Steve Morales

1977 - 1979

Where does one begin in remembering the profound impact a mission can have on someone?  I had no idea where Bolivia was when the letter arrived saying I would serve in the Bolivia La Paz mission. 

The MTC was amazing but I still was so unprepared for what was ahead.  After arriving in Bolivia and being met at the airport by Elder Ralph Perez, secretary of the mission, we started on the wildest ride of my life from the airport down into La Paz to the mission office.  “You don’t use stop signs, you use horns and whomever honks the loudest has the right of way”…at least according to Elder Perez!  Never thought I’d survive that ride!

My mission didn’t start out quite as planned.  My first companion was so “trunky.”  We did some visits but he said if I wanted to go out and preach the gospel, I would have to do it on my own.  I prayed hard for him to have a change of heart. I remember one day going to a plaza by myself about a short block from where we stayed and started talking with people about the Church.  It felt good but I never did it again without a companion.  When he left, I was grateful for each and every companion from there on because I knew what it was like to have an extremely tough one.

President and Sister Allred as well as President and Sister Hill were wonderful examples and much appreciated.

The real joy came in growing with companions and loving the people.  I was so grateful for each and every companion; and those with whom I wish we could have been companions!  The Bolivian people worked so hard for so little and yet there was an abundance of love in their homes.  I could tell why they were special in the eyes of Heavenly Father.

From a dog peeing on my leg (My companion had a great laugh about that one!), eating guinea pig, to amazing opportunities to teach and baptize many people, Bolivia will be forever one of the greatest joys of life.

Too many wonderful experiences to share but two jump out.  I had the privilege of going with Pres. Hill and the Aymara Elders to a small village about 1 1/2 hours over rough terrain and then we had to walk another 45 minutes.  There were about 20-30 people in the entire village.  They all strained to look into the adobe one-room home where they fixed us a simple meal.  Upon leaving, the village wanted to thank us for coming and the main leader of the village had a big smile on his face and one hand behind his back.  We gathered together as he presented us a gift from the entire village.  I still remember him bringing that clear plastic bag from behind his back with 12 eggs in it.  All the villagers had the biggest smiles and were so proud.  I know they sacrificed to give us this gift.  They’ll never know how full our hearts were and the life-long lesson of giving and true love for one another we learned.

Another time was my lasts Christmas there.  It was the time when I left serving in the mission office and had a live Christmas for our apartment.  My companion and I decided to give it to a special a family with several little kids.  They didn’t have a Christmas tree nor gifts but the kids could see others celebrating.    We took this “Christmas tree” to this family’s home, we knocked on the door and hid.  They opened the door and one of the little boys kept saying “Is it really for us?  Is it really ours?”  The parents looked around trying to find where the tree came from.  They were so happy and the kids were filled with excitement as they took the tree in.  What a special moment of service to others.  We truly are in service to our Heavenly Father as we are in service to others.  What a special blessing.

Needless to say that there is life after the mission.  Mine led me to BYU and then on to a career with many amazing experiences.  My focus was in media management and retail corporate leadership.  Eventually started a small Internet company working with clients throughout the nation and in Europe for the U.S. State Department. 

Throughout time the love of our Heavenly Father continued and trying to live a Christ-like life was important.  It remains today because of the experiences from the mission.

While I dated at BYU and thereafter, I knew something was different in life. I didn’t take time to understand until a few years after the mission and BYU.  After long prayers, I decided that I needed to live my own truth.  Once that decision was made, an amazing weight was lifted off my shoulders.  I saw many people living a life others wanted them to live…even within the Church.  This resulted in broken homes and unnecessary deception and heart ache.  It wasn’t a choice but when you know something in the depth of your soul, you have to accept it.   I’ve lived with a partner for over 21 years and we both continue to serve the homeless over the years by giving blankets out at night to those sleeping on the streets or in abused women and children shelters.  We are grateful for the opportunity to volunteer on a regular basis feeding the hungry.  It’s all of service to our Heavenly Father.  Albert’s heart is kind and he is very knowledgeable with work, a great racquetball player (winning the state championship last year) and runner.  Wish I had his energy.

Out of respect for the Church, I haven’t attended for many, many years.  I didn’t want to live a lie while sitting with others.  I still love the gospel and grateful for all Christ did for us and the love we enjoy from our Heavenly Father.  This knowledge is my foundation as I go through life.

While I don’t know all the answer to ‘why,” I do know like Elder Taylor said in Conference this month, we are all children of our Heavenly Father.  Yes, I still try to listen to conference.  The Internet is great!

So there it is in all its glory! 

I am so grateful for the experiences shared with each of you.  My heart has been full because of the mission experience and the joy of truly getting to know each of you and serving with you.  You’ll never know how much of an impact you had on my life and many others.  Sure remember the laughter, some extremely funny missionaries, some profound spiritual experience as we served together in Bolivia!

Hope to see you at the reunion!

P.S.  Thanks Steve Gerrard for the pics from Facebook.

Anna Lee Greenhalgh Dan Lilly