La Puente–A Reason to Get Married?

Stephany Nellessen

If you have not yet been to see Zapata Falls, I highly encourage you to. The falls are so moving that you never know what it might inspire you to do—get married, perhaps? That’s exactly what it did for Richard and Lacy Stepp. Their story is quite astounding. Richard and Lacy recently came to Alamosa as volunteers for La Puente. The trip was last minute for the couple. “I prayed for a sign,” said Richard, “and the next day our Reverend called us and asked if we wanted to go on a mission trip.” Just a couple of weeks later they found themselves in Alamosa with a small church group. They cooked lunches and dinners at the emergency shelter, helped out in the community garden and at the food bank, and worked with the kids at PALS. Lacy and Richard could not express enough how much their experience meant to them. “It was powerful,” said Richard. “The best trip of my life,” Lacy added.
Wednesday rolled around and it was the group’s “Valley Day,” which is a day reserved for volunteer groups to explore the many pleasures the valley has to offer. This particular group chose to hike up to Zapata Falls. While marveling over the view at the top of the falls, Father Torey Lightcap made a light-hearted passing comment, “I don’t know why you two don’t get married here.” From the words of Lacy and Richard, they looked into each other’s eyes, taking in all of the moving events they had experienced since they came, and couldn’t agree more. “Why not?” replied Richard.
That’s how it began, and from there on the rest of the day was filled with excitement. Lacy and Richard needed a marriage certificate from the Alamosa County Clerk and the office would close at 4:30. It was four o’clock and the group was still thirty miles away. Richard laughed as he recalled one of the Reverends driving ninety miles an hour to get the couple to the County Clerk on time. They made it to the office at 4:25 and the doors were locked, but they were able to persuade one of the clerks to open up for them.  So with the marriage license in hand, Lacy, Richard, and the rest of their group headed back to Zapata Falls after stopping at City Market to pick up wine and bread for Eucharist. “At this point,” Lacy told me, “I couldn’t believe it was really happening.”
It was happening. The group found a beautiful spot part way up to the falls and laid out some possessions to make an alter. Several questions and words of advice were raised by the group to Lacy and Richard about marriage and love. The couple had been engaged for only three months, but they both were certain that this was the right place for them to get married. “The mountain that the falls are on is called Sangre de Cristo [Blood of Christ], and we were on a mission trip.” Richard exclaimed, “It was perfect, a sign from God.”
After the ceremony the group partook in Eucharist, celebrated with hugs and photos, and then headed back to Alamosa. “And that was the day,” concluded Richard. The two newlyweds returned to their lodgings at the local Presbyterian Church, where they had to sleep in separate dorms for men and women. This gave them each a lot of time to reflect on what had just occurred. They both turned over ‘I’m married’ again and again in their heads. They couldn’t have been happier.
The next day La Puente celebrated the couple’s new life together at the emergency with a wedding cake. Lacy told me that she has had consistent goose bumps since the wedding. They left for home shortly after, but assured me that they would be back to Alamosa soon, and to work with La Puente again. This experience will touch the hearts of Lacy and Richard and all of us here at La Puente forever. We wish them everlasting health and joy. So, La Puente—a reason to get married? I think so.