Here is what a true Hero is ...

So I just read someone's blog about how they thought Athletes are true heros, maybe some are but I think this statement can't be further from the truth. Today I actually gave a speech in my public speaking class commemorating someone. Here is a true story of a true hero:

Five years ago I embarked on a weeklong mission trip with my friends and sixty other members of my church. We drove nine hours deep into the hollers of the Appalachians Mountains, after a long day of driving we reached our destination a small town by the name of Hurley, Virginia. I was greeted with a warm welcoming from many people in the community, but the one who stuck out the most to me was an older woman by the name Mattie. Through that mission trip and several others Mattie has taught others and me so much. Now when I think of Mattie I think of pure unconditional love, compassion, and determination.
Mattie is the lady who is in charge of, a non-profit organization that is committed to help improve her impoverished community. Hurley Community Development was formed in 1995 when a group of low-income residents came together in a local park to discuss their community, and its needs, and changes they would like to make. The group began working with the Appalachian Regional Commission as one of the Communities selected to participate in their Appalachian Community Learning Project. Mattie was selected to be the head of Hurley Community Development. She is in charge of all the functions that they carry out from organizing mission groups that come down to selecting home that the groups will be repairing. Mattie is the true hero of her community, she gives everyone unconditional love. Her love is seen through everything she pores out to help her community strive. Mattie has a deep profound faith in God, which helps her carry out the mission of Hurley Community Development.
Mattie is the type of person that if you were hungry she would give you her plate, if you had no shirt she would give you the one of her own back, if you were poor she would give you her last dollar. Mattie is the one of the most compassionate persons I know. She leads a selfless life, she considers herself to be one of the blessed in her community although she does not have a large amount of material wealth. She has a fire and a spark in her to help those less fortunate then her. Mattie is a lady in her late seventies that could probably retire and be comfortable, but she would rather work and see her community become a better place.
Mattie is a lady of sheer determination, a determination that is seen through the presence of others, and the way she teaches and inspires others to serve. She is a woman with a mission to improve the quality of her community. Hurley is a small town whose economy used to be fueled by the mining industry. However, some corporations came in and bought out the mines, and then used them as tax write offs leaving many residents of Hurley unemployed. Many of the younger people left Hurley to pursue new jobs while the aging population stayed. Those who have stayed in Hurley have found themselves unable to take care of their homes. It has been one of Mattie’s missions with Hurley Community Development to help repair peoples homes in Hurley. Mattie’s determination to help her community is seen through how Hurley Community Development has expanded over the years. They have reached countless numbers of people in their community.
I will never forget the first time Mattie gave me a hug. It wasn’t the type of hug were it was awkward because you didn’t know the person like that, but rather a hug were you knew the person truly meant it. I have learned so much from Mattie over the past five years, so much about how to love unconditionally, how to be compassionate towards others, and about determination. Last summer when I went to Hurley twice, on the first trip Mattie was in the Hospital undergoing a quadrupial bypass surgery, and towards the middle of the week I was in the kitchen on Hurley Community Development talking to Mattie’s daughter Teresa. I said to Teresa, who was kind of filing in for Mattie, “It must be hard trying to fill in Mattie”, and she said to me, “There a’nt no filling them honey”. I think that everyone could learn a lot from Mattie Christian and other unsung heroes, the people that try work countless hours and days to see their communities become better. Before anyone leaves Hurley after a weeklong mission trip you have to get a hug from Mattie it’s a requirement, and that hug isn’t just a hug of emptiness but one full of love and compassion.

That is what a true hero is