Relationships

[August 8, 2015] Saturday

Serving in the Temple we meet a lot of very dear people, patrons as well as workers. One of the younger obreras (sister workers) and I have gotten really close. Her name is Hermana Trujillo. She has also had occasion to work with Charlie and feels close to him as well. So one day she started calling us Mother and Father. It's funny to hear her use the English words. Probably like I sound in Spanish. Anyway, we love her. We found out her birthday was Saturday and she works on Saturday. She turned 27. So I made some Snicker Doodle cookies for her (and Charlie) and wrapped them up pretty and brought them to her. It turns out, her day had not been a very happy one, so getting anything, just being remembered was a blessing to her. You can't help but have a good time working in the Temple, so the rest of her day was good.

There is another sister that I became close with the first day I worked in the Temple, Hermana Flores. We have a lot in common, both have 7 children and 13 grandchildren (we just had our 13th last week), we are the same age. We both have dark hair and dark eyes. So we like to tell people we're twins. She and her husband work several nights a week. I have learned a lot from watching her. She is very humble, observant and patient with everyone.

There are so many that I would love to introduce you to. The Chavez couple are so faithful, you can't help but love them. They have a daughter that received her mission call. When she came to the Temple the first time all of us obreras were so happy for her. She has become "the darling" to all of us. We all look forward to seeing her each week. She comes to the Temple every week often times 2 or 3 times. We (the workers) all claim her as our own.

Then there are the young sisters that come before they get married. We get to see them with their fiancé or novio and on the day they get married. And it's really sweet when we see the newlyweds coming back to the Temple every week. We're so proud of them and they are like family to us.

I feel so grateful to be serving in the Cochabamba, Bolivia Temple with my dear companion. I'm grateful for the experiences that we have every day both in the Temple and out. And I am especially grateful for the sweet relationships that develop as we serve together in the Temple. I have never felt like an outsider or even like a foreigner. If I'm with a group of sisters talking in Spanish and don't understand what they are saying, there is usually at least one in the group that will try to simplify the conversation for me and include me. I am learning a lot from these good sisters.