She Refused to Let the Storm Have the Final Word | Crossroads Around the World

I lost my home. It's devastating. I literally lost everything. Hi, my name is Barbara. I'm going to tell my story. I'm Maria. I'm a single mother with three children. When Maria came to Puerto Rico, I decided to leave my home. My neighbors told me that when I decided to get in my friend's car and leave, my house exploded. To give you an idea, I lost my job, my house, and I didn't bring a lot of clothes. I literally stayed with what I had on, me and my children. That's why I say that at that moment, I was born again. And I started living from house to house, in my friends' houses. When I came back and found my house destroyed, I tried to stay there for a week and a half, living in the conditions of the house. I tried to build, but the price of the materials and the labor, especially the labor at the time of Maria, was very expensive. I went to check the land. When one day I came home at dawn and found the land clean, I got scared. Because I thought, well, they invaded my land. I lost my house again. And I asked my neighbors. And that's when they told me, girl, they've been looking for you for three months to help you, but since no one can contact you. I heard about the organization of Hunger, Trinity Church, and La Travesía.

They joined forces to help me, but they've been looking for me for three months. At that moment, I felt like, me? Looking for me? Who am I? Now I can describe it much better, but at that moment I couldn't. But that's when I felt the love of Christ visiting me. And seeing so much love and the care that God had for my family, and seeing the construction. Because while I was building my house, I also felt that they were building a certain part of me. Later, I received a call from Lisandra at Hunger Corps that they wanted to have breakfast with me. And at breakfast, they told me that if I wanted to be part of Hunger Corps, to work with their team, I didn't let them finish the prayer very well. When I said yes, that's when I fell lower, I got up and it made me flourish. Right now I can tell you that two years ago, the Lord helped me through Hunger Corps and a strong process that I went through to flourish. I've seen that my children have been able to flourish as well, because hearing my daughter say, Mommy, when I grow up, I want to be just like you. You understand that she has been a better example to follow. Crossroads has taught me, and many of you have taught me,

what love and the care of the Lord really is. I can even do that in a painting. They taught me that the Lord takes care of you in the smallest details.