From the highlands of Peru to a pioneering ministry in Ecuador, Heather Simpson’s story is woven through a season of change in mission history.
Discover how a planned journey to Bolivia became decades of service in South America, and meet the dedicated BIM/AEM/SIM missionaries whose faith, flexibility and commitment helped shape theological education across the region.
Fiona Murray speaks with Heather Simpson
Tell me about the beginning of your own journey to serve overseas:
I already had a lot of connections with AEM where I lived in New Zealand. I applied with AEM and was accepted. During that period of transition from AEM to SIM, I happened to be studying language in the US. So, I went out under AEM with the understanding and appreciation and knowledge that the combining of two groups was happening.
However, I was one of three people, including Phil and Sue Manley, in that period of transition where we were accepted by AEM and ended up under SIM by the time we got to our destination. We all served in Peru, working in Theological Education by Extension (TEE) in the highlands with our Peruvian team. Phil and Sue returned to NZ after two terms, but later joined our team in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
How did you end up in Ecuador?
The Manley’s and I were all originally heading for Bolivia. The five couples/families who transitioned from Bolivia to Peru in the mid-late 1970’s were Ray and Myrtle Morris, Wallace and Colleen Searle, Harold and Audrey Searle, Ekhart and Brigette Nehmer, and Jurgen and Monica Ehrich.
Their connection & agreement was with the Evangelical Church of Peru (Iglesia Evangelica Peruana), and their mandate was to help the church in Theological Education. The newly settled Peru missionaries were keen for new missionaries to join the team there, and this coincided with the merger of AEM with SIM. The Manley’s and I were already enroute (preparing to leave New Zealand) and the AEM Board asked us if we would be ok to go to Peru. Personally, I was very happy with this opportunity.
My transition to Ecuador happened during the 1980-1990’s. In Peru there was growing unrest and violence, especially in the highlands. This unsettled some of our highland ministries and gave pause as to the possible future of AEM-SIM in Peru. Being explored and developed at the time was an opportunity for expansion from Peru into Chile and Ecuador, with the Nehmer’s and Morris’s moving south to Chile.
About the same time, through a period of transition in leadership in Peru, I was asked if I would either head the Peruvian team and be based in Lima or be a part of a new team in Ecuador. I opted for Ecuador and moved there at the end of 1989.
Can you tell me more about other significant people who served with BIM/AEM/SIM?
Wallace and Harold Searle’s parents, Margaret and Will Searle, served for many years in Bolivia with BIM-AEM. They had four sons, two of whom both chose to return to Bolivia as missionaries (Wallace and Harold). As mentioned, they both transitioned with their families from Bolivia to Peru. Harold and Audrey returned to New Zealand in the early 1980’s. Wallace and Colleen returned for a few years while their children finished schooling, and then they returned to Peru. They were there until they retired to New Zealand.
Both Wallace and Harold were deeply loved and respected in their ministries of TEE. Wallace and Colleen also provided leadership for the AEM SIM team in Peru.
