In our work, we run into all kinds of stories where people have put Skype to good use in their lives.

Distant lovers enjoying dinner — and each other’s company — over a free video call. Local-government officials replacing meetings with multichats. Homesick soldiers keeping a line open with their families. There are a lot of people who use Skype religiously, but until this post today by our US blogger Howard Wolinsky, I didn’t think of it in literal terms.

If you believe that missionaries tend to be hardline Luddites who eschew modern technology, Malcolm Lanham’s Mercy Ministries/Global Outreach will help prove you wrong. And if you are a missionary who, Luddite or not, has been limited to handwritten letters and once-a-month phone calls, Lanham’s story may help you expand your horizons a bit.