We pray this finds you well. As many of you know, one of the biggest concerns on the Global stage is the Corona Virus and its continued spread. We have been healthy and well although we see the effects of the virus on Thailand’s economy and people. A few days ago, it was recommended by...Read More

Christmas is one of our favorite times of the year because it celebrates the birth of the One who helps us to love, and who gives us the strength to serve, under all our circumstances…Jesus Christ! Lori-Ann and I wish you a blessed Christmas and pray that you are enjoying God’s presence during this season and into...Read More

The last two months have flown by. Despite our daily challenges, we continue to be assured of God’s calling for us to be in Thailand and greatly enjoy the work we do. God is on the move and using ZOE in so many ways. Here are some of the amazing things God is doing. Recently,...Read More

After returning from Hawaii in April, Lori-Ann and I are back in the saddle! Here are our highlights for the month of May: Thai lessons continue twice-a-week with our gifted and very patient tutor. She now has us telling time in Thai (which is much more complicated than one might think), and praying in the...Read More

First of all, thank you so much for your monthly support!  Your generosity means a lot to us, and may the Lord bless you for your faithfulness. I’m starting off this month’s update with a short endorsement of the 2016 movie, Silence,directed by Martin Scorsese.  I highly recommend that you see it!  I’m not going to...Read More

Sawadee! Here are the highlights of what has been going on with us in the last couple of months: AUGUST We were busy with preparations for various short term missionary teams visiting ZOE from August through November. Short term missionary teams are a great way for us to meet people from other walks of life...Read More

It’s been just about 10 months serving here in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and I find myself a different person. But I am just coming to realize this. Simpson, as part of his role here at ZOE will need to be gone overnight for maybe 2-3 days at a time. In the last two months he’s...Read More

This was our first Christmas and New Year’s living abroad. It’s not like we haven’t vacationed outside of the U.S. during the holidays but it sure feels different when one celebrates from one’s newly appointed digs. As we mentioned last post, Thanksgiving is virtually non-existent in Thailand (with the exception of the U.S. expats) while...Read More

As we approach Thanksgiving, what is obviously absent here in Thailand is the Thanksgiving themed decor, and the American ingredients to make many of the typical Thanksgiving dishes. If I were in Hawaii, I’d probably be planning that day’s meal and coordinating with friends and family. It does make us homesick a bit but we...Read More

This month we’ve had the wonderful opportunity to begin our Thai language studies. After our first few sessions, we felt so physically tired and couldn’t figure out why. Only after some reflection we realized that it was our minds trying to remember, comprehend and learn this new language. We are using parts of our brains...Read More

I was in Chiang Mai on an emergency visit as dad was in the hospital and mom was taking it hard.  It was an unplanned trip in mid-January but necessary.  An intense time to just be with dad and mom and love them. In my second week, after dad had settled back at home and...Read More

It is the eve of our launch into the unknown–and all systems are go!  Preparations were not without incident, we recently ran into issues that could have delayed us (more details in our next monthly update).  But God continues to pave the way before us. Our flight leaves tomorrow at 1:00P.M., the start of our...Read More

As I (Simpson) am sitting here looking at our calendar and see that our flight to Chiang Mai is less than 3 weeks away, a thought comes to me…WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE WE DOING?! It feels like Lori and I are about to leap off of a precipice, leaving all our loved ones, our...Read More

It’s officially June. In May, we purchased one way tickets to Chiang Mai, Thailand, so will be headed out the last week of July. It’s all becoming too real. We’ve been purging and slimming down our possessions. Our home is doing a gradual disappearing act: today a table vanishes, a bunch of chairs are gone...Read More

The month of April has zipped by in a flash!  Here are the highlights of our continuing journey to ZOE…   On the work front, Simpson has started training the person who will be taking over his position.  There is a lot to cover but the new guy is very capable and things have been...Read More

We just completed our third set of shots before we leave for Thailand…good stuff if one does not want to contract rabies or Japanese encephalitis!  As you can imagine, Lori-Ann and I have somewhat differing philosophies when it comes to vaccinations.  For instance, I’m fine with taking the tetanus shot on a when-I-actually-step-on-a-nail basis (to...Read More

Someone recently asked me “is it because you don’t have children?”  This question came after I had shared with them that we would be headed to serve as missionaries with ZOE International. I told her that was not the reason why.  She was trying to make sense of what we were doing. What is really...Read More

  In 2015, we along with two of Lori’s siblings traveled to Chiang Mai, Thailand to help their parents relocate to a care resort there.  It was then that we were introduced to ZOE International for the first time. We had known about human trafficking but something sparked in both of us to see the...Read More