Reverend Armando Monsalve, age 82, of Jordan, MN, went home to be with his Lord on Saturday, June 15, 2024, with his loving family by his side.
He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord. Acts 11:24
A celebration of life will be held for Armando and his wife Raquel on Wednesday, June 19, 2024, at 11 am, with a visitation from 10-10:45 am, at Friendship Church, 17741 Fairlawn Avenue, Prior Lake, MN. Pastor Kenny White will preside. They will be laid to rest at Spirit Hill Cemetery, in Jordan. Memorials are preferred to the family.
Armando Monsalve affectionately known by many as Papí or Tata, was the eldest of 5 siblings, two brothers and two sisters. He was born in Santiago, Chile on January 20, 1942, in the wee hours of the morning. Due to human error, it was recorded on his birth certificate as the 19th. We celebrated on either date or both!
Armando grew into a strong and handsome young man who played rugby, climbed mountains, and went on many adventures. One of his adventures took him high up into the caves of the Andes Mountains. Here, Armando discovered fish fossils that had been pressed into the rocks thousands of miles above sea level. He realized that the flood, as told in the Bible, was an actual, true event, and his faith grew. Armando served in the military, worked for the airlines, became a pilot, and was part of the Aguilas Blancas of the Chilean Air Force.
As a young man, God gave him a vision where Armando knelt before Jesus and received a dubbing as a warrior of the gospel. God told him he would return to Chile as a missionary. This was the beginning of his passion for teaching a preaching the gospel in all the world.
Armando married a beautiful girl from Lota, Chile named Gladys and had two amazing daughters. But Gladys passed away shortly after the birth of their second daughter, Veronica, leaving Armando a widower.
During the time Armando worked for Lan Chile Airlines, communism took over his country. Armando was presented with the opportunity to flee to America but would have to pack his bags and leave the next day. There were two flights heading out, one to Miami and one to New York. As the good Lord would have it, he landed in Miami. Armando came to America to prepare a home for himself and his two daughters.
Armando found his way to Central Baptist Church, where he met the love of his life of 54 years Raquel. They were married on February 21, 1970. Soon after, they traveled back to Chile, not as missionaries yet, but to pick up their two daughters Mitzi and Veronica. Armando and Raquel returned to Miami, Florida, where new adventures awaited. Not long after, they welcomed a beautiful daughter and baby sister to the crew when Alicia was born. They lived in the city, then in the country, as Armando pastored churches and Raquel supported his ministry and worked in Christian Literature.
They felt called to travel north to Bloomington, Minnesota to attend Bethany Fellowship Missionary Training Center. Their mission work took them to: church plant in Chile and fulfill the vision God had given him as a young man. Armando’s faithfulness and obedience to God led him to teaching at a Bible School in Mexico, mission trips to the Dominican Republic, and bringing Bibles into the Soviet Union just to name a few.
Armando was remarkably intelligent, teaching himself to read Hebrew to better study the Bible. His skills and jobs included working in real estate, electrician for Pitney Bowes, teaching, and pastoring churches. Armando’s spiritual legacy includes marriages and the baptism of many souls around the world. He considered it a blessing and a privilege to co-officiate one of his daughters’ weddings. A few very dear baptisms were those of his father, his mother, a sister, a nephew, and one of his own daughters.
Armando is leaving a legacy of faith, perseverance, and God’s love in this world. He was endlessly optimistic, always hoping, always praying through every moment in life. Armando faithfully kept his vows and tirelessly cared for his recently departed wife Raquel through better and worse, richer and poorer times – maybe not richer in the financial sense, but definitely richer in faith, love, and family.
Our family is grateful to Armando for showing us what enduring love looks like. We cherish how our parents have cared for each other and walked arm in arm each and every day for 54 years. We love you Papí/Tata – besitos!
Forever loved, Armando will be forever remembered by his d aughter, Mitzi (Joseph) Speranzella and their children, Cristina, Joseph, Justin, Cecilia, James, Jadon, and Jacob; daughter, Veronica (Phillip) Ransom and their children, Jeremiah (Mandi), Daniel, Elizabeth; d aughter: Alicia (Kevin) Ray, and their daughters, Victoria, Nicole, and Daniella; s ister, Luz (Raul) Carvajal; other relatives and friends.
Armando is preceded in death by parents, Luis Armando and Luz (Ripoll Fiero) Monsalve; siblings, Thomas, Gloria, Gustavo; brother-in-law, Raul (Luz) Carvajal, and nephew, Raul Carvajal.
