Ray and Myrtle Morris

After serving in the Spanish speaking countries for most of their career, Ray & Myrtle now reside in Neenah and continue in ministry to Hispanic leaders in South and Central America as well as in the United States.

Ray and Myrtle, missionaries since 1962, have always had a passion for training pastors and church leaders in third world situations in South and Central America. They continue to conduct leadership and training programs and ministries throughout Latin America and in the USA for many Spanish speaking pastors and Christian workers, and especially for Latin American candidates preparing for cross cultural ministries in many parts of the world.

Ray came to know Christ at age 20. He lived in a small home in Australia and was nurtured by their home Bible study group, and schooled by the Sydney mission training facility there. In 1962 Ray went to Bolivia and took linguistics for Indian missions. He learned Spanish professionally, and has been speaking it for about 40 years now. Ray also did legal work at S.I.M. (international mission organization) He went to Chile and started teaching Spanish to the missionaries there. He says, “you never stop learning.”

He learned to speak Quechua (catch-oo- ah) at the Indian Bible Institute. People came from the Inca empire who wanted to be educated and serve the Lord. Ray taught them Spanish and the Bible, each person’s schooling lasted for about three years. Now they were ready to evangelize to the country. Ray strongly believes in the strategy of placing the beginning and ongoing work into the hands of the nationals, right off the bat. In this way, they take ownership, and they can teach their own culture.

When Myrtle was about 13 she saw a missionary film about Columbia and she said to herself, “I could do that!” and so began her journey towards having a heart for missions.

She had to learn Spanish and went to a Bible college and studied everything that she could about Bolivia and the Ludians. She became a youth director, and came back to Oshkosh to get a teaching degree. She made a bargain to God that she would teach for two years and then go to the mission field. Her prayer was that if she was in a place where she was not supposed to be she asked that God would make her miserable. It did not take long for God to answer her prayers. During her teaching in those two years, she had 44 students that were very difficult to teach, with many behavioral problems. In May of 1962, Myrtle went to Bolivia and became a children’s missionary school teacher.

After two years of teaching she became married to Ray and taught in Indian Bible institutes. Together they had three children, one of whom passed away. Seventeen years later they went to the mountains and lived there for four years.

Ray and Myrtle, missionaries since 1962, have always had a passion for training pastors and church leaders in third world situations in South and Central America. After serving in the Spanish speaking countries for most of their career, they now reside in Neenah and continue in ministry to Hispanic leaders in South and Central America as well as in the United States.

They continue to conduct leadership and training programs and ministries throughout Latin America and in the USA for many Spanish speaking pastors and Christian workers, and especially for Latin American candidates preparing for cross cultural ministries in many parts of the world.

The Morris’s ask prayer for their ministries and their commitments and thank the Lord for the opportunity to serve Him. Technically, they are “retired!”