The heat reminded me of one particular morning of December 2007. Hotter than hot. (I'm not confused. I was south of the equator.) I was having a great time as a missionary in a beautiful sector called La Dehesa. My incredibly entertaining companion Hermana Godoy and I had been knocking doors all morning because, well, that's one thing you do when you don't have scheduled teaching appointments. La Dehesa was an interesting area because it houses not only the poorest of the poor, it also has the richest of the rich. On this summer day we were in one of the affluent neighborhoods. There aren't negocios (markets) in the wealthy neighborhoods, meaning you can't up and buy water whenever you need it.
It was so hot and the sun was burning so badly that at one point I walked directly through a sprinkler at a park we crossed through. As we continued to walk in the heat knocking doors and no one let us in (a well-known prediction of knocking in wealthier parts), we began to feel how thirsty we were. Our bottles of water had long been emptied. It was the first time I'd ever felt a real need to drink something. We got so desperate that after people told us to go away, we asked if they would mind sparing us a glass of water. Person after person after person after person after person refused us.
This is when I met the man I will never forget. I don't know his name. I remember only vaguely what he looks like. But I will never forget his kindness. Even as I remember him and type this, I start to cry.
We had knocked a door and didn't realize that the one just prior to it was part of this same house. As we approached the door and yelled "Alo!" we heard a man tell us to wait. A few moments later he opened his door holding a tray with two large glasses filled with ice, a ginormous pitcher full of water, and a large bottle of Coke. He told us that he overheard us ask his maid for water when she answered the citofono (intercom) at the previous door.
We talked to him and drank everything he'd brought out. He went back into his house to get us more. As I looked at this kind stranger and drank his water, I silently asked Heavenly Father to forever bless him for what he did for us. It was one of the most sincere prayers I've ever offered.
I know it may sound overdramatic. It's just that I'd never needed something so badly that I was unable to attain. I love that man, I really do. "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me" (Matt. 25:40).
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