snail mail me...

...due to popular demand, i will now leave you with how to reach me via snail mail. the best way will be just to mail things to the ELA office:

Pamela Simpson
Equipping Leaders for Asia
39A Jalan Pemimpin #05-03
Halcyon Building
Singapore 577183

(Singapore is both the city and the country!)

just like mastercard...

Looking through singapore money = S$2.00











Gazing at the "dancing ladies" flowers (can you see them?) = Free





Experiencing a moment in the spotlight, feeding and eating fire at the Night Safari Singapore Show on my very first night in Singpore, making an incredible memorable moment and day and more = PRICELESS!

in one piece...

...Hey everyone! I made it to Singapore in one piece!!!! So, after about 27 hours of travel time and basically 2 days of my life (with the time change), I arrived in Singapore at about 1am in the morning here. The time difference is 13 hours...just so you know. Since I will be so far ahead, I'll let you all know what the day will hold;o)

My flights were good. Main memories: very rough landing in Detroit (they were having 40-50 mph wind gusts!!), old old old 747 (35 yrs old to be exact--at least that's what a man told me) on the way to Tokyo and therefore no tvs in individual seats but I slept about 4 hours regardless (which is pretty good), and had a very talkative neighbor who loved to tell me the history of Singapore, cars (he works for GM), and talk politics on the way to Singapore (but the plane was stinkin' nice and I watched at least 3 movies and an episode of The Office (so pumped that was a choice!!). The connections were easy and I didn't have any porblems at security or customs the whole way...and my bags came quickly...so, praise the Lord b/c He made this one easy on me!!!

Thank you for your prayers...I know He heard them and He covered my travels with grace.

Its about 7:50am here (so I got about 5.5 hrs of sleep...also pretty good for jet lag) and I will be getting ready for a work meeting in just a bit. Yes, its a Saturday...but I'm so glad they have me jumping into things so quickly...that's going to help with adjusting. I have wireless in the apt I'm staying in for the next week--yea! I hope I'm busy...I think they have a lot of sightseeing and working planned for me already:)

Yes, its hot and humid...but they have some beautiful flowers and monkeys! What more could a girl ask for?? I think I'm going to like this place.

soon and very soon...

...I am off to Singapore! In less than 9 hours I will be on a plane making my way westward from Atlanta to Detroit (2 hrs) to Tokyo (13 hrs) to Singapore (8 hours)...yep, that's a lot of travel time. So, pray I don't go crazy on the plane and that I will have some cool people to sit by and get to know :o)

Thank you all for you love and support over the past 3 weeks of me getting ready to leave. I will miss all of you so much over the next 4 months, but know that you are in my thoughts and prayers.

Next blog post...from Singapore!!!

Off to Singapore...

...Just in time! God is so faithful. After losing my job at EQUIP quite suddenly (and due to some unfortunately uncontrollable financial circumstances), God has shown me so much favor once again.

I've been offered a 4 month internship in SINGAPORE!

Crazy, I know. Within one week of hearing about this distant possibility, I had talked with the head of Equipping Leaders for Asia (ELA) over the phone twice and made the decision to move to Singapore on February 22. It truly is perfect timing and an amazing and unparalleled opportunity. Not only will I be going what I love, marketing & communications, but I will be doing it emersed in another culture and with the possibility of traveling! What a huge answer to prayer.

So, here are the details: Gone from Feb 22 to June 28. Living in host homes that will probably change monthly. Its paid!

One of the best parts about this is that ELA is a partner company of EQUIP--so I'll will also be working with EQUIP and another organization I love: Growing Leaders! God's plans are so much bigger than our own. Thanks for all of your prayers and let's all praise the Lord for His faithfulness in our lives.

Check out facts about my future new home: https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/sn.html

Check out who I'll be working for: http://www.equippingleadersasia.org

an answer in the question...

...Why do I not share my faith more often--or really ever? My question already begins to answer my question. Just look at it--it is covered in Christianese (the language of the every day, subcultured, bubble-living Georgian Christian). I might as well ask myself why I don't blah blah blah more often because that's what people who aren't in my subculture Christian bibble are hearing. And this leads me to yet another answer...We all live in the same culture (sort of). Why do I attempt to separate myself and be in a subculture that only makes me unrelateable to the world around me? Maybe it was years of protection by others and myself...trying to protect myself from the world...instead of infiltrating it. That's what Jesus did. He infiltrated the world, the Jewish culture...not turning from it, but completing it--finishing the story and giving the whole answer. This in turn permeated hearts...and hearts are where I should be looking. People are people and my feable attempt to draw some kind of line between the "good ones" and "bad ones" is ridiculous! Hearts are hearts and the line of truth is the line that reveals our need for Jesus (which is a the bottom of all of our hearts and souls hoping to be discovered). And then I find myself at another answer as my heart swells with pride...and inward self-righteousness that I despise. Pride--the beginning of the end, the root of the soured fruit...looking oh so good on the outside but not able to be swallowed by anyone. Not that I have time to even taste the own fruit I'm dishing out. My days are so full of organizing my life, watching my tv shows, even daydreaming my future that all the time I have for is for me and me and me. Oh how selfish I can be! Why can I not stop focusing on me...and look to others? And another answer surfaces--guilt. The age-old false motivator that sneaks up on me from behind every time. The Gospel is not guilt, its hope. Its freedom. Its sacrifice and selflessness. It reveals the gap and even the playing field. Its complete truth. Its sweet juicy perfectly Holy Spirit ripened fruit. This is the Gospel tha saved me every day and the Gospel that offers salvation to my neighbor, my barista, every heart and person I ever interact with in the world. This is Jesus.

an infamous (and unwanted) scratching sound...

Fear. Its amazing how this can grip you....really, me. I woke up early this morning to the sounds of scratching. After attempting to make sense of what was happening, I came to the conclusion that there was a mouse moving around in my bedside table--it had to be. As my heart began to heat faster, my body moved slowly over to the other side of the bed. I layed there in shock...trying to figure out what to do. First thing I decided I needed to do was find out what time it really was...and this meant I need to pick up my cell phone off the bedside table (the same one the mouse was in)...Ugh! No Way!!

After working up the nerve for about 10 mins, I grabbed my phone. 6:25am...not too early (but definitely earlier than I usually get up). I decided that I would go back to sleep for about 30 mins. Then, 5 seconds later, and a few more scratching sounds later, I realized that was the craziest thing that had ever crossed my mind. I couldn't possibly sleep next to a mouse!

So, I got up and decided I would get ready early and get out of my apartment as fast as possible. At that point I realized that my entire morning was going to be dictated by a mouse. And really, fear of a mouse. How stupid! But it was real.

I took a shower in my roommate's bathroom, got ready in her bedroom, and could barely brush my teeth in my bathroom. If someone had been a fly on the wall, it would have been quite entertaining. I'm not one for being scared of most bugs, spiders, etc...but there is something about a mouse! I was tip-toeing around my room and then suddenly I would stop in my tracks as I heard more of the infamous mouse scratching. I really think that sound is going to haunt me for a while.

And...to top all of this off, as I glanced at the corner where the mouse seemed to be having his fun, I saw a roach! It gave me the willies. And this wasn't just once...but twice. Ehat was so sad was the mouse had scared me so much that I couldn't even go kill a roach.

All I know is the first people I will be talking to at work are Julio and Daniel to figure out how to get the supposed mouse (I think it was one...I never got up enough courage to look in the drawer) out of my house!

"The Lord is for me; I will not fear; What can (mice) do to me?" (Psalm 118:6)

"Though a host (of mice and roaches) encamp against me, My heart will not fear." (Psalm 27:3)

Off to Africa...

Prepare the way, O Holy Spirit
Make Your paths known.
To all those we encounter,
Let Your Glory be shown.

Let not my own weakness
Get in Thine own way.
For under Your guidance
Is where I will stay.



This was my prayer before leaving for Africa and I am so excited to tell you that God proved Himself a faithful listener once again in my life!

Stepping onto a plane has never been hard for me. Thanks to my mom’s side of the family, I have traveling blood running through my veins. So, on flight after flight to Africa, through Paris, I was full of excitement. That is…until about 15 minutes before we landed in Niamey, Niger. It was at that point that I experienced my “moment” of the trip. I found myself looking out the window at the most orange landscape I had ever known…looking for any signs of life and not finding a single one. It was in this moment that I turned to my best friend Valerie and said, “We are in the middle of nowhere! What are we doing here? We must be crazy!” And for the next 2 hours I hardly spoke a word, and for those of you who know me you know how crazy that is. That’s what we like to call “culture shock.”

I am pleased to tell you that my “moment” passed and never returned. I looked straight ahead at the next 2 weeks ready to take on whatever the Lord had for us and oh did He have some amazing things planned! I’m going to attempt to give you a brief overview of all the amazing ways God showed me what a HUGE God He is…so please hang on while we zoom through 2 of the most significant weeks I have experienced.

blasts from the past in Paris...

The first leg of my trip was a “bonus” from God. I was able to stop through Paris for a couple of days and visit with my friends and old teammates and roommate. It was such a special time for my heart and spirit. Revisiting my apartment and favorite places around the city took me straight back to last year. I was able to show Valerie around and give her the most Parisian experiences I could in such a short amount of time. But the best part of those two days was the two hours I spent with 3 special friends. Nam, a Vietnamese-Parisian who became a Christian last year, and I had coffee and caught up on the hard times she’s been experiencing with her mother being diagnosed with cancer. God used me to encourage her in her dependence on Him and reiterate the importance of Christian fellowship. It was a great time for our spirits to reconnect and fellowship with one another. Please be praying for Nam as she looks for opportunities to share Christ with her parents and 3 sisters!! For the remainder of the two hours, we joined my two friends, Assia (from Algeria) and Elie (from Lebanon). The most amazing thing was when we opened up the French Bible to read about the Pentecost and Assia began reading the chapter out loud in the middle of the courtyard of Notre Dame. I believe the Lord was crying tears of joy as He listened to a beautiful Muslim 20-year-old reading His Holy Word in the middle of one of the darkest cities in the world, Paris.

one bush village we stopped by...

Our time in Africa was a total of 10 days. We spent 2 days in the capital, then 7 in the village, and our last day back in the capital. Our first couple of days in Niamey (pronounced “Knee-uh-may”) were spent with a wonderful missionary family, the Cain’s. They toured us around the city, we drilled them about the culture and Zarma people, and they opened up to us about the life of a missionary family in West Africa. This was a wonderful time of transition for us, as is depicted by the normal description of Niamey, “not really a city, but a bunch of villages put together in a small area.” Let me just say that there are only 2 paved roads in the whole capital, only 1-2 flights per day, and they don’t even have a sewer system!

Don and Teresa Williams - the missionary couple of the year

The bulk of our trip was spent with a missionary couple, Teresa and Don Williams, in a village called Ouallam (pronounced “Wall-um”). Each day we spent the mornings visiting different bush villages, which required long trips in the truck on very bumpy dirt roads. It was at this point that Valerie and I developed a love for these people. Overlooking the brown hair (sign of malnutrition) and yellow eyes (usually an indicator of Hepatitis) was easy once you saw their bright smiles and beautiful expressions.

But we didn’t want to overlook their health completely, so we put on skits to teach them about health and safety and, in some cases, salvation. We felt fortunate to see those “a-ha” moments when they realized they should clean a wound and bandage it so it won’t get infected…or drink clean water when they are sick so they will be re-hydrated. We couldn’t have chose a more perfect couple to team with—after 21 years in Niger, they were an incredible example to observe and learn from both in mission-work, their marriage and their personal relationships with the Lord. We praise God for His incredible insight in teaming us with Don and Teresa and showing us that a life of service for the Lord is the most fulfilling life—no matter what city, country, or continent on which your feet may stand!

Having a month to think over all that God revealed to me through this experience gave me several thoughts I want to leave with you. Obedience to the Holy Spirit’s call to a place is all you need—He’ll take care of the rest. Africa is huge, the needs are huge, and God is huge…and He is asking us to be a part of something huge—changing Africa as the world knows it, one life at a time. Take a chance for Jesus and go someplace where you might say “We are in the middle of nowhere! What are we doing here? We must be crazy!”

Me and Val at the Niger River

Me and Valerie at the Niger River in Niamey, Niger...our last night before leaving Africa to come back home.

bend or amend....

"We know that innovators bend the world, but it’s the spiritual innovators who amend the world." (Bryan Davidson, my boss' husband)

I read this on Bryan's blog (Conversoulogy) and it made me think. I love when I run across a clever line that makes me stop and think and chew on it a bit. Larry Trammel had a lot of points/quotes that had this affect on me (although I have only heard his voice and teachings on cd). So...what does this really mean? What are the implications of this?

I think I've always wanted the first...to be an innovator that bent the world...that changed it a bit in some way. I think that's why I majored in business and have always liked business...for this kind of purpose.

The second part...though...that's the part that begins to hit home and challenge me. Is this a desire of mine? Truthfully, I don't think I've really been thinking this way, so it couldn't possibly be a desire. Amend, like bending, is a way of changing. But a bend is such a small change...When I think of bend...I think of taking a metal pipe or something like that and bending it. The consequences are that it does change a bit...it looks a little different and may not be able to be used for the same purposes, but the main substance of it doesn't change. Its still made of the same material and feels the same and can still be identified as a metal pipe.

But when I think of "amend"...I think of an ammendment to the Constitution. One simple ammendment contains so much power. It changes the interpretation of the entire document...it defines what is truth in a better way...what is acceptable and inacceptable...and eventually it can decide the fate of a person...life or death. Hmm...oh, that I would have that goal...that vision....to amend the world...it may be a small change...but it will be a change that impacts the main substance of a person, it will change the material of that being, and it will change the person to where they are barely recognizable as the same as they were before...

Thanks for the challenge Bryan! May the Holy Spirit amend me and amend the world through me.

africa coming soon...

...the long awaited africa posts will be arriving during this next week. keep looking!! i will be putting up some pics and giving some insights into the life in niger. be intrigued;o)

keep checking in!!!

back from the bush...still in niger...

thank you for your prayers...God has been good. i will write a lot more later, but i just wanted to let you all know that we're all healthy and God has been teaching us and hopefully used us to glorify Himself among the Zarma people. i'll fly out of the capital (Niamey) tomorrow night and be back in the states on Saturday night. keep praying for safe travels and easy adjustment back to the american culture! i love you all. see you soon!!!

off to africa...

...in just a few minutes, i'm hopping into the parents' expedition and going to the airport. after hours on airplanes, and different connections, and a stopover for a couple of days in paris!, i'll arrive in Niamey, Niger, West Africa. i'm so excited that God has given me the opportunity to minister to the Zerma people for two weeks with my best friend, Valerie.

thank you to all my friends and family who have made this opportunity possible through provisions. please keep us in your hearts and prayers over the next two weeks. i'll try to write a blog or two, so keep checking (but we won't have the internet out in the bush!).

i look forward to writing about all the Lord is doing in Niger! stay tuned...

finger cramps...

...just a warning, some of you are not going to believe how ridiculous this one is...so only read if you are willing to realize how dumb i can be sometimes...or at least lazy without logic.

so, my new amazing apt is fully furnished. its kind of weird b/c somethings are new and so nice (pretty much everything in my bedroom and so much more) and other things are oddly old and disfunctional...just keep reading.

first, the washer and dryer (pretty ghetto....but still oh so grateful!). also, well, there's really only one also.

the tv.

an old philips, with maybe 10 channels (3 at somewhat visible quality and sound without too much adjustment of the cable in the back)...with channels being 2, 5, 8, 11, 68 (tbs), 85 (spanish..thank goodness i have that one!), 87 (WB), 102 (CBS), and 125 (upn...again, thank goodness!)...and the best part, no remote. yep, that's right...no clicker, no changer, no whatever other name there is for it out there (you're welcome to add to the list via comments).

so, this hasn't been a huge issue yet b/c i usually pick one show to watch a night and just stick to that channel...that is, until last Tuesday night!

two huge shows! Gilmore Girls season finale and American Idol (only 4 left!...now 3). so...i was so excited i had just discovered the WB channel a few days earlier...but only to figure out that it was channel 87...and the other desired channel...channel 5. yep...that means they are 82 button pushes away from eachother. so, i did the only sensible thing.

...well, it seemed sensible at the time.

i determined to watch both. so, on GG commercials i flipped to 5...oh wait...i mean i got up off the couch...and began pressing the down arrow...for like 1.2 mins...at least...it really seemed like 10 as i waited in suspense hoping to catch as much of both shows as possible.

now, you probably think that would maybe last one or two commercial breaks...well, if you know anything about me, you know that when i am determined to do something, and its a challenge, and i see how ridiculous it is, my pride kicks in and i just keep doing it out of a desire to prove it to myself that i can. and i did. the whole hour. every commercial break...i got up and pressed the arrow button 82 times. over and over again.

i wonder how much of the shows i actually caught...in mins. oh, if only i had a changer, clicker, remote, whatever!

a good speaker...

...What makes a good speaker:

After going to a leadership conference and hearing about 10 professionals speak for an average of 30-45 mins a piece, I realized that its definitely easy to pick out who is really good...i mean, really really good.

Each of these speakers are well-known and definitely experienced, but let's just say that experience ain't everything...you gotta have talent. Anyways...I'm straying. I think I'll try to sum up what I think makes a really impacting speaker and you share back!

*As many references to current top 10 television shows (i.e. American Idol, 24, Lost, etc)

*Focus on the topic is a nice idea

*Jokes that keep my attention, but are still relevant

*Leaving me with one idea that is stuck in my head that I think about over and over

*Realness


What do you think?

after one month...

....things i've learned after working in the "real world" with a "real job" for one month:

~being a night person by nature is not in my favor anymore...those days are long gone...congrats morning people!

~weekends are not for play, relaxing, etc...that was a short-term tease...they are for doing laundry, cleaning the apt, catching up on email (for those of us that don't do it at work;o), and still not catching up on sleep.

~pay days are still fun

~you don't see a true office until friday

~offices and people are bi-polar...just compare monday mornings to friday afternoons

~all the sweets that parents have attempted to stop giving their children end up at offices...i thought this was a good thing at first, but its like my first month in Paris with the pastries...gotta learn to just keep walking...don't stop in the breakroom

~email/outlook is uncontrollable...don't set the alert button for new emails...its just distracting b/c they never end!

~seeing the same amazing people every day , 5 days a week is AWESOME...i miss them on the weekends...you'll have to meet them, then you will see

~similar to middle school, the coolest person in the office is the one who comes up with the best joke/game/free entertainment/etc...and you find out who very quickly...esp with the help of email

~pride only leads to pain...admitting mistakes is the best way to go

~never settle for a job...i've got the perfect match and i hope all of you do too...if not, seek it out...its out there!

all in a days work...

...So, I'm writing this with the risk of increasing the already held opinion that I'm living off of free food at work...this is only a half-truth.

This morning (Fridays are bring breakfast for the office day...everyone signs up for a Friday...and as I tried to sign up today, I realized what a high honor this list creates, as there are no openings until May!). Today, we were provided with wonderful pastries. But the real attraction to the break room was when someone brought in a huge bag of chick-fil-a biscuits that were donated to us from the office across the hall...I mean, there must have been 50 of them in this bag!

The bag had a variety of 3 kinds...chicken being in the highest demand of course. Although watching everyone attack this bag was entertaining in itself...the real entertainment came when our President strolled in, ripped open the bag and went fishing. The first he pulled out was sausage...and the second...and the third....this went on for many more times. There was even a moment of false hope as he was convinced one was thicker than the rest, so it must be chicken (the foil wrappers, which normally serve the role of labeling, had forgotten their true purpose in life...they should look up that book).

Then one employee offered him her chicken biscuit...but he refused. I'm sure there was some leadership principle in this action. Then, two more reacahes in, and alas--He got one! And I've never seen him walk away in such a victorious manner before.

All for the magnificent Chick-fil-A Chicken Biscuit. And I think he would say that it was totally worth it!