The story of Cristiana:A young woman grows up in Haiti, but she is unable to have children. Her parents die and other relatives move on with their lives and the young woman becomes an elderly lady in her early 70's. She often has to beg for food, since she has no husband or children to help her out. One day some individuals invite her to sell her meager belongings and join them on a trip to the Dominican Republic, in search of a better life. She then sells her tiny home, furnishings and sets out on the journey.
Worst day of her life:
Cristiana is tired of walking up and down mountain trails. She is thirsty and hungry. If that were not enough, the individuals who coaxed her to sell her things and share the money with them... now abandon her on the road. She is left alone in a foreign country where she does not know the language, nor has any friends waiting to receive her.
How they found her:
The people of Lanza Arriba awoke one day to find this elderly lady half-dead and wandering along on the main road of the village. The Haitian women notified Anita, who is the leader among the Haitians. She takes the lady to her home and gives her food and then discovers her story. By this time the individuals who abandoned her are long gone down the road and there is no way of knowing who they are, nor to report them to any authorities.
Liturgy:
When the priest arrives in Lanza Arriba for the afternoon liturgy, he finds the people united under a thatched roof and singing hymns. The first thing that the people want to do is tell Father about Cristiana, and in the process asking if he can help them with her. It turns out that the local Dominican plantation owners do not want her living on their property, because she is too old to work and has no money.
The poorest of the poor:
All of the Haitians in Lanza Arriba are poor by Dominican standards. But among them there are degrees of poverty, and at the bottom of the list is Cristiana. Single people in the "developed" world find ways to be self-reliant; yet the lot of an impoverished, single elderly woman without children and living in a foreign land without long established friends...this is a reality we can hardly begin to comprehend.
How beautiful:
What a blessing it is to come upon a community whose first thought is not for themselves; for something that they need, but rather for a complete stranger whom they wake up to find in their midst! God sent her to be among them... and they did not turn away nor hide their faces from her.
