Mona Lea Balius (née Ellsworth) passed away peacefully at home on October 13, 2022, surrounded by her family. Mona was born February 2, 1929, in Bald Hill, Oklahoma. She was the seventh child of Delbert and Caledonia (Arrington) Ellsworth. She was preceded in death by her husband, Rev. Samuel H. Balius, her parents, four older brothers: Levoy, Charles, Jack, and John; two older sisters: Margaret Ann (Eaton) and Opal Marie (Bryan), and one younger sister, Nedra Ellsworth. She is survived by her three daughters: Deborah Caldwell (husband, Mike), Rebekah Clute (husband, Randy), and Rachel Balius; her grandchildren: Lisa Mankins, Amber Furr (Darren), Andrea Gomez (Phil), John Michael Caldwell (Nicole), and three great-grandsons: Greyson Furr, Zelek Furr, and Boaz Gomez; and multiple nieces and nephews.

Mona met Samuel Balius at Central Bible Institute in 1952. They married May 29, 1954, and went into full-time ministry in Mississippi. In 1959, they became appointed Assemblies of God missionaries, ministering throughout Latin America and other Spanish-speaking countries. After fifty-three years of active ministry, they retired and settled in Springfield, Missouri. They had been married sixty-four years when she lost her husband.

Mona contracted polio as an infant, and when she was six or seven years old, she had an accident where her legs were run over by a farm truck. God miraculously restored her ability to walk, though she did have a slight limp the rest of her life. She answered the call to serve the Lord in spite of her handicaps. She never held back, whether serving in extreme tropical heat or bitter cold Southern Cone winters, in the jungle or prairies or mountains. She was a licensed minister of the Assemblies of God with the Mississippi District of the Assemblies of God.

She was a great preacher and an amazing teacher in Bible schools across Latin America and the Canary Islands. She was especially recognized for teaching History of the Old Testament. She directed and mentored children's ministry as well promoting women's ministries. She was a prayer warrior and student of the God's Word. Her legacy is one of dedicated and faithful service to the Lord.

A visitation will be held from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM Monday, October 17, 2022 at Life 360 Church at 2220 W. Chesterfield St. Springfield. A funeral will be held at 11:00 AM in the church. Interment will follow at Rivermonte Memorial Gardens Mausoleum.