Crestina's lesson

Crestina Trujillo had something to show us.
Laura and I met her on Jan. 5, 2004, in her room at Northern Colorado Medical Center. She was there for treatment of a combination of illnesses attendant to her age, 88.
My wife and I are members of Befrienders, Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist from our parish who visit private homes, hospitals and rest homes bringing Holy Communion to shut-ins, the bedridden and the ill.
That first visit, we knocked and tentatively entered a dimly lighted room. Inside, we found Mrs. Trujillo, who was sleeping lightly, facing the window, and three family members, who were embracing, all weeping.
Laura went around to the far side of the bed, to find Mrs. Trujillo had awakened. She reached out, took Laura’s hand in a firm grip, and nodded for us to begin the communion service. It was an emotional few moments as we said the prayers -- especially poignant when Mrs. Trujillo took the Body of Christ.
She received just a tiny crumb on the tongue, followed by the cooling moisture of a swab at the corners of her mouth. The three family members took communion as well. This was an extremely joyful event and Laura and I wiped tears from our eyes as we made our way through the halls to the next Catholic patient on our list.
We didn’t know it then, but Mrs. Trujillo was going to teach, reaffirm, show tangible evidence, prove beyond the shadow of a doubt, the healing power of prayer.
A week later, Jan. 12, we would meet Mrs. Trujillo for the second time. She had moved to the Hospice wing. She was sleeping more soundly this time, but the family encouraged us to pray.
"She is a very spiritual person," her daughter told us. "She very much appreciates your prayers."
Again, after the prayers, we departed, and again we wept as we walked the halls. We were to visit Mrs. Trujillo once more, a Saturday, Jan. 17.
When we entered the Hospice room, Mrs. Trujillo was breathing heavily. It was hard work, her chest heaving in hard sighs. Her granddaughter spoke to her, asking if she wished to awaken for Communion. But she was too fatigued to come from sleep, and we agreed to pray as before, with one small difference.
Laura and I have been trying to learn at least the Lord’s Prayer in Spanish so that we might better serve the hospital community. I asked the granddaughter if she thought her grandmother would mind – "Can we practice our Spanish?" I asked. In answer, the granddaughter took Crestina’s slim and tiny old hand and made the sign of the cross for her grandmother – the Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost.
And so Crestina Trujillo taught us. We began, "Padre nuestro . . . " and as we proceeded, her breathing began to slow. As we continued blundering our way through the Spanish, Mrs. Trujillo rested easier. Tension evaporated from her tiny, aged body. As the prayer ended, she appeared to be sleeping normally, not with any of the labor of a few moments before.
Crestina Trujillo, 88, of Greeley died Sunday, Jan. 18, in Greeley. Mrs. Trujillo was born March 7, 1915, in San Luis to Filiberto and Magdalena (Valdez) Lopez. She married John Trujillo in October 1957 in Cheyenne. He died in 1991.Mrs. Trujillo enjoyed traveling, gardening, crocheting, picnicking, camping, cheering for the Broncos and spending time with her family. She was a very spiritual woman who read the Bible and prayed daily.Survivors are four daughters, Rose Marie Roybal and husband Zack, Dolores "Dolly" Garcia and husband Herman, all of Greeley, Ida Aragon and husband John of Evans, and Yvonne Schaaf of Cheyenne; a son, Floyd Lopez and wife Mary of Cheyenne; 14 grandchildren; 25 great-grandchildren; and 11 great-great-grandchildren. Her husband John Trujillo, her parents, a sister, Alicia Lopez, a brother, Abade Lopez, and a grandson, Jeffrey Schaaf, are deceased.Recitation of the Rosary was at St. Mary's Catholic Church, followed by Mass of the Christian burial. Interment was in Sunset Memorial Gardens.