Some of my new heroes

I have met so many wonderful people here. I enjoy them all, but some have touched my heart and inspired me in special ways. You might want to hear about them--I don't have pictures, but I'll tell you about three in particular. Hermana Hererra is 86 years old and little, but still fairly spry. She comes to the temple every Tuesday thru Friday and spends 2-3 hours in the Initiatory part of the temple. She makes eye contact with you and nods in agreement to every part of the ordinance. The 20-30 people she doing this work for vicariously each day have each one been well represented. I only work the morning shift every third week, but I sometimes see her at church. I have told her what an inspiration she is and a wonderful role model. Now when I enter the Initiatory area her face lights up like a child on Christmas morning and as soon as there is a break, she embraces me and kisses my cheeks. I will always remember her example and love. Brother Sosa is a temple worker on Wednesday afternoon/evening shift. He uses a bike for transportation. Some time back he was crushed between two cars and lost his leg. He has a prosthesis. He continues to serve faithfully in the temple every week riding 12 miles each way on his bike. One time when we were being taught about how temple workers should dress, he explained that he wears a scarf under his white shirt so that it will absorb the perspiration as he bikes to the temple and his shirt will be clean and dry. I can't imagine the risk riding the bike 12 miles back home in the dark and with the insane drivers here in Guatemala. Hermana Nancy Zarate is an American who married a Guatemalan man and they raised their family in the USA. They were married in the temple. However, he moved in with a younger woman, fathered two more children and was excommunicated. When her last child finished school and moved out of the home, Nancy decided to do something useful with her life and came back to Guatemala and worked with humanitarian foundations building schools and teaching. She is probably in her 70's and is now retired and grateful that she owns a piece of land with a house on it. It doesn't have running water, but she collects rain water during the rainy season and once a month when her Social Security check has been deposited she pays for a truck to come fill her water tank. She does have a toilet, but carries buckets into the house to flush it. She couldn't afford to live on SS in the USA so she stays here--and she commits 1/3 of her SS check to humanitarian efforts--she helps support an elderly couple and two single women. She comes to the temple every week (it is 1 1/2 hours over mountain roads--when they are dry). She stays here at the patron housing for two nights (and undoubtedly enjoys the showers) and does sometimes three sessions a day with initiatory in between. She is a little rough around the edges, but who cares!? She exemplifies a Christ like love for the people here and serves faithfully. There are others, but these three seem especially note worthy.