I found myself rising in my seat, somehow thinking that would help as the car dragged over the rocks that littered the road to the orphanage. I imagined the oil pan ripping open or a hole in the gas tank. The car took a beating, and the road got worse with the run-off from the rains moving rocks from one place to another. The little trenches carved into road sometimes turned into big dips making the drive a zig zag path. Others drove low cars and had the same problem, but even our vans and bus had difficulty. I decided something needed to change. When I reached the office, I called Gerber to discuss an idea about a visit to the mayor.

“Gerber, I think it is the time we see the mayor and petition him to send somebody to repair the road. It’s getting worse and destroying our vehicles.” Gerber nodded, so I continued. “I’ve decided that we will take all of the kids to his office so he can see the the lives being affected by the damage of that road. We can write a letter explaining our need and describe the many people who come here for work, for delivery, visitors, missionary teams, etc.”

Gerber made a contact with the mayor’s office, and we had an appointment. We had a visiting team from the US, and they were invited to come with us. We loaded all of the children, house parents, and team members in the bus and vans and left for our mission. When we got to the Municipalidad (municipal building), my heart sank. In front of the buildings sat bunched together tuctuc drivers and their three-wheeled taxis blocking the main street. The clambering and shouting made my blood pressure shoot up. The angry group evidently had a complaint and wanted the mayor’s attention. I heard of demonstrations like this before when people that resulted in injury or death, and here we were with all of the children from the orphanage. Lord, what have I gotten us into? Please protect us and bring peace to those men.

Not only did I have concern for the children’s safety, but we had team members from the States, who faced exposure to something that could turn into a Guatemalan type of violence. Safety Lord, keep us covered.

Since we had an appointment, Gerber went to announce our presence, and the security guards opened a side gate so we could enter in back of the buildings. The vehicles parked on that side of the street, so the team members and I formed a line from the bus door to the side-gate and rushed the children through. I could finally open my hands from the clenched fists when the mayor approached us with his winning smile, but the rhythm of my heart beat fast.

I had no knowledge beforehand that the mayor would take the opportunity to use our time together for his campaign to run a second term in office. The local TV people ran the camera for the Monjas news recording, everyone. That excited the kids, and I’m sure they felt important. At this point, we had taken precedent over the tuctuc drivers in the street demanding a meeting with the mayor.

We came with a particular goal in mind, and I needed to focus on what I would say to the mayor. Lord help me to calm down. Gerber and I had a letter to give to him, asking for his assistance in the maintenance of the road. After the formalities and introductions of the team leaders to the mayor, Gerber read our letter. I followed through with a quivering voice, “Senior we would appreciate any help you could give us regarding the road. There are many people who use it in ministry to the orphanage and these children.” Toward the end of our time we extended an invitation for him to visit the Project.

Not missing a beat, the mayor picked up our littlest girl and with the camera focused on him, declared he would send someone out to grade our road within the next few days. The camera followed him as he greeted and chatted with our girls. I knew people would be swayed to vote for him when they saw the compassion and desire he had for the children in Shadow of His Wings.

The team responded graciously to their unexpected adventure. This presented itself as a time of trusting the Lord to hide us under the shadow of His wings and He faithfully did that for us.

A “few days” here does not translate into a few days in real time. Weeks later, we heard the engine of the grader as it worked on our road. The band-aid approach left the road in good enough shape until the next heavy rain. The visit to the mayor proved fruitful and we felt grateful that he showed favor for the ministry by grading the mile of our hole filled rocky road. The mayor did get re-elected for another four years in office.“