1932 - William Simpson

June 25, 1932

Xiahe, Gansu

Will E. Simpson.

William Ekvall Simpson, the son of missionary parents, had grown up among Tibetans since he was one-year-old. Living in a remote area along the China-Tibet border, the rugged life of Tibet was the only one Simpson had ever known.

At a young age Will, as was called to distinguish him from his pioneer father William W. Simpson, faced tragedy when his baby sister died, followed by the loss of his beloved mother during a trip home. After returning to the United States for education, Simpson longed to return to Tibet, despite knowing that lawlessness was growing out of control and his missionary work would place him at risk. Whereas other foreigners struggled greatly with the culture and conditions in this primitive part of the world, Simpson felt at home. He spoke several dialects of Tibetan fluently.

Marriage for Simpson was not an option if he was to be faithful to his calling. One year he rode 3,800 miles (6,156 km) on horseback, planting the seed of the gospel among nomads. He won the friendship and respect of Buddhist lamas, who allowed him to lease a plot of land at Xiahe (then Labrang) in Gansu Province. From that base, Simpson made numerous journeys into surrounding areas, sharing the message of God’s salvation with everyone he met. After one lonely and exhausting trip, Simpson wrote to the Assemblies of God Foreign Mission Department:

“All the trials, the loneliness, the heartache, the weariness and pain, the cold and fatigue of the long road, the darkness and discouragements, and all the bereavements, temptations and testings, seemed not worthy to be compared with the glory and joy of witnessing to this ‘glad tidings of great joy.’”[1]

On June 25, 1932, Will Simpson was attacked by a horde of Muslim army deserters who swooped down on him near Xiahe. He was killed instantly. A Chinese tax collector found Simpson’s father and told him where his son’s body lay. As the father “was picking up his son’s mutilated body, he noticed a Sunday school paper smeared with blood lying nearby. The printed words, IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME, seemed a fitting testimony of why the young missionary had died.”[2]