Key to survival as a missionary?

On Saturday I sent out our monthly prayer/newsletter. It's something I'm passionate about: good communication. Especially missionaries who are being supported by people back home with prayer and finance. If we don't tell them how things are going for us, how can they pray? If they're giving money towards our support, the least we can do is to let them know what we've been up to.

So when I saw this article about how to write excellent missionary newsletter, I got excited. I don't agree with all of it and not all of it is relevant to everyone, but it makes some really great points that are worth taking note of. It even goes to the extent of saying that "Newsletters could be the key to your survival overseas." Indeed, we don't know how much prayer contributes to our ability to remain here, it's not something you can quantify like you can with money. But I would venture to say that without the prayer support we've received over the last 15 ½ years from 200+ supporters we wouldn't still be here.

If you're in the position of receiving newsletters, do take a look as well. You may be able to find a way to encourage the missionaries you support to do a better job at keeping you up-to-date with them.