My relaxed evening came to an abrupt end when Carina, the school director, called. The conversation contained a combination of excitement and panic, stirring the same emotions in me.
“The president is coming here to Monjas? You mean the president of Guatemala?” I asked as I rose from the chair and started pacing.
“Yes, Mama Carroll, it is President Alvaro Colom, and he is coming in the morning for a visit to Monjas,” replied Carina. “The school superintendent just called to give me the information, and we have been ordered to have our girls do their gymnastics performance for him. I repeat, he ordered the girls to perform. He didn’t ask if we could. We need to be at Central Park by eight in the morning, ready to go.”
After some discussion, Carina accepted the responsibility of getting all of the kids to the appointed place. We didn’t want them to miss the opportunity to meet President Colom nor get on the bad side of the school superintendent. I remembered the excitement of the First Lady’s coming to Shadow of His Wings Orphanage, and now the president of Guatemala was arriving.
The month before this, the girls had won first place doing a gymnastic rendition of the Flintstones at the Department (State) level competition in Jalapa. From there, they went to Guatemala City for the National competition and took first place. The thrill of this honor for these children could not be summed up in a few words. To go from a condition of being abused to having hundreds of fans cheering you on resonated in all of our hearts.
When we returned from the Capital with the first-place trophy, we met a line of cars waiting to follow us into Monjas. People held signs of congratulations while standing by the highway, cheering the girls for a first-time achievement in this town. The excitement level radiated from the bus as the girls chanted, “Libertad, Libertad, Libertad!” The parade of cars behind the bus and the horns honking had people lining the streets waving. This was a thrill of a lifetime, and now the girls would perform for President Colom and add to that list.
By eight o’clock the next day, we had everyone from JPoLA waiting for the important guest at Central Park. The kids tittered and giggled in nervous anticipation of doing their gymnastics routine for the president. I had things flying around in my stomach, and I wasn’t even performing.
We talked amongst ourselves and decided that President Colom would come by helicopter, so our ears tuned in to any similar sounds. People gathered and waited, a common practice here where time doesn’t dictate when activities will begin. Restlessness became evident, and even the ice cream boy with his little cart quit ringing his bell. Finally, the mayor announced that the president would not be coming. However, he asked that the girls perform for those present. The girls loved to perform, and their disappointment didn’t change their enthusiasm. The pride I felt for them stretched my heart a little more, as I watched them go through the routine.
We waited through some speeches and then heard a helicopter. The mayor announced that a special visitor did come, the National Director of Education, and he asked the girls to repeat their routine for the director. Afterwards, the director mingled with the girls, asking about their educational experiences. Then he took a group photo with them. In their eyes, his personal interest captured their attention, and it didn’t matter that the president didn’t make it to Monjas.
I also had the opportunity to visit with the director, who spoke English, making it much easier to express the concerns I had for the education of the older girls in Monjas. I explained about the limited opportunities for careers in our area. He told me that he’d help with whatever he could, just give him a call. He demonstrated himself as someone on the same team for the same cause. We went from the president is coming to no he isn’t, but the Lord provided a more valuable connection for the needs of the Shadow kids.