Where is Maria? In heaven

Jenny Krzymowski shares about Maria Hölscher – a year after her death

Jenny con  Barbara Hölscher, la madre de Maria Höscher Jenny with Barbara Hölscher, Mary’s mother Jenny mit Barbara Hölscher, Marias Mutter
Las amigas  Maria Hölscher  y Jenny Krzymowski Friends: Maria Hölscher and Jenny Krzymowski Maria Hölscher ölscherHund Jenny Krzymowski, unzertrennliche Freundinnen
Maria Hölscher Maria Hölscher Maria Hölscher
Becky Becky Becky Fotos: Jenny Krzymowski © 2007

USA/GERMANY, mkf. This past April 10, it has one year since the death of Maria Hoelscher, 17, of the Schoenstatt Girls’ Youth in Germany, in a tragic car accident in New Mexico, where she was spending a year as exchange student. Jenny Krzymowski, 18, of her guest family, who was in the same accident was severely injured, shares her memories with Maria’s mother, Barbara, who offered the text for Schoenstatt.de. Maria was one of the youth who sealed the Covenant for the Youth of the World August 10, 2005.

As we waited for Maria’s flight to land I could feel the butterflies in my stomach. It wasn’t that I was nervous to meet her but excited to have a new person come into my life. There are only a handful of times in your life when you will have to live with someone you have never met; college being one most can relate to and in my case our foreign exchange student, Maria. Every person that walked out under the ‘Arrival’ sign made my heart skip a beat. I couldn’t quite put a face to the images I had in my mind from the pictures she mailed to us. There was one of her holding Becky, the next door neighbor who she had been babysitting for a couple years, and another of her vacationing with her brother and mom in Peru. I continued to watch the passengers come out, not one fit the description. Unexpectedly, a 5’8’’ brunette came around from behind us waving a German flag. We discovered that the exchange program had emailed us the wrong information. Maria had been in the airport for over and hour trying to figure out what country had her luggage. Failure was the feeling that quickly came over us. No one was there to welcome her as she came to America for her first time. Apologies were exchanged, and we tried to put that episode behind us.

Part of the reason we picked an exchange student from Germany was that our family had a backpacking trip to Europe planned. We thought it would be nice to be able to meet Maria’s family after her year with us. One of the hardest things I have ever had to do was take that trip to Germany and meet Maria’s family.

Maria did not make it

"One Rehoboth student was killed and at least four more were injured this weekend while traveling on Interstate 40 to Santa Fe."

"Maria Holscher, 17, a foreign exchange student from Germany, who was staying with the Krzymowski family, was ejected from the 2003 GMC sports utility vehicle, and flown to Albuquerque where she died. Her family was being notified overseas on Sunday afternoon.

The driver, Jason Landavazo, 18, along with passengers Jennifer Krzymowski, 18, and Mag Kim, 17, all of Gallup, and Natasha DeVries , 18, of Zuni, were in the vehicle. A spokesperson for the state police said it is suspected that the driver fell asleep. The accident happened at about 6 a.m."

Monday April 10 is still a blurry day in my mind. There were two things I knew at that point. I knew that I had been in an accident the day before and that any sort of movement shot pain through my whole body- the type of pain that sets deep into your being and saturates your bones. It’s the type of pain that is burned into your memory, making you afraid of simple things like driving and heights. What else did I know? Not much but what I know now is that that pain doesn’t compare to what it felt like to hear Maria- my friend, my new sister, my shoulder to cry on, my late night talking buddy, my skiing partner- had not made it out of the accident alive.

As I lay in my ICU room of the University of New Mexico Trauma Center I could hear a small group of people making their way into my room. As each one entered they softly said their name, knowing I couldn’t see because my eyes had completely swollen shut. "Jenny, it’s me, Pastor Rob." "Sara and Will are here also."

The list went on until my entire family and Pastor were in my Intensive Care room. Then came the words that will stay with me for the rest of my life, "Jenny, Maria didn’t make it."

What? The paramedics told me yesterday that everyone else was fine. You told me yesterday that everyone else was fine. Suddenly it hit me that none of that mattered. It didn’t matter that I was told a day late, it didn’t matter that I was lied to until I was medically stable; all that mattered is that "Maria didn’t make it." After hearing those words I could feel my body drop like in a dream but there was no jolt to wake me up, there was no ground to break my fall. I could hear my dad crying, I could feel the tears parting my swollen eye lids, I could picture Maria smiling, like she did so often, but as real as all of those things were, I couldn’t stop free falling.

Realizing how much Maria had touched my life and that of many others

Over the next month I began to realize how much Maria had touched not only my life but everyone who come into contact with her. Stories began to pour in from classmates, teachers, family, the Hurricane Katrina victims that Maria had spent her spring break with and even people who never had the opportunity to meet her. I can vividly remember, after a long day of skiing in Colorado, Maria and I reclined in our upstairs room. We were able to talk for hours. Opening up another’s mind to see a different point of view was a gift Maria had. I was able to get over hurdles that I had up in my life because Maria was willing to jump them with me. Maria touched so many lives because above all else she gave unconditional love. It didn’t matter what sex, race, or background you came from, if you were breathing you would have caught Maria’s contagious personality.

A prayer was recorded by Maria in Schoenstatt, Germany, where she had retreated for the weekend exactly a year to the day before the accident. "Regarding the U.S., I want to give everything. Help me know how I can touch people." How I wish I could see her and tell her how many lives she touched. Tell her that she did give everything, and as a result, everyone has a little Maria in them. Her body may be gone now but her Christ-like attitude has left a permanent mark. I pray that I will be able to show unconditional love to everyone I come into contact with just like Maria, just like Christ.

Unconditional love

As I rested outside on a cool summer day in Oldendorf, Germany listening to Maria’s family tell jokes in German and laugh at the top of their lungs I was able to feel Maria’s presence again. Even though it was hard to sit among them knowing I was the one that made it out alive and their loved one had not I felt loved, accepted, and I was able to continue my journey down the road of healing. As Barbra, Maria’s mom, held me in her arms she whispered, "Now I have more than one daughter, now you’re my daughter." Experiencing unconditional love is a gift from God, and that is what the Holscher family is.

"Wo ist Maria (Where is Maria)?" Becky’s parents asked her one night as we ate dinner.

"Im Himmel (In heaven)," the three year old next door neighbor responds. I know someday I will be able to thank her for changing my life. Until then I thank God for blessing me with Maria Holscher.

Maria was one of the youth who sealed the Covenant for the Youth of the World August 10, 2005.

1. See Webiste of the Reoboth School http://www.rcsnm.org

2. Maria Hoelscher: Help me know how I can touch people