and see how you feel. Whether good or bad, it's probably a airly decent indicator as to how you're going to feel on an average day in India. Once you figure out how you're doing, send Jack an e-mail telling him such. If you're grouchy and sore, then you'll probably want to increase your physical fitness regimen before you go. If you're "just fine", don't get cocky, but be glad that you're on the right track.

The simulations are "required" and are not optional, and we are offering them for the December India Team window on three separate dates (each revolving around the Second Saturdays in October, November and December). For the October option, the following people participated (see picture above - left to right): Ron Twedt (Justice), Mike Ryan (Tech), Elaine Ryan (Construction), Ted Bryant (Justice), Jennifer Kukla (Water), Nancy Leist (Construction), Greg Schermier (Construction).

December-January India Team Blog!

Hey, many of you already know that I'm facilitating another round of teams to India in December and January to reinforce and help our Indian church planter network, and i wanted to let you know that the blog for the teams is now up and running. You can do the following with/through the blog if you would like to track it:

• Keep up with the teams we're sending throughout the entire training process, as well as while they are on the field.
• Link to other previous teams to get an idea of what GCC India teams do when they're on the field.
• Give to either specific team members or to the team as a whole through the "online giving" link.

Check it out! You can either click here, or go to the following: http://gccindiadec08.blogspot.com/
-sj

Eastern Europe: One Year Later...

Last year at about this time, i had the opportunity to fulfill a lifelong ambition and spend a couple of weeks hiking through Eastern Europe. Since i'm a closet Goth (okay, maybe not quite too "closet"), many of the sites i wanted to see pertain to the lore and mythologies that i have loved for so long. The folllowing is a brief explanation of the sites and activities i had the opportunity to experience while there, and the attached slideshow gives a few pics as well.

* Krakow, Poland - I flew into Krakow for starters, and had a couple of days wandering through the beauty of one of Europe's truly "old cities". It was gorgeous.

* Auschwitz, Poland - One of the most profound and deeply sobering classes i took in college was a course on literature by/from survivors of the Nazi genocide during WWII. I'm not sure one says that they "get" to visit a site like Auschwitz, therefore, but i also think that it's one of those places that everyone should see if they can, if for no other reason than to be reminded of the warning that it supplies to the human race as to what happens when evil is left unchecked.

* Csjethe Castle, Slovakia - On my way from Poland, i wanted to stop and visit a castle ruin that belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Countess Elizabeth Bathory. Considered the "female Dracula" by historians and folklorists, Bathory is a seminal root to contemporary vampiric lore in both a "real" and legendary capacity.

* Budapest, Hungary - I spent 3 months in Budapest in 1991, and LOVED it! I couldn't wait to go back, and also had the opportunity to visit and help train some church planters who are functioning in the region.

* Transylvania, Romania - I couldn't go on a trek through Eastern Europe without visiting Transylvania (that region that spans through most of Romania and beyond, resting on the backbone of the Carpathian Mountains). Being limited a bit on time, i didn't have a chance to get all the way to Poenari Castle in Curtea D'Argess (i.e. the real Castle Dracula, being used by the historical Vlad "The Impaler" Dracul Tepes in the 15th century), but did have a chance to visit some other fun sites (Bran Castle being among one of the most notable).

I blogged pretty diligently throughout the whole experience, and you can check my family blog for additional posts and greater depth if you want to by clicking here.

A New Way to Dance the Cha-Cha!

As i mentioned in a previous post this morning, i learned some about a new web-service called ChaCha that blends the benefits of Twitter and Wikipedia. You can basically, either through the Web or via your cell phone, ask ChaCha ANY question you can think of, and the company outsources your question to a network of 44,000 guides (volunteer crowd-sourcers who reply to ChaCha questions sourced to them based on identified areas of expertise) to supply you with a researched answer in just a couple of minutes.

I signed up quickly for an account, and decided to test it out to see how it "flew". Here's what i tried and found out.

My test question?
Q: "What's the combined thrust to weigh ratio of an F-22 Raptor's engines?"

Answer supplied by ChaCha?
A: "The Raptor's two Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 engines pump out 35,000 pounds of thrust each. Thrust to weight ratio 1.13:1 ChaCha!"

The answer was supplied by a guide named Melissa, and she found my answer (all of this listed in the quick "answer blurb") by researching the following:

Howstuffworks "How F/A-22 Raptors Work"
http://science.howstuffworks.com/f-22-raptor.htm/printable

"Ooookay, that was pretty good!", i thought, "and even better, i had my answer in just a few minutes". Then, i decided to try it from my cell phone (ChaCha has the "Twitteresque" ability to use report to/from your mobile device OR the web, either way) to test the response time. I shot a text to ChaCha, set my stopwatch and waited. Here was my next question:

Q: "How does one kill an Aswang?" (Note: An Aswang is a Philipino mythological vampiric creature)

A: "You can shoot them with a gun."

Response Time: 3 minutes, 11 seconds.

Problem is, firearms are not typically listed as a reliable way to kill an Aswang, so even though the response was fast, it was incorrect. In addition, the source link supplied by the "guide" gave some info about the mythical creature, but never stated firearm useage in the article. There also wasn't an easily identifiable "reporting mechanism" to ChaCha to let them know it was incorrect short of the "contact us" form.

Ah well... still... fun product! Check it out!

Smart Zombies: Life Mission International Crew...

What a team! The men represented in this picture are part of the staff and volunteers associated with GCC's India-based non-profit organization called Life Mission International! They are responsible for training, supervising and supporting over 350 men and women who are attempting to plant or pastor holistically minded churches in [mostly] remote villages in Southern India.

We have the privilege of working closely with these men, and can honestly say that they are helping to change and shape the face of the nation. You will notice Raj (middle row, second from the left), of course, and if you've been to India on one of our GCC ministry teams, you'll undoubtedly recognize other faces as well.

And then, of course, you simply MUST notice that all of them are wearing black t-shirts... which, of course... makes me feel right at home as i always wear similar in my day-to-day activities! Why? Well... more on that later.

TechPoint Briefing: Barnes & Thornburg - "New Economy, New Rules"

Once again, I'm here at Barnes & Thornburg (a local law firm that also has its hands in several community projects as well) for their monthly "Tech Point" to learn about local entrepreneurs, technologies that will be impacting our community, and just general things that are "up and coming". Anyway, today's panel of speakers mainly centered around issues related to Human Resources, and the following were my "takeaways" from the morning.

C. Todd Richardson (VP, ExactTarget, LLC) - Capturing Outstanding Quality Talent
* Quality Talent is defined as...
** Experienced Professional - their potential is/has been realized.
** Recent Graduates - their potential is/has yet to be realized.
*** Flexible Career Paths
*** Laid-back work environment (dress code, hours, mgmt. styles)
*** Environmentally Friendly (paperless, green awareness)
*** Freedom to take risks
*** Growth in the Personal as well as Professional (i.e. encouragement in the employee's pursuit of outside interests).

* Successful staffing strategies are dependent on drawing from both of these talent pools.
* What are your Differentiators?
** Personal development opportunities. Aggressive people want to know how to "go somewhere". Seldom do they just want to "do status quo". Often, this requires customized personal development plans.
** Industry Growth Initiatives (i.e. the industry is actually growing, and there are opportunities for actual growth).
** Entrepreneurial Environment (i.e. encourage experimentation).
** Workplace Flexibility (i.e. telecommuting, compressed workweeks, food provided at the office, etc.)
** Lifestyle/Employment Differentiators (Compensation/Benefit Plans/Stock Options, ExactFun, ExactImpact, ExactWellness).

* Understand the difference between your team and your "farm team" (internships).
** Internship Program (Slingshot)
*** 10 week intern program with the expectation that participants will think, innovate and contribute.
*** Will provide them with a minimum of two resume-worthy projects.
*** The Goal: Foundation for long term-relationship.
** Accellerated Track for Full-time Employment (Catapult)
*** Post-graduate, full-time, rotational program.
*** Comprehensive orientation, followed by three separate 6-week rotations through the business.
*** Allows non-committal, high-potential grads to discover the career path of most interest.
*** Goal: Passionate employment

Christopher O'Bryhim (Chief Human Resources Officer, Veriana Networks, Inc)
1 year old Tech company that focuses on content creation and distribution, as well as content consumption. Has a high value for helping Indiana recognize that promoting and maintaining technology-centered jobs will be its key to being a major player in the emerging economy.
* Veriana supports the practice of "Corporate Onshoring": a concept is based upon the recognition of talent and resources that are abundant in Indiana and the Midewest. In fact, Technology oriented businesses are a key element to sustainable development in Indiana.
* Reverse the "brain drain" in Indiana via further development and attraction of technology oriented jobs to the state.
* Technology success breeds more technology success.

Deborah Mullin (Director of Human Resources, ChaCha Search, Inc.)
ChaCha gets a lot of press for being one of the foremost notable "up and coming" Indiana-based businesses. It focuses on providing a seriously innovative "ask anything" digital response service via cell-phone, and i was interested to find that you can literally use ChaCha to answer just about anything through networks of "guides" who specialize in particular areas. You could, for instance, send ChaCha a question like "What was 'Dirty Harry's' last name?" and a guide somewhere would ping you via the ChaCha service to say "Callahan". It's free, it's mobile-based, and is very SmartZombie in that links crowd-sourcing with good tech infrastructure. Think Twitter meets Wikipedia. Cool!

ChaCha has (and is) demonstrated a radical committment to genuinely trying to make its workplace "the best place to work in America" through a combination of an exciting product and an open work environment. I sound like a commercial... i don't mean to... i was just genuinely impressed by them. Free weekly massages at the workplace? Okay, now you have to admit that that sounds good!

How do they "recruit top talent"?
* Hired a full time recruiter just to gather and hold top talent.
* Host "outside the box" recruiting events with their employees.
* Internal referral program.
* Website reflects the internal culture of the company, as well as provides the service.
* Have close and developed connection(s) with local universities to ensure that they have "top pick" upon graduation.